this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: australia's east coast, including sydney, braces itself for one of the country's worst ever bushfire threats. riot police in hong kong fire tear gas at a university campus and transport links across the territory has been disrupted. schools and universities have suspended classes. turkey launches an investigation into the death of a retired british army officer who helped establish the syrian rescue service known as the white helmets. former bolivian president, evo morales, is on his way to mexico amid reports of fresh clashes in the city of la paz. hillary clinton tells the bbc she's ‘dumb—founded' that the uk government won't release a report into russian covert actions in the uk.

a vast area of australia's east coast — including sydney — is facing some of the worst threats from bushfires the country has ever seen. there are dozens of blazes across new south wales and queensland, authorities have predicted "catastrophic" conditions on tuesday. a state of emergency has been declared in both states. the head of the rural fire service has warned that the fire danger will increase in the coming hours. we still have 52 fires burning across new south wales. 30 of those are uncontained, and we've got 13 at watch—and—act alert level. we are certainly starting to see an increase in fire activity, and therefore the fire danger is increasing accordingly. the reality is conditions will simply continue to get worse

and deteriorate over the coming hours, and particularly into this afternoon, when the combination of the hotter temperatures, the drier atmosphere and the strengthening winds all come together to drive fire behaviour. our correspondent shaima khalil gave us this update from sydney. well, the main danger is, as you've heard there, going to be focused on the areas around sydney, the greater sydney area north and south of that, so east coast in new south wales. mind you, this is a very populous area we're talking about — 6 million people who are bracing themselves for worsening conditions. as the day grows hotter, as the winds grow stronger, this is where we're going to hear more localised, big fires — obviously all of this under the umbrella of this catastrophic fire danger. sydney woke up to a haze as the smoke from other areas,

neighbouring areas, has come and settled near the skies here. i certainly, and people around me, felt it. you could smell it in the air. and really, as the day progresses, the danger becomes more severe. the firefighters and the fire authorities have been updating people on an hourly or two—hourly basis, and now we're seeing more localised fires, really. but it all comes down to the heat and to the wind, because things can get out of control really quickly. and i think people have been told that if they're in vulnerable areas, they should leave, because firefighters are trying to control some areas, but they can't be everywhere all of the time. yeah, and in those areas close to the fires, people have described to us, even before the fire reaches cars, say, there is so much eucalyptus in the air, cars explode before the fire gets to them. all this exacerbated by, i guess, the bone—dry ground. it's been a long drought. strong winds, high temperatures and low humidity.

i think these are the three elements that make it extremely difficult to control and predict the size of. already we're seeing thousands and thousands of hectares of one fire alone, and we're talking about, you know, dozens and dozens of blazes in the new south wales area. and despite, you know, firefighters trying to control it, whether it's by being on the ground or whether by aircraft, with water bombs, or even people volunteering, it's very, very difficult to predict how big or how out—of—control it is going to be. earlier i spoke to poppy brown, the head of red cross at new south wales. i asked her about the scale of fire danger in the state. it's a really unprecedented situation in the state at the moment. and there's been, you know, over a million rugby pitches burnt already. we know that, as you said, the most populous areas, in terms of sydney, wollongong and newcastle, are facing this catastrophic fire

danger at the moment. we are in a state of emergency, and we are prepared, but everybody is bracing for what potentially is a very, very dangerous day for new south wales. and poppy, you use the word unprecedented. you've really seen nothing like this before? not at this scale. so reports on the news have indicated that we had our very, very bad black saturday bushfires in victoria about ten years ago. there's already been double the amount of hectares burnt as in those fires. so we are in a very difficult day and very extreme situation. we've had fires across the state since about friday, at really extreme levels. we've had lots of evacuation centres open for people to — where they can't stay in their homes, and we're there helping prepare people for what could be a very dangerous day. i know there are reports at least three people have died, thousands, of course, displaced. given the danger, though,

it seems amazing that more people have not been hurt. yes, look, that is, you know, very distressing obviously for the people who have lost their lives already, but fortunate that we have not had any more lives lost to date. and that's credit to the fire services, who've been working absolutely around—the—clock to support and protect communities. and i'm just here at the moment in the fire service control centre in sydney, which is very, very busy, as you can hearfrom the noise behind me, and they're doing a fantasticjob. there's more disruption to transport in hong kong today, as protestors continue attempts to bring the territory to a standstill. police have already clashed with protestors on campus and city university in kowloon tong, and trains and roads have been blocked. schools and universities have suspended classes. speaking in the last hour chief executive carrie lam has described the action as selfish. it's a second day of disruption after monday became one of the most violent days so far during five months of pro—democracy protests. one man was shot in the chest

by a police officer and another was set on fire during an argument with protestors. well, train stations are being shut down, mike, as we speak now because of apparently attacks by protesters. and now, rather thanjust one university you have mentioned, the city university of hong kong, there's two other universities, at least, who are — with protesters, and possibly students from there as well, who are holding up barricades against the police, and there is some sort of stand—off, at least in the chinese university of hong kong, as well as the university of hong kong itself. so there is a stand—off everywhere. and in the past few hours, i myself took at least an extra 30 minutes to get into the city on my usual bus, and massive disruption for those who are taking the train, as you have mentioned already. theyjust have to keep

queueing up for buses, orjust figure out their way to work. terrible things have been happening, and it seems that the violence is only getting worse as it goes on. we have seen disruption but also serious and horrible violence. you must wonder what is next and where is this likely to end? there is no definite answer but it seems the police and the protesters have their indication that escalating actions outside the campus where they notice police action. they may have an intention to disperse the crowd by

using rubber bullets and tear gas. around the university campus, how does that legally work? a police allowed on? theoretically they need permission to go in. most universities in hong kong are publicly funded and they are in theory private premises. but what theory private premises. but what the action has been doing outside or at the periphery of the campus, it is undecided. what do you make of carolann's role is undecided. what do you make of ca rolann's role in is undecided. what do you make of carolann's role in this? she has been speaking lately and describe the protesters as selfish or trying to pa ralyse the protesters as selfish or trying to paralyse the territory. recently she called them enemies the people. she seems to be speaking to people who she sees as not protesters, those struggling to get to work, rather than addressing what the protesters are talking about. most

of the hong kong people would not like to be caught in traffic and most of us are quite rational. but at the moment it is a political issue and the only way the problem can be solved is with clinical means. she and the leader should work out a way forward rather than sanctioning those who disrupt society. let's get some of the day's other news. the british, french and german governments are saying they are extremely concerned that iran has re—started enriching uranium at an underground site, south of tehran. they describe it as a fresh breach of the commitments the iranians gave, in the international nuclear deal. it was signed with several world powers, but the united states has abandoned it. in a confidential report seen by bbc news, the un's nuclear watchdog, the iaea, says iran's stock

of enriched uranium is growing. boeing expects its 737 max aircraft to resume commercial flights in january. the planes were grounded earlier this year after two crashes off indonesia and ethiopia — which nearly 350 people died. the turkish government says it has started to deport suspected militants from the extremist group islamic state, back to their countries of origin. seven germans will be sent back on thursday. 11 french and two irish citizens are being processed. it's reported one american has already left turkey. the government in ankara has criticised western states who've been reluctant to take suspects back. borisjohnson's electoral fortunes have been boosted by a brexit party announcement that it won't field candidates in seats won by the conservatives in 2017. the brexit party leader, nigel farage, said he wanted to prevent a hung parliament and another eu referendum. the conservatives deny making any agreement with the brexit party. the former us secretary of state,

hillary clinton has told the bbc she's ‘dumb—founded' that the uk government won't release an intelligence and security committee report into russian covert actions in the uk. the 2016 us presidential candidate is in london with her daughter a former british army officer who helped set up the syrian rescue group — the white helmets — has been found dead in turkey. the body ofjames le mesurier, who received an 0be in 2016 for his work in syria was found on monday in istanbul. the turkish authorities have launched an investigation into his death, as our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley reports. it was on the street outside the building where he was staying thatjames le mesurier‘s body was found early this morning. there has been no official statement from the police, but security officials have been quoted as saying they believe he fell from a balcony. james le mesurier, who was in his 40s, set up the mayday rescue charity, which helped train syria's volunteer rescuers, known as the white helmets. these are the white helmets in action. they operate in rebel—held areas of the country, saving survivors of indiscriminate air strikes by the syrian military, and its backer, russia. speaking to the bbc five years ago,

he paid tribute to their courage. it has been a source of immense pride for everybody who's been involved in the training and support to these heroes. they provide an incredible amount of inspiration, in an environment that is otherwise so devoid of positives. seen here just yesterday, the white helmets rush into danger in idlib province, the last area of the country still held by the rebels. for the work they do, the white helmets and james le mesurier have earned the hatred of both the kremlin and the syrian regime. 0nly last week, the russian foreign ministry accused him of being an mi6 agent, and of having links with terrorists. the russian charges against him that came out of the foreign ministry, that he was a spy — categorically untrue. he was a british soldier. he'd been to sandhurst. but above all, he wasn't a serving soldier when he founded mayday and the white helmets.

he was a real humanitarian, and the world, and syria in particular, is poorerfor his loss. whatever the exact circumstances of his death in istanbul, friends and colleagues say he'll be remembered for helping save countless syrian lives. caroline hawley, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: feeling stressed? meet lilou — the world's first airport therapy pig. she's hogging the limelight at san francisco airport. the bombastic establishment outsider, donald trump, has defied the pollsters to take the keys to the oval office. i feel great about the election result. i voted for him because i genuinely believe that he cares about the country. it's keeping the candidate's name always in the public eye that counts. success or failure depends not only on public display, but on the local

campaign headquarters and the heavy routine work of their women volunteers. berliners from both east and west linked hands and danced around their liberated territory. and with nobody to stop them, it wasn't long before the first attempts were made to destroy the structure itself. yasser arafat, who dominated the palestinian cause for so long, has died. palestinian authority has declared a state of mourning. after 17 years of discussion, the result was greeted with an outburst ofjoy. women ministers who'd long felt only grudgingly accepted in the ranks of clergy suddenly felt welcomed. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines. a vast area of australia's east coast — including sydney — is facing some of the worst threats from bushfires the country has ever seen. a second day of disruption in hong kong as protestors block roads. schools and universities

have suspended classes. this is a live shot from hong kong. the chief executive carrie lam says the protesters are extremely selfish for trying to paralyse the territory. she called them enemies of the people. a second day, monday became one of the most violent day so became one of the most violent day so far in five months of protests. another man arguing with protesters ata train another man arguing with protesters at a train station was set on fire. he is in hospital with severe burns to nearly 30% of his body. it is great concern about what might be coming next. for many in bolivia, the demise of the region's longest

standing president could not have come soon enough. bolivian president evo morales is on his way to mexico to take up the offer of asylum, after he was forced to stand down on sunday. his resignation has sparked clashes between his supporters and police. the mexican foreign minister said mr morales' life was at risk in his home country. at least 20 people have been injured — katy watson reports from la paz. for many in bolivia, the demise of the region's longest standing president could not have come soon enough. 0vernight, celebrations turned to violence — yet more unrest with buildings torched and vandalised. this is one of many barricades that you see across la paz blocking the streets in the city. now, this one is anti—government and people here say that despite the fact evo morales has resigned they are still here for democracy because bolivia still does not have an interim president and neither do they know when new elections will be called. a few people, though, braved the journey to work. translation: we are all afraid. it does not matter which side you're on. we are afraid of what is going to happen. everyone is calling for conflict but what matters are the people.

elsewhere, people still on the streets, calling for change. these protesters were blocking access to the presidential palace, making sure no government member could return to their office. translation: evo morales could have left through the front door if he had respected what people were saying. but unfortunately he tried to perpetuate himself in power and that made people not want him anymore. a few minutes later, a police convoy carrying jeanine anez — the politician expected to step in as interim president later this week. there is still so much uncertainty. no—one knows when the new elections will be and until then, instability in this poor country is a constant threat. the former us secretary of state, hillary clinton has told the bbc she's dumb—founded that the uk government won't release an intelligence and security committee report into russian covert actions in the uk. the 2016 us presidential candidate is in london with her daughter chelsea to promote their co—authored

work, ‘the book of gutsy women'. she spoke to the bbc‘s mishal husain. i'm dumbfounded that this government won't release the report about russian influence because everyone who votes in this country deserves to see that report before your election happens. why do you think they won't release it? i don't know the answer that. i think reporters like you and others should be absolutely relentless in trying to get to the bottom of it. we know from even this current trump administration's intelligence officials that the russians are still in our electoral system. there is no doubt of the role that russia played in our 2016 election and is continuing to play. there is a lot of evidence that russia played a part in the brexit election. i'm not in your country, i don't have a say about any of that, but the fact that the current government won't release this report by your own government should raise some questions.

in the last hour it's been announced that former us president jimmy carter has been admitted to hospital — he's 95. in a statement the carter center said he was to have a procedure on tuesday to relieve pressure on his brain, caused by bleeding due to recent falls and that he was resting comfortably and his wife rosalynn is with him. at least 200 elephants in zimbabwe have died from a lack of food and water because of severe drought. zimbabwe's parks and wildlife management authority said it was planning to move six hundred elephants from a conservation area in the south—east of the country to three other national parks. space—x's falcon 9 rocket has launched successfully on monday from cape canaveral in the us, carrying 60 mini—satellites into space. the satellites are intended to help set up a network for global high—speed internet connectivity. space x wants a big share of the future internet market from space — its rivals include 0neweb and amazon. first it was flint,

michigan and now in newark, newjersey americans are finding higher than normal amounts of lead in their drinking water — and people are outraged. the mayor has a plan to speed up the replacement of lead service pipes, to remove the toxic threat. but as nada tawfik reports — that's not enough for those who live in fear of the water in their homes. it's dinner time and alika speight is making pasta with her kids. but to boil it, only bottled water will do. she lives in newark, newjersey, the latest american city to grapple with a lead water crisis. 0fficials gave her a filter, but she still doesn't trust the water. i'm always spending money on water. i spent more money on water than on buying food for the house. newark‘s problems began when a corrosion control treatment failed at its pequannock plant, causing lead from pipes to seep into the water. 0fficials switched to a new treatment, but it will take months to be fully effective.

now, mayor ras barakahas announced an expedited plan to overhaul the infrastructure. across the city, crews are ripping up the streets in order to replace lead pipes with copper ones. under the programme, all 18,000 lead pipes in newark will be removed in under three years at no cost to homeowners. when the lead service lines are replaced then 100%, you know, there will be no lead in the water. if you have a filter, the filters are working and so you should use your filter and if you're using the filter then you'll be perfectly fine. still, some members of the community believe officials were slow to respond to the crisis and warn residents, including those who are now suing the city. i still am unsure about when i am getting lead service line replacement, even though i put in for it over six months ago. so it's all of this that really leaves me frustrated. what happened in flint, michigan,

and now here in newark, newjersey, has once again raised questions about the safety of the nation's water infrastructure. decades after lead pipes were banned, many still remain in place in older homes and buildings. and part of the fear is that many people simply do not know if they have lead pipes or not. despite assurances, churches and charities continue to hand out bottled water. efforts may be under way to finally rid the city of lead pipes, but rebuilding trust could take much longer. nada tawfik, bbc news, newark, newjersey. in san francisco, a rather unusual member of staff can be spotted among the corridors and departure gates of one of the city's airports. sporting a pilot's cap and pink toenails, five year old lilou joyce is helping stressed travellers have a more enjoyable journey. gareth barlow reports on the world's first, airport therapy pig. pigs might fly, as the old saying goes, but lilou is getting pretty

close to taking off. at least, she has certainly taken off with passengers at san francisco's international airport. i've never seen one here, so it's interesting. it's fun. i got really excited. she can do tricks like a dog. the costume, the hat, just the — i don't know how to really explain it but it's really cool. lilou is part of the wag brigade, which uses therapy animals, including a therapy pig, to ease the stress of travellers and flying. it makes them happy and pause for a second. it makes them go "oh, it's great." snap out of the moment. a musician. a style icon.

and a social media star. the only thing lilou can't do is visit duty—free. gareth barlow, bbc news. let's ta ke let's take you back to a couple of live shots from hong kong coming up to half past midday. a second day of disruption. this week is moved through monday and tuesday, one of the most violent days in the protest. we a re the most violent days in the protest. we are seeing buses and trains being held up, one buses being spray—painted in these pictures. police have already clashed with protesters on campus and schools and universities have suspended classes. the chief executive carrie lam has criticised the protesters as extremely selfish for as she put it trying to paralyse the territory. she called them enemies of the people. there is much more for you anytime on the news. thank you for watching.

hello there. it's been a very unsettled start to november, even indeed before november, we've seen a lot of rainfall around. low pressure's been firmly in control and it's been quite cold as well. the rest of the week stays unsettled thanks to low pressure, it will be quite windy too and we will see some snow around as it will remain cold, particularly over the higher ground. lower pressure firmly in control of our weather for tuesday, bringing fairly strong wind from the north—west there will be a lot of showers circulating around it. early on tuesday, it looks like most of the showers will be across parts of scotland and northern ireland, northern england, some wintriness over the high ground

of scotland but further south, it should be dry with lengthy clear skies. but that does not mean it won't turn quite chilly here. 1—3 degrees here with the showers, generally 11—5 degrees to start tuesday. so we start with sunshine across the south, and in other areas, but bands of shower and long spells of rain spreading into south—eastern areas into the afternoon. and there will contine to be some wintriness over the high ground. it will feel cold with temperatures 7—8 degrees. out on the wind, it'll feel quite raw. low pressure pushes off into the north sea and allows a bump of high pressure to build in before wednesday before this next weather system moves in wednesday night into thursday. it could bring some areas quite a lot of rainfall, unfortunately. wednesday, though, could be a chilly start central, eastern and northern areas but dry and bright thanks to that bump of high pressure. the next weather system arriving across northern ireland and wales and the south—west of england, bringing some heavy rain here later in the day

and another chilly one, temperatures struggling to get up as much as 4 degrees across scotland. wednesday night a few showers here and the weather front across the south—west pushes northwards and eastwards, it'll pivot as well, we think. bit of uncertainty too, its northwards or southwards extent but some areas could see quite a lot of rainfall and it could be the flood—affected areas in the midlands and northern england could see quite a bit of rainfall. again, i have to emphasise there's some uncertainty on the position of the weather front. a number of flood warnings still in force and this rain could exacerbate that. stay tuned to the forecast and head onto the bbc weather website. heading into friday, the weather front eventually starts to fade and move southwards and eastwards. it could be quite cloudy on friday across southern and eastern areas, one or two showers here, quite blustery. further north and west, we'll see a ridge of high pressure move in. an improving picture here with some good spells of sunshine. temperatures again on the low side, sticking in single figures for most.

this is bbc news, the headlines:

hundreds of schools and colleges across the australian state of new south wales have been closed as the region prepares to deal with potentially catastrophic bush fires. a state of emergency has been declared in new south wales and in neighbouring queensland. activists in hong kong have blocked roads and clashed with police, a day after some of the most violent unrest during five months of pro—democracy protests. riot police fired tear gas on a university campus, and commuters were forced to abandon a train after objects were found on the line. bolivia's former president evo morales is on his way to mexico where's he's been granted asylum following his resignation on sunday. mr morales said it pained him to leave, and he vowed to return with more strength and energy. clashes between the former president's supporters and security forces have continued in bolivia.