welcome to newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. the headlines: a state of emergency in new south wales as australia's highest recorded temperatures continue to fuel more than 100 bushfires. another day of bitter division in us politics, as republicans and democrats continue to argue over the impeachment of president trump. i'm ben bland, in london. also in the programme: police in india detain thousands of demonstrators, as anger grows over a controversial new citizenship law. and... # it is so easy to leave me...# ..it‘s one of the most successful stage shows of all time

but the critics aren't so sure about the movie version of cats. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. good morning. it's 9am in singapore, 1am in london and midday in new south wales, in australia, where a state of emergency has been declared. on wednesday, for the second day in a row, australia set a new record for its hottest ever day, and bushfires are continuing to cause havoc. two volunteer firefighters have been killed in a road crash near sydney. the australian prime minister, scott morrison, has been criticised for being on holiday as the crisis unfolds. a short time ago, he released a statement saying, "i express my sincere condolences

and sympathies to the families of the firefighters who have so tragically been killed overnight. given these most recent events, i will be returning to sydney from leave as soon as can be arranged." for more on the bushfire emergency, here's the bbc‘s 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. let's 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. it's ferocious. the heat is unbearable.

australia has always had fires, but these battles are unprecedented. they're unusually early in the season, and they‘ re reaching areas not normally affected. new south wales has declared a state of emergency because the danger continues. this comes as much of australia injures 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. we're worried about the climate change of the future, but we're worried about the climate change of the present. but australia is the world's largest exporter of coal. burning coal gives off the gases that heat the planet but it's 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. i'm not so sure that climate change is responsible for what we're experiencing here. possibly the drought has got a lot to do with it in australia. we're 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 there'll be even more fires. david shukman, bbc news.

let's take a look at some of the day's other news: the mud slinging has been thick and fast in washington, as republicans and democrats react to donald trump's impeachment. the republican leader of the us senate, mitch mcconnell, called the process rushed and unfair. his democratic counterpart, chuck schumer, meanwhile, has urged the republican—dominated chamber to try the president impartially. over the last 12 weeks, house democrats have conducted the most rushed, least thorough and most unfair impeachment enquiry in modern history. leader mcconnell's 30—minute, partisan stemwinder contained hardly a single defence of the president of the united states on the merits. almost none defended president trump, because they can't. so what are the next steps in the impeachment process? the bbc‘s laura trevelyan

is in washington. the house of representatives is going to go home for the holidays. they won't be back until at least january seven, so it would be then at the very earliest before the house would send those articles of impeachment over to the senate, but what is happening is, because democrats want to see a trial with witnesses in the senate, they're hoping that by holding onto the articles of impeachment and trying to prolong the process a little bit, they can put pressure on republicans to call witnesses. that seems unlikely because republicans do control the senate and are hoping to acquit the president fairly speedily, so those are the kind of dynamics of it. president trump is impeached, only the third american president in history to be so, but the likelihood is that he will be acquitted from the senate and not removed from office. and how, if at all, will this process impact the presidential

election next year? no doubt it absolutely will and already there is a washington post story that is out tonight which is suggesting that the whole idea the president got about ukraine interfering in the 2016 election which then made him want to get ukraine to investigate corruption and why allegedly military aid was being withheld, this idea came from vladimir putin. this story is sourced to former us officials because of course vladimir putin has no love for ukraine. nancy pelosi, the house speaker, says this is all about russia. this will fuel and fan the flames of this and make for a very lively 2020. also making news today: russia's 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 whom is 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 officer.

the fsb is now trying to establish the attacker‘s identity. queen elizabeth has set out the british government's legislative plans at the state opening of parliament. it's the second queen's speech in less than three months, after the conservative party's emphatic victory in last week's election. tough criminal justice laws and an increase in funding for the national health service were among the policies given priority. but of the 29 bills mentioned in the speech, seven of them dealt with brexit. my my government's priority is to deliver the united kingdom's departure from the european union on the 31st of january. my ministers will bring forward legislation to ensure the united kingdom's exit on that date and to make the most of the opportunities that this brings for all the people of the united kingdom. goldman sachs is close to reaching a settlement of nearly $2 billion with the us department ofjustice over a corruption scandal,

according to the washington post. the company could pay the multi—billion dollar fine for allegedly turning a blind eye while $4.5 billion was looted from its client, malaysia's sovereign wealth fund, 1mdb. the fraud is said to have involved malaysia's former prime minister, najib razak, and was allegedly used to buy everything from yachts to the production of films including the wolf of wall street. now this manifesto has just sold for $8.8 million at auction in new york. to give you a clue, it was written in french back in 1892, and relates to a major sporting event taking place in tokyo next year. it was penned by pierre de coubertin, founder of the international olympic committee, and it's the outline for the modern games. sotheby‘s said the sale set a new world record for sports memorabilia. the final price was nearly nine times higher than the pre—sale estimate of $1 million.

indian authorities are struggling to cope with mass protests against a new citizenship law, which has spread across the country. a curfew has been imposed in parts of the southern city of mangaluru after three people died. videos posted on social media showed police firing live rounds in the air to disperse the crowd. the indian home ministry has called for a crisis meeting of officials. the bbc‘s rajini vaidyanathan has more from delhi. protests are continuing across india, opposing the new citizenship law. here in delhi as you can see, thousands of people have gathered. in other parts of the country, officials have imposed a section 144, which is a curfew banning public protests but people have

taken to the streets in defiance of that and we have seen a crackdown in some parts of the country, with police clashing with protesters. there is still huge anger and frustration about this law which people say discriminates against muslims. 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 india's secular principles which are founded in the constitution, which state that all religions in this country are treated equally. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: new zealand bans semi—automatic weapons after a mass shooting that left 51 people dead

earlier this year. also on the programme: meet nandi bushell, the drumming sensation who's an internet star at the tender age of nine. 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 presidents 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 newsday on the bbc. i'm in singapore. i'm ben bland in london. our top stories: new south wales has declared a state of emergency as record temperatures continue to fuel more than a hundred bushfires. there's been another day of bitter division in us politics as republicans and democrats continue to argue over the impeachment of president trump. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world.

the japan times leads with one of the biggest global stories of the day — the impeachment of us president donald trump. the paper takes a look at what might happen next as the proceedings head to the senate. dubai's gulf news features the protests which have spread across india against a new citizenship law. police have detained more than 1,200 demonstrators, who say the law discriminates against muslims. and the financial times leads with newly—elected uk prime minister boris johnson, laying out his plan for the next five years. thursday's queen's speech unveiled the government's legislative programme, which mrjohnson has called "the most radical in a generation". the opposition labour leader jeremy corbyn said it had, "no substance".

ben. thanks, rico. now, in the music world, nandi bushell has become an online sensation and she's only nine years old. she's already jammed with lenny kravitz, and featured in a major christmas advertisement here in the uk. nandi's been playing drums since she was a toddler, and her videos have been viewed many thousands of times. celebrations to mark the twentieth anniversary of the handover of macau to chinese government rule have begun with a flag—raising ceremony on the peninsula. macau — a former portuguese colony close to hong kong — became part of the people's republic in 1999. its people have been much less politically active than their counterparts in hong kong — something that the chinese government has been keen to publicise in the run—up to the anniversary. politicians in taiwan have been following developments in hong kong very carefully in the run—up to the island's general

election next month. taiwan has been in effect an independent state since 1949, but it is claimed by china. in the past year, beijing has stepped up economic and diplomatic pressure on the island, banning individual chinese tourists from travelling there and luring away some of taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies. 0ur asia correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes has been to visit the tiny island ofjinmen, still controlled by taiwan, butjust two kilometres from the coast of communist china. 0n the tiny taiwan controlled island ofjinmen, the big gun still point out does not gun still point out on the chinese coast. this was once one of the most militarised places on earth. but today, the gun crew are actors, the audience, tourists. the

tank traps on the beaches ofjinmen are remnants of a conflict many here thought was long over. for the past 20 years, ferries have crossed the narrow strait every half—hour. since the crossing open, this man's business has thrived. jinmen‘s most famous knife maker has become one of the island's top tourist attractions. he is slowly turning thousands of old chinese artillery shells to frighteningly sharp kitchen knives and selling them back to tourists from mainland china. but his best customers have now suddenly stopped coming. translation: recently relations between china and taiwan have gotten much worse, the numbers of chinese tourists has dropped medically. about 70%. jinmen is suddenly back on the front line. what some

american politicians are now describing as a new cold war. back in1958, describing as a new cold war. back in 1958, the united states and china very nearly went to war over these islands. since then there has been an uneasy peace, maintained in large pa rt by an uneasy peace, maintained in large part by america's military might and china's relative weakness. but today china's relative weakness. but today china is no longer a week. and at the president trump, the united states' commitment to defend taiwan and its outlying islands is at best uncertain. and why would america defend taiwan against all of this? america's own simulations so the us could now lose a war against china in the taiwan straits was that i never been more worried about taiwan's security, i don't know how to put it politely. us politics is indeed very enthusing. they do have a hostile attitude towards china, but only attitude, not yet a

strategy. does make very confusing. next month, taiwan will elect a new president and legislator —— very confusing. this man is hoping to win a seat —— woman. she says this is what really sets taiwan apart from china and by the world must stand behind a silent democracy. we identify ourselves as taiwanese, and people from a free and democratic country, that is why china — china's attempt to unify taiwan or forcefully unify attempt to unify taiwan or forcefully u nify ta iwa n attempt to unify taiwan or forcefully unify taiwan will not succeed. back on the frontline island ofjinmen, so when his tourists are looking at it china from an old military bunker. the coast is just two kilometres away. politically, these two places are in different worlds. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news enjinmen island. starting this weekend in new zealand, it will be illegal to possess military—style

semi—automatic firearms. the country banned the weapons after a lone gunman killed 51 people during friday prayers in christchurch earlier this year. there was a nationwide amnesty for those willing to hand in their guns. so far more than 50,000 firearms have been destroyed. from christchurch, danny vincent reports. 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 he's done, ifeel like i'm letting them down — he's won. and he's 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 it's 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 arms 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. we've 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. andrew lloyd webber‘s hit—musical cats is one of the most successful theatre shows of all time. the makers of the film 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. what's 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 oscar—winning director, who was behind the king's speech, made some changes, working right up to its release this week, and a blizzard of bad reviews. the guardian called it a perfectly 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 cinema—goers 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 where cats the musical made its home back in 1981, just down the road in drury lane. spotlight, and a drum roll, please.

lloyd webber‘s original musical, based on ts eliot's 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. this is my last newsday for the decade, merry christmas to you and all our viewers. what a # memory alone in the moonlight... merry christmas to you, the critics' reviews that into the singing and they say it was purr—fect. you have been watching newsday. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with these pictures. 88—year—old violet, a retired nurse from new york,

was bumped up to first class on a recent flight to london after a kind hearted passenger called jack traded his first class seat for her one in economy. what a lovely gesture at this time of year. we will see you soon. by eve ryo ne of year. we will see you soon. by everyone “— of year. we will see you soon. by everyone —— bye, everyone! hello. the rainjust kept on coming to many of us on thursday. 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 of fog or low cloud linger for a good part of the day. we'll 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, and what will be a somewhat chillier night than we've been used to lately. across the northern half of the uk, if you do see clear skies overhead and winds fall light, then you could just get a pinch of frost. so low pressure still with us on saturday. quite complex weather charts, 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 about 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, and 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, it's 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.

i'm ben bland with bbc world news. our top story: record temperatures in australia fuel unprecedented bushfires, more than 100 are burning as a state of emergency is declared in new south wales. emergency crews are braced for worse still to come — temperatures as high as 47 degrees celsius are expected at the weekend. more angry exchanges in the us congress over president trump's impeachment. republicans want a quick trial in the senate, without witnesses. democrats hope to call key white house officials. and this video is trending on bbc.com... it's nandi bushell, who's become an online sensation at the age of nine. she's already performed with lenny kravitz. she's been playing drums since she was a toddler, and her videos have been viewed many thousands of times. that's all. stay with bbc world news.