this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 3.00pm: 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. in sport — simply the bess. england's spinner takes 5 south african wickets, as england dominate in port elizabeth. and we look at the battle for ‘self—driving car supremacy‘ between the united states and china. that's in click in half an hour. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. 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 explained more about what each candidate says they can bring to the party as its leader.

candidates really are putting across their case why they think they are somebody that can take on borisjohnson. you saw jess phillips there and she was talking about how she thinks that borisjohnson would be afraid of her if she were to become leader. then, you've got emily thornbury saying that she had to deal with him time and again when he was foreign secretary, and that gives her the credentials to be able to take him on. you've got keir starmer talking about how he has led people before and that he has those skills, and focusing really on how labour has lost four elections in a row, and they can't change anything in opposition, and so needing to look for a leader that can actually make a difference. rebecca long bailey, talking about how certainly brexit, which we touched on it in the piece there, was an issue certainly in the election, where a lot of people said that labour's position on brexit was a problem. she was saying that a compromise didn't work, and they now needed to accept that brexit will happen, and it is about how you deal with that. and then, lisa nandi who we heard from there, also talking about how she is somebody who is not afraid

to go into interviews with the likes of andrew neil and that she would be able to take it on and be the kind of leader that could bring labour together, and i think unity came across in that piece. there with the different things people were saying. 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 are currently in a contest where one of them wants to become the leader of that party. and i suppose we are not going to be seeing all five of them on that ballot paper come the 4th of april. perhaps not, because what needs to happen now is that they are currently in the second phase of this race, so they are currently trying to get the constituency labour parties to support them, and also to get affiliated groups and unions to support them, and they need to get 5% of constituency parties and a couple of unions on board in order to get enough support to be able to go through to the next round. so, in mid—february, we will have an idea of how many will actually get to that final round, and that is when the ballots open and members will be able

to vote, and so we will get their decision on who their winner is in the end on the 4th of april. certainly, for the labour party, the first person who is chosen will, i suppose reflect the future direction of the party, so in terms of the front runners, it is keir starmer and rebecca long bailey. rebecca long bailey is seen as being very much on the cob corbynista side of the party. keir starmer less so. so, third person that is... of course, we have the other three candidates and you never know what could happen in an election race and we are having all of these hustings where where labour members will be able to get to see them in action and decide who was the best person, but it will determine the future direction of the labour party. british business groups have warned the chancellor there'll be higher prices if britain diverges from eu regulations, post—brexit. it comes after sajid javid's comments in today's financial times newspaper, where he also insists firms must adjust to new regulations, and that not all businesses will benefit from brexit. he says:

he added: the food and drink federation warned it sounded like the "death knell" for frictionless trade, and the confederation of british industry said the government shouldn't feel ‘obliged' to depart from eu rules. the cbi's director general said: our business correspondent, katy austin, is at at the treasury

and has more on the fallout from the government's comments. as ever, the devil is in the detail of what future trade will actually look like, what agreement the uk will eggs come up with with the eu in terms of importing and exporting goods. what is interesting is that a lot of the business groups and manufacturers are acting with concern, but they are also admitting that they will have to prepare for us that they will have to prepare for us to go ina that they will have to prepare for us to go in a direction now where we are quite separate in terms of the rules and regulations around trade. there was already a bit of a backlash from manufacturers in october when the new government signalled that unlike theresa may's government the government would not stay in close alignment with the eu after brexit. now sajid javid's comments are saying that businesses will have to get used to that idea. they will have to plan. that has

brought about again some of the concerns about the potential impact onjobs orjust the concerns about the potential impact on jobs orjust the competitiveness of britain's manufacturing sectors. if it is not able to stick to the same 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. our 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 1,700. 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 1,700 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 8,000 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 say 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 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. the headlines on bbc news... contenders in the race to replace jeremy corbyn as labour leader call 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.

england have ta ken england have taken a six wicket from south african in port elizabeth. england have taken a six wicket from south african in port elizabethm was goalless in the lunchtime kick—off at vicarage road. northampton saints are looking good for the european champions cup quarterfinals after a win at lyon in their final quarterfinals after a win at lyon in theirfinal group quarterfinals after a win at lyon in their final group game. i'll quarterfinals after a win at lyon in theirfinal group game. i'll be back with an update in the next half hour. 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 matt mavir, who runs a stag and hen do company called last night of freedom. thank you very much indeed. what do you think about this legislation?” think what the government are trying to do is quite a responsible thing. they are trying to get their destinations to be viable in ten to 15 years time. the issue that i have got is that they are trying to do it very quickly and that's a problem for a lot of suppliers. how will it affect them? what they are trying to do is become responsible in putting and legislation against people jumping from back balconies, which isa jumping from back balconies, which is a good idea. cutting back on happy hours and promotions. that's also sensible, but they are also banning pub crawls and party buses.

they seem to be doing it overnight. if you want to change the location that's fine and revolution is the best way forward, maybe you could do it over the course of two years. maybe you could talk to and engage with companies in the process so they are not left bankrupt. obviously, the taurus on these pub crawls just don't know how to behave. i do think that that's true to an extent. to an extent, the culture within these results are sorta fuelled that and i do think that trying to curb it is a good idea. i would say to try to engage the pub crawlers and get them involved which would put you in a better position to stamp this kind of thing out. white back on your website, the top ten destinations don't include the hotspots that the

we re don't include the hotspots that the were included in this particular report, but have you seen problems in some of the places you include on your website? during the recent extent amsterdam would be a case in point. we look at what kind of groups are coming here and had a wee look at changing this, but little by little. amsterdam in the process of doing it. they have looked and said we don't want to be about this necessarily, so they have put out m essa 9 es necessarily, so they have put out messages where they are not banning people from coming for certain reasons but they are just tweaking it slightly, making it less likely that certain types of tourist will, more likely that other types of taurus will come. white back if you are going to come or go on a stag do why does it have to involve excessive amounts of alcohol? it

doesn't. maybe in the 80s and early 90s that was the case. our clientele these days are far more interested in the experiences and having a good time. alcohol does play a part in that but actually it's far more about being away with your grouping of friends and having a shared experience and that's the thing they remember. some of the worst offenders, you instantly think of the british drinking too much. is that really the case? well, we like a pint. that's for certain. i don't think we are by any means the worst offenders. there are lots of other countries out there. i do think we are actually improving and getting better as we go on. white back thank you very much indeed. 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 air 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 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 ultra low 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. only 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' 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. let's show you the live pictures from beirut the local time there is just approaching 5:30pm. they are now into their fourth month approaching 5:30pm. they are now into theirfourth month in lebanon, protest as we understand have blocked quite a few of the main roads across lebanon as what has been described again as unprecedented protestations against their political elite that are accused of incompetence. researching the smoke bombs being fired by some

of those protesters. we've got police vans with the lights flashing in the background, and there have been delays in forming a new government to try and dress the country's economic crisis and no progress has been made so far. the final line of protesters have said they should have independent experts. protests continue on the streets of lebanon. 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. 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 airlines 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. the author of the best—selling

jack reacher novels has confirmed he's stepping aside and letting his brother take over. in what's thought to be a literary first, lee child is handing over control of the acclaimed series of books to his younger brother. 65—year—old child — whose real name isjames grant — is said to have told his sibling andrew grant that the only condition for the handover is he writes under the name child. the chief constable of northamptonshire police has demanded an urgent meeting with the commander of the us base where the woman wanted over the death of harry dunn was stationed, after video emerged of another incident involving a car being driven nearby on the wrong wide of the road. the footage of the latest near miss near raf croughton emerged as police revealed details of a separate incident in which a police vehicle was struck by a car being driven on the wrong side of the road in october.

free sanitary products are to be made available to all schools and colleges in england, to support students who struggle to afford them. the government—funded scheme starts on monday, and has been welcomed by campaigners. our education and family correspondent, frankie mccamley, reports. just over two years ago, outside downing street, campaigners gather, calling for an end to so—called period poverty. the shame of our periods needs to go. everyone's got them! not the first time concerns have been raised about the affordability of sanitary products, specifically for girls from lower—income families. research has found nearly a third of teenage girls in school or college have or know someone who has been impacted by poverty, with more than half admitting they have missed lessons due to periods, because of things like cramps, embarrassment or affordability. ultimately, if you are facing impossible decisions,

struggling to make ends meet, trying to decide whether to pay your rent or heat your house, and actually, the question of buying menstrual products, although they are completely essential, actually really becomes a second—tier priority. from monday, all primary schools, secondary schools and colleges in england will be provided with free period products for their students. the move follows scotland's announcement last year to spend £4 million on a similar initiative and in wales, just over £3 million was announced earlier this month to supply girls in primary and secondary schools with sanitary products. frankie mccamley, bbc news. now, it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. high pressure will be with us for some time now, bringing with it a lot of dry weather, variable clouds and good spells of sunshine, particularly for part two of the weekend. it will be a very cold start once again with lots of sunshine