this is bbc news. the headlines at seven. us troops kill iran's top military commander in an air strike. qasem soleimani was a strategic mastermind. president strom said he was planning attacks to kill hundreds of americans. we don't seek war in iran but at the same time we are not going to let iran put american passat lives at risk without trying to de—escalate the

situation. relief for a thousand people as naval ships rescue them from australia's bushfires.” people as naval ships rescue them from australia's bushfires. i think that the labour party, just like i do, has the same values that i have, and once to seize change and wants to convince people that things can get better. ajudge rules that ethical vegan is as a philosophical belief and is therefore protected by law. and a new swatch, has bbc news be taking too much holiday over christmas and new year. join us at 745 on bbc news.

good evening. one of the most powerful men in the middle east, iran's military commander qasem soleimani has been killed by a us air strike soleimani has been killed by a us airstrike in iraq. soleimani has been killed by a us air strike in iraq. the attack was ordered by president trump who said that the general was planning to kill americans in the region. he was also blamed for being directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of people. iran has threatened revenge and tens of thousands of people holding rallies across iran denouncing the us. the us is now said it will send 3000 troops to the us as a precaution. here isjeremy troops to the us as a precaution. here is jeremy bowen. troops to the us as a precaution. here isjeremy bowen. this is the moment that the us assassinated qasem soleimani and push us into a new year and decade of more uncertainty in debt. the attack from

a missile fired from a drone, hit his motorcade as he was being driven out of baghdad airport. the us and iran were already fighting a war in the shadows. neither side wants uncontrolled escalation, but the chances of miscalculation and a lurch into a bigger war have increased. qasem soleimani was no ordinary foe. for a generation he was probably america's most capable enemy. his death delivers a blow to the heart of the uranian regime. for many years he built up around passat power outside of its borders and within it. he was a major player in iraq syria and lebanon. hardliners have been rocked to their core. they will want to get even. perhaps more than that. last sunday, american air

strikes killed 25 members of an iraqi militia armed and trained by the goods organisation. after an american contractor was killed in the attack. there is a march on the embassy in baghdad and it attacked the perimeter. it created a vital pa rt the perimeter. it created a vital part of the jihadists against the islamic state. but it is one... the huge american compound as a fortress and it was not breached, but the attacks goaded and threatened the trump administration. the americans rushed in reinforcements to the embassy. it is not clear when the decision to assassinate qasem soleimani was taken, but when it happened president trump treated in triumph.

the americans argue that their motives are defensive. we don't seek war with iraq but at the same time we are not going to let them put american lives at risk without responding in a way that presents an opportunity to de—escalate the situation. in baghdad iraqis... in tehran, ayatollah ali khamenei, iran because like supreme leader, visited qasem soleimani's widow. he said that severe revenge awaits the criminals. translation: reynet ian hardliners are devastated. so where regime

supporters on the streets. qasem soleimani was the hero at a time when they see themselves surrounded by enemies. iran was already under severe pressure from us sanctions. trump may be gambling that he has so weakened iran but that the rage will not hurt the us battle. that assumption could be dangerous and wrong. let's get more on this with the writer and journalist, who is a senior gender analyst for the writers group. this general has been in position for some 20 years, but why act now? that is a good question. it seems like the united states maximum pressure policy which

was designed to change iran's behaviour in the region is not succeeding, and so this seems like an ex galatian with no plan or end gaming site, and that is exactly why it is so dangerous. there is no anticipation of a strategy here. it is lighting a fire under iraq essentially. sacrificing iraq's precarious stability that might will have the full lout for iraq and iran and others in the region. and very risky strategy, but mike pompeo has said that we do not seek war with iran? a lot that has come out of the administration is disingenuous. what we see as a declare of one against iran in all but name. john bolton,

now deposed has spoken quite directly about regime change, but i think that is the aim here but with no actual idea of what war with iran will entail and not really an appetite for it, which is why it is so appetite for it, which is why it is so reckless. do you agree that it is the biggest strategic blunder in the region? it is reckless. there is little understanding within washington of the administration as to how this qasem soleimani is perceived in iran. to most ordinary iranians he has a revered charismatic war hero that has seen iran through the eight years of war with iraq. in afghanistan he was at the front lines and was leading the fight against isis. i don't think anyone imagined it that isis could have been vanquished that mac i

think to ordinary iranians he is a national hero that has kept the country national hero that has kept the cou ntry safe, national hero that has kept the country safe, and to have him like this it will be enshrined in the memory for a time to come. white like what you think will be the response firm iran? i think it will be deliberate perhaps not immediate. it has developed in part as a result of its own isolation in the region, a network of allies in the region. it could responding syria or iran, but it could also pull out of the nuclear deal, which i think would be the most tragic thing of all, because that was something that up until a few days ago, they were negotiated way out of. that is

perhaps the most tragic thing of all. this international agreement that was on its final knees, no one can see a way to salvage it now. given the fact that qasem soleimani was such a powerful figure in given the fact that qasem soleimani was such a powerfulfigure in iran, how much of an impact do you think his death will make in the short term? i think it will be politically shocking, but at the same time i think that the system and the revolutionary guards have worked assiduously to cultivate a whole generation of military commanders like him. i think it was anticipated that he wouldn't really live as long as he did, so there are others like him, buti as he did, so there are others like him, but i think that amongst ordinary iranians, it is almost hard to overstate how shocking it is. it comes at a time when there are shortages of medicines in the country feels locked from the rest of the world. i think it will be

deeply upsetting. thank you very much for your time this evening. let's stay with this, obviously a very significant story today. this is in former fbi agent. good to have you with us this evening. let me ask you with us this evening. let me ask you the same question about what you would expect the next roof by iran to be. i think iran has a lot of options for retaliation. one option is definitely symmetrical in nature. qasem soleimani built an ark of influence for iran which goes all the way from the gulf... to israel. he has hundreds of thousands of militiamen in yemen, syria, iraq and lebanon who consider him a leader. iran could use that seed of

influence that he developed across the last two decades to send significant messages to the united states, symmetrical messages to the united states across the region. another thing that iranians might do is site that mac we lit the fire under iraq. this ushers in a new era for iraq that is going to be very chaotic and very violent. many of this year politicians i expect will go to the parliament to legislate a law to as the united states to leave, and then maybe a stoic resista nce leave, and then maybe a stoic resistance against american presence, very similar to in the 80s and 90s. in in lebanon. iran has a

lot of tools and their fingertips, and a lot of the assets against the united states have been developed by qasem soleimani. given that sphere of influence, we have heard that the united states intend to send a further 3000 troops to the region. how prepared are you think the pentagon is for the potential fallout of this? honestly i don't think anybody is prepared for what is going to happen. the us killed qasem soleimani yesterday, but by doing so we ended that controlled escalation that had been simmering for a while in the region and in specially for laraque. this will open a new phase where there is unrestrained responses between us and the iranians proxies. i think

the situation now is way more dangerous than it used to be. the world is definitely not a safer place even though qasem soleimani is not in it any more. i believe what has happened that mac it might be a regional moment for the middle east. i think it will create significant changes in the middle east and will create significant changes in the rules in the game between us and iran and its proxies in the region. why track that is a very comparison that you made. given that, what would you like to see as a response from the wider international community on this? i think the wider international community has been very shocked. the french said we have seen the foreign minister from

the uk also. everybody is asking for de—escalation. i hope they continue to urge the administration and the iranians to go to channels of de—escalation. i think iran will definitely retaliate through an ark of resistance. the arc will appear very wea k of resistance. the arc will appear very weak if they don't do anything to avenge qasem soleimani. they will be strategic in their response, but the international community will have to be very firm in holding iran accountable for an escalation which goes beyond what happened against civilians, for example against innocent people, and i think at the same time, we need to open channels with the us administration and make a de—escalation statement of pompeo,

a de—escalation statement of pompeo, a reality. might make really good if you tojoin us. thank a reality. might make really good if you to join us. thank you very much indeed. now in other news. right backjoyce phillips indeed. now in other news. right back joyce phillips has indeed. now in other news. right backjoyce phillips has announced that she will be joining the race to replacejeremy that she will be joining the race to replace jeremy corbyn that she will be joining the race to replacejeremy corbyn as leader. other mps considering leadership bid include care stammer and... we thoughtjess phillips might go for it and now she has confirmed that she will. in the last few minutes she will. in the last few minutes she has released a campaign video and a statement of intent about what she wants to do if she becomes labour leader. the heart ofjess philips's pitch is because she is talking. too few people trust the

labour party now and she thinks that she can change it by directly appealing to people. she think she is good at communicating and that people will listen to her. the big challenge that whoever the new labour leader is that they will have to win back that macjess phillips was in grimsby. it is the seat that labour have held till the third —— since the 30s but lost last month to the term tories. this is why she said she would make a good leader. the term tories. this is why she said she would make a good leaderlj think said she would make a good leader.” think that we may need more honesty in politics and the labour party has to be honest with itself and with the country, that if we can lose things like this, something has to change. more of the same won't cut it. a prime minister like boris

johnson who can bluster and lie his way to the top, he will really speak truth to power. we will be able to ta ke truth to power. we will be able to take him on and reach people in the country so that the labour party can win back grimsby and the rest of the country. that isjust phillips but she will be against emily thornbury, clive lewis is standing as well. i would expect quite a few more names over the next three or four days into next week as well. we are likely to seek care starmer and lisa nandl likely to seek care starmer and lisa nandi, almost certainly rebecca long berry as well. she is the big favourite of any ofjeremy corbyn's supporters to be the next leader. we're not sure if the labour chairman is flirting with the idea of standing he has not made his mind yet. there are going to be a number

of names to get our heads around in the next few days. thank you for that. now that we have you and let's go to our main story, the killing of qasem soleimani. i understand that jeremy corbyn has said something about this. he has written a letter to the prime minister asking for a briefing and privy council rules, thatis briefing and privy council rules, that is essentially the confidential council rules that senior politicians in the uk get. you can see that letter on screen now. in that, he does raise a number of concerns, specifically about whether you k knew in advance that the strike would take place. our understanding is that borisjohnson did not know in advance that this was going to take place. jeremy corbyn is also asking questions about what is going to happen now and what communications are taking place with the white house, also the preparations that the uk government is undertaking in the middle east to

make sure that british citizens are protected, to look at whether the terror threat needs to be raised as a result of what has happened overnight. clearly the labour leader has because some concerns. we know that downing street has said that it wa nts to that downing street has said that it wants to see addis the escalation of tensions in the middle east. we have not heard from borisjohnson who has been on holiday. it is not clear yet whether he is backing it. around a thousand people trapped by bushfires on the south eastern coast of australia have been rescued by the australian navy. tens of thousands of others are being urged to move to safety amid fears the fires could worsen in parts of victoria, new south wales and south australia.the death toll for this week has risen to eight and 450 homes have been lost on the south coast.

this map shows the spread of the fires since the begining of the week — as you can see, they are concentrated in the eastern coastal areas. the navy has stepped in to rescue those who were stranded on the beach when they were encircled by an uncontrollable fire on monday. a state of disaster has been declared in eastern victoria ahead of tomorrow's extreme conditions. up to 100,000 residents are being told to evacuate. if you can leave, you must leave. that is the only safe thing for you yourfamily, leave. that is the only safe thing for you your family, and leave. that is the only safe thing for you yourfamily, and indeed for others that may be called to your

assistance. we cannot guarantee your safety. in new south wales, the message is the same. fire authorities say that the blaze could be as bad as, if not worse as the dose of new year's eve. despite the warnings, jeff and pamela have decided they are not leaving their small town of sussex inlet. hopefully it is not going to be as bad as they are predicting. we have the hoses ready and we willjust hose the houses down. if it does hit higher —— if it does hit their house will take the boat. j martin is also staying put to defend his house. he tells me the anticipation of disaster is what worries him.

waiting is the hardest part. we have been out there for two weeks and we're just waiting. we hope it all passes and there will be rain on monday. the blaze hasjust started on the bus in this area just beyond that tree line. with the wind picking up they have been controlling the area here making sure that properties have been protected. this has been a rough ride for the prime minister who has been regularly criticised for how he handled the bushfire crisis. it is not just the handled the bushfire crisis. it is notjust the residents who made their feelings clear. scott morrison said he understood the anger, but was focusing on the task in hand. our concerns was focusing on the task in hand. our concerns are now was focusing on the task in hand. our concerns are now looking out over the next 24 to 48—hour period. this is a ferocious fire and the climatic conditions are going to be

very difficult to contain over the next 24 to 48 hours. right back there is a real sense of dread here about what will happen during these coming hours. at a time when many had planned family holidays, as trillions are waiting for yet another fire to blaze through. an employment tribunal has ruled that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief and is therefore protected by law. the case was brought by a man who says he was unfairly sacked by the league against cruel sports after disclosing it invested pension funds in firms involved in animal testing. earlier, we spoke to our legal correspondent clive coleman who explained just how significant this ruling is. casamitjana, the man who brought this case, worked for the league against cruel sports and he claimed that he'd found that they were investing their pension funds in some companies that tested on animals, or were involved in testing, that he told his employers and they did nothing about it,

so he told other workers and was sacked as a result. so, he claims he was discriminated against on the basis of his beliefs an ethical vegan. i stress an ‘ethical‘, not just a dietary vegan, because he avoids any form of animal harm or exploitation. for instance, refusing to take the bus in case there is an accidental crash with a bird or an insect. today, for the first time, an employment tribunaljudge has found that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief akin to a religion, and so, protected in law. in order to qualify as that, it has to be a genuinely held, serious belief, not an opinion. it has to cover a substantial aspect of human life. it has to be worthy of respect in a democratic society, and not interfere with the rights of others. the judge was satisfied of that. implications are huge. employers will have to respect this. could someone in a supermarket at the checkout refuse to put a meat product through the till, for instance? could people with other philosophical beliefs, someone who believes in climate

change, say that they refused to travel for work by car, favouring the train? i think the implications are vast, and it's notjust in employment, it's across education, the supply of goods and services. it's real food for thought, if i can use that pun. with me now is the man at the center of the court case — jordi casamityana. thank you for speaking with us. there will be people at home who are a bit surprised by this ruling today and think what is the difference between what some people might say isa between what some people might say is a lifestyle choice and a philosophical belief? a philosophical belief? a philosophical belief? a philosophical belief is a belief that affect every aspect of your life. in this case, the organism for me is far beyond just food. it is one part of that belief but it is also close in anything i buy. any decision i take, i had try to

incorporate into the process of deciding, ami incorporate into the process of deciding, am i harming animals and is there any way i can harm fewer animals. that is what an ethical vegan is. it has to affect every aspect of your life. how heart and where you to hear the judge say that you are entitled to the same rights as people who may hold religious beliefs for example? as people who may hold religious beliefs for example ?” as people who may hold religious beliefs for example? i could hardly control my emotions, because i did not expect the judgment today. it seems that the evidence was so compelling, we produce more than 1300 pages of evidence, that that seem to be sufficient so i was really happy. not everybody who is a vegan would have the sort of protection. it depends on how you hold those beliefs. the term ethical vegan,

hold those beliefs. the term ethical vegan, we use hold those beliefs. the term ethical vegan, we use this term to make a distinction between those that followed the whole ethics of the vegan society which is what it ethical vegan is m from those who choose to apply it to their diet alone. these may be called diet arya ns alone. these may be called diet aryans or many of them don't call themselves vegan they call themselves vegan they call themselves plan based people with a plant —based diet. we use the term ethical vegan to refer to the people who follow the organism is an ethical decision in their lives. bite back explain what happens next? this is an employment dispute and i am obviously in the middle of that dispute still. so i cannot comment on that. but this is one part of the dispute. it had to be assessed by thejudge that this

dispute. it had to be assessed by the judge that this was... if it was not the hearing would be quite different. we will see how that turns out. we will be speaking to your lawyer a little bit later. but for now thank you very much for joining us. time for a look at the weather. many parts of the uk got to see some bright weather today. there was some snow even to quite low leather levels. some rain and cloud and patchy drizzle thrown northern ireland wales and north—west england as well. some spots might go all the way down to freezing in the countryside. for saturday, the best of the sunshine is to be made on the eastern side of england, north—west

scotla nd eastern side of england, north—west scotland keeping a lot of cloud in some outbreaks of rain, but the temperature is just showing signs of creeping upwards in the west. 10 degrees in plymouth for example. even further is looking at highs of eight or nine. dry for most of us cloudy in the rate west bit of cloud... hello this is bbc news, i'm rachel schofield. the headlines: tensions escalate between washington and tehran, after us troops kill iran's most powerful military commander. iran said the air strike was the us‘s biggest mistake in the region and promised to avenge qassem soleimani's death. president trump said the general was planning attacks to kill hundreds of americans. here, jess phillips becomes the third labour mp to enter the race

to become the party's next leader, saying they have to change to win back voters. relief for around 1000 people, as australian naval ships rescue them from the country's bush fires. a judge rules that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief — and is therefore protected by law. also coming up — as liberal democrat mp, layla moran, announces announces she is pansexual, we'll explore the different terms and what they mean. let's return to our main story iran's most powerful military leader. general qassem soleiman has been killed by a us air strike. just some copy coming in on that. a statement from the eu hype representative for foreign affairs. as you can imagine, the international community weighing in on this. various views coming

forward. they're specifically from the eu's high representative for foreign affairs. the current cycle of violence in iraq must be stopped before it spirals out of control, he says. the eu calls on all the actors involved and on those partners who can have an influence to exercise maximum restraint and show responsibility in this crucial moment. it goes on, and other crisis risks jeopardising years of efforts to stabilise iraq. furthermore, the ongoing escalation threatens the whole region, which has suffered immensely and whose populations deserve life in peace. more dialogue and efforts to enhance mutual understanding are necessary to offer long—term solutions to the stabilisation of the middle east. it concludes, the eu stands ready to continue its engagement with all sides, in order to contribute to defusing tensions and reverse the dynamics of the conflict. very much a tone of de—escalation, one might

say to quote mike pompeo. that later statement coming from the eu high representative for foreign affairs. the general was widely seen as one of the most powerfulfigures in iran — second only in fact to the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei. iran has threatened harsh revenge, while its foreign minister, javad zarif, called the attack an "act of international terrorism". he was hailed by many in country as a cult hero. our security correspondent frank gardner reports. they called him the shadow commander. for 21 years, general qasem soleimani commanded the quds force, directing iran's covert and overt military operations across the middle east. his death is a major blow to iran's ambitions, one that is likely to be answered. i think that things are going to get much uglier in the next few days and few weeks. for your own viewers, this is really a declaration

of war by donald trump against the iranian government. regardless of what you think of iran and general soleimani, and there's much blood on his hands, but this is an attack on the nerve centre, on the top leadership. in syria, he coordinated iran's bolstering of president assad's regime, successfully helping him turn back the tide against the rebels. in iraq, he acted like a puppet master, pulling the strings of numerous shia militias, often violently hostile to the us, and also helped them drive out islamic state from iraqi towns like tikrit. more recently, last summer, his special forces carried out operations in the gulf, seizing a british—flagged tanker. and in the last week, tensions rose again with the united states. on the 27th of december, a us contractor was killed in a rocket attack on an iraqi military base, an attack blamed on an iranian—backed militia. two days later, the us responded with air strikes on hezbollah

bases in the middle east, killing 25 fighters. on december 31st, the us embassy in baghdad was attacked by a furious crowd, encouraged by iranian—backed militia leaders. the pentagon said general soleimani was preparing further attacks on the us in iraq. to deter those attacks, said the pentagon, a us drone strike killed general qasem soleimani. the assassination of this man, general qasem soleimani, is probably the most significant event to happen in the middle east since the iraq invasion in 2003. why? because he was not some fugitive hiding out in mountain caves, he was the iranian state, answering direct to ayatollah khamenei. this takes the us—iran tension to a new and dangerous plateau. already, the crowds were out in tehran today, shouting "death to america."

washington has warned iran not to retaliate for soleimani's death, yet iran has vowed to take its revenge in its own time and in its own way. frank gardner, bbc news. let's talk to our washington correspondent gary o'donoghue. hejoins me alive. what has president trump had to say through all of this unfolding event? it took him a good few hours, actually, to address the actual killing of soleimani. his initial reaction to it, or his initial sort of intervention, if you like, last night was simply to post a picture of the american flag, a pixelated picture of the flag, which was a little cryptic, let say. but he has been talking today on twitter and talking about soleimani as being responsible for killing thousands of americans and millions of others and for planning other attacks. also,

saying effectively that he should have been killed before now. the criticism of his predecessors which he often makes. there would have been opportunities, but he now seems to think this is the right time. that may have something to do with the us thinking that iran is particularly wea k the us thinking that iran is particularly weak at the moment, but i don't think anyone here, certainly in the administration or elsewhere, is going to assume there won't be some sort of retaliation because there clearly is. given that, it's a rather odd situation when the secretary of state mike pompeo goes on air and talks about de—escalation and not wanting a war with iran. yes, it's ironic, isn't it? de—escalation while sending another 3000 troops to the region, on top of 15,000 extra troops to that general region since may of this year. it doesn't look much like de—escalation, does it? i think those calls, mike pompeo's phone boil will be high up there today, he has been phoning everyone, trying to

assure them this is what the americans are doing. —— mike pompeo's phone bill. but why now? why did they choose this moment in time to hit soleimani customer there has been some guarded references to imminent attack, but they won't say anything more about that. if they are going to win the public relations war over this, they will have to say more because at the moment, it's basically israel who is backing them and no one else at the moment. 0k, moment. ok, gary, thank you. gary o'donoghue live in washington.

the major power cuts which affected hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses, hospitals and transport networks today... michael wilson was one of thousands of passengers caught up in the chaos on the railways. he told me how he was stuck on a train for an extra eight hours with his daughter, travelling from newcastle to london. when you have been on the train for that long and there were babies crying and people getting quite upset... there was one point where there was a member of staff who quickly was in tea rs over member of staff who quickly was in tears over the tannoy because people we re tears over the tannoy because people were getting quite agitated. so, who is to blame? two power stations hundreds of miles apart, hornsea offshore wind farm and the rwe owned little ba rford gas offshore wind farm and the rwe owned little barford gas power station. they are supposed to cope with lightning strikes but didn't last august. ofgem said their equipment failed, triggering the wider shutdown. both the owners have agreed to pay £4.5 million for

failing to stay on the grid. a third company, uk power networks, who run the power lines in the east and south—east of england, is also paying 1.5 million for reconnecting customers too early, a technical breach of the rules. national grid keeps the lights on in the uk, balancing our electricity supply and demand. ofgem said it wasn't responsible for what happened but it isn't completely off the hook. we wa nt to isn't completely off the hook. we want to look closely at how that pa rt want to look closely at how that part of national grid is governed and run to make sure it stays fit for purpose as our energy system changes. ultimately, they could be stripped of their role? we are just starting work and i don't want to pre—empt any conclusions that all options are on the table. lessons then to be learned. the government said today it will implement an action plan to help prevent future power disruptions. emma simpson, bbc news. the liberal democrat mp layla moran, has come out as pa nsexual after beginning

a relationship with a woman. the mp, who announced the news on social media, said coming out in the context of being a politician had been "slightly more difficult" than telling her friends and family and criticised parliament as a "weird, backwards place" for lg btq people. claudia carvell is the women's programme coordinator for charity the lg bt foundation. shejoins me now. thank you very much for being with us. layla moran spoke in her twitter post about her she felt extremely happy and was talking about sharing this news. some people will have been confused. tell us a bit more about what it means to be pan—sexual? about what it means to be pan-sexual? so, people often understand pan—sexual as being attracted to all genders, beyond man 01’ attracted to all genders, beyond man or woman, things like non—binary and anyone that falls out of binary genders. a pan—sexual person is

attracted to someone regardless of gender. people get back on his bisexual is a someone who is attracted to one or more genders. how important do you think it is for people in the public eye to come out and say this, in order to generate debate and promote understanding?” think it is crucial. i think it's a really positive step for visibility for is that i think there are lots of vulnerable lg bt for is that i think there are lots of vulnerable lgbt people, young lg bt of vulnerable lgbt people, young lgbt people who don't have a visible representative. pan—sexual, a lot of people still don't know what it means is that i think it is a wonderful step and i really commend layla for her bravery and support of the community in doing so. she made the point as she announces that trying to come out in this way in parliament was particularly challenging. how much of a problem do you think that is, that this is not able to be talked about at the

highest levels? i think it's an incredibly important point to take away from this. not everyone has the same coming out experience but eve ryo ne same coming out experience but everyone should be able to come out as and when they feel comfortable to do so. we need to see leadership across all levels, in all sectors, in allareas, across all levels, in all sectors, in all areas, for people to be who they are, so they can be the best possible person for themselves and for the people that they represent and they can excel in their roles as their true selves. finally, i was looking at the tweet layla moran put out. she said last year i fell in love with a wonderful woman, something i'd never even considered before. i don't know how old she is but probably in her 30s. how freeing do you think it is for somebody to discover this perhaps later in life? we talk a lot about people coming out when they are teenagers but it sounds most like she surprised herself? you know what, i think that happens to people all the time. people come out at different points in life. we do have a typical narrative that says you are of a

certain age and then you discover who you are, you come out may be in your early 20s but that isn't how it is for a lot of people. i think it's wonderful visibility for people who come out later in life and people who feel they haven't always known... inaudible we lost you. but thank you very much, i know you a cut ofjust at the end but hopefully people understood what she was saying. the headlines on bbc news... iran promises to avenge the death of its top military commander who is killed by a us air strike in iraq. relief for around a thousand people as australian naval ships rescue them from the country's bush fires. jess phillips becomes the third labour mp to enter the race to become the party's next leader saying they have to change to win back voters. now it's time for samira ahmed

to round up your comments about how the bbc has been reporting the news this week — in newswatch. i will be back at eight o'clock. hello and welcome back to newswatch with me, samira ahmed. has bbc news been taking too much holiday over christmas and new year, with fewer and shorter news bulletins, shown later than normal and more repeated features? and was is it right to fly a presenter to interview the climate activist greta thunberg when she herself shuns air travel because of its impact on the environment? welcome to the first newswatch of 2020 and a happy new year. the traditional celebrations featured widely on bbc news this week, for instance, in the headlines of tuesday's early evening bbc one bulletin.