south wales all right james morris from the new south wales laurel fly a 7 thank you so much for talking to us at this very very difficult time you're welcome thank you anya. hey you all watching the news live from berlin up next is reporter with a look at what some families do in their quest for the perfect christmas tree now don't forget you can get all the latest news on our website as well as. for now i'm new to this macand then. thanks so much for joining us. what secrets lie behind. discover new adventures in 360 degrees. and explore the major world heritage sites of the cool world heritage 3 sixty's getting up now. i was issued when i arrived here i slept with 6 people in a room. it was hard it was for.

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

south wales. authorities are also working to protect infrastructure surrounding a vital dam west of sydney that provides water to around 4000000 people in the city but which could be at risk if the fires spread. we're joined now from sydney by james morris he's a spokesman for the new south wales oral fire service james thank you so much for talking to us now the weather forecast for us trail in the coming days is extreme heat windy conditions what does that mean for all of you fighting the fires. obviously yeah good afternoon mariano these are the conditions that we we must fear obviously we're looking at severe and extreme far dangerous for our more populated areas solely through the sydney area down in the new south wales south coast which of these time of year is a very popular holiday like tyson and we've got a large number of people in that area currently so i obviously are out there advice to them is particularly in regards to if you don't need to be in these areas on these more at risk day

south wales. authorities are also working to protect infrastructure surrounding a vital dam west of sydney that provides mortar to around $4000000.00 people in the city but which could be at risk if the fire spread. and joining us now from sydney is james morris he's a spokesman for the new south wales rural fire service james the weather forecast for you is hot and windy what does that mean for fighting the fires. good afternoon nic obviously that means challenging conditions and certainly somewhat erratic fire behavior expected across the logic area of a far grounds some idea one wishing grosse for as continue to burn across new south wales with around 35 of those still yet to be can tie and that still a lot of fog that we've got in the lead skype giving that predicted a full cost conditions over the next $3.00 to $4.00 days and what have firefighters done to prepare for these worsening conditions or is there anything they can do is look there is certainly some work that we can do our forefather

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 conditions. james, we are hearing from some firefighters that a little bit of rain can make things worse because it makes back burning to contain fires so much more difficult. that‘s exactly right, mike. it certainly does. unfortunately, obviously, sometimes we do need fire to fight fire, and when we have these much cooler and more humid conditions it really is challenging for those back burns to take hold. so, we do put things into place such as working on those hard containment lines, doing direct attack

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

and northern sydney around the hawks free area and down on the south coast of new south wales around joe spy in sussex inlet there with a number of blazes continuing to burn threatening properties right across as far grounds can you give us an idea of how bad the damage has been over the past 24 hours look at this stage we're still trying to ascertain the damage certainly of the last 12 hours where were you saying reports of widespread property loss especially through the blue mountains and in some south western sydney around the the. area and the human heart eyesight will assess those overcoming dies we are largely talking in excess of $23.00 to potentially even 50 harms destroyed unfortunately we still have one person which is unaccounted for and hopefully tomorrow will form some some good news but certainly you know a grim harvest if for a number of reports from from that area in north western sydney secondly huge pressure on the firefighters not to mention the people whose whose homes are being affected by this is there any relief in sight a whole. ulick think fully this in the i

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 little bit of rain can make things worse because it makes back learning to contain fires so much more difficult. that‘s exactly right, mike. it certainly does. u nfortu nately, right, mike. it certainly does. unfortunately, obviously, sometimes when need fire to fight fire, and when need

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

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

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

south wales. crews 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 jeffery keeping died after a burning tree fell on the truck bays 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 in put their own life their own safety on the line to protect others sydney meanwhile has been envelop than a shroud of smoke with fires raging near the state capital only it's taller structures remain visible its famous landmarks cast in an apocalyptic light. on the ground few dared to venture outside without facemasks air pollution in sydney is now several times what experts believe to be hazardous the fires are being fuelled by drought and record temperatures which scienti

in new south wales the forecast is that sort of i will be even worse so we're talking about some very serious and dangerous conditions over the coming days. with the heat bearing down many australians took to the waves to cool off. even as they relax on the beach the flames are creeping closer. i was going steady now that's where journalist roger maynard is standing by for us roger how are people coping i mean we saw people there cooling off in the waters there's these record temperatures and not only that i mean there must be a big health threat posed as well by all that smoke coming from the bushfires are people coping there. well with great difficulty it has to be said we've had the return of the snow case which has been a problem in sydney and much of the. fortnight now i was really about last week today or early this week is that today that there's no case return and you know we had lots of people walking in the streets with the masks around the place to protect themselves and in fact to the or has said that the. the the air quality was a little in times over the acceptable level

south wales. more than 100 fires are burning across australia's most populous state. roads have been closed, rail services have been disrupted, and what with just a few days left until christmas, summer holidaymakers hoping to go north, south, and west of sydney have been urged to stay at home today and to delay their trip until tomorrow, because conditions are very, very dangerous, as you say, very hot temperatures in parts of new south wales. we also have a prediction of very strong winds later. so that is a real menace for firefighters. hot temperatures, very dry conditions underfoot, and those winds will make those fires increasingly unpredictable. fires burning to in the state of victoria, also in south australia and on the other side of the continent in western australia fire crews battling blazes there too. so it's another brutal day in australia's summer. 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 woul

new south wales. koalas and other australian animals are the unseen victims of the fires. much of their habitat has been destroyed and the survivors need all the help they can get. the true extent of australia's bushfire crisis is gradually emerging as the charred remains of devastated towns are inspected. since the start ofjuly, the authorities here in new south wales say almost 1,000 homes have been destroyed by the bushfires. this property was devoured by flames that tore up through a gully at the back. communities like this terrorised by fires that, in many places, are simply burning out of control. we just want to make sure that you guys have got stuff for your community. the damage would be far worse without the efforts of volunteer firefighters. here in buxton, locals have been showing their appreciation to those who have been working around the clock to keep the town safe. it is just overwhelming support, like, you know, obviously, with presents and stuff for the kids. i haven't even done any

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales. mr morrison released a christmas message, alongside his wifejenny, in which he praised the efforts of all of those fighting the country's fires. he delivered a tribute to the two volunteer firefighters who lost their lives earlier this week to the bushfires. we week to the bushfires. think especially of the famil of we think especially of the families of andrew 0'dwyer and geoffrey keaton who we lost in the fires recently here in new south wales. and to melissa and tojess and all of yourfamily, and to melissa and tojess and all of your family, to andrew and jeff's pa rents, of your family, to andrew and jeff's parents, we know this will be a tough christmas for you this year, the first one without both of these amazing men, and all of those out there in the horsley park brigade we send our great love and our best wishes to you. they are a reminder of why this country is amazing. and they are a reminder of what we have got to give thanks for, despite these many challenges. so, on behal

and also saturday into the next few days on advice of commissioner fitzsimmons new south wales will be in a state of emergency from today for the next 7 days scientists blame global warming for the severity of this year's fires parched from the searing heat new south wales is a tinderbox already a light. the fire service sending out its biggest plane this one dumps 36000 liters of fire retardant with every flight but that's still not enough we've got just under 104 hours burning cross new south wales and half of them are not can timed it was to die is going to be a very bad i digressed are here in new south wales the forecast is that sort of i will be even worse so we're talking about some very serious and dangerous conditions over the coming days. with the heat bearing down many australians took to the waves to cool off. even as they relax on the beach the flames are creeping closer. we have some football now in brazil pulled level with leipzig at the top after a hard force win over bottom club born. columns last ball seconds after the restart i was on play i was there to hammer ho

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

south wales but there are still in new south wales 100 fires still burning and leasehold of them are out of control there's very little the phone apply to see today or do about it alyssa gloss it rains and that's the miracle that everybody is hoping and praying for but the situation is expected to get a lot worse in the next 24 hours with more heat wave temperatures and strong winds . fanning the flames in new south wales and the real fear is that it's going to be a major problem to the south of sydney lonely at the southern new south wales coast where many people are on holiday at the moment and fathers are already breaking out there in coastal areas so the crisis is still growing much up in unfolding if you like and we will really know the full scale what's going to happen until perhaps tomorrow all right raja may not aid it sydney for us thanks. again when a 2nd it mounts on the other stories making news around the world tesco is in the u.s. state of texas is shot dead a gunman who opened fire at a sunday service killing 2 parishioners in september new york came into effect in tex

maurice he's a spokesperson for the new south wales who are. very much for talking to us now firstly we want to see how. those of young children who've lost their lives fighting these days is can you give us a sense of the scale of the fires these men and thousands of firefighters are facing. good evening and good morning to you emirates are obviously a very big loss off the roof of a sun and the water firefighting fraternity here in new south wales 2 very loved well respected and dedicated men who gave a lot of time to protect a community i'm not only now but i was the last 10 also use of the same members of the roof on service unfortunately they were killed in the early in the light and i was rather of last night's i when they're falling appliance was struck by trade and therefore rolled and unfortunately those 2 men did die at the same 3 firefighters who were in the back of the vehicle which transported to hospital via ambulance and thankfully they're in night in a stable condition with non-life threatening injuries but obviously i has a wan

we've got just under 104 hours going across new south wales and half of them are not can timed to die is going to be a very bad i dined here in new south wales the forecast is that sort of i will be even worse so we're talking about some very serious and dangerous conditions over the coming days. with the heat bearing down many australians took to the waves to cool off. even as they relax on the beach the flames are creeping closer. they would be even more dangerous conditions on the way let's go straight to sydney now and journalist roger maynard good morning roger a serious situation where you are or soyuz. well the temps you know it's 42 degrees centigrade on average across australia today which is pretty awful anyone's standards and as your correspondent mentioned just now we've got a state of emergency declared in new south wales which will be in full school at least the next 7 days let state of emergency will be learnt is greater powers the fire authority is the place to forcibly remove people from the hones it if necessary but the root of the really big worry here at the moment

of sydney down to the south coast of new south wales where many people go there well it is at this time of year so you know it's right now the crisis is unfolding and we probably won't know the full impact of the situational conditions until 2 laura as you mentioned this is a team i meant various plans for works in sydney they've been cancelled due to the bushfire threat but not the wasn't on display at sydney harbor how all 40 justifying this. well there's been a lot of talk about canceling the fires because you know it's not really a good look you have a lot smoke a system blankly much of new south wales and said you know it will pass for life but at the same time the fireworks display on sydney harbor a key major tourist event for australia a 1000000 people turn up around the foreshore of sydney harbor area to watch the fires the fireworks themselves and also the of the follow ups i see blood and estimated 1000000000 until this isn't that sort of around the world is a very very important occasion you know the same time a lot of people feel that it insensitive to have these fireworks

forest on it from lightning down in the south eastern parts of new south wales if you just storms moving through which certainly isn't a good thing considering we've got these are these worsening weather in timing guys . that was chains morris of the new south wales rural fire service speaking to us. now thousands of families in western kenya are coping with the aftermath of flooding and heavy rains that began on christmas eve many fear the flooding could get worse as they wait for aid to east africa is being battered by abnormally heavy rains to the indian ocean in warmer than usual. in the kenyan county of kisumu the water has crept everywhere residents struggle to find safe and dry places away from the muddy waters they are appealing to the government for help . children food went with the water school shoes and the books for the kids to my belongings outside here and i don't know where i will go to. there's no place to sleep we don't even have tents no water to drink and i have children in college as well as in secondary and primary schools. that don't support it started on christmas

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, balmoral, new south wales. and we'll be hearing more about the efforts to bring the fires under control in a short while. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. premier league football club tottenham hotspur has promised a thorough investigation after its match with chelsea was marred by racist behaviour from the crowd. fans were warned three times during the game after monkey noises and racist chanting were aimed at the chelsea defender antonio rudiger. jon donnison has more. well, spurs have issued a statement saying they are now conducting a thorough investigation and that will include speaking to some of the chelsea players. that statement says, "any form of racism is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in this stadium." it says they take any allegations such allegations extremely seriously and they will take the strongest possible action against any individualfound to be behaving in any such a way will be taken, including stadium bans. one would imagine with all the cameras and th

australia's bushfire crisis prompts a state of emergency in new south wales a record heat wave is fanning on president and blazes situations expected to get even worse more intense heat and extreme winds are on the way. and in german football via munich leaves it until late in the game but takes home what could be a crucial win a frog. i'm brian thomas good to have you with us the u.s. house of representatives has voted to impeach president donald trump on 2 charges stemming from his alleged attempt to pressure u.k. crane into investigating his political rival joe biden now both well votes fell along party lines almost all democrats voting for the charges and republicans voting against them but this doesn't mean that the president will be removed from office the process now moves to the senate where he's likely to be acquitted by its republican majority. after hours of debating the 1st article of impeachment for abuse of power past perhaps. 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

south wales. we also have a prediction of very strong winds later. so that is a real menace for firefighters. very strong winds later. so that is a real menace forfirefighters. hot temperatures, very dry conditions underfoot, and those wins will make those fires increasingly unpredictable. fires burning to any of victoria, also in south australia and on the other side of the continent in western australia fire ci’ews continent in western australia fire crews battling blazes there too. so was another brutal day in australia's summer. 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 he will get quite a reception when he gets home. many australians very angry that their prime minister decided to ta ke that their prime minister decided to take a holiday to hawaii at a time of crisis. mr morrison has issued a statement saying that he deeply regrets a ny statement saying that he deeply regrets any offence

australia's bushfire crisis prompts a state of emergency in new south wales a record heat wave is fanning unprecedented fires the situation is expected to get worse for the even more intense heat and extreme winds on the way. and it's 3 years since a terror attack killed 12 people out of berlin christmas market opposition politicians in germany say authorities still have a lot of questions to answer. and in german football. leave it until late in the game but take home what could be a crucial when at freiburg. i'm brian thomas great to have you with us the u.s. house of representatives has voted to impeach president donald trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of congress these charges stem from trump's alleged attempts to pressure ukraine into investigating his political rival joe biden while makers adopted both resolutions along party lines almost all democrats voting yes the republican. voting unanimously against the articles now the articles of impeachment also now need to be sent to the senate the majority republicans they are are expected to vote them down thereby keepi

ben shepherd from the rural fire service in new south wales. the seychelles off the coast of east africa is setting itself up as a hub for marine preservation. at least half the world's reefs have already been lost to rising sea temperatures, so could this tiny archipelago help save some from extinction? catherine byaru hanga, from bbc africa, has been finding out. they're called the reef rescuers. atina and chloe work in the indian ocean trying to find ways of saving the world's dying coral. today, they're checking on their nursery. it's a man—made coralfarm and one of the biggest in the world. this is a large—scale coral reef restoration project. the nursery that we use is a rope nursery. so, our coral fragments are actually placed inside a rope and then they are hung mid—water. over half the world's reefs have already been lost because of climate change. coral gets its colour and its energy from the algae which live inside it. as the water gets warmer, though, the algae becomes toxic, so the coral evicts it. this is called bleaching. w

and a state of emergency in new south wales as australia's bushfire crisis continues a record breaking heat wave and strong winds are fanning unprecedented fires authorities they are warning of the worsening conditions over the coming days. i'm called aspen welcome to the program donald trump is now just the 3rd u.s. president in history to be impeached the u.s. house of representatives has voted on 2 charges stemming from trump's alleged attempt to pressure ukraine into investigating his main political rival joe biden both votes fellow along party lines almost all democrats voted for the changes republicans voted unanimously against them this now paves the way for senate trial which will decide whether the president will be. 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 i'm 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 article 2 is adopt

south wales supporting the professional firefighters, new south wales supporting the professionalfirefighters, it new south wales supporting the professional firefighters, it would bea professional firefighters, it would be a very difficult situation — make different situation. at about the number of homes that have been lost in new south wales, almost a thousand since the start ofjuly. without these volunteer firefighters, many more homes would have been lost and as we say, they are volunteers and the authorities are volunteers and the authorities are saying that they are trying to give them or allowances to try and make ends meet at this time of crisis. thank you very much indeed. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: business booms in bethlehem as tourists flock to the biblical town for christmas. but for some locals, life is increasingly fragile. the world of music's been paying tribute to george michael, who's died from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. the united states troops have been tryin

south wales. authorities are also working to protect infrastructure surrounding a vital dam west of sydney that provides water to around 4000000 people in the city but which could be at risk if the fires spread. and for more on this journalist roger manor joins us from sydney roger the weather forecast for you is hot and windy what does that mean for fighting the fires well it doesn't bode well i must say as you mentioned just now those are sort of burning across new south wales alone and the hull of still yet to be contained and the situation will is certainly get worse at the weekend as we see a return to those heat wave conditions we experienced earlier this week and also the strong winds which accompanied them so it's not a very good outlook at the moment it's a similar situation victoria where a massive part in there is forming at the moment the temperatures there are expected to hit 40 degrees a week in and again just the winds are expected to join them fanning the flames that already exist

the australian government says thousands of volunteer firefighters in new south wales will be compensated for loss of earnings during the bushfires. more than 100 fires are still burning in southern australia, and conditions are expected to worsen over the coming days. meanwhile sydney's mayor says the new year's eve fireworks display will go ahead despite a petition calling for funds to be redirected towards firefighting efforts. briony sowden reports. for those living on the edge of the fires, this is now the new normal. more than 100 fires are continuing to burn across new south wales, the biggest one threatening the country's most populated city, sydney, and with temperatures forecast to reach a0 degrees over the coming days, there appears to be no reprieve in sight. now, a new crisis has erupted — city officials are coming under pressure to cancel its annual new year's eve fireworks extravaganza, which some say are now an insult. in the past two weeks, an online petition has gained momentum and now has more than a quarter of a million signatures. according to the petition, people a

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

fires started from lightning a dent in the south eastern parts of new south wales if you just storms moving through which certainly isn't a good thing considering we've got the sun this worsening weather in timing guys. and there was james morris of the new south wales rolf by a service speaking to us a 2nd look now something else stories making news around the world a truck bomb attack in somalia has killed at least 70 people of the device exploded during morning rush hour at a busy checkpoint in the capital mogadishu president mohammad up tonight from nigel named a militant as loves. antics prime minister competing to become president in guinea bissau well as to the polls the incoming president shows the america of us fails to make its to the final round of fighting. now thousands of families in western kenya all coping with the aftermath of flooding and heavy rains that began on christmas eve many fear the flooding could get worse as they wait for aid to iraq. east africa is being battered by abnormal behavior rains into the indian ocean being warmer than usual. in the kenyan coun

in new south wales, a volunteer firefighter died battling a blaze. two others were taken to hospital with burns. this as the state braces itself for another heat wave. in sydney, just hours ahead of new year's eve, the city's renowned celebrations have sparked a debate. temperatures are expected to rise above a0 degrees celsius in parts of new south wales for tuesday. already, there are nearly 100 fires raging across the state, with the biggest ones surrounding sydney. this is why the issue of fireworks has been so controversial this year. nearly 300,000 people signed a petition saying it's just not the right thing to do given the bushfire crisis. and while other areas and towns around the city have cancelled theirs, the famous sydney new year's eve fireworks are going ahead as planned. with weather conditions set to worsen throughout the country's hot, dry summer, australia heads into the new year under relentless fire threats. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. we wa nt we want to turn to a press conference taking place in melbourne. the victorian s

in three parts of new south wales, with temperatures set to hit the mid—40s celsius. three and a half years after the uk voted to leave the european union, mps have resoundingly voted in favour of the government's brexit bill. the legislation now paves the way for boris johnson to deliver his promise, that the country will no longer be a member state of the eu, by the end of next month. the prime minister won the vote easily with six labour mps backing the government. here's our deputy political editor, john pienaar. we're leaving — we're through the looking glass. everything looks the same, but nothing will be the same again. the last, lonely protester was there, fighting a cause that today became officially lost. the ayes to the right — 358. the noes to the left — 234. cheering. a thumping victory for borisjohnson's eu divorce deal. but from the start, today, his big win was guaranteed. he came with an appeal for unity, on his terms, to seek reconciliation in tones of triumph. this is the time when we move on, and discard the old labels of leave and remain. in

end a state of emergency in new south wales as australia's bushfire crisis continues a record breaking heat wave and strong winds are fanning unprecedented fires authorities are warning the worsening conditions on the way in the coming days. i'm carl kasell and welcome to the program for the 2nd time in just 2 months the u.k. government will lay out its legislative agenda this. around situation is dramatically different prime minister boris johnson now has a large majority after last week's general election in a ceremony of the british queen read off the priorities of the conservative government at the top of the list is of course delivering the clear upper hand johnson now has the votes that he needs to pass a bill to take his country out of the european union. barbara vessel is in london for us she's been following those proceedings hello barbara now this is the 2nd queen speeches we've heard within 2 months of what can we expect this time around will there be anything different. there slight differences nuances more or less of course but basically the lady had to repeat herself some

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

south wales but they are up against it it is a struggle there's no doubt about it but here in new south wales there are still a 100 fires burning half of them out of control and the situation is like to get worse in the next 36 to 48 hours with more with higher temperatures forecast and strong dry winds arriving this particular concern about the area south of sydney only coast of fires a broken out there already early on today many people again on holiday in this particular area so there's obviously concerns for their safety and you know the it will almost impossible to predict what's going to happen next in this crisis so you know it's anybody's guess to be honest ok well what about the decision then to continue with the fireworks display in sydney in spite of the the public outcry to to not hold them this year you know there's been a lot of kids will see a lot of talk about whether a lot of fireworks in city hall work should go ahead a lot i mean they are a major event here they're tracked a 1000000 people with a large will for sure itself to watch the the other fireworks live and in

more than 100 are still burning in new south wales. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. dubai's gulf news is leading with the reaction to india's controversial new citizenship law. they claim indian prime minister modi is seeking to "pacify muslims", following deadly clashes sparked by the bill. the japan times runs with a fresh push by shinzo abe to resolve tension between the us and iran. they report that the japanese prime minister spoke to president trump over the weekend, shortly after hosting iranian president hassan rouhani in tokyo. and the phillipines star runs with a holiday ceasefire between government forces and communist insurgents in the country. they write that president duterte sees this as a prelude to a lasting peace process. in the past few hours a series of explosions that at least 20 people injured on the southern island. no—one has claimed responsibility for that. let's get more now on our top story: the bush fires in australia. our correspondent phil mercer is in sydney for us. these fi