welcome to bbc news, i'm mike embley our top stories: a state of emergency in new south wales, australia's highest recorded temperatures are fuelling more than a hundred bushfires. another day of bitter division in american politics as republicans and democrats argue over what happens next in the impeachment of president trump. at least three people are killed in protests against the indian 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. welljoining me now is professor of fire science at the university of tasmania david bowman. thank you very much for your time. it isa thank you very much for your time. it is a tribute to the people fighting these fires that it hasn't been even worse, but do you have a

sense that there needs to be a rethink in the way buyers are fought in australia? yeah, it is clearly unsustainable to be running via campaigns for so long so early in the fire season, and putting so many volunteer firefighters, professional firefighters at risk and burning up so firefighters at risk and burning up so much money, so we're going to have to figure out way of coexisting with flammable landscapes more effectively than the current mode. that did work quite well, i've got to add, but with the rapid climate change effects we are seeing, we are really in a transformative stage in the way we are going to coexist with bushfires here in australia. from your research and your experience, what is that way? we have got to really invert the whole thing from

this heroic firefighting process to building capacity and resilience in the community, and our structures, in the houses we live in. the suburbs, the towns, and to make people more bushfire savvy and better able to be more relaxed and more capable of accepting the fact that there are going to be fires in oui’ that there are going to be fires in our bushland because we can never get rid of these fires, the fires are going to become more frequent and intense with climate change, so we have to go back to where we live and get those places properly equipped and designed to withstand the threat of bushfire, that will ta ke the threat of bushfire, that will take a lot of the intensity of the situation out. we have got an intense situation because there is so intense situation because there is so much riskier, we have been

incredibly lucky but i fear that our luck is about to run out and we will be looking at a very major impact if this summer keeps going the way it is going. we haven't seen the end of it yet. are no climate change is something australian politicians do not yet accept? do you have any sense with the deaths of these firefighters, the prime minister cutting short his holiday to come back to address this crisis, that this may be some kind of turning point? i think it is. i think the fa ct point? i think it is. i think the fact that a third of the australian population have been under these horrendous smoke conditions for the last six weeks or so, the recurrent heat waves, just the stress, there is so much stress, so much news about these fires, pretty well every australian is gripped with, what is going to happen next? and the politicians underestimated this. they thought that they could kick the can down the road, that it would

resolve itself but the problem isn't resolving itself, it seems to be getting worse rather than better, andi getting worse rather than better, and i think everybody is hungering for some leadership here, and i think we have got to give the politicians a chance to show that leadership, rather than to criticise them, encourage them. i think it is fantastic that the prime minister has cut his holiday short, rather than criticising hemmant, i think we need to encourage him to help everybody face up to this challenge because this is a real nationbuilding challenge stopping this is something that is going to change australia's history, for sure. thank you very much indeed. 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's what 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. amy mackinnon is our reporter with foreign policy magazine. good to talk to you. the democrats having pushed so hard and fast for impeachment, now they are trying to slow it down. what is going on here? this appears to be a very last—minute attempt by the democrats and nancy pelosi to try to retain a little bit of control of the process. what they are trying to do here is they are trying to get the most fair trial that they can before

the senate before handing over the reins of the impeachment process to the chamber, so on sunday chuck schumer called for several senior white house officials to testify in the senate, he was battered down. that is the kind of thing they are going to be looking to secure here and holding these articles of impeachment back. is there any chance of a full trail in the senate with witnesses and documents? the president has been treating that he wa nts president has been treating that he wants an immediate trail but of course he is also claiming that he has been denied due process, but he has been denied due process, but he has denied any chance for himself to appear, for his own legal team to question witnesses, he has blocked senior officials appear in. it is going to be highly unlikely that there will be a thorough trail in there will be a thorough trail in the senate. mitch mcconnell has made it clear that he has got no interest in having an impartial trail and he wa nts to in having an impartial trail and he wants to get it over with as quickly as possible, and to work with the

white house on doing that as well. that is going to be a key sticking point going forward and also something that makes this impeachment process all the more unusual because the senate has traditionally been the more coolheaded of the two chambers of congress, bill clinton's impeachment trail in the senate, it was seen as being a fairly fair profit handled between the two parties but it doesn't look like that is going to happen this time around. if there is no question of the president being removed from office, i guess this is all about how this plays with the voters annexed your‘s collection. white house authors are saying to reporters they are seeing poles which suggest fewer people now support impeachment than actually favour it. how do you think that is playing? it is a politically risky move for the democrats because and holding onto this process, they are making it less likely that there can bea making it less likely that there can be a trail in the senate. they could really draw this out, they run the risk of dragging this into an

election year, which may not play out well in the public and the republicans will be well aware of that and attack them on that point. amy mckernan, thank you. —— amy mckinnon. at least three people have died in protests against the indian 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, 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. on the streets of india, a battle for the country's secular soul. hundreds of thousands are protesting a new law that they say discriminates against muslims. from assam in the north—east, all the way down to bangalore and the south. from the economic capital mumbai,

to the nation's capital delhi. 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. 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 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. well—known historian ramachandra guha was seen dragged away from a peaceful demonstration. many fear that this country underneath prime minister modi is inching closer to becoming a hindu state. his bjp party's brand of hindu nationalism is hugely popular and helped secure him a landslide second 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 worry. 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. where 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, i'm mike embley. the latest headlines: new south wales has declared a state of emergency as record temperatures fuel more than 100 bushfires. republicans and democrats are at loggerheads over how to proceed with the impeachment of donald trump. the president has tweeted that he wants an immediate trial. celebrations are under way to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover of macau to chinese government rule. china's president, xijinping, is attending. his visit is widely seen as a reward for the former portuguese colony's stability and its loyalty to mainland china. its people have been much less politically active than their counterparts in hong kong, something that the chinese government has

been keen to publicise. the bbc‘s shaimaa khalil is in macau, watching the ceremony taking place. well, it's been days of celebration, and a real sense of pride here, mike, in macau. i mean, the skyline of this city really tells the story of prosperity. this has been called the las vegas of asia. you can see the glitzy buildings and casinos. this is really the gaming hub of the region, and this has been the story of political stability, and more crucially, of loyalty to mainland china, that president xijinping has been praising macau forfor the last two days. this is his third day, and as you say, he has been presiding over the swearing—in of the new ceo. but really, xijinping 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 and fate are connected with that of the motherland. and what is really interesting, is that at 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, the ceo of hong kong, has been sitting, has been watching and has been listening to this praise of xijinping to macau. and shaimaa, can you give a sense why the political temperature there in macau is so different from hong kong? you know, it's really interesting. there are so many reasons. if you look at the economy,

there are two very different places. this is a place that has really seen its economy, its fortunes, stratospherically 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 is very disenfranchised with the government. they accuse it of being too close to beijing, they accuse it of being too corrupt, and also have come out on the streets and said 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 really two different outlooks and very different relationships between them and mainland china

and its government. 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. 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 nafta, the north america free trade agreement, now 25 years old. 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. lord 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. other opinions are available, but i

am not sure there are any more puns. there is much more on all the news on the bbc website. thank you for watching. hello there. for many of us on thursday, the rain just kept on coming. we had low pressure to the west of the british isles, you can see the swell of cloud here on the satellite picture, and around the low we pulled pulses of rain up from the south. we've already had flooding in places. the ground is very wet, and with a bit more rain in the forecast, well, there could well be some further problems with flooding, particularly i think across england, parts of wales as well. so do stay tuned to the bbc whether website for updates

on any weather warnings where you are. a very soggy start, then, across central and eastern parts of england particularly. that rain will slowly pull its way off into the north sea, and then it is essentially a day of sunny spells and showers. quite a few showers drifting in towards the western side of scotland. northern ireland might start off with some fog patches, some of those could be quite slow to clear. could be quite a lot of cloud in places through the afternoon, and temperatures a little bit lower than they have been, between six and 11 degrees. now, as we go through friday night, we will see some showers putting in from the south—west. some of these will be on the heavier side. there will be some dry weather and some clearer spells as well, and it is going to be a

slightly clearer night than we have been used to lately, they could even been used to lately, they could even bea been used to lately, they could even be a touch of frost in some places in the northern half of the uk. now, those overnight showers are associated with this little frontal system here. that will be clearing away during saturday, but noticed another more active frontal system gathering down to the south—west. so we will see this first band of showers drifting northwards, maybe some further showers following on behind. a lot of dry weather through the day and some spells of sunshine but this rain likely to spread into the south later in the day. some pretty brisk winds with that as well. temperature—wise we're looking at highs between six and 11 degrees. as this little area of low pressure slides into the south of the uk, wales and the south of england will see some rain. that main rain will clear away by sunday morning, but low pressure is still in charge. so

that means we will see further showers at times, these showers potentially joining showers at times, these showers potentiallyjoining together into lines putting from the west towards the east. some sunny spells as well, and those temperatures generally in the range of five to 10 degrees. and then 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 100 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, delhi, and some other states. now on bbc news, panorama. tonight on panorama we investigate the church facing allegations of fraud. i feel like heartbroken, because i'm thinking this is supposed to be like a family. and like, most importantly, it's like god's people. and its leader, a charismatic pastor. god is going to help you. he's going to change your life forever. we reveal the church's appetite for cash. a basic person in a month should give a thousand pounds. i think that is normal. i think it is no big deal. it's not even that deep. you walk into a room you see 111—15 people with bags of money.