morrison died in august at the age of 88. today we spend the hour at the celebratition of her lie at the cathedral of st. john the divine with those who knew and loved her from angela davis, author ta-nehisi coates, edwidge danticat, fran lebowitz, and more. this is democracy now!, democracy now.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. today in a scicial broadcacast, we spendnd the hour remembering toni morrison, one of the nation's most influential writers, who died in august at the age of 88 from complications of pneumonia. in 1993, toni morrison became the first african-american woman to receive the nobel prize for literature. she also won a pulitzer prize in 1988 for her classic work "beloved." toni morrison was born in lorain, ohio, in 1931. she did not publish her first novel, "the bluest eye," until she was 39 years old. she wrote it while taking care of her two young sons as a single mother and juggling a day job as a book editor at random house. as an editor, she's widely credited with helping widen the litera

mr morrison said if he could go back, he would have made a different choice. the fires are expected to worsen with more hot dry weather expected. mr morrison did acknowledge the role of climate change, but said warming temperatures couldn't be connected to any single fire. gareth barlow reports. this is the remarkable, almost apocalyptic, scene facing firefighters tackling australia's deadly and devastating wildfires. fire chiefs described saturday as an awful day. as thousands of personnel tackle raging infernos, the country's prime minister, scott morrison, has been heavily criticised for being on holiday in hawaii, a trip he's now cut short. i get it that people would have been upset to know that i was holidaying with my family while their families were under great stress. they know that i'm not going to stand there and hold a hose, i'm not a trained firefighter. i'm comforted by the fact that australians would like me to be here, just simply so i can be here. an area the size of belgium has been torched by the fires. hundreds of homes have been destroyed w

scott morrison? government has long defended the use of fossil skills, and have been increasingly criticised for this, by people who have linked the fires to climate change. they have said the government would take action on climate change. there is no argument, in my view and the cabinet's view, and any government in this country, about the links between broader issues of global climate change and events around the world in weather. but i am sure that people would equally acknowledge that the direct connection to any single fire event, it is not a credible suggestion to make that link. so we must take action on climate change. we are taking action on climate change. arson, lightning strikes, even self combusting piles of manure, have been blamed for triggering the blazes. first though, the authorities have to try and take control of the flames before they can try and control the causes to prevent future fires. gareth barlow, bbc news. our correspondent shiamaa khalil is in balmoral — one of the wo

in may of this year, mr morrison won a federal election. no—one was really expecting him to succeed at that poll, but that was in large part due to support from mining communities. they were worried that the opposition policies for climate change may have impacted the mining industry, so they supported scott morrison. so mr morrison is acutely aware that part of his political base is within those mining communities. he doesn't believe that changing australia's climate change policies is essential as he says, if he were to do so, in his words, there could be economic crunching of australia's economy. so mr morrison acknowledging that the link between global warming and extreme weather events, but not willing to shift australia's climate change policies. phil mercer in sydney. an email just released by the us government shows the white house sought to freeze aid to ukrainejust 91 minutes after president trump spoke to president volodymyr zelensky by phone in july. in the call, mr trump asked the ukrainian leader to investigate his political

mr morrison is acutely aware that part of his political base is within those mining communities. he doesn't believe that changing australia's climate change policies is essential as he says, if he were to do so, in his words, they could be economic crunching of b ——of australia's economy. mr morrison acknowledging that the link between global warming and extreme weather events but not willing to shift australia's climate change policies. in india, prime ministerand hindu nationalist leader narendra modi, has tried to calm anger over a controversial new citizenship law, saying indian muslims have nothing to fear from it. at least 20 people have been killed in days of protests over the law, with the police accused of using excessive force. 0ur south asia correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports. days of deadly violence, as indians continue to oppose a law they say is an assault on the rights of the country's 200 million muslims. as curfews were imposed and internet was blocked in india's largest state, uttar pradesh, protesters say they've been brutally silenced. as the death

our top story: as massive buyers and record temperatures had australia scott morrison finally cut short his holiday. democrats and republicans are at loggerheads over the next stage of president trump's impeachment. celebrations in macau to mark twenty years since the former colony was handed to chinese rule. in business, brexit is back! the withdrawal agreement goes before parliament, signalling the final weeks of britain's eu membership. a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. as more millennials put off parenting and plump for pets, the ft reports almost half have gone into debt at the vet. would you put a price on your pup? or take out a credit card to cure the cat? let us know, just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. australia's prime minister scott morrison has cut short his vacation as extreme heat and fires ravage parts of the country. he'd been under huge pressure to return from hawaii, as new south wales, the most populous state,declared a 7—day state of emergency. two vo

in may this year, mr morrison w011 this. in may this year, mr morrison won a federal election, no—one was expecting him to succeed at that poll but that was in large part due to support from mining communities. they were worried the opposition policies for climate change may have impacted the mining industry so they supported scott morrison. mr morrison is acutely aware that part of his political base is within those mining communities. he doesn't believe that changing australia's climate change policies is essential as he says, if you were to do so, in his words, they could be economic crunching of australia's economy so mr morrison acknowledging that link between global warming and extreme weather events, but not willing to shift australia's climate change policies. phil massa in sydney, virgo delivered there, thank you. in india, prime ministerand hindu nationalist leader narendra modi, has tried to calm anger over a controversial new citizenship law, saying indian muslims have nothing to fear from it. at least 20 peopl

i'm brian thomas great to have you with us australia's prime minister scott morrison has apologized for going on holiday as the nation contends with a worsening bushfire emergency he also paid tribute to the 2 firefighters volunteers killed in a road accident while deployed to a blaze near sydney 3 others were seriously injured the men were among thousands of firefighters battling to contain some 100 blazes raging across the state of new south wales. now smoke from the fires is also spreading across australia southeastern cities like sydney where public anger is growth. sydney's skyline envelop in a shroud of smoke with bushfires advancing on the city from multiple sides only its tallest structures remain visible its famous landmarks cast in apocalyptic light. on the ground few dare venture outside without face masks sydney now has the 4th worst air quality in the world experts say it's difficult to avoid such sustained pollution. when pollution exposure is short it's easy to tell people give people advice about how to avoid it stay indoors avoid physical activity but when it sustained

morrison: i reject the smears. i would invite them to put questions of matters of policy -- i think that is a very important issue for the member to raise. [crowd shouting] if this is all the leader of the opposition has are smears and accusations and dramatizing, if that is all this leader of the opposition has -- >> the prime minister will resume. [crosstalking] >> the leader of the opposition will resume his seat. with the range of topics covered in the question, and the nature of the question going to the prime minister, i can't at all see how he is not being relevant to the question. you cannot ask a question like that that is very broad in nature and and insist that there is a narrow answer. p.m. morrison: if all the leader of the opposition has got are smears, how he wishes to define the leader of the opposition as the leader of the opposition, the public will see this leader of the opposition for what he is. [crowd shouting] all this leader of the opposition has demonstrated to the australian people is -- d

morrison, who mr. castor himself has relied on and invoked twice today, where he said he understood these were the investigations that fiona hill had warned him about, warned him about. what did you understand that to mean? >> when dr. hill left and tim morrison replaced her, they had transition meetings. and during one of those transition meetings, dr. hill told tim morrison about what she believed to be this irregular channel that ambassador sondland was operating where they were pushing for u kpran to do these investigations. d that was a domestic political errand and what she was working on and the council was working on was foreign policy, and those are two entirely separate things. >> was she expressing the view that president trump had chosen his own personal, political interests over the foreign policy positions that ms. hill was trying to pursue? >> at the time she said that to tim morrison, she was not aware of whether president trump had actually endorsed these investigations, but she did te

and it's notjust the fact that mr morrison has gone on holiday during this emergency. many australians wondering about his attitude to climate change and the role that they are playing in australia's bushfire crisis. mr morrison has acknowledged that global warming is a factor in australia's emergency. safe to say when mr morrison lands today, here in australia, his handling of this emergency will come under immense scrutiny. and of course there have been deaths, as well, happened there, including a couple of volunteer firefighters. we were down yesterday near the town of boston, where these two firefighters died. a tree hit their fire engine, where these two firefighters died. a tree hit theirfire engine, causing the vehicle to roll over. those two volunteer firefighters were men the vehicle to roll over. those two volunteerfirefighters were men in their 30s. and, once volunteerfirefighters were men in their30s. and, once again, it does underscore the dangers facing firefighters, many of them are volu nteers firefighters, many of them are volunteers here in new south

morrison said something similar. their understandingsn of that conversation is that there was a clear directive that there was a quid pro quo, factually, from the conduct. q from they, actions. we've talked a lot today about the words and that zelensky said no pressure. and trump said no pressure. and no quid pro quo. but as an investigator, as a prosecutor, you need, to look the actions to understand what those words mean. and that's why this call in particularhy is so important. >> so let's go further. asle we've discussed multiple individuals reacted with concern to president trump's call with ambassador sondland. do you recall mr. morrison's reaction? >> mr. -- mr. morrison said that he was shocked, i think, and that he -- >> sinking feeling? >> sinking feeling, correct. and then he went and talked to the lawyers at the direction of ambassador bolton. >> correct. and, mr. goldman, ambassador taylor also testified that he concluded that the military aid wasd conditioned on zelensky announcing the investigations. a

morrison's reaction? >> mr. morrison said that he was shocked, i think. and that he -- >> sinking feeling. >> sinking feeling, correct. and then he went and talked to the lawyers at the direction of ambassador bolton. >> correct. and mr. goldman, ambassador taylor also testified that he concluded that the military aid was conditioned on zelensky announcing the investigations and he testified that this was illogical, crazy and wrong, is that right? >> that is what ambassador taylor testified to, yes. >> and now my colleagues pointed out on september 9th, text message from sondland reflecting that the president has been crystal clear that there is no quid pro quo. mr. goldman, am i correct that ambassador sondland has now testified that prior to sending his text he himself came to believe that the aid was conditioned on the announcement of investigations. >> yes. ambassador sondland subsequent public testimony revealed at least two things that were precisely false, that were not true in that text message, includeing there was no quid pro quo of any kind whe

i'm brian thomas great to have you with us australia's prime minister's stop morrison has apologized for going on holiday in hawaii as the nation contends with a worsening bushfire emergency morrison also paid tribute to the 2 volunteer firefighters killed in a road accident while deployed to a blaze near sydney 3 others were seriously injured the men were among thousands of firefighters battling to contain more than 100 blazes raging across. state of new south wales smoke from the wildfires is also spreading across australia southeastern cities like sydney fueling public anger over the government's climate poll 6. sydney's skyline and developed in a shroud of smoke with bushfires advancing on the city from multiple sides only its tallest structures remain visible its famous landmarks cast in apocalyptic light. on the ground few dare venture outside without face masks sydney now has the 4th worst air quality in the world experts say it's difficult to avoid such sustained pollution. when air pollution exposure is short it's easy to tell people give people advice about how to avoid it

the prime minister, scott morrison, is a teddy make an ardent supporter the prime minister, scott morrison, is an ardent supporter of the coal industry when he was the federal treasurer a couple of years ago, he took a big lump of coal into australia's federal parliament as a prop, telling his parliamentary colleagues not to be afraid. coal generates the lion's share of australia's electricity, it pumps billions of dollars into the economy. there is a political dimension to this as well, when mr morrison won an election here in may of this year, he did receive a very important support from coal mining communities and he is mindful of that part of his political base. his critics, some of his critics, mr morrison is a claimant criminal. his critics, some of his critics, mr morrison is a climate criminal. other australians with less extreme descriptions of mr morrison would like him to phase out the fossil fuel industry and to be bold and look to the future, install australia as a world power in renewable energy. as it stands, mr morrison is a very keen supporter of the coal industry and as a

and it's not just the fact that mr morrison has gone on holiday during this emergency. many australians wondering about his attitude to climate change and the role that they are playing in australia's bushfire crisis. mr morrison has acknowledged that global warming is a factor in australia's emergency. safe to say when mr morrison lands today, here in australia, his handling of this emergency will come under immense scrutiny. and of course there have been deaths, as well, haven't there, including a couple of volunteer firefighters. we were down yesterday near the town of buxton, where these two firefighters died. a tree hit their fire engine, causing the vehicle to roll over. those two volunteer firefighters were men in their 30s. and, once again, it does underscore the dangers facing firefighters, many of them are volunteers here in new south wales, backed up by professional crews as well. we were quite close to a dam, a lake near the town of bargo in this enormous helicopter, a water bombing aircraft came down with a giant hose, sucking up water, before going off to

morrison that same date? >> mr. morrison then reported to master taylor, correct? >> that's correct, yes. >> both mr. morrison and ambassador taylor took most of those instructions, yes question marks because they did. >> whether notes or the nose produceto the commi? >> they were not, >> that set of notes was blocked consistent with the president's direction? smith correct. ambassador sondland said that president trump himself brought up the words quid pro quo? >> that's right. ambassador sondland also said that too. >> mr. goldman, what did the committee make of this fact? >> it was quite odd the president would volunteer in response to nothing about a quid pro quo that there was no. quid pro quo. what was more important immediately after that was which is effectively conduct that amounts to the quid pro quo. there is no quid pro quo but you have to go to the microphone to make the announcement. >> what did the committee make about the fact that according to ambassador taylor and mr. morrison right after president trump said no quid pro quo, president trump then

amid all this the prime minister scott morrison criticised for going on holiday to hawaii, is on his way back now. he is, and one would imagine that he will get quite a reception when he gets home. many australians very angry that their prime minister decided to take a holiday to hawaii asa time decided to take a holiday to hawaii as a time of crisis. mr morrison has issued a statement saying that he deeply regrets any offence caused to those australians affected by the bushfires, and it is notjust the fa ct bushfires, and it is notjust the fact that mr morrison has gone on holiday during this emergency, many australians wondering about his attitude to climate change and the role that that they are playing in australia's bushfire crisis mr morrison has acknowledged that global warming is a factor in australia's emergency, so safe to say when mr morrison lands today here in australia, his handling of this emergency will come under immense scrutiny. and of course they have been doubts as well, including a couple of volunteer firefighters? we were down yesterday near the town of buxton,

morrison, who mr. castor has invoked twice today where he said he understood these were the investigations that hill has warned him about. what did you understand that to mean? >> when dr. hill left and tim morrison replaced her, they had transition meetings and during one of those meetings, dr. hill told morrison about a, what she believed to be this irregular channel that ambassador sondland was operating where they were pushing for ukraine to do these investigations and dr. hill in particular was very concerned because as she said as you pointed out, that was a domestic political errand and what she was working on and the national security counsel was working on related to national security and foreign policy and those were two entirely separate things. >> and was she experezing the view ta president trump has chose his own personal political interests over the foreign policy positions that miss hill was trying to pursue? >> at the time shah they said to tim morrison, she was not aware of whether pr

mr morrison is saying that to change course now would be reckless and would destroyjobs. at the heart of this is the coal industry. the coal industry is extremely powerful in this country. coal generates the lion's share of australia's electricity and it also comes billions of pounds into the australian economy. as with all these things there is a shark, political dimension to this as well. in may when mr morrison when the federal election he was supported by coal—mining communities. here we have an economic comparative up againstan have an economic comparative up against an environmental necessity. the prime minister says he is being environmentally responsible, while protecting australia's jobs. many australians will be looking at the severity of these bushfires, the bushfire season has started earlier than normal and these fires are far more intense than usual at this time of the year. many australians will be thinking that on this occasion mr morrison is choosing the economy over the environment. meanwhile, 100 fires continue to burn in new south wales, and also fir

queen elizabeth: -- pm morrison: i reject the smears. i would invite them to put questions of matters of policy -- i think that is a very important issue for the member to raise. [crowd shouting] this is all the leader of the opposition has our smears and ifusations and dramatizing, that is all this leader of the opposition has -- >> the prime minister will resume. [crosstalking] the leader of the opposition will resume his seat. with the range of topics covered in the question, and the nature of the question going to the use emily cannot ask a question like that -- you simply cannot ask a question like that and expect a narrow answer. queen elizabeth: -- pm morrison: all the leader of the opposition has got our smears. how he wishes to define the leader of the opposition as the leader of the opposition, the public will see this leader of the opposition for what he is. [crowd shouting] all this leader of the opposition has demonstrated to -- american people is [indiscernible] those who to disrupt the activity -- [crowd shouting] might be

morrison has responded to the crisis and cut short his holiday but while he has apologized for being absent he has yet to give in to demands to act on climate change. now at least to 11 people have been killed during growing demonstrations against india's new citizenship law process discussed clashed with police in cities across the country despite large gatherings being banned in many areas the new law offers a route to indian citizenship for migrants are fleeing religious persecution in neighboring countries but excludes muslims processes say this violates india's secular constitution there are growing fears. and the possible nationwide citizenship register will strip indeed muslims of this of their citizenship is what people say any other museum will be able to get into the citizenship of india but already it is not a muslim. is there is this or something this is a discrimination over art on the basis of. the goal of our democracy is to include everyone in a democracy and nobody is right should be harmed when our rights are threatened of course we will turn out onto the streets ev

australia's prime minister scott morrison has been forced to apologize for taking a holiday at the height of the devastating bushfire crisis emergency crews are struggling to contain hundreds of blazes around sydney a combination of record temperatures drought and powerful winds is fueling the inferno at least 9 people have been killed since the fires began but there is hope at last of a break in the weather. the reality of the fight against the flames told. the force of nature overwhelming. here. just. here more than 3000 others are on the front lines in new south wales and one of the biggest fire disasters australia has seen to have lost their lives. the response prime minister scott morrison outraged by leaving for a holiday in hawaii is a crisis peaked he's returned with repentance. obviously return from that has caused some great anxiety in australia and. acknowledge that. you had the benefit of hindsight and would have made different decisions. the past 2 days have been desperate in new south wales a situation officially catastrophic as one official said as bad as it gets exhaustion

i'm back in australia to help coordinate the response prime minister scott morrison outraged by leaving for a holiday in hawaii is a crisis peaked he's returned with repentance. obviously return from that has caused some great anxiety in a strike there and. acknowledge that. he had to time ever again and you had the benefit of hindsight and with my different decisions. the past 2 days have been desperate in new south wales a situation officially catastrophic as one official said as bad as it gets exhaustion is setting in. management and the dry and the relentless niter this season is certainly taking a toll on so too is a geographic spread of the activity just to go challenges transport and an accommodation challenges spreading and moving people right across such a broad geographic area all add to the challenges. maybe. it's the intensity of the. cold wet weather moves in but still hundreds of. on the assessment of the damage caused. journalist roger maynard ease in sydney following the blazes there roger prime minister scott morrison has apologised after returning from vacation is you'

australia's prime minister's scott morrison has been forced to apologize for taking a holiday at the height of the devastating bushfire crisis emergency crews are struggling to contain hundreds of blazes around sydney a combination of record temperatures drought and powerful winds is fueling the inferno at least 9 people have been killed since the fires began but there is hope at last of a break in the weather. the reality of the fight against the flames told mensing australia the force of nature overwhelming. here in europe. just a handful of firefighters here more than 3000 others are on the front lines in new south wales and one of the biggest fire disasters australia has seen to have lost their lives. i'm back in australia to help coordinate the response prime minister scott morrison outraged by leaving for a holiday in hawaii is a crisis peaked he's returned with repentance. obviously return from that has caused some great anxiety in a strike there and. acknowledge that. he had to time ever again and you had the benefit of hindsight and with my different decisions. the past 2 da

let me put up slide 9 of mister morrison's testimony on page 38 of his public testimony and mister morrison, the question was, the question by mister goldman, you heard the call and recognized donald trump was not discussing talking points the nsc prepared based on official policy but was talking about investigations fiona hill warned you about and you reported it to the nfc legal advisor. is that the correct claim? mister morrison said that is correct. before your presentation i showed you the testimony of ms. hill where she referred to what donald trump is trying to do is running a domestic political errand. is that what you intended to ask mister morrison about? >> it was about two specific investigations that donald trump did discuss and asked the president's a linsky to do. these are the investigations that were discussed, only two investigations that issue throughout the entirety of the scheme. what our evidence found was any time there is reference to investigation it referenced the biden investigation in the 2016 investigation and ambassador voelker said when he was using the term c

and back in australia to help coordinate the response prime minister scott morrison outraged by leaving for a holiday in hawaii is a crisis peaked he's returned with repentance. obviously return from that has caused some great anxiety in australia and. acknowledged that. he had to time over again and you had the benefit of hindsight and would have made different decisions . the past 2 days have been desperate in new south wales the situation officially turned catastrophic as one official said as bad as it gets exhaustion is setting in. take management and the dry and the relentless nighter this season is certainly taking a toll on so too was a geographic spread of the activity just to go challenges transport and an accommodation challenges spreading and moving people right across such a broad geographic area all add to the challenges of 'd. spite the intensity of the. cold wet weather moves in but still hundreds of. the assessments of the damage caused. journalist roger maynard ease in sydney following the blazes there roger prime minister scott morrison has apologised after returning f

journalist roger maynard in sydney following the blazes there roger prime minister scott morrison has apologised after returning from vacation is you're likely to be any political fallout for him in other words are australians buying what he's selling. not really being rather cynical i think at this stage in his absence overseas sunning himself in hawaii while much of australia and certainly didn't go too well and he's been and saloon pilloried in the press and on the social media as a result of that is under a lot of pressure to politically to pull out all the stops to try to restore his image this morning he went immediately to the rural fire service headquarters in sydney to meet officials and also to discuss strategy with them also there were up fighters from america and canada who arrived in australia over the weekend to try to offer a helping hand during his press conference scott morrison accepted the criticism levelled at him and apologise for any offense corps has done here ted to concede that climate change might have been a contributory factor in all this he emphasised that

mr morrison said if he could go back, he would have made a different choice. the fires are expected to worsen with more hot dry weather expected. mr morrison did acknowledge the role of climate change, but said warming temperatures couldn't be connected to any single fire. gareth barlow reports. this is the remarkable, almost apocalyptic scene facing firefighters tackling australia's deadly and devastating wildfires. fire chiefs described saturday as an awful day. as thousands of personnel tackle raging infernos, the country's prime minister, scott morrison, has been heavily criticised for being on holiday in hawaii, but the pm has cut short his trip to return home. i get it that people would have been upset to know that i was holidaying with my family while their families were under great stress. they know that i am not going to stand there and hold a hose, iam not a trained firefighter. i'm conforted by the fact that australians would like me to be herejust simply so i can be here. an areas the size of belgium has been torched by the fires. hundreds of homes

some of the responsibility has to be the prime minister scott morrison well look at china can say that but they are going to put on a lot more call for power stations in the struggle as in the coming years. it's kind of which way do you want to. also we have to acknowledge that china doesn't have to sign up to any of the emission reduction process they might be signing up to the treaty but their actual active active action won't start till 2030 likewise with india and you know as i always say to people if you think you can change china's actions in regards carbon emissions then why stop there maybe you should make a move on getting them to. the way to people who are incarcerated in excess of a 1000000 a north west of china well of course china also denies that the existence of any reeducation camps of the sort you talked about in mainstream media but let's get to our australian citizen judy in a songe in solitary confinement in britain what do you and. stand australian prime minister scott morrison is doing for julian assange the world's most famous publisher well i think is the issue

did prime minister morrison's comments amount to a change in his view on climate change? well, it is a change in tone, i'm not sure a change of view. what he said remains quite vague, while they conceded there is something to be done about climate change, scott morrison didn't specify what the government is going to do, how they are going to do it, and more crucially when they are going to do it. remember during the elections earlier this year, scott morrison campaigned on jobs come earlier this year, scott morrison campaigned onjobs come on a prosperous economy and australia's economy is heavily dependent on the fossil fuel economy is heavily dependent on the fossilfuel and coal economy is heavily dependent on the fossil fuel and coal industry, economy is heavily dependent on the fossilfuel and coal industry, and you cannot address climate change without addressing that dependency. it has been a really divisive issue since the beginning of the bushfire crisis. this government has time and time again refused to be drawn on that debate and they accused anybody who brought

some of the responsibility has to be the prime minister scott morrison. look at china can say that but they're going to put on a lot more call for past actions in the struggle as in the coming years. it's kind of which way do you want to. also we have to acknowledge that china doesn't have to sign up to any of the other emission reduction process they might be signing up to the treaty but their actual active active action won't start till 2030 likewise with india and you know as i always say to people if you think you can change china's actions in god's carbon emissions then why stop there maybe you should make a move on getting them to. the way to people who are incarcerated in excess of a 1000000 a northwest of china well of course china also denies that the existence of any reeducation camps of the sort you talked about in mainstream media but let's get to our australian citizen julian as vironment in britain what do you understand australian prime minister scott morrison is doing for julian assange the world's most famous publisher well i think is the

i'm brian thomas good to have you with us australia's prime minister scott morrison . as apologize for going on holiday as the nation contends with a worsening bushfire emergency morrison also paid tribute to the 2 volunteer firefighters killed in a road accident while deployed to a blaze near sydney 3 others were seriously injured the men were among thousands of firefighters battling to contain some 100 blazes raging across the state of new south wales. now smoke from the wildfires is also spreading across australia southeastern cities like sydney where anger is growing. sydney's skyline enveloped in a shroud of smoke with bushfires advancing on the city from multiple sides only its tallest structures remain visible its famous landmarks cast in apocalyptic light. on the ground few dare venture outside without face masks sydney now has the 4th worst air quality in the world experts say it's difficult to avoid such sustained pollution. when air pollution exposure is short it's easy to tell people give people advice about how to avoid it stay indoors avoid physical activ

morrison who mr. castro himself has relied on and invoked twice today where he said h understood these were the investigations that fiona hill had warned him about what did you understand that to mean? >> when he went into ten morrison replaced her they have transition meetings and during one of ther. transition meetings by doctor hill told ten morrison about what she believed to be this irregular channel that ambassador sondland was operating. they were pushing for ukraine to do these investigations into doctor hill in particular was concerned because as you pointed out that was a domestic political aaron and what she was working on at the national security council was related to national security foreig foreigy and those were two entirely separate things. >> was she expressing the view that was chosen as her own political interest of the foreign-policycy positions. at the time she said that she was not aware of whether president trump have actually endorsed these investigations but she did testify a

feel feel, has scott morrison responded to these goals for stronger climate action? no. we understand he is on holiday in hawaii and there has been criticism of australia's centre—right prime minister for going on vacation at a time of national crisis. his colleagues say he has worked very hard this year after winning an election in may and deserves a break with his young family. those former fire and emergencyjeeves have family. those former fire and emergency jeeves have had family. those former fire and emergencyjeeves have had some very strong words or scott morrison and they say he is missing in action while the country burns as we head there —— chiefs, lacking any moral leadership in the whole issue of climate change. the prime minister scott morrison has recently acknowledged the link between global warming and australia's intense bushfire crisis. the country is heavily reliant on call, it generates most of the country's electricity and pumps billions of dollars into the australian economy. famously, when he was the federal treasurer, scott morrison turned u

australia's prime minister scott morrison has arrived home to deal with his country's bushfire crisis, after cutting short a holiday in hawaii. he'd been heavily criticised for leaving while the fires continued to rage. saturday was one of the worst days in weeks of destruction, with strong winds fanning the flames. this a representation of all the current fires burning across australia and they're expected to worsen with more hot, dry weather in the forecast. christmas travellers are being urged to delay their journeys. here's our sydney correspondent shaimaa khalil. this was said to be one of the worst days australia's most populous state has ever seen, and it's lived up to every urgent warning. huge flames spiralling out of control, moved by strong, unpredictable wind. this is the second time in less than two months that new south wales has seen catastrophic fire conditions. firefighters have been patrolling this area throughout the day. they have been keeping an eye out on the smoke just behind that tree line. this is where villagers have fires at an emergency level and they've be

it has been a conversation but prime minister scott morrison has been reluctant to have. a few weeks ago he criticised local council leaders for linking deadly bushfires in their areas to climate change. the prime minister 110w climate change. the prime minister now acknowledges that global warming isa now acknowledges that global warming is a factor in the bushfire crisis. he says that climate change cannot be directly linked to any individual blaze. will we see australia's climate change policies being altered? i don't really think so. mr morrison, the prime minister, says australians expect him to keep the election promises he made in may regarding emissions and the environment. so i think australians, if they are hoping for the government to embark on ambitious new climate change policies under the current government, i think they will be disappointed. christians in the indonesian province of aceh are preparing to celebrate christmas in makeshift tents in the jungle. their churches were destroyed four years ago by islamic vigilante groups and the police. church leader

i'm brian thomas great to have you with us australia's prime minister scott morrison has apologized for going on holiday in hawaii as the nation contends with its worsening bushfire emergency saying he's heading home morrison also paid tribute to the 2 volunteer firefighters killed when a tree crashed on to their truck. 3 others were seriously injured the men were among thousands of firefighters battling to contain some 100 blazes raging across the state of new south wales. all smoke from those wildfires also spreading across australia's southeastern cities fueling public anger over the government's climate pulses. sydney's skyline and developed in the shroud of smoke with bushfires advancing on the city from multiple sides only its tallest structures remain visible its famous landmarks cast in apocalyptic light. on the ground few dare venture outside without face masks sydney now has the 4th worst air quality in the world experts say it's difficult to avoid such sustained pollution. when pollution exposure is short it's easy to tell people give people advice about how to avoid it stay

morrison, who mr. he said herelied on, understood these were the investigations be on a hill had warned him about? what did you understand that you mean? leftoldman: when dr. hale and tim morrison replaced her, they had transition meetings. during one of those meetings, dr. hill told him about what she believes to be an irregular channel that ambassador sondland was operating where they were pushing for ukraine to do these investigations. , that wasas concerned a domestic political errand and related was working on to national security and foreign policy and those were two separate things. >> was she expressing the view president trump chose his own personal political interests over the foreign policy positions that fiona hill was trying to pursue? mr. goldman: at the time she said that to tim morrison, she was not aware of whether president trump had endorsed these investigations, but she did testify, after she read the call transcript, which she read after it was released, she said she put two and tw

and many are angry at this man prime minister scott morrison is currently facing criticism for leaving the country to holiday in hawaii protesters turned up at his empty home in sydney and accused him of not doing enough to end the country's reliance on fossil fuels the reality of climate change is upon us droughts are getting longer and more severe heat waves becoming longer and most of the bushfire season is creeping into spring and we we're living in a dangerous climate and it is time for our prime minister to get out of pocket of the hole and gas lobby groups and start thinking about the future of the strongly and. marson has responded to the crisis and cut short his holiday but while he has apologised for being absent he has yet to give in to demands to act on climate change. los angeles's skid row is well known for its homeless population life there isn't easy one resident hopes to make things a little bit nicer using the pen name shows art he's using his painting talents to draw attention to play. around 3000 people sleep rough here on skid row in downtown los angeles it's the h

it's been a conversation that prime ministers scott morrison has been reluctant to have. a few weeks ago he criticised the local council leaders for linking deadly bushfires in the areas to climate change. the prime minister now acknowledges that global warming is acknowledges that global warming is a factor in the bushfire crisis. he says that climate change cannot be directly linked to any individual plays. we'll be see australia's climate change policies being altered? i don't really think so. mr morrison, the prime minister, says that australians say that he expects —— australian say he they expect him to keep his promises. australians, if they're hoping for the government to embark on ambitious new climate change policies, under the current government, i think they will be disappointed. i corresponded in sydney, thank you very much. christians in the indonesian province of aceh are preparing to celebrate christmas, in makeshift tents in the jungle. their churches were destroyed, four years ago by islamic vigilante groups and the police. church leaders say they wa

mr morrison said if he could go back, he would have made a different choice. the fires are expected to worsen with more hot dry weather expected. mr morrison did acknowledge the role of climate change, but said warming temperatures couldn't be connected to any single fire. gareth barlow reports. this is the remarkable, almost apocalyptic scene facing firefighters tackling australia's deadly and devastating wildfires. fire chiefs described saturday as an awful day. as thousands of personnel tackle raging infernos, the country's prime minister, scott morrison, has been heavily criticised for being on holiday in hawaii, but the pm has cut short his trip to return home. i get it that people would have been upset to know that i was holidaying with my family while their families were under great stress. they know that i am not going to stand there and hold a hose, iam not a trained firefighter. i'm comforted by the fact that australians would like me to be here, just simply so i can be here. an area the size of belgium has been torched by the fires. hundreds of home

and let me put up slide dying of mr morrison's testimony on page 38 of his public testimony and mr morrison said well the question was a question by mr goldman. you heard the call you recognized that president trump was not discussing the talking points that the n.s.c. had prepared based on official u.s. policy and was instead talking about the investigations that fiona hill had warned you about and then you reported it immediately to the n.s.c. legal advisor is that the correct claim of vents here and mr morrison said that's correct before i ask you mr castor let me ask you mr goldman earlier before your presentation we showed the testimony of miss hell where she referred to what president trump was trying to do is running a domestic political aaron is that what you understand is what you intended to ask mr morrison about in your question to him yes it was about these 2 specific investigations that president trump ultimately did discuss in asking president selenski to do these are the same 2 investigations that were discussed and were there only 2 investigations that were at issue througho

and brief if you can climate change you mention that scott morrison had mentioned it has how is that played into this conversation . well i think he's all the see it does route reflect of tipping point in the way that this government is viewing climate change scott morrison the government has been very reluctant to link climate change to the bush or even to the drought but now it seems that coming around thinking the problem is illustrated relies on an enormous amount on for 2. stations it makes on a $60000000000.00 a year from exporting its told us there's a lot to lose it will strain the. fossil fuels and tries to pursue more renewable energy but there are signs today that the government's mood might be changing they might get the message will right roger matter in sydney thank you very much for that update. germany has objected strongly to u.s. sanctions against the north trying to gas pipeline from russia to germany the sanctions target companies involved in the construction of the pipeline which runs under the baltic scene washington says north stream too will give russia too mu

australia's prime minister scott morrison has apologized for go. vacation while his country confronts a massive bushfire emergency morrison paid tribute to 2 volunteer firefighters who were killed as they tackle the blaze their 73 others were seriously injured they are among thousands of personnel battling to contain about 100 ferocious blazes raging across the state of new south wales. crew struggling to tame wild bushfires in south australia rule teams are doing their best to contain the threat in multiple locations but it's perilous work especially for those on the ground. on thursday to volunteer firefighters were killed battling flames just south of sydney and road wire and jeffrey keaton died after a burning tree fell on the truck these 2 brave young men who lost their lives that represent for us the thousands and thousands of volunteers on the ground today tomorrow and in the days coming who put their own life their own safety on the line to protect others sydney meanwhile has been envelop than a shroud of smoke with fines raging near the st

prime minister scott morrison is facing chris reliance on fossil fuels. the reality of climate change is upon us droughts are getting longer and more severe heat waves are becoming longer and more severe our bushfire season is creeping into spring and when we are living in a dangerous climate and it is time for our prime minister to get out of pockets of the coal and gas lobby groups and to start thinking about the future of the strategy and morrison has responded to the crisis and cut his holiday short but while he's apologized for being absent he has yet to give in to demands to act on climate change. journalist roger joins us now from sydney roger the prime minister has apologized for going on holiday during this crisis but was that enough to quell the criticism of him. well that remains to be seen certainly it was not a good image of the prime minister sunning himself on a holiday in a while and while australia burns and today he was forced to cut short the holiday by a couple of there is an plans to return to sydney are on saturday but the damage has

morrison concedes there is a link between global warming and the bushfires. but he says there is no need to panic and impose new carbon emissions targets, which he calls reckless and job-e stroying. prn. morrison: you don't run government on sentiment. you run government on facts. you run government on what you need to do to protect our environment and sustainabie ty for ture and to protect our economy and the jobs that australians depend on. phil: 100 blazes still burn in new south wales. some are so big it wilexonly be nguished by heavy rain that might be months away. this is a national crisis. fires are menacing commuheties in ttates of south australia and victoria. western australia and queensland have had dangerous days, too. bushfires have always been part of the australian story, but this fire season is not only started earlier than usual, it get worse.e intee and could da: in the former soviet republic of georgia, a film about a love affairetween two male fences has led to widespread protest. some church leaders have voiced disapproval, but lgbt campa

course then a lot of people would be at risk and grief if you can climate change you mentioned scott morrison had mentioned how is that played into this conversation well i think he's always if it doesn't reflect on us of a sort of tipping point in the way that this government is viewing climate change scott morrison the government has been very reluctant to link climate change to the bush fires or even to the drought but now it seems they're coming around that well i think the problem is an australia relies on an almost amount on force of people's coal fired power stations it makes on a $16000000000.00 a year from exporting its told us and there's a lot of loose interest rate. cuts out fossil fuels and tries to pursue more renewable energy but there are signs today that the government's mood might be changing that they might have got the message will right roger mannering sydney thank you very much for that update. thank you. now let's take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. police in berlin have given the all clear at a christmas market after briefly evacuatin