This. Tonight at six a state of emergency in south east australia amid warnings of more bushfires. The largest forced evacuation New South Wales has seen thousands are fleeing the path of the flames. The fireball just came through at about 80kph, hit the house, and then we ran into the lake and then all the embers and everything were hitting us, burnt our hair a little bit. Theres anger over the governments handling of the emergency as the Prime Ministerfound out when he toured the area. How come we only had four trucks to defend our town . Because our town doesnt have a lot of money but we have hearts of gold, mr Prime Minister well be looking at australias changing climate and what thats got to do with the fires. Also tonight millions of rail commuters face more
expensive journeys many will pay an extra £100 a year. Could gabriel diya and his children have been saved from drowning on Christmas Eve . We talk to a british tourist who was poolside as the tragedy unfolded. Spotting Breast Cancer on a scan Scientists Say a computer can do thejob better than a radiologist. And coming up on bbc news peter snakebite wright reflects on his historic world title, at the pdc world darts championship and the real reason for the flamboyant fashion. Good evening and welcome
to the bbc news at six. In three hours time a state of emergency will come into effect in the australian state of New South Wales, the area worst affected by raging bushfires. This will enable the authorities to carry out forced evacuations. Already, many thousands are fleeing their homes. This map shows the fires that have been burning since monday. There are new ones breaking out all the time. Theyre concentrated in and around australias coastline, where 90 of the countrys population lives. Our sydney correspondent Shaimaa Khalil is in milton town, one of the areas under the evacuation order, and sent us this report. A mass exodus from the devastation on the Southern Coast and a race to escape the dangerous fire conditions ahead. Thousands of holiday makers inching their way to safety with a 48 hour deadline. Families have heeded the calls to evacuate, but because the conditions
on the road are still very dangerous, there have been closures in Different Directions and now they tell us they feel stranded having evacuated those fire risk towns, now unable to get home. You kind of have a feeling that you cant go forward, you cant go backwards. And really, you know, stuck between a burning rock and a burning rock, arent you . Just have to sit it out and hopefully, you know, not get caught in the middle of a fire. Some families were able to get away early in the morning before the road closures. This couple lost their house and had to take refuge in the lake across the road. The fireball came over the hill just opposite the lake. We thought we had a few minutes at least. We were hosing down the house and everything, doing the gutters, what they say to do, and within two or three minutes the fireball just came through at about 80kph, hit the house, and then we ran into the lake and all the embers and everything were hitting us, burnt our hair a little bit, and we were in there for about an hour before
we got rescued. This is what theyre escaping. Burning since september, these bushfires have destroyed more than 1,200 homes. The Prime Minister who has been a staunch supporter of fossil fuels, insisted that government policy struck the right balance between supporting the economy and protecting the environment. How come we only have four trucks to defend our town . Because our town doesnt have a lot of money but we have hearts of gold, mr Prime Minister but he got an angry reception from the residents of cobargo when he visited their town. No, hes an idiot, mate. Lake conjola is a popular holiday destination. Now it looks like a conflict zone. When kim harper came back to her house, she couldnt recognise the neighbourhood. It feels like im in the middle of the apocalypse. Like, i think someones dropped a bomb on us, basically. Thats what it feels like. In the neighbouring state of victoria, the navy has been
helping evacuate people. So far, 18 people have lost their lives in the fires. Volunteer firefighter Geoffrey Keaton was one of them. Today was his funeral where his 19 month old son harvey was presented with his fathers medal for bravery. Gusty winds and temperatures soaring above a0 degrees are set to create hazardous fire conditions in the coming days. Shaimaa khalil, bbc news, lake conjola, New South Wales. Bushfires have always been a feature of australian summers but as weve just reported this season has seen some of the most intense and extensive fires ever. Experts say its difficult to pinpoint a single cause but three years of dry weather and the hottest temperatures on record last year clearly played a part. As our science editor
david shukman reports. 0na on a terrifying scale and burning into many different areas to be stopped, the flames are causing a massive shock. Even in a country thatis massive shock. Even in a country that is used to fire. Usually, the blazes strike scrubland. These are instead tearing into the forests which means the fires are hotter and taller and harder to tackle. For a sense of their size on a map of the uk here is that the vast area in australia thats burned so far. The impact has been devastating. With lives lost amongst firefighters and residents, more than 1000 homes destroyed and an estimated death toll among animals of 500 million. So, whats behind these fires . Well, 2019 was the countrys hottest year on record and the higher the temperature is the greater the risk because fires start more easily and
pla nts because fires start more easily and plants and soils dry out. So, no surprise that australia has just come through its driest spring on record, leaving a lot of vegetation ready to burn. And this was partly caused by the waters of the indian 0cean being relatively warm in the west and cooler in the east, which has the effect of leaving australia dry and all the time the global average temperature is heading up. Scientists researching the fires say conditions have created a perfect storm, with Climate Change heating the planet and adding to the dangers. Clearly, the warmer dry weather we expect to see from Climate Change and what we have probably already seen in australia leads to more vegetation being available to burn and more vegetation being available to burn earlier in the year. So, the fire seasons have lengthened, beginning early and also finishing later as a result of Climate Change. The past year saw fires around the world. In the amazon rainforest they were
started deliberately to create farmland. And in california they encroached on urban areas. A view from space of the australian fires. The smoke drifting to new zealand. Where on this glacier the ice and the sky turned dark. Threat is far from over. Shukman, bbc news. Floods in indonesias capital, jakarta, are now known to have killed at least 26 people, after the city experienced its heaviest rainfall in more than two decades. At least 30,000 residents have moved to temporary shelters. Officials said 37 centimetres of rain had fallen in a single day. Rail fares across england, wales and scotland have risen, on average by nearly 3 . The increase has angered many commuters who complain that years of higher fares have failed to improve the services they depend on. The transport secretary grant shapps says Northern Rail the Company Running the Biggest Network in the north of england is not fit for purpose. A decision on whether the company
should be stripped of its franchise is expected in a matter of weeks. 0ur transport correspondent, tom burridge, is at manchester piccadilly station. Tom. Januarys rail fare rises always contentious, this years even more so contentious, this years even more so because passages in several parts of the country and particularly in this region were let down too often last year but as the ticket price kicked in this morning the transport secretary took a swipe at running one of the largest franchises in the country, northern. A union accused grant shapps of trying to deflect attention away from the fare increase, which as we have been finding out as we travelled across england, has not been going down well with passengers. The service is absolutely shocking. I cant get to the nursery sometimes on time. We cant get to meetings on time. It causes logistical nightmares. Travel from the midlands. At the end of the day were always late for work, were never on time. Its so bad, sometimes i have to get a taxi. To the north of england
and the stories are similar. Todays rail fare rise hard to swallow. The prices seem to keep going up and you dont seem to get anything more for your money. As i say, they are always late. Sometimes only by a minute or two, but theyre always late. As the price hike took effect this morning, the transport secretary said the Company Running the largest franchise in Northern England wasnt fit for purpose. Ijust dont think it is acceptable. Ive been a long suffering commuter myself for many years, and i dont think its right that people cant always rely on their train services, and particularly in places like northern, where it has been noticeably bad, i will absolutely bring that situation to an end. Northern, the Company Operating these services, is effectively on a final warning. In a matter of weeks, the government has to make a controversial call. Either strip the company of this franchise, or keep
it operating these trains on a simpler type of contract. Paul has been campaigning for improvements for years. He wants northern out. Nothing has improved in 12 months and yet we have had two fare increases. People are paying a lot more now for theirjourneys, theyre taking hours to get home from work or to get to work, people have had to change jobs, lose theirjobs. Northern says delays to infrastructure upgrades have affected its performance. But the problems stretch far beyond northern. The Scottish Government will end its contract with scotrail early because of poor performance. And in the Second Quarter of last year, only a 40 of services on Transpennine Express made it within a minute of their arrival time. The punctuality record of London North Eastern Railway and Cross Country were only slightly better. The trains were so unreliable last year on West Midlands and london northwestern railways that a season Ticket Holders there
will not pay more this year. The body representing Train Companies says its not all bad. There are surveys taken of passenger satisfaction, not by the rail industry, theyre done independently and they consistently show 83 84 satisfaction levels. But too often passengers are let down. The government will soon publish a blueprint on how our railways can improve. Tom burridge, bbc news. Derbyshire police force has referred itself an early and accurate diagnosis of Breast Cancer is quite often the key to successful treatment. Now researchers at Google Health and Imperial College in london have developed an Artificial IntelligenceComputer Program that is more accurate at assessing a mammogram than one radiologist working alone and as good as two experts working together. As our medical correspondent fergus walsh reports this use of whats called ai could well improve all cancer care. This is painstaking work. It takes more than a decade of training to become a radiologist and have the skill
to read a mammogram. In the nhs, two doctors analyse every womans x rays. Now, Artificial Intelligence, a Machine Learning computer designed by Google Health, can do itjust as well as humans. This went far beyond my expectations. It will have a Significant Impact in improving the quality of the reporting and also freeing up radiologists to do even more important things. Women aged between 50 and 70 are invited for breast screening every three years. The study in the journal nature showed al was actually better than one doctor working alone at reading mammograms. It produced 1. 2 fewer false positives, where a healthy mammogram is wrongly labelled as abnormal. And there were 2. 7 fewer cases where a cancer was missed. And ai will only get better. This study shows us that in the future it might be possible
to make that Screening Programme more accurate and more efficient, which means less worrying time waiting for patients for results and Better Outcomes overall. Helen edwards from surrey has been clear of Breast Cancer for 15 years. She was a patient representative on the panel which had to approve Google Healths access to the mammograms, all of which were anonymised. Initially, i was concerned, google, what are they going to do with this information . What are they going to do with the data . But when i thought about it, longer term it can only benefit women in having less recalls when you havent got a cancer. This is a breakthrough moment for Artificial Intelligence, which seems certain to play a major role in the diagnosis of Breast Cancer in years to come. And ai has already proved its ability to read other types of patient scan, showing itself as good as leading ophthalmologists in diagnosing more than 50 different eye conditions. The nhs needs another 1,000
radiologists, so using al to replace one of the two doctors who read mammograms would ease that pressure and speed up diagnosis. Fergus walsh, bbc news. A british tourist who tried to resuscitate one of the members of the diya family who drowned in a spanish Holiday Resort on Christmas Eve has told the bbc he believes more could have been done to prevent their deaths. Josias fletchman says simple measures could have made a difference. Gabriel diya and his nine year old daughter comfort died alongside his 16 year old son praise emmanuel at a resort on the costa del sol. Helena wilkinson reports. I was at the reception and a lady comes screaming. She was screaming, a spanish lady, but the way she come she was traumatised. I could tell by the scream. Me personally i knew
it was something serious because i said to my wife, i said, thats a death cry, that. My wifes like, nah, nah, nah, but i said thats a death cry. Thats something serious. This was the moment Josias Fletchman knew something terrible was happening. He was on holiday with his family in spain but ended up being one of the first to try and help a father and his two children who drowned. On Christmas Eve, nine year old comfort and 16 year old praise emmanuel got into difficulty in this pool at Club La Costa world. Their father gabriel diya then tried to save them but all three died. Youth workerjosias was heading for a family swim when he realised something was going on. When i got there, the reception people had already, they must have got the bodies of the three people out, brought them out the pool. There was a lady there and she said can i take over . So i took over. At first i was like in my head thinking, whoa, because ive done cpr on dummies but to do it on a real body for a minute i was like, woof, but then the spirit kicked in yet again and allowed me to do my bit. The hotel resort has a number of swimming pools butjosias says he doesnt think there was enough Safety Measures in place. There wasnt a lifeguard at that pool . No. Were you surprised by that . Yeah. Tell me why you were surprised. Because if a lifeguard was there that probably wouldnt have happened. That person could have lived if there was a lifeguard there. Spanish police have now finished their investigations and say this was a tragic accident. Theyve lost not one but three people, a young little girl, a 16 year old lad and a husband. Im praying for her every single day, im praying for her. I was praying for her on holiday
and i am still praying consistently. That was Josias Fletchman speaking to our correspondent helena wilkinson. Our top story this evening a state of emergency in south east australia amid warnings of more bushfires thousands are ordered to evacuate. Why conservationists say bringing back the beavers to a devon river is a success both for them and for us. Coming up on sportsday on bbc news a kickabout goes wrong for rory burns, the england opener could miss the upcoming test against south africa. Earlier, we saw how Climate Change is playing its part in the australian emergency. Thousands of miles away, in southern africa, the people of zambia are in the midst of a devastating
drought that experts say is caused by a dramatic shift in weather patterns. Temperatures in the region are expected to rise by twice the global average and the United Nations is calling for urgent action. More than two Million People in zambia are now in need of food aid, following two years of poor rains and failed harvests. 0ur africa correspondent Andrew Harding reports from one of the worst affected areas. In the fertile hills of zambia, an unfamiliar crisis. Hunger has arrived here. Millions now struggling to feed themselves. In once prosperous communities, women are foraging for wild roots. But its not enough to live on. The signs of malnutrition are everywhere. Is it because of hunger . When she went to the hospital they said because of this is hunger. When did you last eat . Me, almost two days
without getting food. There is no way to get food. The immediate cause of this is a crippling two year drought, prompting deliveries of local and International Aid and warnings the scales dont lie that some parts of zambia are a step away from famine. Is that normal . Its not normal. Its too low . Yeah. But the Bigger Picture here is even more alarming. The signs that this isnt a one off drought, that Climate ChangeClimate Chaos is to blame. The rains can no longer be trusted. It used to start in october. Now, we are actually seeing it starting mid december. The second part is the distribution of the rainfall itself. Its extremely erratic now. So, the weather becoming more unpredictable and more extreme thats notjust business as usual thats Climate Change . Absolutely. In a nearby field, this family have decided to try planting corn, hoping more rain will come. But the oxen are as tired and hungry as the humans. Many in this village are cutting down their trees to make charcoal instead to sell in town. The rains have changed, says this man, instead people are chopping the trees to sell for cash but that will turn this place into a desert. The villages will die. People here are used to coping with the occasional drought and with the hunger that comes with it, but Climate Change is making the hard times so much more extreme and so much less predictable, meaning that these otherwise resilient communities are suddenly struggling to cope. So, for now, its one meal a day for everyone here. A bowl of thin porridge carefully shared. Better farming techniques can help families like this to cope with the changing climate but its going to be a struggle. Derbyshire police force has referred to itself. Miss hancock had been in contact with the police before the incident. I were correspondent is in the field. Give us the latest developments. Derbyshire police have confirmed that a 39 year old man, rhys hancock, mrs hancocks
estranged husband, has been charged with both murders. Around the same time as that announcement detectives, who have been here since 40 detectives, who have been here since a0 and yesterday morning, packed up and left the scene. We have had state m e nts and left the scene. We have had statements from both families. Mrs hancocks said they are devastated. Described as a son, brother and uncle with two children. Derbyshire police has referred itself to the i opc police has referred itself to the i 0pc as it is mandatory in cases where they have had prior contact with the victim. In this case they had had prior contact with mrs hancock. Lets take a look at some of todays other news. The former head of car maker nissan, carlos ghosn,
has released a statement, saying that no members of his family helped him flee japan, where he was awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct. Mr ghosn flew to lebanon on a private jet. Interpol have issued a request for a provisional arrest. Tributes have been paid to three British Airways cabin crew who were killed in a crash near Heathrow Airport on new years eve. Rachel clark, Joseph Finnis and dominic fell, who were all in their 20s, died after their car collided with a lorry in stanwell, near Heathrow Airport. Travel x has taken its systems off line as a precautionary measure. It is continuing to provide Foreign Exchange services manually. Conservationists have declared a five year trial to reintroduce beavers to the river 0tter in devon a success and it turns out its good news for the environment too. The animals were hunted
to extinction in the uk hundreds of years ago. The beavers play a part in protecting communities from floods because the way they build their nests can slow down rivers after heavy rains. Jon kay has more. Beavers are back. Hunted to extinction 500 years ago, this mother, her kittens and up to 50 more are now thriving here in east devon. And heres the evidence. Weve got a poplar tree here thats been felled probably over the last couple of days. Professor Richard Brazier has been studying the impact of beavers. He says they may be known as furry vandals but the dams they build at night here are actually a good thing, preventing flooding by slowing down the flow of water in winter and then retaining water during summer droughts. 0verall, you would say they are useful . They are very, very useful, and they do a job that we cant afford to do. Were actually not as well adapted as beavers to doing it. They are natural water resource managers. This has been a five year trial to see if beavers can live successfully in england alongside other wildlife and humans. A similar scheme in scotland has already led to them getting protected status, and now the review in devon has shown they can improve Water Quality and help other animals to thrive. But some farmers see the damage caused by large beaver populations in north america and worry things could get out of control in the uk. And sometimes its been up sort of almost as far as here. In devon, the wildlife trust, who initiated this pilot scheme, has been clearing any dams that cause problems. They say as long as that happens local landowners should be satisfied. I hope this is providing some reassurance that actually this is quite effective. You know, we can manage conflicts that occur, as long as youve got people on the ground providing that advice and support when its required. These findings will now be reviewed by the government. The National Farmers union says there must be a wider discussion before beavers are reintroduced across britain. Jon kay, bbc news, devon. Time for a look at the weather. Heres sarah keith lucas. It has been a breezy day with outbreaks of rain but a few glimpses of bright sky. Some clear skies around but it is quite unsettled with a couple of weather fronts bringing outbreaks of rain. It is cloudy, breezy and outbreaks of rain. There has been rain for much of the uk. It will stay dry for parts of south Eastern England over the next couple of hours but you can see the rain pushing on. 0ver the next couple of hours but you can see the rain pushing on. Over the west of scotland it could be heavy
with hail and thunder possible. Tonight that rain will sweep past the midlands and to the south east of england as well but we will see skies clearing to the north of that and turning colder under those clear skies so there could be thrust across rural parts of scotland but further south much milder conditions. For friday the milder air that has been with us today get squeezed towards the south east with colder conditions behind but drier weather. To start friday quite cloudy in the south east of england with a few spots of rain that should clear away. More showers moving and which could be wintry over the Higher Ground of scotland. For much of the uk a dry day. Much brighter thanit of the uk a dry day. Much brighter than it has been today but also a little bit colder with temperatures in single figures. This area of High Pressure is going to be sitting to the south bringing dry unsettled weather with some rain across northern parts of scotland but for
most northern parts of scotland but for m ost pla ces northern parts of scotland but for most places it is looking like not a bad weekend. Quite limited amounts of sunshine on saturday and sunday. Thats all from the bbc news at six so its goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbcs news teams where you are. Hello this is bbc news. The headlines. A state of emergency is declared in australia as fires rage and the death toll rises. There are fears a heat wave forecast for this weekend could make the crisis even worse. The australian Prime Minister cut short a visit to one devastated
community as people