joining me now from sydney is james morris he's the spokesperson for the new for the new south wales rural fire service james thanks so much for joining us authorities say things have reached a catastrophic level sydney which is where you are is surrounded by raging bushfires can you describe to us what this means for people living in the affected areas. good evening and you look terrible conditions he for areas across new south wales tonight as you mentioned catastrophic fire danger declared for parts of new south wales for us that means it eases about as it gets we still soaring temperatures today up in the mid to high forty's winds in excess of id to 100 kilometers after a southerly buster southerly wind chimes coming through a number of areas which even at the moment i was doing new fawzi not central and northern new south wales flaring up threatening homes due to that wind chimes we've seen a number of areas threatened right across areas in western sydney and through the blue mountains up through northern sydney through our whole 3 area and even down on our new south wales south

it is just after midday here in new south wales. tha nkfully midday here in new south wales. thankfully we have seen a bit of respite care across the state. in the last 2a hours we have seen 30—15 millimetres of rain falling across much of northern new south wales, which will hopefully put an end and certainly for some time to fires across northern parts of new south wales. i certainly around the sydney area, central pulse, and southern parts of new south wales we still have a long way to go with next to no moisture falling across those areas. currently we still have around 79 bush and grass fires burning across new south wales, with around 30 of them still to be contained. actually we do have much cooler conditions today, which is allowing our firefighters to get the upper hand, start really working on containment lines, and are doing direct firefighting, which we haven‘t been able to do for some time, due to those deteriorating conditions double eight james, time, due to those deteriorating conditions double eightjames, we are hearing from some firefighters that a littl

first minister of wales, mark drakeford. your speech first minister of wales, mark dra keford. your speech reduced first minister of wales, mark drakeford. your speech reduced some members to tears. pundits and opinion polls suggest that labour is struggling in wales somewhat. could you have done withjeremy corbyn coming to visit a bit sooner rather than a few days before the election? it is fantastic to have jeremy here in the final weekend but it does not ta ke in the final weekend but it does not take a general election to bring jeremy corbyn to wales. he was here in the summerand jeremy corbyn to wales. he was here in the summer and in the autumn and in swansea when i was with him back in septemberand he in swansea when i was with him back in september and he is in swansea when i was with him back in septemberand he is here in swansea when i was with him back in september and he is here again today, helping us to take our message in all parts of wales and as the polling day gets nearer, mines are concentrated on the real choice that faces us. more of the tories with austeri

in new south wales some of them will. say eason's being such as the 20012002 fall as the black christmas far as they back in 9094 and even back as far as. i. was especially. through the blue mountains. now i lost. that 1100000 hits. we ran 3 fatalities and we stand sorry fox at 3500000. we've seen fatalities including. as we said we're only still early on into us some a period without worsening areas are in january and february still to come. james. thanks for that. thanks very much. now let's take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. in chile police used tear gas and water cannon to break up anti-government protests on friday demonstrations against president sebastian pinera have rocked the country since october on friday vieira heeded a key demand of protesters and set a date for a new referee for a referendum on a new constitution. russia's defense minister says its new intercontinental hypersonic missiles became operational on friday the kremlin says the missiles travel up to 27 times the

some could be slow to clear across england and wales. when it does, most could see spells of sunshine and it is a dry day for the whole of the uk on tuesday. cloud with a breeze in scotland. six, eight celsius the top temperature. high—pressure drifts away as we go into wednesday. this system pushes into wednesday. this system pushes into northern ireland and scotland. rain persistent in scotland and then easing away. you wednesday into friday, colder, bluer cold there is —— colours. cold and first in the week ahead. slowly tie learning milder. the risk of fog and cold and windy by friday. goodbye. this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 7pm... the woman killed in the london bridge attack has been named as 23—year—old saskia jones, a former student at cambridge university. her family said she was "funny and kind" and will leave "a huge void" in their lives. the university's vice chancellor said he is "devastated". this is an attack on our community in many ways, and it was intended as such. it was meant to produce

james morris from the new south wales rural fire service thanks for that. thanks very much. time now to take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. russia's defense minister says his new intercontinental hypersonic missiles became operational on friday the kremlin says the missiles travel up to 27 times the speed of sound and to make sharp turns allowing them to evade missile intercept systems. in the gulf oh man iran has begun naval exercises with his russian and chinese allies the drills are taking place near a vital transit route for the world's oil tankers and says the drills show the country cannot be isolated on the high seas. muslims in indonesia have been protesting outside the chinese embassy in jakarta demanding an end to the detention of an estimated $1000000.00 ethnic weaker muslims and government run internment camps china calls these prison camps reeducation facilities indonesia is home to the world's largest muslim population. authorities in the central asian country of kazakstan are trying to determine what caused an airliner to cra

we had in wales. ifi we re in england. we had in wales. ifi were prime minister i would cut school to four days a week.” were prime minister i would cut school to four days a week. i would make a children's parliament.” would help the elderly because they are the key to the past.” would help the elderly because they are the key to the past. i would help health care to find a cure with cancer because many of my family members have suffered with cancer. ifi members have suffered with cancer. if i were prime minister i would help homeless people. i would give them third, water shoes and a queen bed. i would mainly focus on knife crime and crane in gangs because it is extremely dangerous.” crime and crane in gangs because it is extremely dangerous. i would try to persuade people to use public transport for less pollution.” would make sure all animals are cared for. building more parks so people could cycle more. if i was prime minister... not everyone has the same opportunities. if you are wealthy or pure you should be able to attend

joining me now from sydney is james morris he's the spokesperson for the news of the new south wales rural fire service james thanks so much for joining us authours he say things have reached a catastrophic level sydney which is where you are is surrounded by raging bushfires can you describe to us what this means for people living in the affected areas. good evening and you look terrible conditions he for areas across new south wales today as you mentioned catastrophic fire danger declared for parts of new south wales for us that makes it easy as bad as it gets we still soaring temperatures today up in the mid to high forty's winds in excess of id to 100 kilometers after a southerly buster southerly wind chimes coming through a number of areas which even at the moment i was doing new far as in central and northern new south wales flaring up threatening homes due to that wind chimes we've seen a number of areas threatened our right across there is in western sydney and through the blue mountains through northern sydney through our whole sri area and even down on our new south wales s

england and wales. outbreaks of rainfor for england and wales. outbreaks of rain for scotland but patchy compared to the rain further south. look at the temperatures though, widely into double figures, ii—i2dc. let's in this forecast by looking at the jet stream. notice let's in this forecast by looking at thejet stream. notice how let's in this forecast by looking at the jet stream. notice how we start to get these tips in the jet stream which means we will probably see changes day by day so spells of rain then drier that colder. a northerly wind pull stand once again. all change as we look further ahead. tonight at ten, tributes to 23—year—old saskia jones, killed in the london bridge terror attack. her family says she was a wonderful influence on many people's lives. the cambridge graduate was killed while working as a volunteer at the prisoner rehabilitation conference, attended by her attacker. remarkable images reveal the bravery of members of the public taking on the convicted terrorist. it

sunny spells for england and wales outside of the mist and fog. temperatures again, temperatures 6—8 degrees. as we head to the middle part of the week, a weakening weather front heads into the north—east from the atlantic. the centre of the high drifts further in to continental europe but still light winds and clearer skies overnight to bring a pinch of frost for england and wales and probably mist and fog and low cloud, quite a dull day for some. not a great deal of rain on the weather front as it pushes across scotland towards cumbria. quite milder here but cold where it stays grey across central parts of england. by the time we get into thursday, the winds should be pushing away that mistiness and greyness and fog and instead, an active weather front will bring heavy rain into the hills of western scotland. some patchy rain elsewhere and dribs and drabs into northern ireland, the far north of england still dry and bright further south with sunshine but windy weather together with that rain in the north—west. keeping the temperatures up a

oh look they can i think tremendously well given the circumstances are here in new south wales we've been battling these blazes since the end of july up in northern and western parts and and obviously it's coming down now through central and eastern parts of new south wales are looked to far far as our target a lot of our emergency services workers are exhausted but we've seen a lot of relief coming in from back into state counterparts right across australia as well as international far far as coming from america and canada and they he for $38.00 to deployment which will lay out our crews to have a bit of rest but certainly we've got a long road ahead and they saw it as as you mentioned that have burned out more than 3000000 hoped it is will not be extinguished and that threat won't be reduced to a get significant widespread rhyme which of these studies and on the full cost to at least made to life a very all right change that morris from the new south wales moral fly a 7 thank you so much for talking to us that is very very difficult time. now it is the final weekend of been this le

so what is the picture in wales and northern ireland? in a moment we will hear from our wales correspondent hywel griffith. but first, from belfast, emma vardy. the focus of a general election inevitably centres on who is going to get the keys to number ten. and, as important as that is, well, it's not always paramount to everyone in northern ireland. yes, there are 18 parliamentary seats up for grabs here, in a battle dominated by those who want a united ireland versus those who want to remain british. but, green and orange aside, and that big brexit divide, this time there is another issue that has emerged on the doorsteps, and it's one which unites everyone. at some point, we'll all need the people behind these doors, and northern ireland's health service is in crisis. waiting lists are at unprecedented levels, the worst in the uk, with people waiting years for operations and nurses set to strike for the first time. this is cutting through as a big issue in the election, even though it isn't governed by westminster, and is supposed to

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales. james morris is a spokesperson for the new south wales rural fire service, he explains that although there remain uncontained fires across the region, there is cause for some christmas cheer. tha nkfully thankfully we‘ve seen a bit of respite here across the state. in the last four hours we‘ve seen between 30 having 50 millimetres of rain falling across much of northern new south wales, which will hopefully put an end and certainly for some time to fires across northern parts of new south wales. certainly around the sydney areas, central and southern parts of new south wales have a long way to go with next to no moisture falling across those areas. currently we still have grassfire burning, many still have grassfire burning, many still to be contained. we have good conditions today, allowing our firefighters to get the upper hand and start working on containment lines and doing direct firefighting, which we haven't been able to do for some time due to those deteriorating condition

sunny spells for england and wales outside of the mist and fog. temperatures again, temperatures 6—8 degrees. as we head to the middle part of the week, a weakening weather front heads into the north—east from the atlantic. the centre of the high drifts further in to continental europe but still light winds and clearer skies overnight to bring a pinch of frost for england and wales and probably mist and fog and low cloud, quite a dull day for some. not a great deal of rain on the weather front as it pushes across scotland towards cumbria. quite milder here but cold where it stays grey across central parts of england. by the time we get into thursday, the winds should be pushing away that mistiness and greyness and fog and instead, an active weather front will bring heavy rain into the hills of western scotland. some patchy rain elsewhere and dribs and drabs into northern ireland, the far north of england still dry and bright further south with sunshine but windy weather together with that rain in the north—west. keeping the temperatures up a

to smoking remains of a home after bushfires swept through the area these residents in new south wales tried to fire as well as they could before firefighters arrived and took over this happened quickly. we saw this mark and for up basically rushing towards us over the hill and basically every minute it was probably another kilometer closer. before eventually it just hit a fence and pretty much they're finding their ass off. the fires are some of us truly is most extensive ever they have left 30000 square kilometers of charred land in their wake since october over $800.00 homes have been destroyed several states are affected this blaze was raging in the country's south on the outskirts of the city of adelaide but the forest on fire wild life have nowhere else to go pushing the animals poster to people's backyards and into their homes record temperatures powerful winds and low humidity are creating the conditions for the fires to spread presidents say the constant danger is something they've learned to live with. we naive that it's probably only a matter of. days oh wait well we have an

oh look they can i think tremendously well given the circumstances are here in new south wales we've been battling these blazes since the end of july up in northern and western parts and and obviously it's coming down now through central and eastern parts of new south wales so look so far as our target a lot of our emergency services workers are exhausted but we've seen a lot of relief coming in from interstate counterparts right across australia as well as international far as coming in from america and canada and they he for 38 to deployment which will lay out our crews to have a bit of rest but certainly we've got a long road ahead and they saw it as as you mentioned that have burned out more than $3000000.00 head to is will not be extinguished and that threat won't be reduced to a get significant widespread rhyme which at this stage isn't on the full cost of at least mid to late february. change that morris from the new south wales laurel fire service thank you so much for talking to us that is very very difficult time. now it's the final weekend of been disfigured much as before

these residents in new south wales fought the fire as well as they could before firefighters arrived and took over it happened quickly. we saw this mark and flop basically rushing towards us over the hill and basically every minute it was probably one of the kilometer close off before eventually just hit a fence and were pretty much they're finding their ass off. the fires are some of the most extensive ever they have left 30000 square kilometers of charred land in their wake since october over $800.00 homes have been destroyed several states are affected this blaze was raging in the country's south on the outskirts of the city of adelaide with a forest on fire wildlife have nowhere else to go pushing the animals closer to people's backyards and into their homes record temperatures powerful winds and low humidity are creating the conditions for the fires to spread presidents say the constant danger is something they've learned to live with. we know is that probably only a matter of. days oh wait well we have another. that. will definitely stop and ready. the sheer scale of these bush

but that problem is small compared to the challenge firefighters in new south wales are set to face at the weekend after a brief or spite securing a few days of damper weather over christmas temperatures are again expected to soar bringing new risks. that's going to bring not just the heat of the service we're going to see the temperatures up into the larger mid forty's across a lot of areas but it's going to bring a very draw as well so that's going to elevate far by inches and we know the winds are going to start turning around to the west in the northwest which is war so much work has been going on over this last week while conditions are more more out. some 70 fires are burning near sydney new south wales more than 1000 firefighters and now the military are in action across the state trying to contain the fires and prevent them from reaching more inhabited areas. where just putting it back in time and law in detroit prevent the far from coming towards coastal villages already more than $850.00 homes have been raised in new south wales. authorities are also working to protect infras

wherever we are seeing the rain and england and wales there could be some problems asa wales there could be some problems as a result. there is a met office yellow warning for rain. there may bea yellow warning for rain. there may be a bit more flooding, with several spells of rain to come across southern parts as we'll see in the moment. the rain reaches into northern ireland, pushes across scotland, there's a lull to the south of that then another spell of rain perfeeding into parts of england and wales. there is no frost overnight. the next area of rain looks to be confined mostly to england and wales tomorrow. it may start to push towards south—east scotland, may be eastern parts of aberdeenshire during the day. a few showers in western scotland. a lot of dry weather in scotland, foggy and northern ireland to start the day, some of that may linger in some spots and the rain lingering through central and eastern parts of england, only slowly clearing later in the day. it may brighten up towards parts of wales and south—west england. not as windy tomorrow. it feels a bit colder. ov

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales. james morris is a spokesperson for the new south wales rural fire service, he explains that although there remain uncontained fires across the region, there is cause for some christmas cheer. thankfully we have seen a bit of respite care across the state. in the last 2a hours we have seen 30—15 millimetres of rain falling across much of northern new south wales, which will hopefully put an end and certainly for some time to fires across northern parts of new south wales. but certainly around the sydney area, central parts, and southern parts of new south wales we still have a long way to go with next to no moisture falling across those areas. currently we still have around 79 bush and grass fires burning across new south wales, with around 30 of them still to be contained. thankfully we do have much cooler conditions today, which is allowing ourfirefighters to get the upper hand, start really working on containment lines, and are doing direct firefighting, which we haven‘t been ab

we are now to day 105 of this bushfire emergency across new south wales. the community really needs to stay alert and understand what they are going to do as we are threatened by fires. the government approves the takeover of uk defence and aerospace specialist cobham by an american company. a man who confronted the fishermongers hall attacker with a narwal tusk describes his "deep hurt" that he couldn't save the two people who died. prince philip spends the night in hospital in london, to be treated for what's being descrived as a pre—existing condition. and coming up — dateline london looks at the effect impeachment could have on donald trump's support base — that's in half an hour here on bbc news.

that had now to new south wales. —— let's had now to new south wales. authorities in new south wales have declared a 7—day state of emergency as firefighters battle around 100 bushfires. tuesday was australia's hottest day on record, average temperatures nationwide reached 40.9 celsius. temperatures have soared into the 40s again on thursday and strong winds have made it difficult for emergency services. joining me now from penrith in western sydney is our correspondent phil mercer. tell us what is going on where you are. these are the three sisters at echo point near katoomba in the blue mountains of new south wales and the smoke you can see behind me is from two major fires. we smoke you can see behind me is from two majorfires. we understand smoke you can see behind me is from two major fires. we understand from the authorities that three firefighters were injured bubbling one of those places. there are dozens one of those places. there are d oze ns of one of those places. there are dozens of outbreaks across new south wales and what has made the f

and — from today — mixed—sex couples in england and wales can finally enter into civil partnerships. good afternoon. thousands of people in south—eastern australia have been forced to seek refuge on beaches and boats, after becoming trapped by advancing bush fires. in the state of victoria, 4000 people, locals and tourists alike, prepared to flee into the ocean as a last resort. military aircraft and naval ships are being deployed to carry out evacuations and support firefighters. in new south wales, two more people have been killed and dozens of properties destroyed along a stretch of coastline. 0ur sydney correspondent, shaimaa khalil, reports. this is what uncontrollable blazes pushed by strong winds have done to towns across eastern australia. and this is what firefighters have been up against for weeks now. this crew trapped in their fire engine as they fight an impossible battle. in the coastal town of batemans bay in new south wales, residents have fled, taking shelter on the beach, desperately trying to escape the hellish fire conditions. 300 kilometres south in the state o

is that bad of wet weather moves into england and wales we could find some snow over the hills of wales and northern england in particular, a couple of centimetres by the morning before that weather system moves away and is wintry showers continuing overnight into scotland as well. a touch frost overnight, especially the northern half of the uk, some icy patches, too. on sunday we will probably see showers more widely for england and wales, continuing into the afternoon, probably turning wet in the afternoon, later on for northern islands of scotland. otherwise lighter winds and fewer in scotla nd otherwise lighter winds and fewer in scotland but still cold. windy for england and wales with some gales scotland but still cold. windy for england and wales with some gates in the south—west. overnighters those winds tend to ease. we still have that area of low pressure. it is just a shifting position. doesn't really know whether it is coming or going. that is why we are seeing the weather in the final list of the uk. some showers around elsewhere for a while. they should tend to fade away

when you drive through wales, as i have a number of tail times, i've tried one too many parts of wales and many times in my life. a wonderful diversity of topography and everything else. behind all that, there are also stunted aspirations and a great deal of poverty. poverty because of the cruelty in the way in which austerity has worked in this country. to me, this election is about lots of things. of course, rex‘s is important part of it. i simply say this, the basic thing is what our future is to me. simply say this, the basic thing is what ourfuture is to me. in simply say this, the basic thing is what our future is to me. in 2010 a political choice was made. they could have invested for the future, instead they decided to plump for the present and damage the life chances fur people all across the uk. that started off with universal credit being rolled out. universal credit being rolled out. universal credit is ruling the way —— cool in the way that it operates. the way in which it does not give support to children in larger families. which it does not give support to childre

but that problem is small compared to the challenge firefighters in new south wales are set to face at the weekend. after a brief or spite securing a few days of damp weather over christmas temperatures there again expected to soar bringing new risks. that's going to bring not just the heat of the service we're going to see the temperatures up into the larger mid forty's across a lot of areas but it's going to bring a very draw as well so that's going to elevate far by inches and we know the winds are going to start turning around to the west in the northwest which is war so much work is being going on over this last week walking visions of more more out. some 70 fires are burning near sydney new south wales more than 1000 firefighters and now the military are in action across the state trying to contain the fires and prevent them from reaching more inhabited areas. way just putting it back in time and law in detroit prevent far from getting towards coastal villages already more than 850 homes have been raised in new south wales. authorities are also working to protect infrastructure s

mecer, bb -- phil mercer, news, new south wales. samantha: a news reporter at abc in sydney who has been covering the fires has the lest. >> luckily conditions have eased. we are seeing cooler weather across the country, and firefighters in new south wales have taken advantage of that. we have some 2000 firefighters in new south wales alone working on christmas day, ging up their time to basicalk to otect communities in and ar sndney and on the new south wales south coast. samantha: what kind of help and support are many hundreds of families getting? >> a lot of support through various government departments. we heard about the federal government giving leave to volunteers. we are also seeing many of the different government departments giving grants and a lot of volunteer organizations helping to giveomnities something is agreed to live in. 'reg seets and lots of people going to family and friends. really 1000 --nearly 1000 homes destroyed in new south wales alone. closed ijalisco around 4:00 last night. that was so people could go

we currently have 100 fires burning across new south wales. one of those which has been elevated in the last five minutes or to emergency warning threatening homes around the blue mountain. even though here in sydney at the moment it's just after midnight, where we would typically see very cool, calm and collected nights, we are seeing very erratic fire behaviour. flames are ten, 20 metres above the tree tops, threatening homes very close by. still very challenging and erratic conditions being seen by firefighters doing a wonderfuljob, battling to try and save as many houses as possible. unfortunately, saturday we saw catastrophic bushfire conditions right across parts of new south wales. we believe we have lost around 100 homes just in that fire alone and we have seen to 1000 in this fire season alone. devastating times in new south wales and on top of that we have seen eight lives lost on the two of those being our own firefighters in recent days. very hard and challenging times forfire days. very hard and challenging times for fire crews bu

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales. let's speak now to danuta kozaki, a news reporter at abc in sydney who's been covering the fires. welcome, thanks for being with us. what is the latest situation on the ground there? likely conditions have eased, we are seeing cooler weather gci’oss eased, we are seeing cooler weather across the country, and firefighters in new south wales have taken advantage of that, and they are strengthening containment lines today. so we've got some 2500 firefighters in new south wales alone working on christmas day, giving up their christmas to work and protect communities in and around sydney and around the south coast. what kind of support are the many of the hundreds of families affected getting? there's been lots of support through various government departments. we've heard about the federal government giving leave to volunteers. we are also seeing many of the different government departments giving grants, and we are seeing lots of volunteer organisations helping to give communities some

, have taken particularly in new south wales, have ta ken advantage particularly in new south wales, have taken advantage of that and they are strengthening containment lines today so we have got some 2000 firefighters in new south wales alone working on christmas day giving up theirtime alone working on christmas day giving up their time today to basically work to protect communities in and around sydney and on the new south wales south coast. and what kind of help and support are the many hundreds of families who have been affected heading? there has been a lot of support through various government departments. we have heard about the federal government giving leave to volunteers. we are also seeing many of the different government departments giving grants and we are seeing a lot of volunteer organisations helping to give communities something, basically, to live in. we have seen lots and lots of people going to family and friends. we have got nearly 1000 homes that have been destroyed in new south wales alone. so a lot of those people have gone to family and friends. the last eva

let's talk now to the bbc‘s phil mercer, who's in bargo in new south wales. bring us up—to—date from their. bring us up-to-date from their. this isa bring us up-to-date from their. this is a small village about an hour and a half ‘s drive to the south of syd ney a half ‘s drive to the south of sydney here in eastern australia. it isa sydney here in eastern australia. it is a holiday today, quite breezy and the home you can see behind me don't down in the last couple of days. it was clearly no match for the ferocious blaze that started on the other side of the road. what happened, we've just been speaking toa happened, we've just been speaking to a neighbour whose house survived. he said the flames roared across here, jumped across the road but the strange thing was, he was saying, that the fire past but about four hours later, there was something called an ember attack. this attack is millions of tiny, red—hot pieces of ash and other debris. they rained down on this property. other houses, you might be able to see through the trees that, other house

england head coach gareth southgate and wales manager ryan giggs arriving. england face familiar foes and open the tournament against croatia, who knocked them out of the semifinals at the world cup. scotland willjoin them if they qualify through the play—offs, while the czech republic complete group d. with the tournament staged throughout europe for the first time, england will benefit from playing all their group games at wembley, a massive advantage for gareth southgate as they look to replicate the run in russia last summer. we have played at least two of the teams before. for us to be playing at wembley is something very special so we are really looking forward to the tournament. wales have drawn switzerland and turkey in their opening group games and face the long trip to azerbaijan, with baku staging their first two games before their final group match with italy in rome. wales produced an equally impressive run of their own, losing to the reigning champions portugal and france three years ago. ryan giggs all too aware success this time will rely o

for england and wales it's predominantly dry. some clear spells, generally a lot of cloud on what will be quite a mild night. i think the vast majority will stay frost—free. so, the saturday morning then, still frontal systems running up towards the north—west, so there will be positive rain at times, but high pressure close to the east and south of the uk keeping things fine and dry here. but still, rather cloudy for many of us on saturday, some glimmers of brightness again developing, i think particularly across the south of england and south of wales through the afternoon. but for northern ireland, for scotland, we will again see some outbreaks of rain, some of that will be heavy over hills in the west but notice that mild theme, temperatures of 9—12, maybe 13 degrees. and it stays mild into sunday and at this stage we're likely to bring some slightly drier air up from the near continent. so more sunshine to come across england and wales, northern ireland and also the south and east of scotland. still some rain to the no

as far as the bushfire danger is concerned it is very extreme hearing new south wales. the danger extends to the north, to queensland and also to the south in victoria. it promises to be another brutal day here in australia. there have been mass protests outside the stadium in barcelona ahead of a game with real madrid, which was postponed back in october because of widespread demonstrations then over the jailing of nine catalan separatist leaders. the barcelona fans and the other protesters want a legal referendum on independence for the north—eastern region of spain. gavin lee reports from barcelona. in the shadow of barcelona's football stadium tonight, the crowds outside are making a political point. catalan independence demonstrators are outside every corner of the stadium, while record numbers of police stand guard as one of the biggest spectacles in world football, real madrid and barcelona, takes place inside. well, the demonstrations tonight have been largely peaceful, but small groups of catalan separatist protesters have been burning the dustbins all around

more showers are for england and wales on sunday. much of north—east england down towards lincolnshire the fans probably dry. if you are showers. scotland and northern ireland, particularly showery on a sunday afternoon. in the cold air, we still have an area of low pressure to the north of the uk into the beginning of next week. the weather front approaching the south—east corner as well. the beginning of next week, they winds will fall into. an increasing risk of some frosted run. increasing cloud coming towards the south—east of england, ahead of that, one or two showers, most of them clipping the north—west of scotland. you can see how cold it is. temperatures again typically five to 7 degrees. that low pressure is weakening, but not moving anywhere. this weather front wheel second. it will possibly put a cloud further north into england and wales, and maybe bring rain and to the south. some uncertainty about that. so got some showers clipping the north—west of scotland, northern ireland looks larger dry with sunshine.

and that will tend to lift the mist and fog through the midlands and wales much more quickly. further north, a few patches may linger until the middle part of the day, at least. but generally it becomes dry and sunny. got a few showers on that keener breeze across the north of scotland, down those north sea coasts, and particularly later into kent. these are the temperatures for the first day of december. similar to what we had on saturday. not quite as chilly as it was, though, perhaps, through the midlands with more sunshine here as there will be in the south—west of england where it's going to be dry. high pressure, cold air continues overnight as we head into monday. but signs of change into the north—west. our air beginning to come in from the atlantic. a patchy frost for scotland and northern ireland on monday morning it won't be as cold, with the frost more widely for england and wales. after a starry night we're going to have plenty of sunshine on monday and lighter winds. south—westerly breezes blow a bit more cloud into northern ireland and particularly into sc

will be part of the united kingdom presumably there's no there's no appetite here at all in wales for independence and moving away from the union i think it's the last time i heard any polling on that i think it was something around well and 10 percent and of course you know gala very well one of the most beautiful places in the united kingdom expecting lots of rich foreign buyers of property around there is bars drugs and opens up a globalised britain no i don't think that's going to happen to troll. it has got out me bridge properties it has a it has a number of very nice properties but it is as you rightly say is the 1st area of that standing natural beauty in the u.k. and we need to protect that why do you think that many conservatives didn't support boris johnson strategy all across this brics and period he even had to throw out so many people from the tory party in effect i think what i think you know as far as the tory strong as far as the parliamentary party was this and there were people and people that were my colleagues who were absolutely dedicated to. remaining within the

devastating times for new south wales. we have seen eight lives lost, two of those being your own firefighters in recent days, so hard and challenging times for the fire crews but they are doing what they do to protect communities across the state. given the scale of what you are facing, how do you prioritise what you must tackle first? it can be challenging at times, at one point about six weeks ago, we saw 17 fires burning at the emergency warning alert level. that alert level for us means homes and lives are under threat. typically in previous years we have seen a typically in previous years we have seen a maximum of four fires at the emergency warning, so to have 17 at that level is massive and it takes a lot of logistical and operational management, from right across new south wales in the number of emergency services but we prioritise as much as possible the areas that those fires are burning in, how many lives and properties. we have thousands of firefighters on the ground each and every day and support from other e

devastating times for new south wales. we have seen eight lives lost, two of those being our own firefighters in recent days, so very hard and challenging times for the crews but they are doing what they do to protect communities across the state. given the scale of what you are facing, how do you prioritise what you must tackle first? it can be challenging at times, at one point about six weeks ago, we saw 17 fires burning at the emergency warning alert level. that alert level for us means homes and lives are under threat. typically in previous years we have seen a maximum of four fires at the emergency warning, so to have 17 at that level is massive and it takes a lot of logistical and operational management, from right across new south wales and a number of emergency services but we prioritise as much as possible the areas that those fires are burning in, how many lives and properties. we have thousands of firefighters on the ground each and every day and support from other emergency services, from our firefighting coun

‘ across england and wales, to the day across england and wales, the rain easing off for a time midday, but later on we will see another pulse of heavy rain pushing back into wales, southern england and the midlands. whereas further north, northern scotland probably staying drier and brighter. a few showers for northern ireland from time to time. it is a mild start to the day and a mild day throughout, really, the temperature is barely budging from what we have in the first part of the morning. highs of around 10— 13 degrees with a brisk, southerly wind. through the course of the night our first pulse of rain pushes northwards but more wet weather working across england and wales during the second part of the night as well. it is going to be a mild night, but the rain is increasingly cause for concern. areas that perhaps giving us most concern at the moment are into southern england and wales, with the prospect of localised flooding building and on account of the fairly persistent bursts of heavy rain and the ground being completely saturated. we could see some localised disruption o

the latest victims, a 63—year—old man and his 29—year—old son died in new south wales. in the neighbouring state of victoria, thousands of people were forced to seek refuge on beaches and boats after becoming trapped by advancing bushfires. residents and holiday—makers in mallacoota in east gippsland described how the morning sky was turned black by clouds of ash and embers. phil mercer reports. stuck in a nightmare. the sky in mallacoota turned a grotesque red, as strong winds pushed out of control bushfires towards the popular seaside town about 500 kilometres east of melbourne. thousands of people were trapped and sought shelter on the beach. some waded into the water to escape red hot embers that rained down. 0thers fled by boat, but most waited patiently for the danger to pass, or for help to arrive. it's still a dynamic and dangerous situation, so we've got embers going into mallacoota at the moment. we've got 4,000 people on the beach there, that are being very well protected by our firefighters. the australian navy could be brought in to provide food, water, a

cloud will fade away across england and wales this evening, clear skies and wales this evening, clear skies and a cold night, colder than the nightjust gone. for and a cold night, colder than the night just gone. for scotland and a cold night, colder than the nightjust gone. for scotland and northern ireland, more clout, bringing outbreaks of rain into northern scotland overnight, and milder air, so northern scotland overnight, and milderair, soa northern scotland overnight, and milderair, so a real northern scotland overnight, and milder air, so a real contrast compared to the nightjust gone, much milder in northern and western scotla nd much milder in northern and western scotland and northern ireland. england and wales, widespread frost, temperatures down to minus four celsius. a cold and crisp stock to the day. cloudy for northern ireland and scotland, the rain moving east, becoming patchy as it does so. cloudy but mainly dry for northern ireland, cloud increasing across northern ireland in north wales in the afternoon. it will feel a bit milder across the far north and west of sc

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales. police in new zealand have called off the search for the bodies of two people missing since the volcano eruption on white island earlier this month. police say they took the decision after extensive shoreline and aerial searches. the bodies of hayden marshall—inman, who was 40, and 17—year—old winona jane langford are thought to be in the water off the island. ms langford's parents were among the 19 people killed by the eruption. police in hong kong have fired tear gas at pro—democracy protesters who've been holding rallies. the demonstrators had gathered around shopping malls and areas popular with tourists. some activists threw umbrellas and other objects at the police, who responded by beating them with batons. thousands of people have been arrested since the unrest began injune. a record number of cattle were slaughtered last year because of bovine tuberculosis — nearly 16,000 — and the disease is considered a significant animal health problem for the uk. now one farme

stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: former wales rugby captain gareth thomas talks to prince harry in an interview to mark world aids day. at 11am, 0.5 metres of blog separated britain from continental europe. it took the drill is a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then the miners were shaking hands and exchanging flags. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: british police have named the second person killed in friday's attack near london bridge. saskia jones was 23 years old, and worked in prisoner rehabilitation. malta's prime minister is stepping down after a member of his office was arrested as part of an investigation into a journalist's murder. let's return to the london bridge attack on friday. it's raised questions about how de—radicalisation programmes work in the uk. steven greer, is a professor of human rights at the university of bristol. do these de—radicalisation programmes work? it's very difficult to say. we have to distinguish different types of de—radicalisation programmes or contexts in which they operate. there is one which oper

but that problem is small compared to the challenge firefighters in new south wales are set to face at the weekend. after a brief or spite securing a few days of damp a weather over christmas temperatures there again expected to soar bringing new risks. that's going to bring not just the heat of the central australia we're going to see the temperatures up into the larger mid forty's across a lot of areas but it's going to bring a very dry year as well so that's going to elevate far dangers and we know the winds are going to start turning around to the west in the northwest which is war so much work has been going on over this last week while conditions are more more out. some 70 fires are burning near sydney new south wales more than 1000 firefighters and now the military action across the state trying to contain the fire as prevent them from reaching more inhabited areas. way just putting it back in time and law in detroit prevent a far from hitting towards coastal villages already more than $850.00 homes have been razed a new south wales. authorities are also working to protect infra

this area moving north and east across england and wales. throughout the day, a feed of showers coming into northern ireland, wintry on hills. and into scotland, particularly in the west, frequent showers here. heavy downpours at lower levels. some heavy snow to some of the hills here. so, walkers, take note of that. it is going to be a blustery day. these are some of the wind gusts and the winds will get stronger again later in the day, down towards the south—west of england in particular, as another batch of wet weather starts to move in. and as for those temperatures, most of us in single figures, many of us just into mid single figures. now, let's just run on through saturday night and follow this area of wet weather feeding north across more of england and wales. could well be seeing some hill snow out of that through wales, parts of northern england, even into the midlands, to relatively low hills at that. northern ireland and scotland still seeing some snow falling in some of the hills here. it looks a bit colder across northern bri

for england and wales. claddagh times in scotla nd and wales. claddagh times in scotland and northern ireland. 0ne 01’ scotland and northern ireland. 0ne or two showers and with the breeze coming in from the south—west, we could see temperatures peaking around 1a or 15 celsius. temperatures widely into double figures as we finish sunday afternoon. they will drop as we go into the start of next week but as we head towards new year's eve, it is looking dry and it is looking fine for most with just like winds. if you have been missing a little bit of winter snowfall, look at what happened in california on christmas day. big, severe winter storm push through dropping lots of snow on the mountains. even the reports of a tornado and heavy rain around other parts of california. none of that this year, much milder. back to both. if you havejust this year, much milder. back to both. if you have just turned this year, much milder. back to both. if you havejust turned on your tv, that is california. we can bring y

sunny spells for england and wales outside of the mist and fog. temperatures again, temperatures 6—8 degrees. as we head to the middle part of the week, a weakening weather front heads into the north—east from the atlantic. the centre of the high drifts further in to continental europe but still light winds and clearer skies overnight to bring a pinch of frost for england and wales and probably mist and fog and low cloud, quite a dull day for some. not a great deal of rain on the weather front as it pushes across scotland towards cumbria. quite milder here but cold where it stays grey across central parts of england. by the time we get into thursday, the winds should be pushing away that mistiness and greyness and fog and instead, an active weather front will bring heavy rain into the hills of western scotland. some patchy rain elsewhere and dribs and drabs into northern ireland, the far north of england still dry and bright further south with sunshine but windy weather together with that rain in the north—west. keeping the temperatures up a

remains in office also on the show as failures bushfire crisis prompts a state of emergency in new south wales are record breaking heat waves from winds are fanning unprecedented fires authorities are warning of worsening conditions over the coming days. i'm brian thomas great to have you with us president on trump is now the 3rd u.s. president in history to be impeached the u.s. house of representatives has voted on 2 charges stemming from his alleged attempt to pressure ukraine into investigating his political rival joe biden now both of those fellow along party lines almost all democrats voting for the charges republicans voted unanimously against them this paves the way for a senate trial which will decide whether the president will be removed from office . after hours of debating the 1st article of impeachment for abuse of power past the hives. on this vote the yeas are 230 the nasal 197 present is one article one is adopted and just minutes later the 2nd article for obstruction of congress went as planned for the democrats on this vote the yeas are 229 the nays are 198 present is one art

will be part of the united kingdom presumably there's no there's no appetite here it's all in wales for independence and moving away from the union i think it's the last time i heard any. polling on that i think it was something around well and 10 percent and of course you know gala very well one of the most beautiful places in the united kingdom expecting lots of rich foreign buyers of property around there is bars drugs and opens up a globalised britain no i don't think that's going to happen to toll gag. it hasn't got up me bridge properties it has a it has a number of very nice properties but it is as you rightly say is the 1st area of outstanding natural beauty in the u.k. and we need to protect that why do you think that many conservatives didn't support boris johnson strategy all across this bricks and period he even had to throw out so many people from the tory party in effect i think. well i think you know as far as the tory as long as far as the parliamentary party was this and there were people and people that were my colleagues who were absolutely dedicated to remaining