welcome to a special edition of newsday. i'm lucy hockings in nowra in new south wales in australia. the worst weekend of bushfires yet, and australia has seen dozens of homes destroyed. and there's a warning this could go on burning for months. after weeks of criticism for his reaction to the bushfire crisis, prime minister scott morrison defends his government's response. this is the largest single call—out ever of reservists working with our full—time defence service providing support that our country has never seen before. south of here in the state of victoria, there are fears that two huge fires could merge into one

to create a mega blaze. we will bring you all the latest from here in australia. i'm lewis vaughanjones in london. also in the programme: iran says it's taking another step back from the constraints of the international nuclear deal following the american assassination of general soleimani. masked attackers roam the campus of one of india's most prestigious universities targeting students opposing the government's new citizenship law. this is bbc world news. it is newsday. good morning. it's 1am in london and midday here in new south wales. i'm in the town of nowra, the nerve centre for the regional response to the bushfire crisis here. australians are witnessing another day of devastation and loss, and emotions are really running higher right across the country. there are

fires burning in many different parts of australia, but new south wales, which is the most populous state, is the place that has been most affected. there is real devastation across the state and there is still 150 fires burning. 2a people have now died in this bushfire disaster, thousands of homes have been destroyed and it's been estimated that half a billion animals in this state alone have perished. there is a warning that the fires are going to continue for weeks to come we understand. there is some reprieve for firefighters here today, though, because it's been raining. there has been not nearly enough. we need about 200 millimetres in a short amount of time. we have had a sprinkling. it is a psychological boost for some people because this isa boost for some people because this is a day where there has not been a threat to homes or life so far. that

is not the case in neighbouring victoria where there are a couple of big fires burning there. at least here in new south wales, people are waking up without the feeling of panic. we have some coverage here on bbc news coming up. my colleague clive myrie is here with me on the south coast of new south wales. he's been speaking to victims who were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge. look at that road. this bushfire season is like no other in modern australian history. i mean, this is unprecedented, what we're having here. i mean, the whole country is alight. within half an hour it was, "get out, it's too late to leave." you know, "you should seek shelter." this is a thousand times worse. this is catastrophic. like, all the fires up

the coast are catastrophic. worry etches the faces of those who fled to this hotel from the small town of bundanoon. their homes encircled by two monster fires. the smell of smoke is present even here. by 9:30, i thought i was ok. judy coverdale is one of those who escaped with her life. it was just like a volcanic plume, just growing and growing, red. so, it's getting closer and closer and at this stage you're thinking, i've got to get out. yes. so then i could hear it. i thought i could hear this large fire. it's a disaster, a national disaster. judy sets out to try to establish if her home has been destroyed. we are going back in to see how far we can get.

up ahead, not fog but a thick wall of smoke from the giant fire a few kilometres away. but she hits a police roadblock. can we get near bundanoon? she is told it is too dangerous. they won't let her through. it is unclear if her house is still standing. the prime minister, scott morrison, visited a naval base today having enlisted the military in this unprecedented emergency. —— nearby we came across this trailer belonging to ron murdoch, who is 7a. he packed what mattered to him as he escaped the flames. they were handmade in chile... one of many tens of thousands in australia's biggest peacetime mass evacuation. it is, it is my life now, and that is what i was trying to salvage — my life. in a country proud of its biodiversity, forests are stripped bare. and half a billion animals have perished, many littering roads. it is really, really disturbing. that is just such a waste. when will this nightmare end? heavy rain is not forecast for eight long weeks.

we seem to have temporarily lost communications there with lucy. she is in australia, covering the bushfires there, they have had the most serious weekend of bushfires in terms of the impact. some reprieve, some respite today she was telling us some respite today she was telling us there with the weather, some light rain helping to some extent, though not as much as you would imagine. 0n though not as much as you would imagine. on top of all that, what about the politics of all this? australia post prime minister has enlisted the help of the australian military in this unprecedented emergency. he's announced that a recovery agency will help those who've lost homes and businesses. but his leadership and the handling of this crisis has been widely

criticised by those fighting these fires. i had a moment to put this to the prime minister yesterday. given the severity of the crisis and some of the missteps that have been made, why should australians be confident in your leadership? the response that you are seeing rolled out here in australia, at a state level and a commonwealth level, is unprecedented. this is the largest, single call—out ever of defence force reservists working together with our full—time defence forces to provide a support which this country has never seen before. that is the prime minister scott morrison. and the situation is just as dire further south along the coast in east gippsland and central victoria. thousands of people in the small town of mallacoota have been evacuated by naval ferries to safety. and three emergency warnings are current in victoria. these pictures are extraordinary.

these pictures here show the hundreds of residents who have been told leave their homes now before it is too late. for many australians, it feels like the entire south—east of the country is alight with fires. we are going to leave australia. we will be back with lucy later on. there is another major story today. the other major story today: iran has announced it has rolled back on its commitments under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, marking a further and dramatic escalation of tensions in the middle east following the assassination of the iranian general, qasem soleimani, by the us. general soleimani's remains have been returned to iran with enormous fanfare. james robbins has the latest. hundreds of thousands of iranians have been mourning general soleimani and apparently getting behind their leaders promising revenge. the chants are familiar, including "death to america," but the context

has radically changed. the war of words from both sides is intensifying. president trump has now tweeted a new threat of massive retaliation, perhaps disproportionate. iran's most significant action so far is the announcement that it will no long accept any limit on its ability to enrich uranium, which can be used in nuclear weapons. iran officially denies having such a weapons programme, but the country has steadily been moving away from its nuclear deal with key powers since president trump abandoned the agreement in 2018. in the iraqi capital, baghdad, where the general was killed in the american strike, iraq's parliament has expressed its outrage, voting for the removal of all foreign forces from the country, although the decision is not necessarily binding. iraq's prime minister said the united states had put his country in a difficult position.

the us—led coalition has announced a pause in training of iraqi forces and operations against is, or daesh. the whole focus now will be on protecting its bases. james robbins, bbc news. also making news today: the us military says three of its personnel were killed during the pre—dawn jihadist attack on a military base on the kenyan coast. a statement says one service member and two defence contractors were killed at the base in manda bay, close to the tourist destination of lamu island. it says kenyan and us troops repelled the al—shabaab attack. flooding in the indonesian capital jakarta has now killed 60 people and displaced thousands of others. the country has seen its most intense rainfall for almost a quarter of a century. environmental groups are calling for action, saying it should be a wake—up call to climate change in one of the world's biggest carbon emitters. china has said that an outbreak of an unknown viral pneumonia is not the respiratory disease sars that previously killed hundreds of people. the confirmation came from the health authorities

in the city of wuhan where there have been 59 cases. seven people are in a critical condition. police have been called to restore order at one of india's most prestigious universities, in the capital, delhi. about 20 students are said to have been injured at the jawaharlal nehru university, leading to at least seven being taken to hospital. the indian home minister has ordered an enquiry. rhodri davies reports. this masked mob is wielding poles and sticks at one of india's leading universities. witnesses say that more than 50 people entered the campus at the jawaharlal nehru university in the capital, delhi, leaving results like this. i've been bleeding. i'm not even in a condition to talk. but the motives are unclear. the students union she represents alleges activists from

the right—wing body, the abvp, that's linked to india's ruling party, the bjp, carried out the attack. while the abvp accuses leftists of aggression against its members. translation: today, the way in which left has attacked teachers and students and members of abvp is a very shameful incident. several victims are in hospital and police and protesters are at the university gates. the education minister has called on students to maintain peace on campus. protests have recently been held at the university over the bjp's controversial new citizenship law. whether or not that's connected,

this latest incident will do nothing to ease the discord. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the film award season hasn't got under way with the golden globes. we will have a live update from our correspondent in la. the japanese people are in mourning following the death of emperor hirohito. thousands converged on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good grief! after half a century of delighting fans around the world, charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow in spite of protests and violence from some black activist groups. they say international artists should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established.

teams were trying to scoop up lumps of oil, as france recognises it faces an ecological crisis. three weeks ago, the authorities confidently assured these areas that oil from the broken tanker erika would head out to sea. it didn't. the world's tallest skyscraper opens later today. the burj dubai has easily overtaken its nearest rivals. welcome back. this is newsday on the bbc. the top stories: australia's prime minister, who's been criticised for his slow response to the country's bushfire crisis, has warned the blazes could last for many months to come. iran says it will no longer abide by limits on its uranium enrichment, abandoning its central commitment under the international nuclear deal reached in 2015.

i'm live in nowra, in one of the worst hit areas in australia's bushfire crisis. when we arrived yesterday we did not get any sense of dusk nor dawn this morning, because the smokers been so heavy. that is the case in many towns and cities across australia. there are reports coming from new zealand of the smoke affecting the air quality there. but the city most badly affected is the capital, canberra, where businesses have shut and people have been told to stay indoors. in fact the pollution has been made canberra one of the worst places in the world. as shaimaa khalil our reports. smoke has completely blanketed canberra. and as brutal. it hits you right in the throat and it makes it really ha rd to the throat and it makes it really hard to breathe. it makes it worse with this winter picking up. as the fires continue to rage, the air carries it through and it hangs heavily on the city. now, on any given day, display, parliament house

would be visible from any direction. now you can hardly see them. and i am standing right in front of it. and this is holiday season as well. this is the time when people come and they visit the capital, but it is virtually empty. it is quite airy. eye caught up with one family and they ask what it was like to be in canberra in this kind of weather. we just arrived today because we had come from golden, where we were evacuated from tathra to get away from the fires and to go somewhere safe. it is really smoky so it is whole to brett —— hard to breathe times. and also it was raining ash. we would like to stay another day here and then we will head back home. but there are a few fires on the way, in 0meo, i think part of the way, in 0meo, i think part of the wrote down to 0meo is closed, but we should be able to get through. it took us eight hours to get here from tathra. and it's not just about being outdoors. people

will tell you indoors in houses and offices and shopping centres it reeks of smoke. and of course there are health concerns, especially those with respiratory conditions. no—one knows how long this is going to last because the fires dusky burning. but as of right now the air quality in australia's capital is among the worst in the well —— just keep burning. shaimaa khalilthere in canberra. 5 million hectares of land have burnt already across australia. it is affecting many people's daily life and the quality of life. let's find out how this community is responding to this crisis. absolutely, lucy. this has been the biggest catastrophe that the shoalhaven has seen in its recorded history, is my guess on that. and my ta ke history, is my guess on that. and my take on that. but why i'm saying thatis take on that. but why i'm saying that is because so many of our

villages are all impacted at once. this started over a month ago and has been a rolling catastrophe going up has been a rolling catastrophe going up the coast and we are a long way from being out of danger at this point in time. and how about you and yourfamily, have point in time. and how about you and your family, have you point in time. and how about you and yourfamily, have you been point in time. and how about you and your family, have you been affected? so my personal impact happened early on in the fire when my family farm and my pop's family farm were impacted by fire. my daughter, my husband, my pop, they have all been pa rt husband, my pop, they have all been part of that firefighting effort, and you worry dreadfully about them because communications goes down, power goes down, and you haven't got that line of sight to them and you really wonder what's going on and that's a very stressful for everybody across our city. so they lived experience, my lived experience, we all understand how one another‘s feeling right now, because the separations still haven't finished. amanda, i am so stop by australia's split was resilience, where does that come from? —— struck. resilience, where does that come from? -- struck. that inner strength

is just so remarkable. from? -- struck. that inner strength isjust so remarkable. they from? -- struck. that inner strength is just so remarkable. they have seen is just so remarkable. they have seen people in absolute or with big smiles on theirfaces seen people in absolute or with big smiles on their faces that they are so smiles on their faces that they are so happy to be alive. you know, they are standing in the close they escaped a fire from but they are still able to generate that energy about being grateful. webs that come from? look, idon't about being grateful. webs that come from? look, i don't know, about being grateful. webs that come from? look, idon't know, but about being grateful. webs that come from? look, i don't know, but i'm so, so proud of my people in this city. we have done remarkable things of the last four days, however supported one another, how we have to get supply into places that were running out of water and ice and food, how we've managed just to rally stopping plugging generators into give a friend next door or a neighbour or someone they haven't even met a couple of hours of hours of power to keep the fridge running. people really are just incredible and i'm so gratefulfor people really are just incredible and i'm so grateful for that. is there a worry though, amanda, that this is the new normal? absolutely. just before christmas i asked our ceo to report back on a recent report that said nowra, in particular, shoalhaven, was one of

the top seven places in australia for natural bushfire disaster. so we do need to do some work ahead of that, with the assistance of the federal government, with the assistance of the state government, because we cannot put this burden on oui’ because we cannot put this burden on our ratepayers alone. what's happened with tourism in the area, which is so vital? look, coming just off before we talk about tourism, i'd have to talk about the loss of life and the loss of property and make sure that people around the world understand that it is our people first then we come to our business, because our business people are really suffering and some of our business is suffering between 50- 80% of our business is suffering between 50— 80% losses at this time of year when it is their peak time for making their income to last across winter. and we will be appealing to the people across australia to munich, support us in our recovery, to come back to us once it is safe to come back to us once it is safe to do so —— come back to us. to come back to us once it is safe to do so -- come back to us. so what is it you need most, amanda? at the moment what we need most is money.

we need to support our people through donations of money, not of goods, that causes us a little bit ofa goods, that causes us a little bit of a nightmare in trying to do without. it's so generous and we really appreciate it and we really need people to understand that, but we need you to donate to the mayoral appeal, those details are on the shoalhaven city council webpage. but other than that we need to be —— we need people to come back when it is safe to do so. and we will tell you when. thank you for talking to us. heading back to you in london, lewis. thank you. you're watching newsday on bbc news. let's turn our attention to hollywood now where the golden globe awards have just got under way. seen as the ceremony that marks the start of film award season, the globes are the second—most important date in the calendar — but certainly the rowdiest. ricky gervais is hosting again as cast and crew of the big screen blockbusters hope to bag prizes and build momentum ahead of the all—importa nt 0scars next month. 0ur correspondent david willis

is live in los angeles for us. david, i happen to know that you probably dress like this on an average sunday evening anyway. but let's talk about what we should be looking out for now. well, just bringing you bang up—to—date, lewis, ican bringing you bang up—to—date, lewis, i can tell you that the golden globes has been on the air for about 20 minutes and two of the acting awards have gone to roma yusuf and russell crowe, russell crowe picking up russell crowe, russell crowe picking up that golden globe for his performance in the roger gale ‘s drama, the miniseries, the loudest voice. as far as what we are expecting this time around, marriage story had the most nominations for this years golden globes. it stars driver and scarlett joha nsson. a rather grim tale of a couple is putting up on them and their child. also nominated with five, receiving

five nominations, is the martin scorsese film the irishman, with stars al pacino and robert de niro. that, of course, widely tipped for honours this awards season. and then there are thejew hopes. starring anthony hopkins and jonathan pryce. —— the to two popes. they have spent billions of dollars recruiting some of the biggest talent both behind the camera and in front of it. and it would appear to be paying off, certainly if they win one of the big awards tonight, then a lot of people will be saying this whole business has turned a corner, if you like, ironic, perhaps, that these awards are on a mainstream tv

network, nbc. interesting stuff. the rise of the streaming services has been incredible. david, if you can still hear me, let me know if you can, we talk about the golden globes as they predict for the oscars. are they a good one, are they accurate? well, that's an interesting question, because we have seen, for example, last year the oscars more 01’ example, last year the oscars more or less mirror the golden globes. green book, for example, was best film at both the golden globes and the oscars. but the golden globes area the oscars. but the golden globes are a different kettle of fish, if you like, because the people who vote on them are the 88 members of the hollywood foreign press association. not the nearly 9000 members of the academy who decide who gets an oscar. and it is interesting that over the last ten yea rs, interesting that over the last ten years, as far as the best picture is concerned, the golden globes and the

0scars have mirrored each otherjust 50% of the time. it would be a mistake to see the golden globes as a bellwether of the oscars. we will let you get back to monitoring it. thank you, david willis, in hollywood. welcome back to nowra. just listening in on the golden globes, striking that some australian movie stars like nicole kidman are donating hundreds of thousands of dollars just for firefighters and to the recovery efforts here in australia. there is a really strong sense here in new south wales, eve ryo ne sense here in new south wales, everyone in australia wants to do something to help. there is a sense of despair amongst many people, a sense of helplessness, so everyone is doing what they can to help those affected and, of course, the firefighters who are really seen as heroes here. some of them haven't had a day off for weeks, fighting fires. there are more than 150 still

burning in new south wales and we are watching these two big fires in victoria that people worry willjoin together to form one giant laser. this stay with us on bbc news from all the latest in australia on the bushfire crisis. hello. roadside —— sky for some on sunday night but not a huge amount of delight for the savadori did the rest of us for the next few days. quite a turbulence well with the potential for disruption from not just heavy rain but gales or severe gales, particularly to the north and west. it will bring with it some mild conditions before things turn chilly out later in the week. first comes from this area of low pressure from iceland. gales and heavier reporting to the of ireland by the end of the night. into the morning rush hour, cloudy, a few spots of rain, drizzle and frost free. through the morning rush hour itself, northern ireland, some heavy bursts of rain and gale force winds, spreading across scotland from mid

morning onwards. not too much rain in the ass. as for wales in western england is really from lunchtime onwards we will see that heavy rain before sun ju ahn onwards we will see that heavy rain before sunju ahn returns that here was later on. as the north and there was later on. as the north and there was we will see this youngest of the winds, potential for was we will see this youngest of the winds, potentialfor gales, maybe 50 mile—per—hour dust for some. not quite as witty for east anglia and the south—east. the bristle picked up the south—east. the bristle picked up by the south—east. the bristle picked up by the end of the afternoon and into the evening rush hour we will see this band of narrower but heavy rain spread is was. it does mean we finish the day in south—west england, well, northern england with a greater potential for some sunshine. a few showers in northern england hotels in scotland, northern ireland, maybe wintry over the tops of the scottish mountains. temperature stop away a little bit through the afternoon but not as witty for the evening rush hour as it will be for the morning one. as we go into the evening, that rain spreads across east anglia and the south—east, clear skies bodibe, a brief dip interpreter. roll out a touch of frati and there but temperatures rise late as more wet and windy weather spreads its way in from the west. and that's this area of low pressure. the next one, a deeper bigger area of low pressure

comment mizzly winds are stronger, extent further away from the centre, which will still be around iceland, producing snow here, but for us dragging an exactly mild airfrom the mid atlantic, rocketing temperatures from what will have been a chilly start for some in the south—east. here though it should stay dry and break through much of the day. it is northern england, scotland, northern ireland, emirates arena time, the biggest disruption could come from the winds. widespread gales, john goss winds north and west of scotland, is only five — 80 mile—per—hour dust not out of the question. those winds coming over from the of the question. those winds coming overfrom the mid of the question. those winds coming over from the mid atlantic and will bring some exceptionally mild weather to the north—east of high ground, north of northern ireland and the north—east of scotland we could see 15— 610 degrees. that mild air swept away as we go through the night and into wednesday morning was not a chilly start on wednesday morning with a touch of frost around. rain returns from the south—west later. more wet and windy weather around on thursday before a kuyt and but a colder and to the week. —— quieter and.

this is bbc world news. our top story: in australia, the worst weekend of bushfires yet has seen hundreds of homes destroyed. the prime minister, scott morrison, has warned the bushfire emergency could last for months. he says he's sending in the military following accusations that he has been slow to deal with the crisis. france, britain and germany have asked iran to reconsider after it said it would roll back more commitments made under the international nuclear deal. tehran's announcement follows the american assassination of general qasem soleimani on friday. hollywood's awards season is under way. the 77th annual golden globes are taking place in los angeles. the traditional studios are once again facing a challenge from the big streaming services. that's all. you're watching bbc world news.