welcome to bbc news, i'm mike embley. our top stories: a state of emergency in new south wales, where australia's highest recorded temperatures are fuelling more than a hundred bushfires. another day of bitter division in us politics as republicans and democrats continue to argue over the impeachment of president trump. at least three people are killed in india during protests against the government's new citizenship law, we have a special report from delhi. and, it might be one of the most successful stage shows of all time — but the critics aren't so sure about the movie version of cats.

with more than a hundred bushfires burning, record—breaking temperatures and extreme winds, new south wales, australia's most heavily—populated state, has declared a 7—day state of emergency. two volunteer firefighters have been killed in a road crash near sydney. temperatures as high as 47 celsius are expected at the weekend. and prime minister scott morrison is taking some criticism for being on holiday as the crisis unfolds. he's now released a statement saying, "i express my sincere condolences and sympathies to the families of the firefighters who have so tragically been killed overnight, " and adds that he will be returning to sydney from leave as soon as can be arranged. with more on the bushfire emergency, our science editor, 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. live now to melbourne and to dr richard thornton, ceo of the bushfire and natural hazards cooperative research centre. thank you very much for your time. how does this fire season compare to others you have experienced? certainly this is one of the worst fire season we have seen for a very

long time across australia, certainly seeing that thoughts of temperatures we are seeing, the thoughts of dryness in the landscape that we have got now, and as a consequence of that we are seeing fires and just about every state and territory across australia. you have a sense of why this is happening, why this is so much worth? this particular year is clearly driven by a long—term drought, probably one of the most severe droughts we have seen possibly since the white people came to australia, so this is a very significant drying of the forests, if you like, so even those that have traditionally been relatively wet are traditionally been relatively wet a re really dry traditionally been relatively wet are really dry this year and that is what is driving a lot of the fire behaviour that we are seeing and why we are seeing so behaviour that we are seeing and why we are seeing so many behaviour that we are seeing and why we are seeing so many fires at the same time. people are bound to be wondering about climate change, i'd know that is a particularly thorny issue for your current government.

lets not discuss that. it is very difficult to a tribute particular events to climate change anywhere but something is happening over all, quite clearly. what we do know from all of the measurements is that the fire seasons in australia are getting more intense, so when you look at their cumulative fire danger over a whole season that is going up over a whole season that is going up over the past 20 years or so. we are also seeing fire seasons start earlier and potentially finish later, so it is making the whole season much longer which is putting a realdrain on season much longer which is putting a real drain on the volunteer firefighters who are now on—call, nine months of the year. do you think somehow we need to reassess health players are dealt with? there is certainly a lot of discussion happening around these fires and they have been happening for quite some time, about how we resource these fires, if we need greater

resourcing from aircraft but also what we can do to help prevent the impacts of these fires. fires in australia are inevitable stopping there will always happen whether it's the ones that happened in victoria in 2009 or this year. it is important that we reduce the impact on the communities, whether we do that in reduction in the forest beforehand or we look at the way we build and designed and placed things in landscape. all of those are options that are on the table for discussion now in the wake of these fires, or in the mid—of these layers, because the fire season is nowhere near over yet quite thank you so much for giving us your time. let's get some of the day's other news. 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 them 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 fsb officer. the identity of the attacker has not been publicly confirmed. queen elizabeth has formally 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 are among the priorities. but of the 29 bills mentioned in the speech, seven of them deal with brexit. in a rare show of bipartisan unity, the us house of representatives has overwhelmingly approved president trump's renegotiated trade agreement with canada and mexico. the democrat—controlled house backed the billjust a day after voting to impeach the president. it must now be passed by the senate. it replaces the 25—year—old north america free trade agreement, known as nafta.

let's take you live to macau now where china's president xi jinping is attending a ceremony to mark the twentieth anniversary of the southern city's handover to the chinese. the visit is widely seen as a reward for the former portuguese colony's stability and its loyalty to mainland china. security has been tightened between macau and the neighbouring territory of hong kong where pro—democracy protests continue. 0ur correspondent shaimaa khalil is in macau. tell us more. it has been days of celebration and a real sense of pride here in macau, the skyline of this city really tells the story of prosperity, this has been called the las vegas of asia, you consider glitzy buildings and casinos, this is really the gaming hub of the region and it has been the story of political stability and more

crucially, of loyalty to mainland china that president xi jinping has been praising macau and as you say he has been presiding over the swearing—in of the new ceo, but really xijinping has been swearing—in of the new ceo, but really xi jinping has been trying to sell macau on this anniversary as a success story of the one country two systems formula. he praised the people and the leadership for the love of the motherland. he also said that the government and the people understand that macau's future are connected with that of the motherland. and what is really interesting, is that in no point in his speech did he mention the words hong kong, and yet this lavish praise, this direct praise of macau is also seen as an indirect rebuke of hong kong, its leadership and what has been happening there in terms of protest. the optics have been really interesting because throughout all the celebrations, carrie lam has been setting, has been watching and has been listening to this praise of xi jinping to

macau. can you give a sense why the political temperature there and macau is so different in hong kong? it is really interesting, there are so it is really interesting, there are so many it is really interesting, there are so many reasons to it is really interesting, there are so many reasons to be if you look at the economy, there are two very different places stopping this is a place that has really seen its economy and fortunes rise because of its links to china and its huge economic prosperity. this is a place where more than half of the population have emigrated from the mainland, so they have a huge affinity with china and that pays off. if you look at hong kong, it's a very different story. yes, it's a financial hub but there is a young population who was very disenfranchised with the government, they accuse it of being too close to beijing and to corrupt and also have come out on the streets and said that there is a big wealth gap and that there is a big wealth gap and that they are walking against it and speaking out against it. so yes, it's a one system, a similar system

in the one country two systems formula but very different relationship between them and mainland china and its government. many thanks for that. at least three people have died in india during protests against the government's new citizenship law. two deaths were in the southern city of mangaluru where police opened fire on crowds trying to burn a police station, and another protester died in the northern city of lucknow. demonstrators say the new law is another instance of prime minister narendra modi's aggressive hindu nationalist agenda. here's our corrspondent in delhi, rajini vaidyanathan. 0n the streets of india, a battle for the country's secular soul. hundreds of thousands are protesting a new law that they discriminates against muslims. from the north—east, all the way down to bangalore and the south. from the economic capital to buy, to the

nation's capital delhi. the citizenship law offers a path to 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. half of the population is under the age of 25. it's the youth that are leading the charge. this is a secular nation, it's a democracy. we are not a struggling democracy, we are not a struggling democracy, we are an established democracy, so it is wrong on so are an established democracy, so it is wrong on so many are an established democracy, so it is wrong on so many levels. we are standing here to defend our constitution, we are standing here to defend the poor and the

uneducated. they say the government is trying to silence them. mobile internet has been suspended across many parts of the country. police have been accused of heavy—handed tactics, including shooting protesters. this well—known historian was seen dragged away from a peaceful demonstration. many fair that this country underneath prime minister modi is inching closer to becoming a hindu state. the bjp's version of hindu nationalism was hugely popular and helped secure him a landslide can term earlier this year. one of the prime minister's closest allies, ahmet shah, says this law offers a safe haven for oppressed minorities. translation:

it doesn't discriminate against any religion. it is only a positive step for the communities who are persecuted in afghanistan, pakistan, and bangladesh. to india's muslims, there is another warry. the government is planning to publish a nationwide register of citizens. everyone would be forced to provide documents to prove they are indian. those who can't, would be considered illegal immigrants. only non— muslims would be protected under the new citizenship law. the largest protest since prime minister modi took office looks set to continue stopping does this leave the hindu nationalist agenda that propelled him to power? rajini vaidyanathan reporting there. we should say that the bbc did invite the indian high commission in london for an interview to respond to that story, but they were unable to offer us one. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: from russia with love. an unexpected show of support for britain's prime minister,

but what is behind president putin's magnanimous approach? 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 bbc news. the top story: new south wales has declared a state of emergency as record temperatures continue to fuel more than 100 bushfires. democrats and republicans are locked in a stand—off about the next stage of president trump's impeachment. it has been delayed until early january, at least, because they can't agree the format for a trial in the senate. here is what the party leaders in the chamber have been saying. over the last 12 weeks, house democrats have conducted the most rushed, least thorough, and most unfair impeachment inquiry in modern history. leader mcconnell's 30—minute,

partisan stem—winder contained hardly a single defence of the president of the united states on the merits. almost none defended president trump, because they can't. julia manchester is a political reporter with the hill. she joins us now from washington. julia, thanks very much for your time. we are in a slightly curious situation now, aren't we, where the democrats, having pushed so hard and fast with impeachment are now trying to slow it down. explained to us what the tactics are here. so right now, unfortunately for democrats, they actually haven't been able to come to an agreement with republicans when it comes to deciding which witnesses to call and what documents they can essentially request, and how they can come to an agreement as to how that would happen. minority leader schumer and

majority leader mcconnell did not come to an agreement as to how that would happen and we will not see that happen until after the holidays. that is definitely playing a role in this. however, senate democrats may try to slow this down because they want to try and call as many witnesses as possible, whether it is president trump's chief of staff, mick mulvaney, or his former national security adviserjohn bolton. so they are going to need to somehow strategise, because remember they have a very uphill climb in the senate. it is controlled by republicans, and president trump is likely to be acquitted in the senate. so they need to build a case for the american people, essentially for the american people, essentially for the american people, essentially for the court of public opinion, because this is happening just

months before president trump's re—election bid. months before president trump's re-election bid. and julia, president trump has tweeted saying he wants an immediate trial in the senate, again complaining he has been denied his most fundamental rights. but then he turned down a chance to appear himself, he turned down a chance for his legal team to question witnesses, he blocked senior officials from testifying. he could have engaged more. he didn't. he didn't, and it is interesting that now he is wanting to engage in the senate. i think he wants to engage in the senate because he essentially saw impeachment as may bea essentially saw impeachment as may be a bit ofa essentially saw impeachment as may be a bit of a rallying cry for his supporters. remember, last night in michigan at his campaign rally he acted so angry, he was clearly riled up acted so angry, he was clearly riled up by acted so angry, he was clearly riled up by this. so i think now he wants this to be quick so he can try to

make this as theatrical as possible, maybe try and put on a show for his supporters, so that they can see. maybe try and put on a show for his supporters, so that they can seem is clearly very, very unlikely at a senate trial in a chamber controlled by his own party that the president will be removed from office. i guess so will be removed from office. i guess so much of this, as you can say, is about voters, the opinions of voters in the election next year. i know that people in the white house are saying they are seeing polls that suggest more people are now opposed to impeachment and supported. it is possible, isn't it, all this could backfire on the democrats. possible, isn't it, all this could backfire on the democratsm possible, isn't it, all this could backfire on the democrats. it is very possible. we've actually seen a number of different polls that have come out this week that probably show a slight of americans saying they oppose impeachment and opposed removing president trump from office via impeachment. at the same time, in the house, you saw a number of

moderate democrats who were elected in districts in 2018 that president trump carried in 2016. clearly they we re trump carried in 2016. clearly they were making a very big political risk there, and they had to have been seeing some sort of internal polling that was showing that impeachment wouldn't play that badly in their districts. so i think the national polls tell one story, however, i would like to see more of these local poles in the different congressional district and states and see how voters are really reacting to impeachment. julia, thank you very much. president putin has congratulated borisjohnson on his victory in the uk election and suggested that britain should pursue better economic ties with russia. mr putin was speaking at his annual news conference. he also dismissed derogatory comments about him that had been previously made by mrjohnson. our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg was among those asking the questions. when vladimir putin gives a news conference, it feels like the whole world has been invited. my chance to ask russia's president about britain's prime minister. borisjohnson once described you as a ruthless dictator, i remind him, and he compared you to dobby the house elf from harry potter. translation: as to what various politicians in different countries have said about russia, and about me as president, it has no importance whatsoever compared to the fundamental issues russia is trying to solve. but, when he visited moscow as foreign secretary, borisjohnson called himself a committed russophile. perhaps that's why president putin said well done on winning the election.

translation: we congratulate mrjohnson. he sensed the mood of british society better than his political opponents. now, he'll carry out his brexit plans, and bearing brexit in mind, i think that great britain is interested in developing economic ties with us. but what about those allegations of russian interference? i asked the president, has moscow meddled in uk politics? we reserve the right to express our opinion about events in your country, he says, but that's hardly interference. during this four—hour marathon, he was rarely stuck for an answer. but then again, if you've been in powerfor 20 years, like mr putin has, there aren't many questions that will surprise you. steve rosenberg, bbc news. 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 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 purr—fectly 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 that 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.

hello there. for many parts of the uk on thursday, the rainjust kept on coming. 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 areas 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, on 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 the winds fall light, well, you could just get a pinch of frost. so low pressure still with us on saturday. quite a complex weather chart, 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 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. now, 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. but 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.

this is bbc news, the headlines: record temperatures are continuing to fuel unprecedented bushfires in australia. a state of emergency is in force in new south wales, where more than a hundred fires are burning. the country's prime minister has bowed to pressure to return from holiday, as forecasters say even hotter weather is expected at the weekend. there've been more angry exchanges in the us congress over how to proceed with the impeachment of president trump. republicans want a quick trial in the senate, without witnesses, while democrats are hoping to call key white house officials. mr trump has tweeted that he wants an immediate trial. at least three people have died in india as protests against the new citiczenship law spread across the country. police arrrested thousands of people who defied the ban on demonstrations, which has been imposed in the capital,