Or around the globe. My names im mike embley. Our top stories a state of emergency in New South Wales australias highest recorded temperatures are fuelling more than 100 bushfires. Another day of Bitter Division in american politics as republicans and democrats argue over what happens next in the impeachment of president trump. At least three people are killed in protests against the indian governments new citizenship law we have a special report from delhi. It is so easy to leave me all alone with the memory. It might be one of the most successful stage shows of all time but the critics arent so sure about the movie version of cats. With more than 100 bushfires burning, record breaking temperatures, and extreme winds, New South Wales, australias most heavily populated state, has declared a seven day state of emergency. Two volunteer firefighters have been killed in a road crash near sydney. Temperatures as high as forty seven celsius are expected at the weekend. And Prime Minister Scott Morrison is taking some criticism for being on holiday as the crisis unfolds. Hes now released a statement saying. I express my sincere condolences and sympathies to the families of the firefighters who have so tragically been killed overnight and adds that he will be. Returning to sydney from leave as soon as can be arranged. With more on the bushfire emergency, our science editor, david shukman. A roar like a jet engine as the flames advance. A line of trees is suddenly ablaze. In record heat and parched conditions, at least 50 of the fires are out of control. Lets get out of here, bro. This is an emergency on dozens of fronts. House by house. And this one is surrounded. Firefighters are doing their best. The wind is incredibly strong and this blaze is fierce. Its ferocious. The heat is unbearable. Australia has always had fires, but these battles are unprecedented. Theyre unusually early in the season, and theyre reaching areas not normally affected. New south wales has declared a state of emergency because the danger continues. This comes as much of australia endures a brutal heatwave, setting a new record, 41. 9 celsius, for the average maximum temperature. Severe drought resulted in the past three months being the driest on record. That left the largest ever area of australia, nearly 60 , at risk of fire. And the crisis has sharpened divisions over Climate Change. Smoke from the fires has drifted over sydney, almost hiding the famous landmarks. The air is so polluted that many people have resorted to wearing masks. We want to be listened to. Protesters gathered outside the home of the australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. He is sceptical of Climate Change and is accused of ignoring reality. Australian families are worried about Climate Change. Were worried about the Climate Change of the future, but were worried about the Climate Change of the present. But australia is the Worlds Largest exporter of coal. Burning coal gives off the gases that heat the planet but its a big earner, and the Australian Government lobbied hard in the un climate talks last week to protect the industry, and many australians support that view. Im not so sure that Climate Change is responsible for what were experiencing here. Possibly the drought has got a lot to do with it in australia. Were talking about 60, 70 metre flame heights. Every day, a new front line emerges. And the science is clear that as temperatures rise heatwaves will become more severe, and in this land of extremes therell be even more fires. David shukman, bbc news. Live now to canberra and to climate scientist, dr imran ahmed, from the Australian National university. Thank you very much for your time. I know it is difficult to link particular events and even particular events and even particular disasters to Climate Change but surely no doubt Something Big is changing and there is a new normal . Of course. This is now, we have to accept, that this is going to be the new normal. Were living in an of adaptation. Australia has experienced bushfires in the past. It isa experienced bushfires in the past. It is a National Disaster but what is happening and it is clear that Climate Change has exacerbated the conditions under which bushfires happen. The intensity and frequency has been increased, we are clearly, since 2005, we have added the nine hottest years in australia. All of these things have had an impact. This year, the bushfire season has started much earlier, the intensity is quite a lot and we are clearly seeing the linkages and if this is a time to really address this issue on a longer term basis. And yet Climate Change is still not recognised by australian politicians. Coal is such a big deal in australia but will the deaths of this these firefighters, the Prime Minister cutting short his holiday, is this a turning point . this is not a turning point, what will it take to bring significant Climate Action here. Australia is not only a contributor to Climate Change worldwide because, as you mentioned, in your video, change worldwide because, as you mentioned, in yourvideo, it change worldwide because, as you mentioned, in your video, it is the largest coal exporter, but it is also the largest per capita emitters of Greenhouse Gas emissions so it is about time that we need to start looking at this. It is a continent thatis looking at this. It is a continent that is impacted by Climate Change, it needs to get serious on Climate Action. Apart from policy changes, if they do happen, do you feel australia needs to change with the way it deals with wildfires . australia needs to change with the way it deals with wildfires . I think more resources need to be put in. This is now also a Serious Public Health emergency. An pollution, as explained in the video, is now becoming a serious problem so Public Health issues are serious. We have some of the greatest firefighters here. We lost two recently and that was very, very unfortunate. To young dad who were gone into this disaster. So we need to put resources , we disaster. So we need to put resources, we need to look at the planning and make sure it is climate resilience. This is the new normal. It cannot be addressed in the normal fashion. Thank you very much. Thank you so much, it was a pleasure. Lets get some of the days other news russias main intelligence agency, the fsb, says one of its officers has been killed in a shooting, near its headquarters in moscow. Five people are being treated for injuries, one of them said to be another employee of the agency. Russian media say the gunman, who opened fire with an automatic weapon, was killed by an armed fsb officer. The identity of the attacker has not been publicly confirmed. In a rare show of bipartisan unity, the us house of representatives has overwhelmingly approved president trumps renegotiated trade agreement with canada and mexico. The democrat controlled house backed the billjust a day after voting to impeach the president. It must now be passed by the senate. The senate is dominated by the president s republican party. It replaces nafta, the north america free trade agreement, now 25 years old. But democrats and republicans are locked in a stand off about the next stage of president trumps impeachment. It has been delayed until early january, at least, because they cant agree the format for a trial in the senate. Amy mackinnon is a reporter with Foreign Policy magazine, in washington. She told us how the parties are likely to proceed. This appears to be a very last minute attempt by the democrats and nancy pelosi to try to retain a little bit of control of the process. What they are trying to do here is they are trying to get the most fair trial that they can in the senate before handing over the reins of the impeachment process to the chamber, so on sunday Chuck Schumer called for several senior white house officials to testify in the senate, he was batted down. That is the kind of thing they are going to be looking to secure here in and holding these articles of impeachment back at the eleventh hour. Is there any chance of a full trial in the senate with witnesses and documents . The president has been tweeting that he wants an immediate trail the president has been tweeting that he wants an immediate trial but of course he is also claiming that he has been denied due process, but he has denied any chance for himself to appear, for his own legal team to question witnesses, he has blocked senior officials appearing. It is going to be highly unlikely that there will be a thorough trial in the senate. Mitch mcconnell has made it clear that he has got no interest in having an impartial trail and he wants to get it over with as quickly as possible, and to work with the white house on doing that as well. That is going to be a key Sticking Point Going Forward and its also that is going to be a key Sticking Point Going Forward and its also another wrinkle that makes this impeachment process all the more unusual because the senate has traditionally been the more coolheaded of the two chambers of congress. In bill clintons impeachment trial in the senate, it was seen as being a fairly fair process handled between the two parties but it doesnt look like that is going to happen this time around. If there is no question of the president being removed from office, i guess this is all about how this plays with the voters in next years election. White house sources are saying to reporters they are seeing polls which suggest fewer people now support impeachment than actually favour it. How do you think that is playing with the people . It is a politically risky move for the democrats because in holding onto this process, they are making it less likely that there can be a quick trial in the senate. They could really drag this out, and of course the iowa caucus, one of the first major events in the president ial campaign is right at the beginning of february, so they run the risk of dragging this into an election year, which may not play out well with the public and the republicans will be well aware of that and attack them on that point. Amy mackinnon of Foreign Policy magazine. At least three people have died in protests against the indian governments new citizenship law. Two deaths were in the Southern City of mangaluru where police opened fire on crowds trying to burn a police station. Another protester died in the Northern City of lucknow. Demonstrators see the new law as another instance of Prime Minister Narendra Modis aggressive hindu nationalist agenda. Heres our corrspondent in delhi, rajini vaidyanathan. 0n the streets of india, a battle for the countrys secular soul. Hundreds of thousands are protesting a new law that they say discriminates against muslims. From assam in the north east, all the way down to bangalore and the south. From the economic capital mumbai, to the Nations Capital delhi. The citizenship law offers a path to citizenship for Illegal Immigrants from three neighbouring countries, pakistan, bangladesh and afghanistan. But crucially, it does not offer those protections to muslims, and that is why people are angry here because they say that this law violates indias secular principles which are founded in the constitution, which state that all religions in this country are treated equally. Half of the population is under the age of 25. Its the youth that are leading the charge. This is a secular nation, its a democracy. We are not a struggling democracy, we are an established democracy, so it is wrong on so many levels. We are standing here to defend our constitution, we are standing here to defend the poor and the uneducated. But as people try to make their voices heard, they say the government is trying to silence them. Mobile internet has been suspended across many parts of the country. Police have been accused of heavy handed tactics, including shooting protesters. Well known historian Ramachandra Guha was seen dragged away from a peaceful demonstration. Many fear that this country underneath Prime Minister modi is inching closer to becoming a hindu state. His bjp partys brand of hindu nationalism is hugely popular and helped secure him a landslide second term earlier this year. One of the Prime Ministers closest allies, ahmet shah, says this law offers a safe haven for oppressed minorities. Translation it doesnt discriminate against any religion. It is only a positive step for the communities who are persecuted in afghanistan, pakistan, and bangladesh. To indias muslims, there is another worry. The government is planning to publish a nationwide register of citizens. Everyone would be forced to provide documents to prove they are indian. Those who cant, would be considered Illegal Immigrants. 0nly non muslims would be protected under the new citizenship law. The largest protest since Prime Minister modi took office looks set to continue. Where does this leave the hindu nationalist agenda that propelled him to power . Rajini vaidyanathan reporting there. We should say that the bbc did invite the Indian High Commission in london for an interview to respond to that story, but they were unable to offer us one. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come from russia with love an unexpected show of support for britains Prime Minister, but whats behind president putins magnanimous approach . Saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. The signatures took only a few minutes, but they brought a formal end to 3. 5 years of conflict, a conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. Before an audience of world leaders, the president s of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. The romanian border was sealed and silent today. Romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre in timisoara from leaking out. From sex at the white house to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. This is bbc world news. The main story this hour New South Wales has declared a state of emergency as record temperatures continue to fuel more than a hundred bushfires. The state of emergency will last for seven days. Starting this weekend in new zealand, it will be illegal to possess military style semiautomatic firearms. New zealand swiftly banned the weapons after the attack in christchurch earlier this year when a gunman killed 51 people at friday prayers. There was a nationwide amnesty for those willing to hand in their guns. So far, more than 50,000 have been destroyed. From christchurch, danny vincent. A community struggling to grieve. This is not only a place of worship, but also the scene of an attack that shocked the world. Friday prayers bring a moment of reflection, but also pain. What happened here changed new zealand. With unity came a warning of the need to guard against extremism. I was sat here against the window here. Nathan smith is the only british survivor of the shooting. He saw many of the congregation killed. They were my friends. If i leave because of what hes done, ifeel like im letting them down hes won. And hes not going to win, is he . On 15 march, a lone gunman walked into this mosque armed with a semiautomatic, military style weapon. He killed 51 people and injured dozens more. New zealand is now determined to make sure nothing like this ever happens again, and this is what they are doing about it. New zealand plans to destroy nearly all high powered semiautomatic assault rifles. Centres like this one have been set up across the country, and tens of thousands of gun owners have been forced to hand in theirfirearms as part of an amnesty. In the centre we visited, in christchurch, these are some of the guns that have been handed in injust one day. And why do you think its so important that these guns are now off the streets . As you can see, all these are semi autos. You have your ar 15s here. They can take up to 30 or more magazine capacities. Sks again semiautomatics. These are the go to firearms for Mass Shootings worldwide. But, while the ban was swift, it is not without its critics. This is the handloaders range on the outskirts of the city. In a country where there is roughly one firearm for every four citizens, the people here represent decades long traditions of gun ownership. Weve had a really world class, i would say almost the best in the world, history of low firearms crimes in new zealand, because we regulate the people, not the firearms. But none of this legislation is doing that. Across the country, tens of thousands of guns have been handed in. The police are keen to deem the ban a success, but they admit it is impossible to predictjust how many guns are still out there. Chinas president xijinping has spoken about the ongoing protests in hong kong while on a visit to neighbouring macau. A flag raising ceremony marked the 20th anniversary of the handover of macau to Chinese Government rule. As ho iat seng was sworn in as macaus new chief executive, mr xi said the Chinese Government would not tolerate interference in hong kong and Macau Affairs a clear reference to hong kongs pro democracy protests that china has regularly blamed on foreign meddling. Translation the handling of affairs is strictlys chinas internal matter. There is no need for any external force. applause the Chinese Government and the Chinese People have determination to uphold national sovereignty, security, and development interests. We will never tolerate any external interference in hong kong and Macau Affairs. applause president putin has congratulated borisjohnson on his victory in the uk election and suggested that britain should pursue better economic ties with russia. Mr putin was speaking at his annual news conference. He also dismissed pretty derogatory comments about him that had been previously made by mrjohnson. 0ur moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg was among those asking the questions. When Vladimir Putin gives a news conference, it feels like the whole worlds been invited. My chance to ask russias president about britains Prime Minister. Borisjohnson once described you as a ruthless dictator, i remind him, and he compared you to dobby the house elf from harry potter. Translation as to what various politicians in Different Countries have said about russia, and about me as president , it has no importance whatsoever compared to the fundamental issues russia is trying to solve. But, when he visited moscow as foreign secretary, borisjohnson called himself a committed russophile. Perhaps thats why president putin said well done on winning the election. Translation we congratulate mrjohnson. He sensed the mood of British Society better than his political opponents. Now, hell carry out his brexit plans, and bearing brexit in mind, i think that Great Britain is interested in developing economic ties with us. But what about those allegations of russian interference . I asked the president , has moscow meddled in uk politics . We reserve the right to express our opinion about events in your country, he says, but thats hardly interference. During this four hour marathon, he was rarely stuck for an answer. But then again, if youve been in powerfor 20 years, like mr putin has, there arent many questions that will surprise you. Steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. Andrew Lloyd Webbers hit musical cats is one of the most successful theatre shows of all time. The makers of the movie version are hoping to replicate the success of the feline phenomenon, with stars like taylor swift and Dame Judi Dench as cgi enhanced human cat hybrids. But the critics have their claws out as our arts editor Will Gompertz explains. This is the trailer for the big screen, big budget adaptation of cats. It caused a social media storm when it was posted in the summer. Whats your name . Cat got your tongue . People were freaked out by the uncanny, furry faces of the all star cast, sporting body hugging onesies, revealing distinctly human curves. Interview requests from the media, that would normally be lapped up, were declined. Tom hooper, its 0scar winning director, who was behind the kings speech, made some changes, working right up to its release this week, and a blizzard of bad reviews. The guardian called it a purr fectly dreadful adaptation, in its one star review. The Daily Telegraph gave no stars at all to what it called a moggy mess, while your correspondent found it soulless. The daily mail, though, was far more positive, saying eight out of ten cinemagoers will love these cats. Much of the action takes place in a disused west end theatre in a highly stylised version of london which sits somewhere between dickensian squalor and soho glamour, quite unlike, in fact, the actual modern theatre that cats the musical made its home back in 1981, just down the road in drury lane. Spotlight, and a drum roll, please. Lord Lloyd Webbers original musical, based on ts eliots poems, was a critical and commercial hit. This movie version is clearly not the former, but it could yet claw itself back to box office success, or end up in the litter tray of expensive cinematic flops. Will gompertz, bbc news. 0ther opinions are available, but with any luck that is all of the puns used up. And you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, im bbcmikeembley. Hello there. For many parts of the uk on thursday, the rainjust kept on coming. Some places have already had some flooding. Low pressure was to the west of the British Isles see that swirl of cloud on the satellite picture the low pulling various pulses of rain up from the south. It means the ground is now very wet indeed. There is a bit more rain in the forecast through the hours ahead, so especially across parts of england, but also some areas of wales, there is likely to be some further flooding. All the latest weather warnings and flood warnings always updated, of course, on the bbc weather website. So, starting off the morning with some showers across western scotland and Northern Ireland. Could be some dense fog across parts of Northern Ireland, as well. But a really poor rush hour across central and eastern england. Heavy bursts of rain, which will only slowly pull out into the north sea, and even then, some rain likely to be left behind for parts of the midlands, South East Wales and the west country. But generally speaking, it turns into a day of sunny spells and showers, cooler than it has been, and particularly chilly across Northern Ireland if any areas of fog or low cloud linger for a good part of the day. Well see some more fog forming here, ithink, for a time on friday night. Elsewhere, plenty of showers moving from the south west towards the north east. Some clear spells, as well, on what will be a somewhat chillier night than weve been used to lately. Across the northern half of the uk, if you do see clear skies overhead and the winds fall light, well, you could just get a pinch of frost. So low pressure still with us on saturday. Quite a complex weather chart, actually, this little front here bringing some showers north eastwards, a more active frontal system down towards the south west. So we see these lines of showers pushing north eastwards through the day, some good sunny spells as well. And then this persistent rain pushes in for the channel islands, the south of england, clipping into the south of wales through the afternoon. Brisk winds developing here, as well, and top temperatures between seven and ten degrees. Now, that very wet weather will slide across southern counties as we go through saturday night. This little area of low pressure moving its way eastwards should mostly be clear by sunday, but low pressure is still fairly close by, so sunday is shaping up to be a day of sunny spells and showers. Now, i think the showers willjoin together into lines which will push from the west towards the east. There will be some good spells of sunshine around as well. Quite a breezy day, particularly for western and southern coastal areas, and those top temperatures between seven and ten degrees for most of us. And then into next week, christmas week, of course. Well, its going to get off to a showery start. It will eventually turn drier and colder, but with that, we could have some frost and some fog. This is bbc news, the headlines record temperatures are continuing to fuel unprecedented bushfires in australia. A state of emergency is in force in New South Wales, where more than 100 fires are burning. The countrys Prime Minister has bowed to pressure to return from holiday, as forecasters say even hotter weather is expected at the weekend. Thereve been more angry exchanges in the us congress over how to proceed with the impeachment of president trump. Republicans want a quick trial in the senate, without witnesses, while democrats are hoping to call key white house officials. Mr trump has tweeted that he wants an immediate trial. At least three people have died in india as protests against the new citiczenship law spread across the country. Police arrrested thousands of people who defied the ban on demonstrations, which has been imposed in the capital, delhi, and some other states. Youre up to date with the headlines. Now on bbc news, its hardtalk. Welcome to hardtalk, im stephen sackur. The scale of the conservative party triumph in last weeks uk election promises to have seismic consequences. Borisjohnson can get brexit done on terms and a timetable
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