this is bbc world news today. i'm karin giannone. our top stories... an entire town in new zealand has had to be evacuated as a huge forest fire threatens the homes of 3,000 people. chinese state media releases video appearing to show a prominent uighur musician alive in a detention centre — after reports of his death. hungary's nationalist prime minister viktor 0rban offers ambitious financial incentives to hungarians to have more children to have more children — hoping a falling population can be boosted without immigration. and the stars of the screen descend on london's royal albert hall for the biggest event of the year for the british film industry, the baftas. and with an evening of celebration under way here in the heart of london, will be finding out who has won one of these, a bafta film awards. hello and welcome

to world news today. the entire population of a town in new zealand has been evacuated, because of a large forest fire — threatening the homes of over 3,000 people. a state of emergency‘s been declared around the south island town of wakefield. helicopters, planes and more than 150 firefighters have been trying to contain the blaze. katie silver reports. it's now been over a week, firefighters battling a blaze which has forced thousands from their homes. it started near the city of nelson, and with the winds of 20 km an hour, it has moved south and threatens the town of wakefield. along with efforts on the ground,

20 aircraft up and plate making it the largest area firefight and his healing history. —— new zealand history, firefighters or backbiting as a last resort measure with small fires deliberately lead to stop the path of a wildfire. we are doing it in stages. it reduces the heat and the ferocity of the fire. tens have been set up to help thousands of voluntary. and makeshift animal shelter, erected for livestock and family pets. there's nothing worse i think i'm being displaced as a family, and for people, these animals are their family so that huge and we feel for them as well. police have confirmed that investigating two of the fires and are appealing to speak to three young men, spotted in the area on friday. many came together to pray, and with low wind speed predicted on monday, authorities are optimistic. but they stress the situation is far from over. "the favourite" has won the prize for outstanding

british film at the baftas, along with best costume design and rachel weisz picking up a best supporting actress gong for her role in the movie. 0livia colman is widely tipped to win the leading actress category for her role as queen anne in the film. ‘roma', ‘bohemian rhapsody‘, the musical remake ‘a star is born‘, and the space drama ‘first man‘ are all nominated in seven categories. as the actors and actresses arrived earlier this evening, some gave their reactions to being nominated including rachel weisz and mahershala ali, who each won the baftas for best supporting roles. very exciting to be part of this story, to work with the goddesses that are 0livia colman and ms dhoni. it was a kind of true ensemble, each one of us relied on the other two, so one of us relied on the other two, so it is lovely that all three of us

have been recognised tonight. and there is not here because she is filming, she sent a regards to britain. she is an honorary brit at this point, her accent is better than mine. mee naturally there is a lwa ys than mine. mee naturally there is always an action sense of the sponsor always an action sense of the sponsor nullity in playing someone who really lived, and the attention to detail and just the awareness of being respectful of the legacy of that person. so absolutely, but at the end of the day also myjob was with the same, in that i have to try to go as deep as possible into these characters and sort of excavator whatever i can, all the truth that i can and tried to metabolise those and embody them, so in a certain way myjob is the same but i have to hold my self to that standard. that is the story that damian wanted to tell, the kitchen—sink drama and the going to the moon. janet was so crucial to both sides of that i think the wives never really taken

into consideration, their story was never route before. she has a really quiet grace but strength and honesty as well, doesn't she? won she does, as well, doesn't she? won she does, as so many people do, and i think it is that kind of ordinary story about this woman who on the outside seemed to be living a relatively ordinary life within this kind of extraordinary circumstance that i find really and trusting. yes, i have been doing this almost four decades i have never been nominated anything before, so to be having these 0scar nominations and baftas, it isa these 0scar nominations and baftas, it is a extraordinary and unreal that i just can't it is a extraordinary and unreal that ijust can't quite believe that it has happened. i am enjoying the ride for as long as it lasts. i had been a bit like cinderella going down the glass coach and i note from the 24th of every, midnight, i will turn back into a pumpkin. some other updates from bafta, remi malek has won best actorfor updates from bafta, remi malek has won best actor for bohemian rhapsody, and alfonzo dennard on has won best director for the film roma.

in around 20 minutes we will have a special programme, live from tonight's bafta ceremony with news of which films have won awards and which dresses have made the headlines. that's tonight at nine 30 gmt on bbc world news. a chinese state media outlet has released a video, appearing to show abdhurehim heyit, a prominent uighur musician, alive in a detention centre. turkey had said that it had confirmation of his death and had called on china to close the camps where up to a million uighurs are reportedly being detained. with me is rahima mahmut, who is a uighur minority singer and human rights activist from xinjiang province in china. first of all, how much of a relief was it to see that he apparently is alive? it is a huge relief but still i don't know whether the news is com pletely i don't know whether the news is completely verified, because when i

received the video, it was on social media, so we don't know the source of the video, where it came from. right, so some people have expressed doubt and say that some aspects of this video are a little suspicious. yes, yes. a lot of discussion and debate going on at the moment. what do you make of what he is saying and doing in this video? it is very clear that he was forced to say whatever he said, especially he mentioned his health, and he mentioned his health, and he mentioned the date. tuesday the tenth of the debris, and i am unwell andi tenth of the debris, and i am unwell and i am here because i am under investigation. and it all sounds as though he was told what to say. tell us though he was told what to say. tell usa though he was told what to say. tell us a little bit about abdurehim heyit and how he came to be inside this place. abdurehim heyit is one

of the prominent uighur singers, and very much loved by the uighur people, and also very popular in turkish speaking world. and he used to sing very prominent poets, poems, so people love most of his songs, it is very, very different from the pop and the other popular songs. and he was arrested in april, from what we heard, april 2017, because of a song that he sang, called fathers. the song is actually about praising the sacrifices that fathers, our fathers made in the past, and criticising

the young men how they live today. and because in that lyric, in the language, it is martyrs of war, and then this was kind of criminalised. and that is when he found himself arrested and put inside a detention centre. yes. china says the centres are there to rehabilitate a tree nests, it says it has a very real problem with extreme at azam —— extremism and posed by separatists. well, china cannot, how they can justify, it is very, very difficult for anyone to understand, to justify locking up over a million people, artists, singers, musicians,

writers, poets, intellectuals, university scholars, this is not about extremism, this is a cultural genocide. thank you for coming in. hungary's nationalist prime minister viktor 0rban has announced a range of financial reforms aimed at boosting the country's birth rate — while trying to avoid the need for immigration to combat a falling population. these include a subsidised loan programme for families with at least two children, and women raising at least four children will have their peronal income taxs waived. here's mr 0rban. translation: we are living in such times where there are fewer and fewer children born in europe. for the west, the answer is immigration. for every missing child, there should be one coming in them and the numbers will be fine, but we do we need hungarian children.

0ur central europe correspondent nick thorpe is in budapest. prime minister viktor 0rban give the bulk of this address on reversing hungry‘s demographic decline. the also announced a seven—point plan to encourage young couples to get married and have more children. the cornerstone of that was an offer to women under the age of a0 who have not been married, when they do get married, to receive a $35,000 low interest loa n. married, to receive a $35,000 low interest loan. if they have as many as three children, they would never have to repay the money. there were also offers, promises to create 21,000 new places in nursery schools, on top of those already created by the government in the past eight years, and to devote $2.5 billion to hungry‘s long—suffering health care system. these democratic issues then part and parcel of mr

0rban's opposition to immigration in general, notjust in hungary but to the whole of europe. here's hoping very much that the european parties in the european elections this may well create a majority for that anti—immigration stance that he believes in so strongly. as he was speaking, different demonstrations by different opposition parties gathered across budapest, including occupying one of the main bridges across the river danube. relatively small numbers, they were not opposed as such to his family policies, although they say that those policies tend to favour the middle—class rather than the real poor of hungary, they were opposing what they see as his increasingly authoritarian and corrupt government in general. nick thorpe, bbc news, budapest. syrian democratic forces say they've encountered fierce resistance from islamic state fighters as they attack the group's last remaining enclave in eastern syria.

the us—backed coalition of kurdish and arab fighters, launched the offensive on saturday after thousands of civilians managed to escape the area. but as sebastian usher reports, the threat still remains in the region. yet another ferocious battle between the kurdish led stf and islamic state fighters playing out in syria. as the us led coalition and its firepower, both in the skies and on the ground. but this time the stf says it is their final decisive battle with the jihadists. and stf fighter said there were no more isp hangs left to fight in their region. as of today he said it was over and the deaths of those killed by ais had been avenged. —— by is. it has been a long campaign for the stf, which has been the most effective force on the ground against is, driving it inexorably to the east

after it lost its to factor capital rocker. 0ne town and village were ca ptu red rocker. 0ne town and village were captured after another, with this being the last urban stronghold. now is fighters are reduced to a sliver of land hard against the iraqi border, and to those still there it may well be their last stand, as iraqi forces with help of coalition troops have sealed the border, the very line that is boasted of wiping off the map. for the anti—is forces though, there are still unfinished business, especially over the fate of the is leader who once declared a caliphate. translation: until now we have now information on the presence of him in syria. we do not think he is in syria. wherever baghdad he is, the threat posed by is has not vanished with the territory it has lost. even though isis is to graded, it is not defeated yet. it has moved

into a second phase, insurgency. few people realise that isas carries out frequent attacks in iraq, almost on a daily basis. this tour have between 10000 and 15,000 active combat and in syria and iraq. thousands of civilians have once again been displaced by the fighting, as millions had during the war in syria, just as in iraq were shattered lives and the lack of any government to provide redress may be fertile ground for the anger and desperation that has provided jihadists groups with willing recruits for decades. sebastian usher, bbc news. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come — us senator amy klobuchar has officially launched her presidential bid — adding her name to the list of democrats hoping to oust donald trump in 2020. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. they step down from the plane

a figure them. they step down from the plane afigure in them. they step down from the plane a figure in mourning, elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all of her other realms and territories, head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. the latest headlines. an entire town in new zealand has had to be evacuated as a huge forest fire threatens the homes of 3,000 people. the awards ceremony has been taking place in london for the british screen industry, the baftas. us senator amy klobuchar has officially launched her presidential bid — adding her name to the list of democrats hoping to oust donald trump in 2020. ms klobuchar is the fifth democratic senator to launch a white house bid — other hopefuls include senators cory booker and elizabeth warren. here she is speaking a short while ago. we are tired of the shutdowns and

the showdowns, of the gridlock and the showdowns, of the gridlock and the grandstanding. today, on this snowy day on this island, we say enough is enough. 0ur snowy day on this island, we say enough is enough. our nation, our nation must be governed not from chaos but from opportunity, not by wallowing over what's wrong, but by marching inexorably toward what is right. in a snowstorm in minneapolis. let's cross now to chris buckler in washington. who is she? what does she offer? yes, it was pretty appalling conditions for that announcement from amy klobuchar, but she is somebody who may have been recognised by people across the world from the brett kavanaugh hearings last year, you may remember

when brett kava naugh hearings last year, you may remember when brett kavanaugh was nominated tojoin the when brett kavanaugh was nominated to join the supreme court but there we re to join the supreme court but there were those senate hearings in which he argued with senators, in which there were some pretty forthright back and forth exchanges. senator clover sha h back and forth exchanges. senator clover shah was one of those who was there —— senator clover senator ab mishal. that is where her profile rarely rose will stop saying that, she is perhaps not the best—known of the democrats already in field but she is trying to peasant herself a somewhat different to those in the democrat pack, trapped wind that nomination in 2020 because she says she is a moderate, and although she talked about the communities fracturing across the us, about what she described as the petty ambitious nature of cortex in america at the moment, she wants to try and bring people back towards the centre ground. for example, she actually made a specific point in the speech as she announced her presidency of saying it was time for immigration

reform. if you get the idea at the moment that republicans very much wa nt to moment that republicans very much want to talk about building a wall and increasing the numbers of birds and increasing the numbers of birds and accommodation to detain migrants, and democrats are saying actually there is not a place for that, we're not going to give money for the wall. this idea of a democrat of pushing the idea of immigration reform, that is something different and sets her apart from some others who have already announced they are running. i believe she is the fifth to throw her hat into the ring, how much more crowded to be expect this race to get? i think it still has some way to go as yet. the questions being asked about who will come next. for example, we are still waiting for a decision from the former vice presidentjoe biden whether or not he throws his hat into the ring, also beto 0'rourke you may remember from that senate battle down in texas, he again is also considering whether or not hejoins texas, he again is also considering whether or not he joins the fray. i think it will be a pretty crowded field that will make some interesting democratic presidential

debates ahead of the party itself actually selecting who will run. chris, 50 very much. now to holly hamilton with all the sport. we start with football. that the etihad, the outcome may not have come as much of a shock but the scoreline certainly was. chelsea being thrashed 6—0 by manchester city. that is their worst defeat since 1991, red sea sarri's men outclassed from the off with raheem sterling opening the scoring after just four minutes, sergio aguero though was the hero for pep guardiola's side, scoring a hat—trick, is 11th in the premier league. it means city return to the top ahead of liverpool on goal difference. top of the league, will have to wait, when liverpool go to 0ld have to wait, when liverpool go to old trafford and after that game, we now have one more game. so if they win that game, they are leaders, so still we are behind on that term,

but important is the performance, being there, the 11 games. we are going to try until the end to retain the title. tottenham kept the pressure on the top to toe with a 3-1 pressure on the top to toe with a 3—1win at home to leicester, a fourth consecutive league win for mauricio pochettino's side, who remain in touch with liverpool and manchester city with 12 games to go. rugby union and a lacklustre french performance allowed england to run riot at twickenham earlier, beating france aa—8. jonny may scored a hat—trick, going over three times in the first half. eddie jones's hat—trick, going over three times in the first half. eddiejones's men adding two more after the break and it means that england have no won ten of their last 13 six nations matches against france. joe wilson has more on this from twickenham. the twickenham pitch is being manicured and put to bed behind me, it did itsjob manicured and put to bed behind me, it did its job today, it provided a platform for england's running

by, platform for england's running rugby, for their kicking and chasing by. rugby, for their kicking and chasing rugby. there was a minute on the clock when jonny may crossed the line for his first try for england's first try. by half—time, england had 30 points, by half—timejonny may had a hat—trick of tries, and by half—time france had been runrig it. still relatively early goals in the six nations tournament but it seems england have found a new level of play, a new level of intensity, and the winning scoreline will send a message right through european by, message right through european rugby, right through the world. there will be england fans right now mumbling expectations of a grand slam. wales in the next round of games will not be so accommodating, i'm sure of that. as for france, one french fan talk to me before kick—off about coming here with a necessity of hope. it is a lovely phrase, but i wonder if that hope is now reaching breaking point for a lot of french rugby fans. lindsay lohan has gone out in style. she has

become the first female skier to win a medal at six world championships. the american took bronze in her final professional race in the downhill of the alpine world championships in sweden. she finished behind the winner. she remains the most successful female scylla —— skier of all time, 82 victories on the circuit. earlier this month she revealed this would be her last politician. it was awesome, i was so be her last politician. it was awesome, i was so nervous be her last politician. it was awesome, i was so nervous the whole day. i have never been so nervous my whole life, not even for the 0lympics. i wanted so badly to finish on a good note, i wanted to risk everything but as you have seen lately, when i risk everything sometimes i crash! so the last thing i wanted was to be off the podium or off the fence, and i accomplished both my goals today and it was and credible moment to share with my friends and family. cricket, england fast bowler mark wood took 5—a1 as the west indies were bowled out for

15a on the second day of the third and final test in st lucia. moeen ali also picked up four, including both openers in successive balls. that left england with a first innings lead of 123. currently 15—0, england leading by 138 runs but of course the west indies do hold a 2—0 lead in the series. that is all your sport for now, karen back to you. and before we go, visitors got more than they bargained for at belfast zoo earlier. several chimpanzees made an improvised ladder from a large tree branch — propped up against a wall — to escape. the council — which runs the zoo — said the apes were now back in their enclosure. but this is the second escape attempt by animals at the zoo in as many months. injanuary, a red panda went

missing overnight before being discovered in a nearby garden. thank you for watching bbc world news. the weather is starting to calm down across the uk now after a few days of windy weather. today was a bit of a mixed bag but tomorrow will probably be starting a little bit like this, sunny skies from the morning onwards, but a touch of frost around across much of the uk, particularly in northern areas. this is what is happening right now, a weather front moving across the uk, in place across wales, central parts of england. that means thicker cloud and some showers moving through. quite chilly at the moment, the winds are blowing out the north—west but the mild air you concede to the south—west will be reaching us over the next 2a to 36 hours. the

forecast for the night then, a weather front moving across scotland, bringing some wintry nest across the hills, the showers by the early hours of monday should fade away from the south too. these guys will clear across the country and a frost as expected, maybe in city centres just above freezing but outside of certainly below freezing. monday, a beautiful start to the day, a lovely sunshine, hazy across some of western areas, high building, the weather front trying to build in, they go no further. belfast perhaps hazy skies later on in the day. that high—pressure continues to build through tuesday and into wednesday, extends into parts of central europe as well. the weather fronts here are being diverted to the north butjust about protecting the very far north of scotla nd protecting the very far north of scotland here, maybe northern ireland, so maybe one or two splits and spots of rain and a fresh breeze but for the majority of the uk on

tuesday we are anticipating a lot of bright weather, dry weather at the very least with temperatures rising, 12 in london, double figures as far north as aberdeen as well, 10 celsius. then on wednesday, i promised you that milder air from the south—west. it is starting to arrive, engulfing much of the british isles, moving into southern parts of scandinavia as well, and then we start to see a southerly developing and those temperatures will rise, we could see highs after 13 or 1a degrees at some point during the week. not a drop of rain in sight for many parts of the uk. that is it from me. goodbye. welcome to the royal albert hall in london. this is where the bafta film awards have been taking place, this is what everyone has been hoping to ta ke is what everyone has been hoping to take home but not quite so big. here with me to talk to the result is that film criticjason solomons. you

we re that film criticjason solomons. you were keeping a tally, tell us what the numbers were. 7-4 was the score, 7a the favourite, aa