this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 2pm... contenders in the race to replace jeremy corbyn as labour leader have called for unity as they take part in the first hustings of the contest, answering questions from party members in liverpool. businesses warn of price rises, after the chancellor, sajid javid, said there would be no alignment with eu regulations after brexit. heavy rain and thunderstorms douse fires in eastern australia, but bring flooding to some areas. british scientists suggest the number of people already infected by a new virus emerging in china is far greater than official figures suggest. a crack—down on booze—fuelled holidays as spain's balearic islands ban pub crawls and happy hours

in three popular resorts. in sport, simply the bess. england's spinner takes five south african wickets as england dominate in port elizabeth. and will big ben bung for brexit. join the brexitcast team for brexit gossip and serious analysis from westminster and brussels. that's in half an hour. good afternoon. the five mps who want to replace jeremy corbyn as labour leader, have been taking questions

from party members in liverpool. the candidates called for unity within the party despite jostling for position over a number of issues. it's the first of a series of events around the country, which will culminate in a new leader being selected at the start of april. here's our political correspondent, susana mendonca with the latest. heading in to face party numbers, this, the first hustings in labour's leadership contest. the opening question — how to bring a divided party together after its general election defeat. the whole point of the labour party was that it was established to bring together all views across the centre—left of politics to become a credible force to keep the tories out of power. and yes, we will disagree, but we have those disagreements in private. rebecca long bailey is seen as the closest candidate to outgoing leaderjeremy corbyn. the other front runner is sir keir starmer, who also called for unity. we've had far too much division.

i think the whole of the party wants to be united. they want to come together, so we have to end factionalism. stop asking the question, which bit of the party you from? and start saying, what are you saying? what i saw in the election, and i went to 44 constituencies, was the big teams of labour supporters out there drawing together, putting their differences aside. the candidates were also quizzed on their position on brexit, which is seen by some as a reason why labour lost many of its northern seats. the wigan mp, lisa nandi, who opposed another referendum, said the party had airbrushed complexities about brexit. my leave—voting constituents, are no more racist little englanders than my friends who voted to remain our liberal elitist, and we should never allow the tories to do that, to divide us, young against old. birmingham'sjess phillips also said the party needed to bring together the north and the south. our coalition of labour voters and labour members has two very big hearts in this game.

we have got to send that fight to borisjohnson to make sure that in grimsby he is delivering exactly what he promised on the side of a bus, at the same time as making sure that in our london seats, people feel we are not going to turn away from europe. tell me what democracy looks like. this is what democracy looks like. the shadow foreign secretary, emily thornbury, who campaigned for another referendum said that labour had to unite now against the conservatives. we may well end up facing a no—deal brexit, and we have to take the fight to that, because in the end, what unites all of us is that we have to look afterjobs and the economy because that is what we are about. as for its new leader, the candidates will be vying for the support they will need to make it to the final round of voting. and susana is here with me now. we had a flavour of what was said

but anything else to add to that? the candidates really putting across the case of why they think they can ta ke the case of why they think they can take on boris johnson. jess the case of why they think they can take on borisjohnson. jess phillips thinks that borisjohnson would be if afraid of her if she were both to become leader. emily thornbury said that she has had to deal with him time and again when she has been foreign secretary. keir starmer talking about how he has led people before and those skills in focusing on how labour has lost four elections in a row and they need to look for a leader who can make a difference. rebecca long bailey talking about how brexit was an issue in the election and a lot of people said that labour's position on brexit was a problem. she said that compromise didn't work and they now need to accept that brexit will happen and we now need to deal with that. lisa nandi was also talking

about how they need somebody who was not afraid to go into interviews with the likes of andrew neil and she would be able to take it on and be the kind of leader who could bring labour together. unity is the big issue for all of these candidates. they are all saying that they need to bring the party together, but of course they were all in their contest where one of them wants to become the leader of that party. we are not going to seal five of them on the ballot paper in april. probably not. they are trying to get affiliated groups and unions to get affiliated groups and unions to support them. they need to get 5% of the constituency parties and a couple of unions on board to get enough support to be able to go through to the next round, so in mid—february will have an idea about how many will get to the final round. that is when the ballots open

and members will be able to vote. then we'll get the decision on who the final winner is in the end on the final winner is in the end on the 4th of april. in the labour party, the person who is chosen will reflect the future direction of the party. so front runners are keir starmer and rebecca long bailey. the person the other three candidates, we are having all of these hustings where labour will get to decide who we re where labour will get to decide who were the best people. but it will determine the future direction of the labour party. thank you very much. british business groups have warned the chancellor, there'll be consequences if britain diverges from eu regulations, post—brexit. it comes after sajid javid's comments in today's financial times

times where he's also said that not all businesses will benefit from brexit. in the newspaper piece he says there will not be alignment, we will not bea will not be alignment, we will not be a real taker we will not be in the single market and we will not be in the customs union, and we will do this by the end of the year. he added that we are talking about companies that have known since 2016 that we are leaving the eu. there we re that we are leaving the eu. there were warnings that it sounded like the death knell for frictionless trade. business stands ready to work with

government to help ensure the right trade—offs are made. our business correspondent, katy austin, is at at the treasury. we still don't have the details of watch sajid javid has been saying. that is right, and is ever the devil is in the detail as to what future trade will look like, what exactly the uk will come up with with the eu when it comes to exporting and importing goods. what is interesting todayis importing goods. what is interesting today is that a lot of the business groups and manufacturers are acting with concern but are also admitting that they will have to prepare for us that they will have to prepare for us to go into a direction now where we are quite separate in terms of the rules and regulations around trade. clashes in october, when the new government signalled that unlike theresa may's government the uk would not now be looking to stay in close alignment with the eu and regulation. there was already a bit

ofa regulation. there was already a bit of a backlash there, but now sajid javid comments say that businesses will have to accept it and to plan. that is brought about concerns about the impact on jobs and the competitiveness that british manufacturers sexed to, if it is not able to stick to those same rules and regulations as our european counterparts. heavy rain and thunderstorms have caused flash floods in parts of south—east australia, which have been badly affected by wildfires. there've been downpours in victoria, new south wales and queensland , which has helped to douse some of the blazes. fires have been raging in australia since september , killing at least 28 people, destroying thousands of homes and scorching millions of acres of land. 0ur correspondent in sydney, phil mercer, has more. australia is a land well used to nature's extremes, but this is a country

being confronted by fires that continue to burn, very significant storms bringing large amounts of rain to parts of eastern australia. and there have been parts of this country that remain dry. so this is a country that, in queensland, for example, parts of queensland experienced three times the monthly rainfall average injust one night. that brought flooding to many areas. and of course, this rainfall is a blessing and a curse. it's a blessing because some of that rain has fallen on fire grounds on bushfires, aiding the emergency effort that stretches all the way back to september. so significant rainfall here in new south wales and in the state of victoria, too. but of course, with the rain comes the risk of flooding and also the risk of contamination. there are fears that ash from some charred areas of bushland could leach into rivers and water

systems, affecting the drinking supplies of australians. we haven't seen any evidence of that yet, but that does remain a factor in this rain that is continuing here in eastern australia. and, of course, significantly the psychological boost. australians in the last couple of days, waking up to grey skies full of rain, that is lifting the spirits of a beleaguered country that's battling, as we say, dozens of bushfires, a longstanding drought. so what we need is more rain. and the authorities do caution that the heavens do need to still continue to open and give us flooding rain, if this bushfire crisis is to come, finally, to any sort of conclusion. take a look at these pictures of a baby kangaroo, called louise, who was rescued with horrific burns to her legs and paws,

as fires ravaged australia's south east coast two weeks ago. her volunteer carer has been looking after animals like louise, nursing them to recovery. australia's continuing bushfire crisis has taken an enormous toll on wildlife, with huge numbers of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects and other species killed. the australian government has announced $50 million to help rescue and protect wildlife affected by the crisis. scientists say the number of people infected by the new respiratory virus, that's emerged in the chinese city of wuhan, is likely to be far higher than official figures suggest. there are nearly 50 laboratory confirmed cases of the virus, which is related to sars, but experts in london, estimate the true number is closer to 1700. the alarm has prompted screening at airports across asia and in the us.

gareth barlow reports. this is wuhan, the chinese city where the mystery virus was first identified. an outbreak that has since turned deadly. scores of infections have been confirmed but now a team at imperial college in london estimates the true figure is around 1700 cases. while the outbreak is centred in china, there have been two cases in thailand and one injapan. we are not able to...to prohibit people from travelling so what we can do is detecting and bring any suspected to receive treatment from our service facility. airports in asia and the united states have begun screening travellers arriving from wuhan. uk team behind the study said that, while they're concerned, it was too early to be alarmist. the virus is similar to sars, which killed almost 800 people

and infected over 8000 in 2002. it looks like the virus is closely related to sars, which emerged previously. since sars emerged, people have been developing vaccines and drugs to see if they work against sars. the problem is this virus is different. we do not know yet if those drugs and those vaccines work. chinese scientists says there has been no cases of the virus spreading between humans and that it came about from infected animals at a seafood and wildlife markets. but the team at imperial college argues the possibility of substantial human—to—human tranmission should be considered more seriously. identifying how the virus is spread will be crucial to understanding its threat and how best to react. gareth barlow, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news...

contenders in the race to replace jeremy corbyn as labour leader have called for unity as they take part in the first hustings of the contest — answering questions from party members in liverpool. businesses warn of price rises , after the chancellor, sajid javid, said there would be no alignment with eu regulations after brexit. heavy rain and thunderstorms douse fires in eastern australia , but bring flooding to some areas. the flight recorders of the ukrainian airliner which was accidentally shot down by iranian forces will be sent to ukraine, according to one news agency in iran. it's reporting that the so—called "black boxes" had not been read in iran and would be transferred to ukraine where french, british and canadian experts will try and retrieve information from the cockpit voice and flight data recorders. all 176 passengers and crew were killed after the ukraine

airlines plane was shot down by the iranians shortly after take—off from tehran‘s main airport. a law has been passed banning pub crawls and happy hours, in three popular spanish tourist destinations, in a bid to crack down on alcohol—fuelled holidays. restrictions apply to the tourist hotspots of playa de palma and magaluf in majorca , and san antonio in ibiza. the regional government says it's the first legislation of its kind in europe. i'm joined now via webcam by sophie griffiths editor of travel trade gazette. thank you for speaking to some bbc i'iews. thank you for speaking to some bbc news. how bad are things that these measures have had to be put in place this is something that the government of the balearics has been wanting to tackle for several years

110w. wanting to tackle for several years now. interestingly, last year they introduce an ecotourism tax that came into force on the 1st of april that was designed that mac depending on when you travel, they would charge you would different amounts per day. under 16 did charge you would different amounts per day. under16 did not charge you would different amounts per day. under 16 did not have to pay that tax but even then they were trying to encourage families. they are, they were managing tourism flow. now they are trying to manage the kind of toys they attract. we have had some reaction from businesses in these tourist hotspots. what does it mean for british tourists and also companies who are working in conjunction with the hotspots. it is worth noting that this is not about alcohol per se. you will still be able to go to a resta u ra nt se. you will still be able to go to a restaurant or bar and enjoy a nice glass of wine with a meal. they say this is a crackdown on boost

tourism. that is people drinking to excess. they want to get rid of the binge drinking aspect and engage more with the family market. with all—inclusive hotels, and those who have already signed a deal is with those hotels won't be affected by the ban,. it is a really interesting move. they want to stop some behaviour, but they will want to stop people jumping from their balconies into swimming pool. british travel agents have sent out press releases year after year worrying about this. in the summer, there were 11 brits injured and 11 have resulted in deaths. it has been a real concern and something that the authorities want to clamp down on. the local government there is endless and set a lower a president

for europe. could we be seeing more of these measures put in place? the bill eric's government has said this isa bill eric's government has said this is a five year trial, but i think that depending on the success it will be really interesting to see if it is replicated. i think resorts across the med and across europe will be keeping an eye on this. how important a part as alcohol had in attracting tourist to these areas? you see teams in people in their early 20s wanting to go on these types of holidays. police have been working with the local authorities where i'm from to transform their image. it has become family resort again and you see yoga studios opening up a new tapas bars. it is really interesting to see the types of visitors. tourism is a huge part

of visitors. tourism is a huge part of the balearics and they are not saying brits you are not welcome. they are saying drink carefully and think about what you're doing and let's try and encourage families back as well. thank you very much indeed. four teachers in los angeles are suing the us carrier, delta airlines, for negligence after a pilot dumped fuel over their primary school playground earlier this week. the teachers say the fuel burned their skin, eyes and throats. donna larsen reports. this is the moment thousands of litres of aviation fuel rained down on los angeles. of litres of aviation fuel rained delta airline's flight 89 dumped the fuel on tuesday, before making an emergency landing shortly after take—off. dozens of children and teachers outside in playgrounds, a plane flew overhead, required medical treatment for skin irritation and breathing difficulties. i began feeling a light drizzle

on my hair, my face, my body. i thought it was rain and then i caught the scent of fuel. i started yelling for my students to come back inside the building. in a statement released on wednesday, the airline said... i was scared. yeah, i was scared too. we were all scared. despite the airline saying that normal procedure was followed, the teachers's lawsuit alleges the delta airline pilot did not inform air traffic control of the need to jettison the fuel.

had the delta pilot notified air—traffic personnel of the need to dump fuel, the flight would have been directed by air traffic control to a location and to an altitude from which fuel could be released without danger to the teachers, the students and others at the school. more teachers and students' families mayjoin the law suit, amid concerns about the long—term health impacts from the exposure to toxins. donna larson, bbc news. a 6—year—old boy has been found safe, nine hours after he went missing at a motorway stop. he was found at newport pagnell services, on the m1, near milton keynes, in the early hours of this morning, after a huge police operation. it included a police helicopter, officers on the ground, fire service staff and members of the public. the boy's father has praised everyone who helped

in the search for his son, saying he is thankful to all who took part. the american actor, hank azaria, says he'll no longer voice the character of apu, an indian immigrant and the owner of a convenience store, in the simpsons. accusations of racism have dogged the character for years, partly because mr azaria is white. apu is one of the oldest characters on the simpsons, which has been running for more than 30 years. sadiq khan says he wants put london on a par with scandinavian capitals by making it a carbon—neutral city by 2030, if he is re—elected as mayor of the capital later this year. mr khan's strategy to go carbon—neutral forms part of what he calls "green new deal" for london, which he would roll out during a second term. speaking earlier sadiq khan said london needs be ambitous in order to make the city greener.

we face in london across our country and around the world, a climate emergency. we've seen in london the consequences of the egg quality crisis, and we need to take action. it is ambitious. what i've announced today is a new green deal for london, with a plan to get us to a carbon neutral by 2030, using the power of city hall, the dynamism of the private sector and voluntary groups to work together to meet the target. the alternative is not worth thinking about. it is very ambitious, though, that date. how will that be achieved? just think about what we've achieved over the last three and a half years in london. people said that i couldn't bring in zero—emission zone. we've done it, and we've seen a reduction in nitrogen dioxide, but also in particular, people said we couldn't stop buying diesel double—decker buses. we've done it.

0nly electric buses in london, or hybrid or hydrogen buses. we've started on giving licences to zero emission cable taxis, electric taxis. people said i couldn't do it. we started in london encouraging even more people to walk, cycle, use public transport. we are retrofitting buildings. this week, we launched a new power company, london power, 100% renewable energy. look, it's going to be hard. i'm hoping the government will work with us to make sure it is a success, but it is in all of our interests, both our generation, the next generation, people across the globe, to get this right. it's time for the government to wake up. i intend for london to be the greenest city going forward, to be the greenest london mayor. i need londoners as mac support to help lobby the government to do their part as well. and what impact could this have on the third runway at heathrow? i think a new runway at heathrow airport is catastrophic for the climate emergency. it's catastrophic for air quality, for noise pollution, it doesn't make economic sense, let alone environmental sense. the prime minister promised

that he would lie in front of a bulldozer to prevent the third runway. he is a man who doesn't break promises, so i'm sure it won't happen. sport now — and england's cricketers are on top in the third test against south africa. dom bess has put the visitors into a dominant position on the third day in port elizabeth. the young somerset spinner took all five of the wickets to fall before a long afternoon delay for rain. in reply to england's first innings of 499 for 9 — a short time ago south africa were 150 for 5. you can follow the action via the bbc sport website. and there's been "panda—monium" at a zoo in sichuan provence in the south west of china. twenty bear cubs born in 2019 were gathered up by zookeepers and shown off at the country's giant panda conservation centre, to mark the upcoming lunar new year. this year's new year will fall onjanuary 25 and ring in the year of the rat.

now it's time for a look at the weather. we have been used to the mild wet windy weather of late. we continue with cold frosty nights. high pressure has been building in, taken that breeze in the shower with it. a little bit of cloud across the west it should be nice afternoon with some sunshine. temperatures plummeting overnight, widespread. could see just one or two showers clipping the far east of east anglia and kent. into sunday, we have more ice bears and weather fronts across the uk. here it will be breathe the brazier. it will be less cold, nine 01’ brazier. it will be less cold, nine or10 brazier. it will be less cold, nine or 10 degrees as it will be further

south after that really cold frosty start it will be a sunny afternoon again. temperatures ranging between six and nine celsius. see you later. contenders in the race to replace jeremy corbyn as labour leader have called for unity as they take part in the first hustings of the contest, answering questions from party members in liverpool. businesses warn of price rises after the chancellor, sajid javid, said there would be no alignment with eu regulations after brexit. heavy rain and thunderstorms douse fires in eastern australia, but bring flooding to some areas. british scientists suggest the number of people already infected by a new virus emerging in china is far greater than official figures suggest. a crack—down on alcohol—fuelled holidays in majorca and ibiza,

as pub crawls and happy hours are banned in three popular resorts. now, it's time for brexitcast with laura kuennssberg, chris mason, katya adler and adam fleming. brexitcast from the bbc. no one's got a bleep clue what brexit is. brexit is, er... i hadn't quite understood the full extent of this. we are particularly reliant on the dover—calais crossing. this election blew away the argument for a second referendum. i urge everyone to find closure. let the healing begin. i'm sorry, we will miss you. a process which i can only describe as a dog's brexit. this is katya in brussels. and adam in brussels. i'm laura in westminster. and chris in westminster. i think it's fair to say, picking up on where we were last week, laura and katya and adam, that the news,