this is the briefing, i'm victoria fritz. our top story: iran denies this is the moment its military accidentally shot down a ukrainian passenger jet, killing 176 people. a day after the duke and duchess of sussex announce they're stepping back from royal life, meghan leaves the uk for canada. leave your homes or risk being trapped, authorities warn residents in victoria, as australia braces for more hot weather and strong winds. and coming up in the business briefing. 8 billion dollar takeaway. just eat on the menu as the global food delivery wars heat up.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. within the next five years we could be spending $200 billion a year on takeaway food deliveries. are you part of the "can't cook, won't cook" generation? are you a takeaway app addict? tell us what you think, just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing iran has rejected western claims its military accidentally shot down a ukrainian passengerjet, killing 176 people on board.

officials in tehran said that it was ‘psychological warfare' by officials in the us, canada and britain that iranian forces had mistakenly fired surface—to—air missiles at the plane. iran has now invited boeing and the air safety agencies of ukraine, canada and the us to help the investigation into the crash. us media say these images appear to show the moment the ukrainian airliner was hit by an iranian missile, minutes after takeoff. a small explosion occurs and the jet, now tries to turn back towards the airport. but it crashes with 176 people on board. 63 canadians were among the dead. prime minister justin trudeau says the government's preliminary conclusions so iran's missile systems accidentally shot down the plane. we have intelligence

from multiple sources. the evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an iranian surface to air missile. this may well have been unintentional. also in canada, foreign secretary addressed the tragedy after boris johnson confirmed the death toll now includes four british. we must have access to the crash site so we can get the truth as quickly as possible to give the families of the terms and understanding of what happened to their loved ones. the answers and evidence lay here at the crash site. iranian officials have ruled out that a missile strike, calling the allegations psychological warfare. across canada, more vigils are being held. people here are continuing to bring flowers and candles for the

terms. the focus is very much on morning there lost love ones. they do want to know what caused this horrific tragedy, but they are happy to wait for horrific tragedy, but they are happy to waitforan horrific tragedy, but they are happy to wait for an investigation that is full and sorrow. some people say it was just full and sorrow. some people say it wasjust engine failure, full and sorrow. some people say it was just engine failure, some people say it was done by missiles. it is very confusing. finding the answers they are looking for could take months and even years as the investigation unfolds. the democratic—controlled us house of representatives has voted to limit president trump's ability to pursue military action against iran without the approval of congress. the house's decision came four days after mr trump ordered the drone strike which killed the iranian general, qasem soleimani, in iraq. democrats accused the president of acting recklessly. the resolution now goes to the senate. the duchess of sussex has

returned to north america, just hours after she and prince harry announced they were stepping back from their roles as senior royals. the queen has asked her officials to help the couple finalise their plans, as buckingham palace tries to bring a quick end to the controversy. gareth barlow reports. just a few days ago, harry and meghan together in london. now, the duchess of sussex has flown back to canada, where the couple spent six weeks over christmas. her husband remaining at home, as the royal family plans for their future. the queen, alongside the prince of wales and the duke of cambridge have instructed senior staff to work with the sussex household and the government to find a solution to harry and meghan‘s wishes. i'm not really one for them trying to follow the rules over there right now because if they want to shy away from them and do what they want to do, then let them live, let them be themselves. ijust saw it on tv. i don't know how they will pull it

off but i'm sure they will. the royal family is far from ordinary but the household strives to be organised and orderly. the sense is that the sussex‘s announcement lacks the latter. meghan‘s departure from the uk sends a clear message, they are determined to follow their own path. it's a shame that she couldn't remain and kind of be the face for the people. he's a prince, isn't he, at the end of the day. obviously has got to do his duty with the queen, so i don't know. i reckon, do that. from finances to titles, their home to their personal security, there is a long and complex list for the royal family to work through. prince harry will remain as sixth in line to the throne and the couple will keep their house in the grounds of windsor castle. in many respects, that is the easy decisions made. next, it's all about money. a difficult topic for any family, let alone the royal family. gareth barlow, bbc news.

let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: according to the army in niger, a suspected jihadist attack on a military camp near the western border with mali, has killed at least 25 soldiers. the army statement says at least 60 militants also died. it's not yet clear who carried out the attack. there is a worsening islamist insurgency in the sahel region. the british and irish governments have published a draft deal which could pave the way to a resumption of powersharing in the provincial assembly for northern ireland. london and dublin have encouraged the five main parties to sign up and re—join the devolved institutions. brazil's supreme court has overturned an injunction against netflix that was preventing the company showing a comedy satire depicting jesus as gay. the court's president said freedom of speech was fundamental in a democracy and said the film would not affect the christian faith of brazilians.

lets turn to our top business story now, the rise of the food delivery apps. uk—based just eat is on the menu this friday, it's set to be gobbled up by dutch rival takeaway.com for around $8 billion. it's the latest big—money deal in a global industry that could be worth $200 billion a year by 2025. mark davies ceo of strategy consultancy cambertonjoins me now. are you a takeaway man? i'm not, i'll use them very rarely. with got a very good little local restaurant so we a very good little local restaurant so we go and pick it up ourselves. you are still getting takeaway, but you are not getting it delivered.

there is a really interesting thing, just inking about your local restau ra nt, just inking about your local restaurant, we are caught in this catch—22. if they are not part of this ecosystem, can they survive the competition? but if they are, at what cost to them? are they under serving customers who are sitting down in the restaurant and waiting for their order? they can pass the cost onto the people are getting the delivery and i think that is what the business model is predicated on because otherwise it doesn't stack up, margins are otherwise very small. but if you can add a couple of pounds to the cost of the food that you are sending out and the customer is prepared to take that cost, then the model works and it is that which people are banking on when they invest in these businesses. you mentioned the businesses. you mentioned the business models here, there are real issues around the fact that the prices at the moment are hugely subsidised. how long is that going to be able to continue, and when they rise, a restaurant is going to be put out of business? just eat is

a registered business, normally they are for venture capital back businesses and just eat has had almost £2 billion put in, deliveroo has raised £1.3 billion, so those losses can be sustained. but big venture capital firms that are taking a punt on the model going forward... the public markets don't tend to do that so when you are a listed business asjust eat has been, it is much more difficult to sustain that kind of loss going forward. but certainly sustaining oui’ forward. but certainly sustaining our appetites! we will talk about this a little bit more later. thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: helping victims of the bushfires — a last—minute bidding war raises over $1 million australian dollars for shane warne's cricket cap. the japanese people are in mourning

following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good grief! after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow in spite of protests and violence from some black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. teams were trying to scoop up lumps of oil as france recognises it faces an ecological crisis. three weeks ago, the authorities confidently assured these areas that oil from the broken tanker erika would head out to sea. it didn't. the world's tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals.

you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: the us, canada and britian say there's evidence that iranian forces brought down a ukrainian airliner in tehran by accident. iran denies the accusations. let's stay with that now, and talk to dr malcolm davis, a senior defence strategy and capability analyst from australian strategic policy institute. thank you very much forjoining us from canberra. in your view, do you think it is possible that it could be accidental? no. ithink think it is possible that it could be accidental? no. i think all the evidence suggests that the iranians did shoot down that airliner. you have video evidence to the effect showing the two missiles going up and stroking the aircraft and

exploding and then the airliner comes down in flames and crashes and a viable. you have obvious evidence 01’ a viable. you have obvious evidence or indications that the iranians shot down that airliner is the way don't think there is any question that that is exactly what happened. is it possible that they saw the airliner on their radar and ignored 01’ airliner on their radar and ignored or overruled the data coming in saying that it was a commercial airlinerand saying that it was a commercial airliner and act not a military air vessel instead ? airliner and act not a military air vessel instead? i think it is quite possible that it was an accidental shoot down. there is no evidence at this time to suggest that it was a deliberate shootdown of that airlinerand it is deliberate shootdown of that airliner and it is quite possible that you could have had poorly trained personnel looking at their radar screens and potentially either

ignoring the codes that identified it as ignoring the codes that identified itasa ignoring the codes that identified it as a commercial airliner or misinterpreting those information is and thus shooting it down. i am certainly not prepared to go so far as to say the iranians deliberately shot it down because they don't think we have any evidence to that effect. but accidental shoot down? absolutely. they have certainly invited people to come in and have a look and be part of this investigation internationally. what does that do in terms of this escalating crisis? do you think in some way that placate the situation 01’ some way that placate the situation or does it do nothing of the sort? it doesn't really placate the situation. apart from anything else, the iranians have refused to hand over the blackbox systems which are critical in understanding what actually happened, and while they have invited us and boeing representatives into the investigation we have no suggestion that it will be an investigation

that it will be an investigation thatis that it will be an investigation that is open and fair. it could be stage—managed by the iranians because they will be wanting to protect their interest. so why am not confident this will ease tensions. all right, we will have to leave it there for now. thanks so much forjoining us. thousands of firefighters in australia are trying to contain fires which are threatening to advance again as hot weather returns after a five—day cool spell. residents of some communities are being warned to evacuate before the expected change in wind direction and strength in the evening. let's speak now to our correspondentjonathan head, who's in eden in new south wales. what are you there's a lot of activity today. there's more than 100 fires burning in new south wales and they are flaring up again and firefighters have been deployed to contain those. the fire behind me is a huge pile of

wood chips that was ignited by the last fire that came through the town a week ago and they had to be evacuated, but lots stayed here. on my left is hmas adelaide, an australian navy helicopter landing ship and we've seen choppers going backwards and forwards and military helicopters are being used elsewhere where the fires are worse in land, mostly along the state border between new south wales and the gloria and in those areas there's real concern the fires will move quickly when, later today, as we expect, the winds turn to the south—west and pick up speed and many isolated communities are being urged to evacuate and helicopters have offered evacuation in places where it is hard to get out. some are taking up the offer and others are taking up the offer and others are staying. many want to protect their homes. many have joined firefighters spraying their homes and building containment around

them. many expect the situation in this area, and particularly inland, and on the state border, to become more dangerous over the next 2a hours. as you say, in some situations it is too late to leave. do we have anymore clarification the compensation schemes for volunteer firefighters who have been working on this problem since september in some instances? a great deal of money is being offered. 0bviously there's an accusation the federal government in particular came in very late to this crisis. the prime minister, scott morrison, was famously on holiday when it hit it peak and it was left largely to state governments to deal with it. you hear a lot of complaints from people about that and the state government has established a substantial fund, $2 billion government has established a substantialfund, $2 billion over three years, which will help everybody affected and one of the priorities is to get help to firefighters who are nearly all volunteers, they have otherjobs, and they have been working the most

extraordinary schedules over the past two weeks. it is quite mind blowing when you talk to the firefighters describing the scenes where they were caught, these dreadful infernos, but many defending their own communities, the houses of their neighbours and their own houses as well and they are exhausted. many need a break. clearly there's a high expectation hear that some of that money that the federal government is putting forward will go towards compensating firefighters and to help them out and to give a badly needed boost to what is now a very overworked service. absolutely. jonathan head new south wales, thank you. —— jonathan head new south wales, thank you. aid workers are warning of a potential catastrophe in syria as food aid to millions of syrians could stop in the next week. un authorisation for shipping humanitarian goods across the border from neighboring countries will expire because russia and china have blocked a resolution to extend it. barbara plett—usher reports.

cheering she's alive! nine—year—old fatima is pulled free from the ruin of her home, but her 11—year—old sister, islam, is still trapped. rescue workers try to free her leg. another explosion sends them ducking for cover. finally, both girls are safe, but their mother died in the attack. bombs are still falling in syria's civil war. micro regime forces backed by russia are pounding the last stronghold of the armed opposition. they insist they are targeting islamist extremists but these are the people in the crossfire. tens of thousands are on the move again. for some, this is

the move again. for some, this is the fifth, even 10th, time on the road. and if there's nowhere left to run, you end up here. camps near syria's border with turkey are overcrowded, already filled by those uprooted during previous rounds of fighting. it doesn't get much worse than this. translation: we left with the clothes on our back. we can't do anything. we have no money, no heating. we have nothing. across the border, turkey used to be a refuge for syria's homeless. not any more. many syrians have made a new life for themselves during the past almost nine years of war now. 1 million in istanbul. around 4 million in istanbul. around 4 million in istanbul. around 4 million in the country. but even with the situation as desperate as it has ever been in idlib, turkey says it can't afford to take any more refugees. it's a haven for abdul, who broadcasts back into

northern syria. but his family is still there. they fled the recent bombing. this is the only way he can talk to his nephew. reunion isn't possible. when do you think you're going to yourfamily again? when do you think you're going to your family again? never? translation: not for at least ten yea rs, translation: not for at least ten years, he says in. there certainly won't be a quick end to this. the syrian regime has vowed to retake the entire rebel province bit by bit. barbara plett—usher, bbc news, istanbul. plenty more available on that story on the bbc website. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm katie shanahan

with your friday sport briefing. we start with football, as atletico madrid have stunned the reigning champions barcelona 3—2 to reach the final of the re—vamped spanish super cup in saudi arabia. after a goalless first—half, koke put atletico madrid in front one minute after the re—start. barca replied with two goals in quick succession from lionel messi and antoine griezman, but that all changed in the last eight minutes. alvaro morata equalised for atletico before angel correa got the winner. 3—2 the final score. they will now play neighbours real madrid in sunday's final. now to help with the appeal for the bushfire crisis, shane warne has raised $1 million australian dollars, $500,000 us dollars, after his baggy green australia cap was sold at auction. test cricket's second most successful bowler wore the cap throughout his 145—test career, where he took 708 wickets. the money will go to the bushfire charity to help with the crisis, which has been now been going on in australia since september.

27 people have died. warne has said on social media that he was blown away by the generosity and the final figure was way beyond my expectations. meanwhile, the 6—time formula 1 world champion lewis hamilton says he's donating more than $500,000 us dollars to support the fire service and animal welfare charities, that have been affected by the situation in australia. he says: friday is the first day of competition at the winter youth olympics in lausanne, switzerland, with four gold medals up for grabs. thursday's opening ceremony marked the start of the third winter youth games. over the next 13 days, a record number of 1,872 athletes from 79 countries will take part in 16 different sports, with 81 gold medals

to be decided in total. while in the nba, the san antonio spurs travel to the memphis grizzlies on friday. the spurs are on a winning streak having beaten both the bucks and the celtics in their last two games. they face the grizzlies, who are in form, winning 10 of their last 16 games. the grizzlies sit ninth in the western conference, just behind the spurs. both teams are playing for the play—off position. and finally, she may be 15 years old, but the american tennis player coco gauff is still able to tell her father to mind his language if he gets a bit carried away! this exchange at the auckland classic has certainly been a talking point on social media.

during her defeat when she had to remind him not to use the d word. it was real slow,... it was real slow, . .. you it was real slow,... you said she can't... it was real slow,... you said she can't. .. sorry it was real slow,... you said she can't... sorry about it was real slow,... you said she can't. .. sorry about that. you said the d word. that doesn't count. in some places it does. i'm sorry about that. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, katie shanahan, and the rest of the team, that's your friday sport briefing. stay with me here on bbc news. i will have the business in a moment but a reminder of our top story, the iran plane crash and evidence suggesting an iranian missile

brought down the ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near tehran, possibly in error. iran disputes this and invites people to come into investigate. plenty more available on the website. hello there. many parts of the country will have a dry day on friday with some sunshine at times. we have seen some heavier rain across some central and eastern parts of england earlier, that weather front is taking that away. we await the arrival of these next weather systems from the atlantic so weather systems from the atlantic so we are in this brief ridge of high pressure and that means it is quite chilly, much colder than of late for much of england and wales with a frost more likely further north. a few early showers in western scotland, coming into wales, the wind blowing in one or two to east anglia but they will fade away and there will be quite a bit of sunshine around. the cloud tending to pick up a bit more in the north—west with gales arriving ahead of the rain, which holds off probably until after dark and ahead

of that, 6— nine, coolerthan probably until after dark and ahead of that, 6— nine, cooler than of late for southern england and wales but pleasant sunshine. into the weekend, well, the weatherfront approaching the north—west of the uk will continue to bring rain overnight into saturday and ahead of it mother winds pick up and they are drawn from the azores, so a much milder start to the weekend. a windy day, especially in england and wales as the day wears on and this rain continues to affect much of scotland, northern ireland and the cumbrian fells. some dry weather to that used on high ground and for most of england and wales, dry, the best sunshine in eastern england but a strong and windy day. the rain sta rts a strong and windy day. the rain starts to clear and the temperatures drop away. on the whole, 11—13. very mild for this time of year. that weather front will eventually push the rain south—east across all areas on saturday night and then it opens the door to more of a showery air strea m the door to more of a showery air stream for sunday and something a bit chillier. not too cold, mind

you. the sort of temperatures we are looking at early sunday are these really, so most places will be frost. still quite mild in the south—east, where there's still a bit of rain to clear away, and we start the day with a lot of cloud and showers even pushing east across england and wales. though showers in the afternoon will have cleared away, restricting to the east of scotland, so many places will be dry and sunny. not as windy but many places will be mild, cooler for the northern half of the uk. next week it looks like it will be mild again, that's because it will be windy and there will be rain and times. —— rain at times.

in the evening. this is the business briefing. i'm victoria fritz. 8 billion dollar takeaway. just eat on the menu as the global food delivery wars heat up. plus, the shape of things to come. but will smartphone users ever come round to the cyrcle phone? and on the markets, the global relief rally continues as the us and iran de—escalate tensions. wall street hits new record highs, sending asian shares higher. australia also at a new record. safe havens such as gold continue to slip