battering parts of the uk with gusty winds and heavy rainfall. your employment here is terminated, effective immediately. the zoom call you don't want to be on — the chief executive of an american firm sacks hundreds of his staff online. and let battle commence: england take on australia tonight in the first ashes test — but their without record wicket taker. coming in the sport later in the hour on bbc news channel: tottenham are dealing with a covid outbreak in their squad and that could affect their match in europe this thursday. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one.