Through its culture that day in more than a century toxic focus creating Health Problems and transport from. A math and held welcome to the program fears a growing for residents and tourists trapped by raging fires in several coastal towns in australia people are sheltering on the waterfront readying for possible evacuations by sea several a missing feet did but sydney says its new years eve fireworks display will go ahead even as fires blaze across the country. The bushfires have reached the Northern Edge of melbourne. Here in the suburb of boone dura emergency workers try desperately to keep the raging far away from homes. But as the wall of flames bears down residents have been told to get out while they still can. Evacuate and he said that we were all so i thought that i had no pain that i guess we have family and we think that if its anything to happen we could be stuck you know single people we can just get. A warning that those who choose to stay behind risk being trapped the flames have already closed many access roads in the area extreme heat strong winds and a severe drought have made for a catastrophic bushfire season in some regions like made for conditions so dangerous that authorities have been forced to pull out hundreds of firefighters the blazes have scorched nearly the size of belgium and destroyed more than a 1000 homes thats prompted astroids capital cambered to cancel the new years fireworks show. In contrast to sydney which is the side to go ahead with the annual spectacle over the harbor bridge and the opera house that despite a petition signed by more than a quarter of a 1000000 people to cancel the event they want the money instead to go to Emergency Services and bushfire victims for more on the bushfires so im now joined by a journalist in sydney welcome thousands have signed a petition to stop the sydney harbor fireworks on the fireworks displays have been cancelled how hes justifying his. Well as it at the new years eve fireworks on sydney harbor has been given the go ahead but amid a lot of criticism a lot of controls here as we said today the lord mayor of sydney defended the decision to go ahead with the fireworks and said it about 600000. 00 would be donated by the organizers to bushfire related charities and to help victims of the the fires. The it was difficult as it did like of course because you know flow works. Extremely important to the local economy this annual spectacular is said we were the 140. 00 a 1000000 australian dollars to the local economy and also attracts a t. V. Audience around the world of an estimated 1000000000. 00 people it seemed quite important and obviously the organizers didnt really want it cancelled at this late stage because so much money is really being invested in the lower the fireworks there are still going ahead and already people are taking their positions around the harbor foreshore. Are to many tragic accounts coming in from melbourne and the surrounding state of victoria whats the latest from there. Its a grave an increasingly alarming situation i must say the main focus of attention is still the east gets land area of victoria where apparently its as many as 4 people are missing and there are genuine fears for their safety the little Coastal Community of mother kuta which is near the New South Wales border is also going through a trying times at the moment that dozens of people are on the whole issue. And that the fires are getting so close that many of them have been forced to flee to the beach in case the you know that the planes get into the town many people have been ordered to wear life jackets and jump into the ocean if need be so that gives you an indication of the danger these people in our reports from the area talk of a sky which is deep red in color and it looks increasingly on us and some reports say that the theres a wall of fun up in the background between 50 and 100 meters apart serve here it is a very very dangerous situation and indeed through further north in New South Wales a similar emergency as it is developing there we got reports of people fleeing to a show grounds and to serve clubs to get away from the flames but there are at least 4 or 5 emergency fires burning in this particular area and again the authority has had fears for the safety of at least 3 people who are who are missing so you know really trying times and its almost impossible to predict whats going to happen next roger may not in sydney thank you thank you now lets take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. Libyas interim president has expelled top mexican and spanish diplomats over allegations they were attempting to help form a believe in officials to flee the country the libyans have sought refuge in the Mexican Embassy since a change of government spying has expelled the libyan diplomats in response. To it he has moved a step closer to deploying troops in Libya Parliament is fast tracking a bill to authorize sending the military back to libyas internationally recognized government its fighting for its survival against the forces of a rebel wallboard khalifa haftar. The family of a man accused of stabbing 5 people in a rabbis home in new york say he has a long history of Mental Illness in a statement the familys lawyer said the suspects are often thomas had not experienced any anti semitic views in the past. 4 minutes and boss carlos go and has arrived in lebanon after leaving japan and unknown circumstances go and was under house arrest in tokyo awaiting trial on charges of hiding income and financial misconduct which he denies going holds jule french and lebanese citizenship. Baghdad and tehran have condemned u. S. Airstrikes against an Iraqi Militia supported by iran iraq says the strikes violate its sovereignty and could provoke more conflict in the region u. S. Forces hit 5 targets a longing to a group cold cut tied to hezbollah as for tell the ocean for a rocket attack that killed a u. S. Civilian contractor at an american base. This hezbollah base near the border between iraq and syria was one of 5 targets of u. S. Fighter jets they destroyed the iran backed militias weapons caches and command and control centers in iraq and syria the strikes are retaliation for fridays killing of a u. S. Civilian contractor near the northern iraqi city of kirkuk. Irans foreign minister condemned the u. S. Air strikes during a visit to moscow he said the targeted hezbollah was part of an alliance against the socalled Islamic State terror Group Officially the iran backed militia is under the command of the iraqi army. From buffalo from because at the recent actions by americans in iraq are unacceptable while the u. S. Does this iran and russia are making efforts to establish peace both in syria and in iraq i mean a bit much it could but the u. S. Defense secretary views the operation as a success and hopes to discourage further attacks but i would note also that we will take additional actions as necessary to ensure that we act in our own selfdefense and we deter further bad behavior from militia groups or from iran. U. S. Soldiers and pro iranian fighters are in close proximity and politically unstable iraq there are reported to be about 150000. 00 pro iranian militia men in iraq. The u. S. Has about 5000 soldiers deployed in the country. The iraqi Prime Minister has warned that a dangerous escalation could follow the most. Recent reprisal the could tie of hezbollah militia has volunteered retaliate. To india now where the capital daily has registered its coldest december day in more than 100 years temperatures have dropped as low as one degree celsius d the unusual Winter Weather is affecting everything from traveling to breathing the same and its expected to stick around for days. Its a cold wave in northern india. After many days of this kind of cold weather we are prepared we were lots of layers of clothing at the bus stop. The capital delhi and the rest of the region have been gripped by conditions in this frigid since 1001 and not only has the mercury dropped so has visibility low temperatures have collided with hazardous levels of air pollution causing a thick toxic blanket of smaug to hover over several states seeing through it is nearly impossible. As when we go to school were not able to see and front or behind us so we face problems going to school thats why they should be closed. Just to getting into delhi has been a challenge hundreds of flights have been delayed and train travel paralyzed person here temperatures have made breathing even harder. But it has increased costs and colds and has affected businesses because people are not leaving their homes to go out and shop. Still in the middle of record cold a little more leeway going to visit all the places in delhi and enjoy this cold weather where having lots of fun the weather is also. Meteorologists predict the bitter cold will stick around through the new year. Germanys chancellor Angela Merkel has warned of the threat posed by Climate Change in her traditional new years address the pastika to say 9 of the 10 hottest years on record in german history experts say temperatures could rise further still over the coming news in her address the chancellor said Global Warming is real it threatens us it is caused by human activity as the crises that arise out of Global Warming so we must do all that is humanly possible to combat this challenge to humanity there is still time that warning comes as jim need to bites whether to scale back its famous new years eve fireworks celebrations by fireworks is allowed for 3 days before the big day then set off in streets and pox causing excitement for some and distress for others critics argue the fireworks cause serious injuries create pollution and how wildlife the berlin night sky lit up by cascades of fireworks over the Brandenburg Gate the new years eve display his drum legions of locals and visitors for decades some wonder if fireworks are still appropriate but many want to keep their tradition. If they say we have to wait until 10 pm that might help a lot but if they limit or ban the whole thing thats wrong. Thats finished i mean. I dont think the environmental hama severe enough to ban the fireworks. Its terrible i dont care if i cant see the stars id rather look at the sky some other day when there is no fireworks so im against the ban. Fireworks in germany are big business at new years 100000000 euros worth. Some people like these fireworks fans near cologne are so passionate about them that they camp out the night before to make sure they can buy the biggest and the best but this year in germany over 30 cities have placed either a partial or a total ban on new years fireworks. Health experts warn that fire crackers and rockets release over 4500 tonnes of fine particle emissions on a single night. Fine particles are extremely harmful to the lungs especially for small children and people with lung problems as my patients and the elderly they can experience acute shortness of breath. But for the foreseeable future fireworks will continue to pollute the air while they dazzle the eyes its no use holding ones breath until eco friendly rockets and fire crackers are available. Or the countdown to the countdown has started as cities around the world paring for their new years eve festivities in london big ben was tested for the midnight tells to mark the start of 2025 this clock has been silent for 2 years 2 to repair. In Rio De Janeiro is. Being prepared for the big not bache will be the center of brazils celebrations with 2000000 bevel is expected. And in new york the times square crystal ball has been given a practice run 32000 l. A. Day lots of dawn the ball which is a whole lot of american new years eve celebration. That. Youre watching day doubly news thats often out and forget you can get all the lights news and information around the clock on our web site at w dot com now but im Anthony Howard thanks for watching. But does the brits muddy tires and drums we deliver urgent lifesaving boxes we give everything to reach those who need us the most everybody feeding their futures. Boxes for our help of life saving fruit and theres so much more down the road with no names we feel asleep to live a relentless you know promise to