bush has risen to 12 after 2 people were killed protecting the home in the state of new south wales in victoria 4 people are missing more than 200 fires and are burning across australia southeast threatening several towns reports. of choking on smoke with a hose to protect to. face destroyed. head on with a father sure they fought for 5 hours saving their house cars and garden in rural victoria. the professionals is struggling to. thousands of firefighters are battling to contain the wildfires scorching the states of victoria and new south wales an area home to more 1000000 people was once the front hit the wind just picked up a name just took off and that was the everything they just went wolf is going to come. and the conditions they'll draw everywhere. international help is arriving by this weekend the u.s. will have seems nearly 100 firefighters canada has sent more than 60 military is using planes and helicopters to douse flames or preparing for possible back to ations. on the ground police are trying to keep people out of fire zones areas that change suddenly with the wind. west

in england and wales, prosecutions we re in england and wales, prosecutions were down by 691. although there was an increase of 25 in the number of people actually being charged. some of those people charged might not get to a full prosecution. in addition, the police are referring fewer cases to the crown prosecution service, down by a85. this morning the director of public prosecutions max hill said that while the prosecution number is down, they are prosecuting a higher percentage of the cases coming from the police so he thinks the trend is going in the right direction but nevertheless, these figures don't make good reading for them. there is an issue of trust here, for many people who look at these figures, and trust in the system? max hill said that because they are constantly saying to people who feel they have been a victim of rape, they should come forward and people look at these figures and say, what are the odds of anyone being arrested let alone getting successful prosecution? women's groups have accused the cps of cherry picking the best cases so when the cases t

in a stretch have declared emergencies and ordered mass evacuations in new south wales and victoria the states hit hardest by some of the worst wildfires on record the evacuation orders lockley to last for days as the focused as warned that high temperatures and strong winds are expected to return this weekend i think people have died in the in the crisis and thousands of homes have been destroyed. this is what firefighters in australia have been dealing with for months in some cases and this is an example of the aftermath the town of moloch or what was the town a blaze tore through here on new year's eve. since then thousands have been awaiting rescue relief anything the plan is for the navy to use ships and helicopters to bring them to melbourne about a 17 hour journey by water. and destruction devastation and this is just one of so many talents in the southeastern states of new south wales and victoria that have felt the fury of the latest wave of bushfires. side anybody died. in my eyes and i had parents just get it. people have died but a final count hasn't been tallied yet some ar

program a struggling authorities have declared emergencies and ordered mass evacuations in new south wales and victoria the states hardest hit by some of the worst wildfires on record the evacuation orders likely to last for days as forecast as one that high temperatures and strong winds are expected to return this weekend i think people have died in the crisis and thousands of homes have been destroyed. this is what firefighters in australia have been dealing with for months in some. cases and this is an example of the aftermath the town of moloch or what was the town a blaze tore through here on new year's eve. since then thousands have been awaiting rescue relief anything the plan is for the navy to use ships and helicopters to bring them to melbourne about a 17 hour journey by water. and destruction devastation and this is just one of so many talents in the southeastern states of new south wales and victoria that have felt the fury of the latest wave of bushfires. side anybody diet's. demise now have talents. people have died but a final count hasn't been tallied yet some are still lis

mark easton, bbc news, south wales. with all the sport now, here's olly foster at the bbc sport centre. saracen say they will learn from their mistakes after accepting their relegation from the rugby union championship. they broke the salary cap regulations. they are also european champions in their title defence is still alive after they beat the french side racing. our correspondent was at the match. from champions to outcasts. saracen stands arrived with the news of their premiership relegation still raw and many feeling that the club had only itself to blame. if you are going to break the salary cap and get caught, you have to pay the consequences. very sad and angry and frustrated. a lot of crying. it's our club stoplight and what must they be thinking? saracens's star—studded squad, soon to be dismantled. well, today at least, they were together and the fans behind them but their weak sin but even worse as a suspected behind them but their weak sin but even worse as a suspected broken arm for billy vunipola and

we understand the rural fire service era new south wales is lost contact with a large air tanker. we're not sure if it's a helicopter or fixed wing aircraft. there are reports here in australia but it could well bea here in australia but it could well be a ci30 hercules, large water bombing aircraft which can dump about 15,000 litres bombing aircraft which can dump about 15, 000 litres of bombing aircraft which can dump about 15,000 litres of water or fire reta rda nt about 15,000 litres of water or fire retardant in one go. ordinarily they would have a crew of about three and would have a crew of about three and would be professional pilots and we do know the australian defence force is sending military aircraft in the search for this aircraft which is believed to have crashed in the snowy mountains region. this is about 500 kilometres to the south of syd ney about 500 kilometres to the south of sydney and in that particular region, an emergency was issued for a very large and fast—moving bushfire so if these reports are correct of an aircraft crashing in that part of southern

there are many fires burning here and new south wales. the authorities are using cooler, calmer conditions to try to get the upper hand on some of these places, and in parts of the fire zone, we have seen it rain, so that has been a bit of a help and a hindrance. it has been a psychological boost to communities and has started to dampen the ground but that wet ground is affecting what they are calling backburning. these are controlled fires that are burned into the main fire front, so if the ground is wet it is harder to light those controlled fires. 0n friday we are expecting those conditions to heat up but today is another sad and poignant day in australia's bushfire crisis, we are seeing the funeral of one of those firefighters who were killed in december. he is one of 25 people who have died in the process so far. andrew 0'dwyer being mourned by his family and his friends after being killed when a tree had his fire engine. two firefighters died in that accident and it does illustrate the dangers that those volunteers do face fighting

new wales coach wayne pivac has picked his first six nations team. they face italy in cardiff on saturday, and the new coach of the reigning champions has selected george north at outside centre, with wales struggling with injuries in midfield. uncapped scarlets wing johnny mcnicholl will take north's usual place on the wing. scotland coach gregor townsend will give edinburgh number eight nick haining his international debut against ireland on saturday. there are ten changes to the starting 15 that faced japan in theirfinal match of the rugby world cup. and england will be without anthony watson for the third game of the opening weekend. it is on sunday against france in paris. the wing has been ruled out with a calf injury. that's all the sport for now. hello there. thursday was a windy day across extremely windy across northern england, southern scotland, with damaging gusts of wind. the strongest of the winds easing down, but friday is another breezy or even windy day, and what you will notice, it is going to feel very mild for the time of year. n

for southern england and wales, but pleasant sunshine. into the weekend, that weather front approaching the north—west of the uk to bring rain overnight into saturday and ahead of it winds pick up and they are drawn all the way from the azores, so a much milder start to the weekend. it will be windy, especially across england and wales as the day wears on, the rain affecting much of scotland, northern ireland, the cumbrian fells. some dry weather to these high ground and for most of wales, dry, best sunshine in eastern england. windy with strong, gale force winds, the wind is easing in the far north—west later as the rain sta rts the far north—west later as the rain starts to clear andy temperatures drop away but 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 day to more of a showery as stream on sunday and something a bit chillier. not too cold, mind you. temperatures we are looking at early sunday are the

jonathan head, bbc news, new south wales. we've talked a lot about unreliable information surrounding this story. you can seen all of our past videos on the bbc news's youtube channel. we've examined a series of claims, including that arson is a major factor in these fires. it's not and according to abc news australia, only about 1% of the land burnt in new south wales this bushfire season can be officially attributed to arson. here's another example. tweet @richardaob "apparently wombats in fire effected areas are not only allowing other animals to take shelter in their deep, fire—resistant burrows but are actively herding fleeing animals into them. we re seeing more leadership and empathy from these guys than the entire federal government." the tweet, accompanied by this picture, has been liked almost 300—thousand times and shared almost 70—thousand times. the internet has been awash with people lauding the wombats as heroes. sorry to disappoint but wombats, i'm told, are strongly territorial animals that rarely let o

mark easton, bbc news, south wales. the areas of australia worst hit by bushfires are now at risk of flash flooding and power cuts as a result of rainstorms. in the state of victoria, many fires have been put out by the storms but giant hailstones have also damaged property. john donnison reports. in a year of extreme weather, for australians, it doesn't just rain, it pours. hailstones the size of golf balls in the state of victoria. so intense, it shattered ruth. so intense, it shattered roofs. and all this in the middle of summer, as large parts of the country continue to burn. in melbourne, battered by high winds, few can remember such a dramatic shift in weather. such a freak storm. i was watching television, i went into the bedroom and i just looked out the window and the gumtree, which is two stories high, just disappeared. it was a white out at this birthday party, abandoned as people huddled for shelter. and this is a cricket pitch. no chance of a resumption in play any time soon, with more rain and hailforecast

very mild across central southern england and wales, but turning much colder further north. there's still some strong winds across scotland as we go into wednesday, keeping an eye on this system here, pushing some rain into south—west england later in the day on wednesday. but most of us will see some sunshine around on wednesday. legacy of cloud clearing from southern england through wednesday morning, wintry showers piling into scotland, and then through wednesday afternoon we start to see cloud and rain starting to nudge into wales and south—west england. still in some fairly mild air across central southern england and into wales, double figures here, but much colder further north again with those wintry showers across scotland. thursday is a very messy day, most of us will see some spells of rain, still some wintry showers across scotland. that will ease away and briefly on friday, this ridge of high pressure building, bringing quieter, drier days. so for the end of the week, further rain, particularly on thursday, the winds easing, then drier and colder on friday.

the authorities say that and new south wales more than 100 buyers continue to burn and more than half of those are uncontained. the danger period for the people of new south wales will come in the next couple of hours stopping the authorities say hot gusty conditions will conspire to whip up those fires in the state of victoria, we are already hearing reports that certain communities are having to be evacuated by helicopter, so certainly another dangerous day for not only residents but of course firefighters on the frontline. and what about the political fallout from all of this, phil? climate change, how much it is responsible for all this, what might be done about it, is dividing australia almost as brexit is dividing that uk? it is a very polarising issue, scott morrison wouldn't classify himself as a climate change sceptic but there are some of those in his cabinet and they do have influential voices. the australian prime minister saying that in his opinion, australia's energy and climate policies are both adequate and responsible. we are expecting a couple of climate change ralli

clive myrie in use south wales. —— new south wales. police forces in england and wales say the ability of criminals to buy pay—as—you—go phones, without any need to identify themselves, is hampering efforts to crack down on organised drug dealing. the phones are being used by so—called county line gangs who operate out of big cities including london, manchester and liverpool and sell drugs to people in smaller towns across britain. they use dedicated mobile phone lines, known as "deal lines", to take orders from drug users and often get children to help move and store the drugs and money. here's our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds. a warning his report contains flashing images. siren bedfordshire police move in on a brutal county lines gang involved in drugs, kidnappings, robberies, attacking rivals. police say anonymous "burner" phones were absolutely integral to what they were doing. we're hiding tracy's identity for safety reasons. her son has been caught up with a county lines gang for years. one of the signs — th

clive myrie, bbc news, in new south wales. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: why the tide is out in venice, leaving the city's famous canals almost dry. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attack since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry and one of its biggest, but the industry is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. huge parts of kobe were simply demolished, as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she had been given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country's new multiracial government and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9610th performance of the long—running play, the mousetrap. when they heard about her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but a

yes, they left some private support from they left some private support from the prince of wales, but they're going to have to go out there in good jobs and money and do some work and what does that look and feel like in terms of a realfamily? there are not going to be any rules and regulations are even guidelines set for them. they're going to have the freedom to go out and earn their own money. but the only caveat there is and that is that they must uphold the values of the queen. it is quite a loose guideline that they have but thatis a loose guideline that they have but that is the key thing apparently. uphold the values the queen and they're good every year to put this in the practice and sealed works and thenit in the practice and sealed works and then it will be reviewed by the queen, the prince of wales megan and william to see how it is working and if this is a model that can go forward. about a year or so to get this right to see if he can make it work. what do they do in terms of tax? what did they do in terms of immigration if they're living in two different places and the

he was speaking and new south wales. let's cross back to charles livingstone who was on holiday in mallacoota. thanks so much for waiting good to hear what the australian prime minister had to say they're stopping you were talking about 30 or so homes lost, can you put into words some of the devastation you have seen first hand, people you know who have lost everything. the main problem is that there are so many of them now that it is hard track of them, but basically we had a friend who has lived in this area for 44 years and is well established, family hair even longer than that, and she was well prepared and she was prepared to be defend her home, they were ready, they were there until midnight and then they saw the state of the fire and they packed up and came back to this shelter before they realised that their efforts we re they realised that their efforts were in vain. we saw them when they came in at about two in the morning and my partner went over and talked to her, and she wasjust completely shellshocked. vomi

very mild across central southern england and wales, but turning much colder further north. there's still some strong winds across scotland as we go into wednesday, keeping an eye on this system here, pushing some rain into south—west england later in the day on wednesday. but most of us will see some sunshine around on wednesday. legacy of cloud clearing from southern england through wednesday morning, wintry showers piling into scotland, and then through wednesday afternoon we start to see cloud and rain starting to nudge into wales and south—west england. still in some fairly mild air across central southern england and into wales, double figures here, but much colder further north again with those wintry showers across scotland. thursday is a very messy day, most of us will see some spells of rain, still some wintry showers across scotland. that will ease away and briefly on friday, this ridge of high pressure building, bringing quieter, drier days. so for the end of the week, further rain, particularly on thursday, the winds easing, then drier and colder on friday.

lucy hockings sent this from wandandian, in new south wales. driving cubic empty mile after mile of charred art forest. we have just had some local vires, volunteer fireman pull up to have a chat with us. fireman pull up to have a chat with us. it alters the story of the local town. ideas of a massive fire came through here and at one point they we re through here and at one point they were fighting a fire on four different fronts and they managed to save a lot of the little town. so you are hearing tragic stories in australia but little nuggets of the firefighters have had some success as well which is so good for morale. the cool weather is a psychological boost as well, to give them some respite from the heat in the wind. give people a sense they can recharge because you are right, in the coming days the next few days, that hot, windy weather is set to return. the sense of people being in limbo here is very strong because they know that with the hot but the, they know that with the hot but the, the fires are really going to start again and t

very mild across central southern england and wales, but turning much colder further north. there's still some strong winds across scotland as we go into wednesday, keeping an eye on this system here, pushing some rain into south—west england later in the day on wednesday. but most of us will see some sunshine around on wednesday. legacy of cloud clearing from southern england through wednesday morning, wintry showers piling into scotland, and then through wednesday afternoon we start to see cloud and rain starting to nudge into wales and south—west england. still in some fairly mild air across central southern england and into wales, double figures here, but much colder further north again with those wintry showers across scotland. thursday is a very messy day, most of us will see some spells of rain, still some wintry showers across scotland. that will ease away and briefly on friday, this ridge of high pressure building, bringing quieter, drier days. so for the end of the week, further rain, particularly on thursday, the winds easing, then drier and colder on friday.

some rain for scotla nd england and wales. some rain for scotland and northern ireland, significant rain spreading from the south—west on sunday. still mild, temperatures 9—13d, not quite as mild as it will be over the next couple of days. next week, signs it could turn a bit colder again. goodbye. hello, it's thursday, it's 10 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire, and we're live from new broadcasting house. around 200 brits stranded in wuhan aren't coming home today, as planned, because the plane wasn't given permission to take off. so when are they coming back? we'll talk to people trying to escape the coronovirus, which has killed 170 people and spread to every region in china. we'll talk to the benefits advisor who says poverty shaming will not stop her from taking a stand against universal credit rules, which she says forced her into £2,000 of debt. single mum nichola salvato is taking the department of work and pensions to the high court. and the latest candidate to announce he's running for london mayor is this rapper.

very mild across central southern england and wales, but turning much colder further north. there's still some strong winds across scotland as we go into wednesday, keeping an eye on this system here, pushing some rain into south—west england later in the day on wednesday. but most of us will see some sunshine around on wednesday. legacy of cloud clearing from southern england through wednesday morning, wintry showers piling into scotland, and then through wednesday afternoon we start to see cloud and rain starting to nudge into wales and south—west england. still in some fairly mild air across central southern england and into wales, double figures here, but much colder further north again with those wintry showers across scotland. thursday is a very messy day, most of us will see some spells of rain, still some wintry showers across scotland. that will ease away and briefly on friday, this ridge of high pressure building, bringing quieter, drier days. so for the end of the week, further rain, particularly on thursday, the winds easing, then drier and colder on friday.

very mild across central southern england and wales, turning colder further north. there are still some strong winds across scotland as we go into wednesday, keep an eye on this system here, pushing some rain into south—west england later in the day on wednesday. most of us will see some sunshine around on wednesday. legacy of cloud clearing from southern england through wednesday morning, wintry showers piling into scotland, and through wednesday afternoon we start to see cloud and rain starting to nudge into wales and south—west england. still in some fairly mild air across central southern england and into wales, double figures here, but much colder further north again with those wintry showers across scotland. thursday is a very messy day, most of us will see some spells of rain, still some wintry showers across scotland. that will ease away and briefly on friday, this ridge of high pressure building, bringing quieter, drier days. so for the end of the week, further rain, particularly on thursday, the winds easing, and drier and colder on friday. welcome to

that's right, thousands of people are heeding the official warning to leave those parts of the new south wales south coast while they can. the authorities are extremely nervous about conditions forecast for saturday here in eastern australia. as you say, more hot, windy, dry conditions on their way and given what happened on the part of eastern australia, across the state of victoria and new south wales on new year's eve, you can understand why people are anxious to leave as quickly as they can. what is hampering the evacuation, lack of fuel and also in many areas, a lack of mobile phone and internet

hundreds of properties are thought to have been destroyed across new south wales and victoria and the death toll this fire season has now risen to 24 of the one man was killed while defending a property but authorities say mass evacuations prevented major loss of life jessica washington has this update now from batemans bay on the new south wales south coast. condition have eased in many parts of this trial but of course crews are still battling 5 in new south wales in south australia and in victoria but they are making the most of these cooler temperatures and lighter winds to take control of some of the fires which are across the area now yesterday here on saturday and it's really a was described as a horrific day the damage is yet to be assessed but it detonated that at least hundreds of homes would have been destroyed this particular region of his trailer it's not just new south wales which is suffering but victoria surely there are also 5 burning in queensland and tasmania although not as severe as what is happening in the 3 day now we do understand that conditions all favorable

making their way from coastal in new southwns wales and victoria. evacuating people out of fire zones to get away from these hot conditions. high 40's, more than 100 degrees fahrenheit. low humidity. authorities are fearing conditions could be worse tomorrow. then they were on new year's eve. these fires have ravaged coastal communities in new south wales and victoria, claiming eight lives in new south wales, two in victoria. 28 people are missing, still unaccounted for in victoria. the evacuation is to get people out of harm's way. it is about the preservation of in potentially catastrophic conditions. >> how strong is the feeling? in thatvery strong particular location. but across the region and the states affected by the flames? >> anger is flaring. these fires have been burning since october. today, particular town they have lost two in those new year's eve fires. locals were angry. the prime minister certainly received their anger, which he said is understandable. he was there to see how people were coping. the prime minister was asked whether

and then on sunday another speu wales. and then on sunday another spell of wet weather feeds north and show your start in hell snow in the pen nines, higher parts of scotland and behind that if few showers coming into western areas but also some sunny coming into western areas but also some sunny spells and so mild to the south chemical odour across the northern half of the uk today to colderfor all northern half of the uk today to colder for all next week. this is beyond 100 days. as the coronavirus continues to spread, the world health organization meets for the third time to decide whether to declare the outbreak a global health emergency. meanwhile, the united states has just announced the first person—to—person transfer of the virus. uk families rush to wuhan airport hoping to get a seat on a government plane that's due to take off in 24 hours' time. american scientists tell the bbc they could have a vaccine ready to fight the coronavirus by the end of the year and it might be necessary. they do not respect border

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, lake conjola, new south wales. bushfires have always been a feature of australian summers, but, as we're reporting, this season has seen some of the most intense and extensive fires ever. experts say it's difficult to pinpoint a single cause, but three years of dry weather and the hottest tempertaures on record last year clearly played a part, as our science editor david shukman reports. on a terrifying scale and burning in too many different areas to be stopped, the flames are causing a massive shock. even in a country that is used to fire. usually, the blazes strike scrubland. these are instead tearing into the forests, which means the fires are hotter and taller and harder to tackle. for a sense of their size, on a map of the uk, here is the vast area in australia that's burned so far. the impact has been devastating. with lives lost among firefighters and residents, more than 1000 homes destroyed and an estimated death toll among animals of 500 million. so, what's behind these fires? well, 2019 was the country'

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, on the southern coast of new south wales. in new south wales alone, authorities are dealing with a fireground which spans over 3.3 million hectares. nationwide, bushfires have destroyed almost 5.5 million hectares. to give you some context, that's almost double the size of belgium. let's get more now from ben shepherd of the rural fire service. this morning will be definitely an opportunity reallyjust to take stock of what occurred with a very dramatic southerly change, which moved across these fire grounds late yesterday afternoon and into the evening. there is no doubt that we have lost some property. there is the potential also, we may have seen further lives lost, so today will be just doing the restock, working out also where we can start pulling some of these fires up. more favourable weather at least for the next few days, albeit it does remain very dry. but start, really, working out where we can actually start containing these fires because we've got a massive effort ahead of us. we are currently dealing with over 3.

that is lucy hockings in new south wales at the moment. i will also be talking to a climate change scientist based in sydney in a few minutes as well. that is still to come. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. in venezuela, chaos has erupted in parliament after luis parra, an opposition rival ofjuan guaido, proclaimed himself president of the national assembly without guaido's presence. the opposition also said mr parra was sworn in without votes, a move denounced by the opposition as a "parliamentary coup". a masked mob has injured several students at one of india's most prestigious universities. the students have been admitted to hospitals. it is unclear who the attackers at the jawaharlal nehru university campus were. students there have been in the headlines in the past few weeks for protesting against a controversial new citizenship law. the centre left challenger zoran milanovic has ousted the incumbent president, kolinda gra bar—kitarovic, in the croatian presidential election. the post is largely ceremon

you will see these scenes replicated across new south wales. people shocked by the destruction that hugely relieved it is not worse, full of praise for the incredible efforts of firefighters who have helped each other, come from other towns each time the fires have moved. i think standard has been quite smoky but cleared up a little in the last hour also, there are still fires blazing but they are not leaving because of the lack of wind, which enables the firefighters to stop putting in containment measures, big gaps in the vegetation, in the hope they can stop them spreading if they pick up again once the weather gets hot and windy, and it is likely to do that over the next week or two. thank you for that incredible description of some of the remarkable work being turned by emergency services to save other peoples houses in wingello in australia. —— work being done. it is such an incredible thing. this morning we've been hearing about the case of reynhard sinaga, the man police are describing as the most prolific rapist in british legal hi

hundreds of properties are thought to have been destroyed across new south wales and victoria and the death toll has now risen to 25 after one man was killed was defending a property but authorities say mass evacuations have prevented a major loss of life. this is the most significant this is the most comprehensive and the most dramatic in terms of this collision of response park a move government that we've seen to disasters such as this and i believe that's where we need to focus our attention and and we're seeking obviously to communicate that directly to australians to ensure that they can have comfort that the response is matching the need jessica washington has this update now from batemans bay on the new south wales south coast. conditions have eased in many parts of this trailer but of course crews are still battling 5 in new south wales in south australia and in victoria but they are making the most of these cooler temperatures and live to wind to take control of some of the fires which of burning across the area now yesterday here on saturday and it's really a was described

in australia authorities have declared emergencies and ordered mass evacuations in new south wales and victoria the states hit hardest by some of the worst wildfires on record evacuation orders to last for days as focused as one that high temperatures and strong winds are expected to return this weekend i think people have died in the crisis and thousands of homes have been destroyed. this is what firefighters in australia have been dealing with for months in some cases and this is an example of the aftermath the town of. or what was the town a play store through here on new year's eve. since then thousands have been awaiting rescue relief anything. the plan is for the navy to use ships and helicopters to bring them to melbourne about a 17 hour journey by water. and destruction devastation and this is just one of so many talents in the southeastern states of new south wales and victoria that have felt the fury of the latest wave of bushfires. and for a bit odd sight anybody die and start to scout demise and i had parents tried to scare it to scare. people have died but a final count ha

these first 6,000 officers will be shared amongst the 43 territorial forces in england and wales and will be dedicated to territorial functions. the scale of this campaign is unprecedented. no previous government has ever attempted such an ambitious police recruitment drive. these new officers will be a visible and reassuring presence on our streets and within our communities. mps from both sides of the chamber had their own stories of policing and crime. there have been four murders in ten weeks in milton keynes. all of them involving knives. this is an incredibly touching and emotional subject. four murders in ten weeks is not normal. it should never be normal. we should not let it be normal. we should deal with this. we do need to show our communities a lot more love. but we do need to get tough on crime. a labour mp said it was time to look at the drugs problem she said was driving crime. this is a major public health issue. a major police issue and a major criminaljustice issue. but none of those policy areas can tackle it on their own. i worry that in combination they cannot ev

that was when 3 million hectares of new south wales alone had burned. now that figure is nearer to 5 million hectares and that means the number of animals, mammals, birds and reptiles likely to have been affected is closer to 800 million and that's just new south wales. if you extend and make the assumption that average densities of various species are similar in other states, you're looking at even bigger numbers still, perhaps as many asi billion. what are the implications, then, for the ecosystem in those parts of australia that have been most severely affected by bushfires? it's quite likely that many of them will recover in the long term rather than shorter term because the fires have been particularly severe and extensive in the coverage, but it may be that for some of the species that have smaller populations and smaller ranges that have been mostly wholly burnt by the fires, unless there have been refuge populations that managed to survive, we might be looking at species that actually go extinct in these current fires. that's a sobering thought.

. —— —6 or -7. parts of england and wales. —— —6 or —7. lots of dry weather in this forecast. a front to the far north of scotla nd forecast. a front to the far north of scotland will introduce some rain here later in the day, certainly lots of cloud still across scotland and northern ireland, some brightness across eastern counties. but fog will be slow to clear across parts of england and wales, making for a cold day. probably lots of cloud across east anglia and south england. light winds for many, quite a windy day across northern and western scotland. those gusts could touch 50 or 55 miles an hour. 10— 11 celsius year, more like 6— nine elsewhere but close to freezing wind up elsewhere but close to freezing wind up dog is slow to clear. a number cold and frosty started tuesday morning across central and southern england. gradually those frosts will start to lift as the week wears on. this is tuesday. high pressure still with us. this frontal system trying to push south. running into an area of high pressure, really no rain on it b

should be moving down from the north, so sunshine much more limited on wednesday across england and wales. probably the best of the sunshine across eastern parts of scotland. damp and drizzly weather across the north of scotland, on the whole it will be dry but even then we are seeing more cloud across england and wales than we had on tuesday. temperatures 13 in the sunshine in aberdeenshire, very mild for the time of year. during the evening we should keep cloudy skies, limiting the frost. as we head into thursday we still have the high pressure in charge, light winds for the most part. strong winds coming in, together with that weakening weather front. it will mainly affect the far north of scotland on thursday with rain. fresh breeze picking up across the english channel, otherwise light winds. a lot of cloud around. those temperatures are a shade lower but still pretty good for the time of year. high pressure will take a bit of shifting. the weather front moves into the high pressure and tends to weaken, it get so far and then sta rts weaken, it get so far and then starts moving north

clive myrie, bbc news, in new south wales. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why the tides out in venice leaving the city's famous canals almost dry. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attack since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry and one of its biggest, but the industry is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. huge parts of kobe were simply demolished, as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she had been given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country's new multiracial government and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9610th performance of the long—running play, the mousetrap. when they heard about her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonig

in new south wales, the message is the same. fire authorities have said that saturday's blazes could be as bad as, if not worse, than those of new year's eve. in the coastal town of batemans bay, firefighters are racing to protect those who have decided to stay. despite the warnings, jeff and pamela zorbas decided they are not leaving their small town of sussex inlet. hopefully, it is not going to be as bad as they are predicting but we have got the hoses ready and we just hose the house down if the embers come. and if the fires do hit hard, we've got a boat here. we're going tojump in the boat and we are going to get out to see. ——we're going tojump in the boat and we are going to get out to sea. i'lljust take the family and the dogs and away we go. jay martin is also staying put to defend his house and help friends and neighbours. he tells me the anticipation of disaster is what worries him. waiting. that's the hardest part. we've been at it for two weeks and it's just waiting. and there's people who've got it a lot toughe

this is gwynedd, in north wales, where a tree came down on a vehicle. luckily, nobody was hurt. the concern overnight is that spring tides could bring some flooding to coastlines around the northern part of the uk. but storm brendan is also just a prelude for more windy weather, with another warning in place for all of england and wales from midday tomorrow. in scotland, schools in the western isles were closed and bus services cancelled. ferries were also disrupted. and what would a 21st—century storm be without a lost trampoline? this one ended up on a motorway near limerick. danny savage, bbc news, cumbria. joker leads the pack in this year's oscar nominations. the film has 11 nominations, including best picture, best director and best actor. but the british war film 1917 runs it a close second, with ten nominations including best director for sir sam mendes. other among the nominations include sir anthony hopkins, cynthia erivo and florence pugh. our arts editor will gompertz looks at who the winners could be. to bring laughter and joy to the world... the oscar nominations

we have had gusts over wales. the rain just we have had gusts over wales. the rainjust keeps going we have had gusts over wales. the rain just keeps going across east anglia and the south—east of england. there are showers over the north—west and over the hills in scotla nd north—west and over the hills in scotland and the threat of icy patches. there could be a touch of frost over northern ireland. the winds won't be as strong tomorrow and we will see the back of this rain in south—eastern england and then the sunshine will follow. the breeze will put in one or two showers from northern ireland into the area of scotland. probably not quite so chilly across scotland and northern ireland but a cooler day for southern part of england and wales. as we move into thursday, there is another area of low pressure which will bring wet and windy weather into part of the uk. you're watching beyond 100 days. once america pulled out, it was really only a question of time before the iran nuclear deal died. today, the european signatories formally accused iran of

dead at least 200 homes have been raised by fires over the last few days in the states of new south wales and victoria authorities are now delivering food and water to thousands of people taking refuge on beaches and the danger is far from over we'll go live to sydney after this report. fields by searing temperatures and fast moving wins more than 200 fires continue to consume australia's southeastern states of new south wales and victoria a fire forced these rescue volunteers to take shelter in their truck as flames surrounded them the crew made it out safely. we also have a very real challenge at the moment with a couple of also lied to communities where we've got reports of injuries and burn injuries to members of the public we have been out to get access via roads or aircraft it's been socked you know to digress and we simply can't access nor can the people in these areas. and some places the blazes are so intense that the smoke turned day into night the fires are causing dry lightning storms that themselves are starting fires. it's pretty scary that wall of fire that we saw. i don't

this fire is new south wales is something that is unprecedented. already we're only just into 2020 and burned 2.3 million of a huge area. typically of 280 hectares burnt over the last couple of years, blurred that out and seen devastating impacts from these fires. it's been a hard season and we've still got a long way to go. >> right. which over here is roughly the size, as we said, of west virginia. we've been monitoring twitter, angela, and australia's bureau of meteorology in victoria tweeted firenados are making conditions more dangerous. what is a firefirenado? >> seen serious plaimplications from these fires. new year's eve, south coach of new south wales flames putting up flames essentially they create their own weather system which can have devastating impacts as it causes havoc for firefighters on the ground. unfortunately, due to one of those fires, where these took place, the down burst and the winds a result of that weather event ended up causing one of our fire trucks to be literally turned on its head and unfortunately one of our own

for scotla nd wales and northern england. for scotland not just wales and northern england. for scotland notjust on the hills we will see snow, also pushing down into lower elevations bringing the risk of some destructive weather. cold night with patches of frost bringing risk of icy stretches. these are the areas most at risk of snow. high ground of wales, northern england and northern ireland but for scotla nd england and northern ireland but for scotland we are likely to seek the biggest issues with five centimetres building in across a lower elevations, especially in the east. more than that over the hills. it could also be the ice that causes you problems first thing. for tuesday, an improving picture, sunshine and showers. the cold air continuing to fit in, showers continue to be wintry with further snow accumulating in the highlands of scotland. you're watching beyond 100 days. a leaked manuscript, accusations of quid pro quo, senators on edge. the impeachment trial of donald trump enters day six with a lot of drama. could revelations from a former white house officia

wales isa been so important for wales. wales is a huge beneficiary of this due to poverty and deprivation here. westminster will now decide, or could decide, how the money will be spent. politicians want money to remain here so the government here can decide how it is spent because otherwise it just rolls can decide how it is spent because otherwise itjust rolls back devolution. conversely to scotland, the european union flags outside the building where i am today will be coming down at 11pm and will be replaced by the welsh dragon flag. that is the situation here in wales, ben. that is the latest from thomas morgan at cardiff by. and we heard from our correspondence in northern ireland and scotland. 11 o'clock tonight is when brexit finally happens. time for a look at the weather. helen has the details. thank you. a mixed bag up and down the weather this weekend and indeed this evening. a lot of showers running into scotland and northern ireland with this low—pressure homing in. and it has given some strong and gusty wi

clive myrie, bbc news, in new south wales. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: why the tide's out in venice, leaving the city's famous canals almost dry. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attack since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry and one of its biggest, but the industry is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. huge parts of kobe were simply demolished, as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she had been given no help and no advice by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country's new multiracial government and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9610th performance of the long—running play, the mousetrap. when they heard about her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but ag

but the east—west links, in both north wales and south wales, have finance available to them. and i very much hope the welsh labour government will consider again the commitment to the m4 relief road. can i also congratulate dafydd iwan on that fantastic song and say that, as far as the conservative party and this conservative government is concerned, with the hundreds of millions of pounds going into growth deals for wales, his other song i'r gad springs to mind. and i'r gad, in case you were wondering, translates as "to the battlefield". praise the lord we are a musical nation, as we say in the land of my fathers. that's the final tune for this wednesday in parliament. thank you for watching. i hope you canjoin me at the same time tomorrow for thursday in parliament. until then, bye for now. hello there. we saw a brief window of fine weather for wednesday. many of us stay dry with some sunshine. but it's all change. the next area of low pressure moving in for thursday, bringing another spell of wet and windy weather to our shores. you can see here showing up on the pressure

the new measures will apply to crown courts in england and wales. filming in the scottish courts has been allowed since 1992, subject to strict conditions. you were convicted after trial of the murder of margaret fleming. so, is there an unequivocal welcome for filming judges passing sentence? if the public see their face in the living room and are able to identify them more readily then unfortunately they are more likely, we think, to be personally attacked, and possibly details published about them which shouldn't be. the change in the law doesn't mean that television and online audiences will experience the full drama and turbulence of a criminal trial, like that in america's 1995 trial of oj simpson for the murder of his ex—wife nicole and her friend ron goldman. we, the jury, in the above entitled action, find the defendant orenthaljames simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder. victims, witnesses, lawyers, jurors — none of those will be seen. but it does mean that for the first time millions of viewers will get to see and hear the senten