two us airbases in iraq are hit by more than a dozen ballistic missiles fired from iran. 22 missiles were launched in the early hours of the morning. iranian state television said the attack was in retaliation for the death of general qasem soleimani, killed last week in a us airstrike. we of course condemn the attack on iraqi military bases hosting coalition forces. iran should not repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks but must instead pursue urgent de—escalation. more than 170 people have been killed, including three britons, after a ukrainian passenger plane crashed shortly after take off from tehran.

it's not clear whether the crash is linked to the tensions in iran. also on today's programme: the number of homicides in the uk fell in 2019, for the first time in five years — though killings rose in the capital. every mind matters at heads up. we'll show you the simple steps you can take to look after your mental health. and, the football association is accused of scoring an own goal — after broadcast rights are sold to a betting firm, despite a mental health campaign, backed by prince william. and coming up on bbc news. "our worst performance of the season." ole gunner solskjaer fumes as manchester united are outclassed by manchester city.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. two us airbases in iraq have been hit by more than a dozen ballistic missiles fired from iran. iranian state television said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of general qasem soleimani, in a us airstrike last week. the missiles targetted two air bases — in irbil in the north of iraq, and al asad, west of the capital baghdad. the attack took place about 2am local time. in all, 22 missiles were fired, though two did not explode. the ministry of defence says there have been no british casualties and president trump tweeted overnight that all was well and said damage was being assessed. our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports.

on and on they came, one missile after another, soaring high into the iranians night sky. more than 20 in all. their destination, two american military bases in iraq. direct retaliation, the iranians say, for the us assassination of their general qasem soleimani. the attack, covered closely by iranian tv, was launched in the early hours and these pictures appear to show the moment of impact. most of the missiles were aimed at the al asad airbase in the west of iraq, the others at irbil in the north. so far there has been no confirmation of any casualties. in tehran at a televised public meeting, they shouted, god is great, and, death to america. as the country's supreme leader told them, the us had been given a slap in the face. but he suggested this was not the end of it. military action like this is not sufficient, he said. what is important is ending

the corrupting presence of america in the region. but iran's foreign minister insisted that iran had concluded what he described as proportionate measures in self defence in line with un rules. well, we did not start this process of escalation, the united states waged an economic war against iran, the united states has to come to its senses. the presence of iranian people in the streets of many cities, unprecedented in history, a sea of humanity, has to bring the united states to its senses. on the streets of tehran the missile strikes were welcomed. but will people there feel it was enough to avenge the death of general qasem soleimani? the attack was limited in scope and iraq said it had been warned in advance that it was coming. the question now is how president trump, here shown visiting the al asad base in 2018, will respond. in a tweet, he appeared keen

to avoid further escalation. all is well, he said. missiles launched from iran at two military bases located in iraq. assessment of casualties and damage is taking place now. so far, so good. but it is not only us targets that are in iranian sights. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu promised to hit back hard against any attack on his country. we stand with resolution and strength, he said. whoever tries to attack us will be dealt the strongest blow. in his first public comments about the crisis since returning from holiday, the prime minister condemned the missile strikes. what i will say is that the uk will continue to work for de—escalation in the region. i think we are having a great deal of success in bringing together a european response and in bridging that european response with that of course of our american friends and working both with the iranians and with the iraqis

to dial this thing down. last night general soleimani was finally buried at his home town in iran. the question now is whether iran's show of force will be seen as enough to avenge his death. and draw a line under this latest confrontation between iran and the us. james landale, bbc news. our middle east editor jeremy bowen gave us the latest from the iraqi capital baghdad. even if this is the beginning of the end of the crisis caused by the assassination, the long—term conflict between iran and the us continues to edge towards war. and that process won't stop without some kind of diplomacy leading to a political deal. there seemed to be one back in 2015 when they signed the iran nuclear agreement, but president trump pulled out of that a couple of years ago and since then this crisis has grown and grown.

there remains a really serious danger of war. video on social media seemed to show missiles striking him at the us base in western iraq. this remains one of the world's most dangerous and unstable conflicts. in a moment we'll talk to barbara plett—usher injerusalem but first to gary o'donoghue in washington. the reaction of the trump administration is going to be key. yes and we expect to hear that later to date from the president himself and as james mentioned in his report it has been rather muted up until now, the presidentjust saying that all is well so far. and if you think back just three days, all is well so far. and if you think backjust three days, the contrast in tone between that and what he

said on sunday, if the iranians chose to retaliate we would hit them harder than they have ever been before and promising potential disproportionate response. this may have been the tactic all along, we will have to wait to hear from the president but there are some lawmakers here particularly in the democratic side who are uneasy about the way policy towards iran is going and they do not think there is any strategy behind the tactics. there will be an offensive if you like by the white house today to go up to capitol hill and tried to explain the policy to both those in the house of representatives and those in the senate. gary, thank you. and let's had to barbara plett—usher, what is being said where you are in jerusalem? as you saw the prime minister benjamin netanyahu spoke earlier and did not speak directly about the money in attack but he did say it israel was attacked he would respond with a resounding blow but

over the past week is really officials have said they do not not expect to be directly attack. they have been limiting their official state m e nts have been limiting their official statements about the us assassination of general qasem soleimani and trying to keep underneath the radar so they are not associated with this but they've also expressed strong support for the united states and what they call its right to self—defence. in the media it is clear they are pleased with the strike on general qasem soleimani because it is well so him as the main threat from iran because he was the architect of a plan to entrench iranian military presence in countries around israel, what they call a ring of fire around israel and the second reason is because they had been concerned last year that the united states did not respond militarily to alleged iranian attacks in the region. they we re iranian attacks in the region. they were afraid that they would stand alone in any military confrontation with iran and now people here are saying we are no longer alone. the prime minister has spoken

publicly for the first time about the events in iran. at the start of prime minister's questions, borisjohnson gave his reaction to the attacks overnight: we of course condemn the attack on iraqi military bases hosting coalition forces. iran should not repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks but must instead pursue urgent de—escalation. our assistant political editor norman smith is here. it has taken a while to hear from borisjohnson it has taken a while to hear from boris johnson directly. it has taken a while to hear from boris johnson directlylj it has taken a while to hear from boris johnson directly. i suspect that will surprise most people because it is now five days since the crisis first blew up and it has taken until the crisis first blew up and it has ta ken until today for the crisis first blew up and it has taken until today for boris johnson to make any public remarks and he only did so today merely because he had to as it was ministers questions and he was challenged in the house of commons about the crisis by the labour leaderjeremy corbyn. in part thatis labour leaderjeremy corbyn. in part that is because of a new approach

from downing street and they are determined not to have the prime minister responding to event and every crisis and as they see it they wa nt to every crisis and as they see it they want to delegate more responsibility to other cabinet ministers. it also reflects the fact that in this post brexit world boris johnson reflects the fact that in this post brexit world borisjohnson is having to perform a very delicate balancing act on the one hand, staying on board with the europeans who we want to retain good relations with and wa nt to retain good relations with and want a fast trade deal with while at the same time not antagonising president trump who we also want good relations with and who we also wa nt good relations with and who we also want a trade deal with. that is why in his comments to date we heard borisjohnson talking about how he had worked solidly with the eu to dial down the conflict, to de—escalate the conflict and at the same time defending president trump and his right to assassinate the iranian general and to defend the lives of american soldiers. suggesting indeed that general qasem soleimani had the blood of british

troops on his hands as well. i think the bottom line is that as brexit unfolds boris johnson the bottom line is that as brexit unfolds borisjohnson is going to have to get pretty good at this diplomatic high wire act. norman smith, thank you. more than 170 people, including three britons, have been killed after a ukrainian passenger plane crashed in iran. the boeing 737 was destined for kyiv, but came down moments after taking off from tehran. jonah fisher sent this report from kyiv. these pictures broadcast on iranian tv claim to show the last moments of the ukrainian international airlines flight. a ball of fire, it came down just a few minutes after an early—morning take—off. on board, 176 passengers and crew. most of them, iranians and canadians. among the other nationalities, three from the united kingdom. this is the crash site, a few

kilometres from tehran airport. shoes, a dress, a christmas toy, litter the floor. and the remains of the boeing 737—800 aircraft. nobody could have survived this. at the plane's final destination, kyiv, questions about what caused the crash are already being asked. the timing of this crash is certainly extraordinary. last night, iran fired ballistic missiles at military bases inside iraq. and this morning, iranian state media was keen to stress that this crash wasn't linked and put it down to a technical error. the airline held a press conference and cast doubts on that claim. translation: there were no issues on the technical side. the last service was done two days ago and there were no problems. the aeroplane was good to fly. the investigation into the crash

is now under way, with the black box already found. all eyes are now on the iranians authorities to see how transparently they cooperate. jonah fisher, bbc news, in kiev. our transport correspondent tom burridge is here. how much more do we know? there is some evidence but this is early stages. this was a new aircraft and had been serviced in the last few days. from data available online we can see that the plane took off at the initial phase of take—off seem to pass as normal commit client about 4000 feet after taking off from the main international airport near tehran but suddenly it then disappeared from the radar and we do not have any trace of its decline or even the rise of the plane telling off. that is strange and it suggests

some type of catastrophic incident. that's a broad term, with no suggestion at this stage what would have been the cause. there was a line from a ukrainian official saying it could have an engine failure but they since retracted that statement and i think although that statement and i think although thatis that statement and i think although that is a possibility it is unlikely as the boeing is designed to withstand an engine failing. the pilots are trained for that kind of scenario every few months. and crucially what of the investigation as well, how thorough can it be and where will they start? the black box, the data recorder and cockpit voice recorder will be critical. the ukrainians will be heavily involved because it is their international airline but i think there will is crucial because normally the americans would be involved in the investigation because boeing is an american manufacturer but given the dynamic in the region at the moment that will be much trickier so i guess the ukrainians will have a role brokering between the americans

and the iranians and i think diplomacy will have a role to play. tom, thank you. tom burridge, a transport correspondent. the time is 1:15pm. our top story this lunchtime. two us airbases in iraq are hit by more than a dozen ballistic missiles fired from iran. iranian state television said the attack was in retaliation for the death of general soleimani, killed last week in a us air strike. coming up on bbc news. a mid—match meltdown. stefanos tsitsipas accidentally hits his dad, and then gets told off by his mother as he loses his temper in australia. despite the number of stories we reported about knife crime and violence last year, analysis by bbc news now shows that the number of people murdered across the uk has fallen for the first time in five years.

there were 650 killings in 2019, down from 774 the year before — although killings in the capital rose for a third consecutive year. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds has more details. freeze! we have a warrant. relentless. that's how merseyside police described their battle against organised crime. in the last year, they've seized drugs, cash, guns, even hand grenades. they've been using these quad bikes to search for the weapons gangs hide in the undergrowth. and they've been persuading communities to turn against the serious criminals. the result? the force appears to have turned a corner, cutting murders and manslaughters. organised crime and killing, it says, are inextricably linked. we know a lot of those homicides are related to serious organised crime, which is why we are relentless

in targeting those who lead, who bully, who exploit young people, who will carry guns and knives in order to dominate a certain territory. we have tracked every single murder or manslaughter in the uk in the last year. and our figures show that for the first time in four years, the number of killings has fallen, with 650 in 2019. hopeful, but only a start. in london the rate has gone up. the metropolitan police has around 150 ongoing investigations. including this one, they've discovered the remains ofa missing man, shah subhani. his family are desperate for help and as is so often the case, detectives need information. we need the public to please speak up.

there is a wall of silence and i know there is a few out there that know what has happened. speaking on lbc this morning, the met‘s commissioner accepted there was more to do across london. we are determined to carry on bearing down on violence. we cannot go out and try and stop every single homicide, of course we can't. what we can do is try to stop people going around with weapons with impunity, for example, as we have seen. we can try to stop the offences which lead to homicides. and there are many causes, gangs, drugs, domestic violence, even just alcohol. murders have their roots in society's deepest problems. tom symonds, bbc news. and you can find more analysis of those figures on the bbc news website — bbc.co.uk/news. on the bbc news website — bbc.co.uk/news. the new president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, has said the eu wants a "truly

ambitious and comprehensive" partnership with the uk after brexit. in a speech in london, she said the negotiations would be tough and that member states would go as far as they could — but warned the relationship could never be the same, nor as close as before. but she also said it would be impossible to negotiate all of the trade deal before the government's deadline. about 9,000 nurses across northern ireland have been taking part in a 12—hour strike. the action began at eight o'clock this morning in a second wave of protests about pay and staffing levels. more than 2,000 appointments and procedures have been cancelled, including a number of elective caesarean operations. the health and social care board said it expects "significant disruption". a 28—year—old man from luton has gone on trial accused of planning a terrorist attack on a high—profile target in the uk. mohiussunnath chowdhury had

spoken about a number of potential targets in london. our home affairs correspondentjune kelly is at woolwich crown court. explain what has been heard in court so far, june. the jury has been told that mohiussunnath chowdhury had spoken of a number of potential targets including madame tussauds, the gay pride parade and the london open top tourist bus. the prosecutor duncan atkinson qc told the court that the object was to unleash death and suffering on non—muslim members of the public using a firearm, a sword and even a van as part of an attack. now, mohiussunnath chowdhury was originally arrested in 2017. he was originally arrested in 2017. he was found outside buckingham palace, and ina was found outside buckingham palace, and in a struggle with police he produced a sword from his car. he stood trial for terrorism offences and was acquitted by a jury. but the police and security service m15 continued to monitor him and they

bugged his home and his car, and he also had, unbeknown to him, conversations with undercover police officers. and in those conversations he is said to have talked about attack planning and also said to have talked about how he had deceived the jury at his earlier trial. in the dock with mohiussunnath chowdhury is his younger sister who is accused of withholding information. she is pleading not guilty and he is denying all the charges against him. june, thank you. june kelly at woolwich crown court. firefighters in australia are preparing for more dangerous conditions, with temperatures expected to rise again by the end of this week. 2,000 homes have been destroyed since the bushfires began in september, and at least 25 people have died. katy watson reports from south—eastern australia. the recovery effort continues on kangaroo island. already a third of the island, home to some of australia's most important wildlife,

has been ravaged by bushfires. the fear is the next few days could bring even more devastation. australia's prime minister visited the community earlier today and called on tourists not to be put off by the bushfire devastation. australia is open. australia is still a wonderful place to come and bring your family and enjoy your holidays. these fires have captured worldwide attention. we feel so deeply for the families... prince charles took to social media to send his message to those affected. in the hills of victoria, farmer chris is holding his breath. fires have already scorched much of his land and there is a real danger that existing bushfires further north could merge and create one big mega—blaze. as the crow flies its probably about 70 or 80ks. it sounds like a long way in the forest but, you know, two hours and it can be upon us.

chris says there is a simple solution. more bush land needs to be burnt in a controlled manner to stop fires getting out of hand. it's the lack of fuel reduction burns which is causing these intense mega—fires. if you take away the fuel, the issue of these mega—fires is gone away. authorities, though, say it is not a silver bullet. but this isn't a time for politics. already an area the size of england has burnt, with bushfire season far from over. katy watson, bbc news, in victoria. the former boss of nissan, carlos ghosn, has been explaining his decision to skip bail and flee japan, where he's under investigation on charges of financial misconduct. mr ghosn has been speaking in beirut. our business editor simonjack is with me. in fact, i think he is still talking to journalists at the moment but what has he had to say so far? this is the one of the most dramatic business stories of the last few yea rs, business stories of the last few years, he was a folk hero in the car

industry and fled japan to beirut which he didn't want to describe what he wanted to go into why he was arrested in the first place. and though he says he basically faced 133 days of arrest, 270 of house arrest and this is how he describes that experience. today is a very important day for me. one, that i have looked forward to every single day for more than 400 days. since i was brutally ta ken day for more than 400 days. since i was brutally taken from my world as i knew it. ripped from my family, my friends, my communities, from renault, nissan and mitsubishi and the 450,000 women and men who comprise those companies. now, he said he didn't want to speak about how he got away but why he was

arrested in the first place. in this he says that a number of nissan executives, some of his previous allies turned whistle—blower on him, the charges against him were the falsified documents, he understated his pay, diverted millions of dollars from nissan for personal use and had houses in beirut, brazil, paris. he says all of that was com pletely paris. he says all of that was completely legitimate. he had some sharp words for the japanese legal system. he said the legal system in japan asa system. he said the legal system in japan as a 99% conviction rate and he says i'm willing to bet it is higherforforeigners. he says i'm willing to bet it is higher for foreigners. he was basically saying i was prejudged as guilty to start with. i was persecuted. he is going to make a robust defence. and as we speak he is going to demonstrate some extra help exculpatory things, some evidence he didn't do it and we will get that in the next few minutes. more to come clearly over the course of the day. it is a movie in the making! thank you, simon jack, our business editor. the only nhs trust which runs a gender identity development

service is being challenged in the courts, over its use of puberty blockers in children. a case is being brought by two women, including a nurse who used to work at the tavistock & portman nhs trust. our social affairs correspondent alison holt is at the high court. explain more about this case, alison. well, jane, at the heart of the case is the issue of consent. at what age can a child truly weigh the distress they may feel at the moment about the gender they are born into and their desire to change it against the long term, potentially life changing decisions, about treatment? the case is being brought bya treatment? the case is being brought by a nurse who used to work at the gender identity service and the mother of a 15—year—old girl with autism who is awaiting treatment with the service. now, they are both worried by the use of puberty blockers in particular, which clinicians describe as delaying or pausing the onset of puberty. they

say that these are experimental drugs and they are concerned about what they say is the speed at which they can be given. they want the court to say that it is illegal for a child under the age of 18 to be prescribed such drugs without a court looking at their case in detail. sue evans, who is the nurse, says, "how can a child of perhaps nine or ten consent to something when they have no real understanding of the impact it is likely to have on their life in the long term?" now, the tavistock & portman nhs trust says it cannot comment in detail on the legal action but that it has an international reputation for being cautious and considered, and that it follows nationally set guidelines. we are expecting this to reach the courts properly some time in the summer. alison holt, thank you. the football association is to review its decision to allow a gambling website to acquire the broadcast rights to some fa cup games. under a six year deal

which was signed in 2017, bet365 can show some matches on its website — but fans have to place a bet or open an account in order to watch. the deal appears to jar with the fa's recent heads up mental health campaign, as our sports correspondent natalie pirks reports. this weekend, all fa cup matches kicked off one minute late. time to take a minute before kick—off. .. it was to publicise the fa president prince william's mental health drive. in life, as in football, we all go through highs and lows. but today, the fa has been accused of an own goal on mental health after indirectly selling rights to show live fa cup matches to a bookmaker. at the start of 2017, the fa did a deal with sports agency img to sell live matches. last season, img sold those rights on to bookmaker bet365.

gamble responsibly. fa cup matches this weekend were streamed live on the bet365 website. fans wanting to watch had to either place a bet or spend at least £5 to open a betting account. gambling addiction has repeatedly been cited as a major issue forfuelling mental health problems. tracey crouch was the sports minister when this deal was done. i'm deeply uncomfortable about the rights deal with bet365, i think many people will want to watch the magical fa cup and will seek ways of doing so. and if that means downloading a gambling app then they will do that. and that in turn can lead to some very harmful behaviour in the future. as the body which regulates football's betting rules, the fa ended a lucrative deal with bookmaker ladbrokes injune 2017, after this contract was done. today it said, "we will review this element of the media rights sales process ahead of tendering rights

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