welcome to bbc news, i'm monika plaha. our top stories: torrential rain causes deadly floods in california leaving residents, including celebrities, fearing for their properties. new climate data suggests 2022 was the fifth hottest year on record, with europe and the polar regions hardest hit by global warming. cardinal george pell, the australian former vatican treasurer who was found guilty of sexual abuse before his conviction was quashed, has died. a chance to read up on the royals, as prince harry's

tell—all book, spare, goes on sale around the world. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. we start in california, where at least 17 people are now known to have died from heavy flooding in the state. nearly 50,000 people have been ordered to evacuate amid fears of landslides. all residents — that's 10,000 people — living in the coastal town of montesito near santa barbara have been ordered to leave. warnings of flooding and high winds are in place across much of california, with more cyclones expected. jon donnison reports. not a river but a road. but in much of california, rather than a car, you would be

better off with the canoe. large parts of the state are already under water following back—to—back storms, and there is more to come. in less than 12 hours, we have received more than eight inches of rain with seven to eight inches still forecast to four. in other words, even more water. tens of thousands of homes have already had to be evacuated. hundreds of thousands more have been left without power. we work hard the last week to make sure that this didn't happen. and it wasjust... and in some areas, the extreme rain has brought other dangers, too. in the town of montecito in santa barbara county, the whole community has been told to leave. the area is home to the duke and duchess of sussex, as well as a number of celebrities, including the tv star ellen degeneres.

and not for the first time. this latest extreme weather in california comes on the back of severe forest fires in recent summers and record low temperatures just 80 weeks ago. jon donnison, bbc news. we're joined by scott safechuck, who is the public information officer with santa barbara county. thank you very much forjoining me on bbc news. we have seen images of horrific flooding in that report. what is the situation like at the moment and also the scale of that rescue operation? we are on the backside of the

storm now, we received record amounts of rain within a 36 hour period where the hills above montecito and santa barbara received as much as 15 inches within 36 hours. luckily, the storm has passed for the next couple of days — we are expecting ran through the weekend but of a photo condition. we experienced lots of flooding, damage, isolated to different areas which were not like what was mimicked in 2018 when we had catastrophic mudslides through montecito. the death of aldeguer 22 people. —— the death of over 23 people. —— the death of over 23 people. won are you expecting the situation to get worse with the situation to get worse with the weather and how your team is preparing? a good question, we feel we are on the backside of the storm now. we in the county had a lot of investment into our montecito area, which they did a greatjob in the design in the catchment basins

and we were able to trap a lot of debris and rocks that came down from the hills. we are doing pretty good and unscathed in many ways. we considered this a success that we didn't have any loss of life.- have any loss of life. yes, arnaud — have any loss of life. yes, arnaud bedat _ have any loss of life. yes, arnaud bedat rescue - have any loss of life. yes, | arnaud bedat rescue teams have any loss of life. yes, - arnaud bedat rescue teams are working the clock here to help but there are fears of the repeat of the 2018 mudslide, so is that the last time you have seen at this bad? we is that the last time you have seen at this bad?— is that the last time you have seen at this bad? we have never seen at this bad? we have never seen rain like _ seen at this bad? we have never seen rain like this, _ seen at this bad? we have never seen rain like this, whether - seen rain like this, whether that bad. i have been here for 22 years i do see such a downpour in a short period is unprecedented. i have to say, with the evacuation of people — and following those orders — i'm glad people followed those orders because of the mudslide and soil saturation that we had, we were facing a real threat here in our community but, you know, we responded to

over 400 incidents. we had over 100 water rescues, over 100 vehicles were disabled because of the floods, and we had multiple helicopter rescues, and we had to deploy boats with rope systems to get to people that were trapped in their cars, so the fact that we didn't lose life during these operations and none of our personnel were injured, we really think it is a success that we have made it through the storm unscathed. and, scott, briefly, what is the advice for the residents and those worst affected areas of the moment? well, the advice know that the evacuation order has been lifted as of this afternoon. we are excited to be able to repopulate those areas. there are some pockets where some homes are damaged and those people are going to be able to — they will have to wait to get backin — they will have to wait to get back in there, but the fact that they have power, electricity, they have running water and they are able to flush the toilets, that is a

good thing to be able to get those people back in there and get on with our lives. thank you very much for your time on bbc news, scott safechuck, the information officer with santa barbara county. the heavy rains in california come as europe and the polar regions were the areas hardest hit by severe temperature changes, caused by climate change last year. according to new analysis, europe experienced its warmest summer on record, while some parts of greenland were up to eight degrees warmer than average in september. 0verall, 2022 was the fifth warmest year on record, which means the last eight years in a row were each the warmest yet measured. here is our climate editor, justin rowlatt. france had a brutal summer. it recorded its hottest ever year and lowest levels of rainfall. the perfect conditions for the wildfires which swept the country, destroying crops and threatening homes. the gironde region in the south of the country was very badly hit.

i think it's really frightening, in terms of having things prepared for an escape, if we need to, which, again, sounds totally crazy when i say it out loud. you know, that we might need to escape from where we live. but it gives you some sense of security that you are preparing things and things are better ready to go it needs to be. it was a similar story across the continent, which experienced its worst drought for 500 years. some of europe's mightiest rivers hit record low water levels, including the danube, the rhine and the loire, as the uk, germany and spain also experienced record heatwaves. this shows average surface temperatures worldwide in 2022.

blue areas are below average, but look at the hotter than average red areas. europe, particularly western europe, is especially hot, as is much of northern asia. wales also recorded its highest ever temperature during a year in which global temperatures were 1.2 degrees celsius above pre—industrial levels. now, governments have committed to trying to keep global temperature rise to within 1.5 degrees to avoid the worst of global warming. but scientists say time is rapidly running out. if we look at the current level of emissions and current level of warming, we will hit 1.5 degrees some time in the early 20305. so we're already living on borrowed time, effectively, and borrowed emissions. the most dramatic warming of all is happening in the coldest places. temperatures over the centre of greenland were eight degrees higher than average in september. antarctica experienced a record period of intense warmth, too. more evidence of how our world is changing.

justin rowlatt, bbc news. let's turn now to the latest on the conflict in ukraine, and fighting has been raging in the east of the country, as russia continues its attack on the donbas region. the uk's ministry of defence says it's likely that the ukrainian mining town of soledar is now under russian control, afterfighting intensified over the past four days. 0ur correspondentjames waterhouse has more from the capital kyiv. soledar is more important to the russians than it is to the ukrainians and there are two reasons for that. firstly, as you were alluding to, it allows the russians to further encircle the significant city of bakhmut, there are deep salt mines there which the russians could well use to station troops and vehicles, and the fear, certainly

from here in kyiv, is that they could use those tunnels to penetrate ukrainian—controlled territory. but the second reason it is significant is that the russians could effectively give ukraine a taste of its own medicine. until now, the ukrainians have effectively isolated thousands of russian soldiers by taking out their supply lines with targeted missile strikes. now, should soledarfall, ukrainians are saying nothing is falling at the moment, but should the town fall it will take out a major ukrainian supply line to the city of bakhmut. now, for the russians, the gains are extremely costly and they are relatively small, but the reason they are throwing everything at it is that there is a big propaganda win here because soledar would be a vital trophy for vladimir putin, russia's president, to present to critics back in russia.

a romanian court has ruled that the controversial social media personality andrew tate, along with his brother and two other suspects, will remain in police custody for the full 30 days. this comes after his arrest over human trafficking allegations. 0ur news reporter azadeh moshiri joins us now. first, reminders to andrew kate is and why he is so controversial? was born in the united states were moved to the united kingdom, he became a successful kickboxer but he is controversial and that is putting it mildly, especially when it comes to his views on women. for example, in 2016 he was cackled off the tv reality programme big brother because of a video that appeared to show him attacking another woman. after that he continued to amplify this online persona, a rather bombastic figure, he

put videos of himself up with a fleet of luxury sports cars, travelling on private jets fleet of luxury sports cars, travelling on privatejets but he became known globally when he became known globally when he made what some would argue are some harmful comments about women he said that women should bear responsibility — those are his words — for being sexually assaulted. social media companies, most of them, banned him from that platform. twitter reinstated him at the end of last year and that is what allowed him to continue to court controversy. most recent example is he hit out at greta thunberg, climate activist. his is undoubtedly boasting about his petrol guzzling sports cars. she didn't shy away from biting back but i quite read the tweet on tv because it is a little too rude but he really invites opinions and ports a lot of controversy but he does have a following made out of mostly younger men who admire his ultra masculine and ultra luxurious lifestyle. pare his ultra masculine and ultra luxurious lifestyle.— luxurious lifestyle. are what we know— luxurious lifestyle. are what we know about _ luxurious lifestyle. are what we know about the - luxurious lifestyle. are what we know about the latest i we know about the latest developments and how did he get

embroiled in these legal troubles? last month, he and his brother along with two remaining nationals were detained by police as part of allegations of human trafficking and rape. he and his brother denied these allegations but police are saying is that they formed a organised crime group and they have identified six potential victims who allegedly were sexually exploited by this group. what police say is that andrew tait and his brother courted these women, misrepresented their intentions and suggested they wanted to enter into a romantic relationship with these women and victims. this is what police called the loverboy method, but instead of those romantic relationships the victims were then forced to perform in pornographic content under threat of violence. this latest development is as a result of andrew kate's attempts to have early release from detention, but a court has

found he has to serve 30 days. remember that tweet i talked about why he hit out at greta thunberg, there are rumours circulating online that that is how authorities found out he was in romania, but that is unconfirmed right now. thank ou ve unconfirmed right now. thank you very much- _ stay with us on bbc news, still to come: making public transport go for a song — we meet the singing bus driver who's proving a hit in england's west midlands. day one of operation desert storm to force the iraqis out of kuwait has seen the most intense air attacks since the second world war. tobacco is america's oldest industry, and it's one of its biggest. but the industry is nervous of this report. this may tend to make people want to stop smoking cigarettes. there is not a street that is unaffected. l

huge parts of kobe were simplyl demolished as buildings crashed into one another. this woman said she had been given no help and no advice i by the authorities. she stood outside the ruins of her business. j tens of thousands of black children in south africa have taken advantage of laws passed by the country's new multiracial government and enrolled at formerly white schools. tonight sees the 9,610th performance of her long—running play the mousetrap. when they heard of her death today, the management considered whether to cancel tonight's performance, but agatha christie would have been the last person to want such a thing. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: california is being affected by widespread flooding and mudslides following weeks of heavy rain. there have been 17 deaths and forecasters say more rain is expected. new climate data suggests 2022

was the fifth—hottest year on record, with europe and the polar regions hardest hit by global warming. the controversial former vatican treasurer cardinal george pell has died in rome aged 81. he was convicted in australia in 2018 of sexually abusing two choirboys in melbourne more than two decades earlier, becoming the highest—ranking roman catholic to be caught up in the scandal that has blighted the church in recent decades. but after serving 13 months in prison, his conviction was overturned on appeal. he is believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest. 0ur correspondent shaimaa khaliljoins us now from sydney. he isa he is a controversialfigure. talk us through his background and his history. he talk us through his background and his history.— and his history. he is a

controversial, - and his history. he is a controversial, or - and his history. he is a controversial, or was l and his history. he is a controversial, or was a j controversial, or was a controversial, or was a controversial figure. controversial, or was a controversialfigure. he himself had conceded that, but he was also a towering figure of the catholic church both here and abroad. he was australia's highest ranking catholic berwick and one of the pope's top advisers, and before becoming the vatican's treasurer, being in charge of its finances between 2014 and 2019, he was —— served as the archbishop of both sydney and melbourne. in 2018 he was convicted of sexually abusing two young choirboys in the 19905, two young choirboys in the 1990s, in a case that shocked australia and of course hugely embarrass the catholic church, before he was then acquitted and was freed from jail in april 2020. and was freed from jail in april2020. he and was freed from jail in april 2020. he has since returned to rome, but he was no longer employed by the vatican. and you mentioned that he was australia's highest ranking catholic cleric and the most senior church figure ever jailed for such offences, so what has the reaction be into this in australia?—

what has the reaction be into this in australia? well, he has alwa s this in australia? well, he has always maintained _ this in australia? well, he has always maintained his - always maintained his innocence. we heard from the archbishop of sydney, who said that the cardinal, cardinal pell�*s death came as a great shock. we also heard from the archbishop of melbourne, who paid tribute to the cleric as a very significant and influential church leader, both influential church leader, both in australia and internationally. but i will say, given how controversial he was, the reaction here will likely be mixed. remember, when he was acquitted in 2020, of course there was greatjoy among his supporters, many of whom we met during the hearings in the high court. but there was also a great deal of disappointment and anger at that decision, especially from activists who had been working with sexual abuse survivors who say that this result and this decision may actually silence many people who wouldn't come forward with their experiences. we also know that a civil lawsuit launched by the father of one of the choirboys who the

prosecutors allege was sexually abused by the cardinal is still under way. abused by the cardinal is still underway. he abused by the cardinal is still under way. he is suing for damages for mental injury. so a towering figure, and influential and powerful figure he was, but he leaves behind a very complicated legacy. thank ou. prince harry's much leaked and much promoted memoir went on sale here in the uk, becoming the country's fastest—selling non—fiction book ever, with more than 400,000 copies sold. 0nly harry potter books have done better. that is according to the publisher. buckingham palace still hasn't said anything in the face of prince harry's allegations about the royal family. it has also gone on sale in north america. 0ur correspondent neda tawfik has spent the day at a bookstore in new york. well, here in this bookstore in new york, prince harry's memoir has been given prominent facing, and there has been steady interest throughout the day. even those who are not buying are picking up the book and leaving through it, taking

and leaving through it, taking a glance. and before the bookstore opened, there was a line of a handful of people outside waiting to get their copy. they came in and made a beeline right for the stand. nevertheless, if we look at the full picture, while there isn't overwhelming demand here, though high interest, if you take all the demand across the world, the publisher says that this is their best non—fiction selling book. and indeed, barnes and noble says this has been their most extraordinary first day of sales for a book. so certainly prince harry's memoir, spare, doing quite well. and it is really attracting not so much his critics but fans of his, fans of his and meghan�*s, fans of the royal family, those who have just been intrigued and fascinated by the latest bit of revelations and headlines that have come from his high—profile interviews in the us media,

which have been quite intimate in nature. and so many american saying that they were intrigued enough to come and pick up his book to read more. hollywood giants from steven spielberg to james cameron have flocked back to the golden globe awards, which is underway with a star—packed gala despite its scandals. the globes have not had their usual glitz for the past two years due to the pandemic and revelations about their organisers' lack of diversity, among other things. american broadcaster nbc decided not to air the show last year, but brought it back on a one—off basis after the organisers introduced reforms. the first award was picked up by ke huy quan. he won best supporting actor in a motion picture for his role in everything everywhere all at 0nce. the actor thanked steven spielberg for casting him in his first role as a child in indiana jones, alongside harrison ford. black panther actress angela bassett also won a supporting actress award for playing queen ramonda in the widely acclaimed sequel that was rewritten

after the death of star chadwick boseman. the award for best actor in musical or comedy went to colin farrell for his role in the banshees of inisherin. the dark tragicomedy film is a story of a shattered friendship on a remote irish island set a century ago. it was directed, written and co—produced by martin mcdonagh. a few minutes ago, austin butler won the best actor in a drama for his role in elvis. later tonight the biopic elvis and steven spielberg's coming—of—age film the fabelmans battle it out for best drama. we will keep you updated on those awards as we go on. and finally, he has driven buses in the west midlands area of the uk for more than a decade and he loves singing, which is why 59—year—old ranjit singh decided to make a music video about his job featuring many of his colleagues.

it is notjust to show friends and family in india but is also a celebration of all the people he works with. he released it on youtube, and his song has become quite a hit. navtej johal reports. meet mr singh, the singing sensation. there probably aren't many bus drivers who would choose to write an ode to theirjob and then hire a production company to turn into this slick music video. but, as you're going to learn, ranjit singh really loves driving buses, so what better location to chat to him than in his happy place? the 59—year—old grandfather from west bromwich is more comfortable speaking punjabi, his mother tongue. i started by asking him why he wanted to make the video. translation: it's always - been my dream to make a music video about myjob so that when i retire, i can watch it back as a memento and

reflect back on how me and my colleagues all used to drive buses together. the music video, performed in punjabi and featuring his colleagues, took a week to film and has received plenty of attention on social media and in his home village in india. translation: it's made me very happy and proud, - and it has made everyone really proud and everyone really likes it. i've been getting messages from my friends saying your father—in—law is on tv, on tiktok. i was like, whoa! i don't have tiktok. seeing your father—in—law singing about buses — yeah, that's him, he's doing his thing. the song celebrates the diversity of his colleagues, his passion for the job and the importance of health and safety. translation: if you put your

heart into your work then - you can achieve great happiness. there is a lot ofjoy in thisjob. hello. 0ur wet and windy week of weather continues on wednesday with the low pressure still very much driving our weather. there's going to be heavy downpours for some of us through the day, and actually over the next few days. 0ften we're going to see rain, strengthening winds. mainly still quite mild for the time of year. but gales developing, overnight rain sweeping its way eastwards. so by the time we get to about 6:00am on wednesday morning, most of us generally frost—free. but some heavy showers from the word go, pushing in from the north and the west. and low pressure is going to sit to the north of the uk through the day. you can see the proximity of all these isobars on the chart. that's showing us that it is going to be a blustery

sort of day. plenty of showers driven in from the atlantic, so the heaviest of the downpours will be in the west during this morning — parts of scotland, northern ireland, and also then pushing into wales and western england too. gales around coastal parts of the english channel, through the irish sea coasts, up towards the western isles for instance, so 60 mph gusts possible there. but even further inland, we're looking at 30, possibly 40 mph gusts of wind through the day on wednesday, so a blustery day. heavy downpours reaching eastern areas during the afternoon after a fairly bright morning here. and temperatures a little cooler than recent days. about 7—11 degrees, feeling colder if you're exposed to the brisk wind and those heavy showers that many of us will see. some snow for a time over the higher ground of scotland, too. 0vernight showers ease in the north, but the next batch of heavy rain sweeps eastwards across much of england and wales, so it's going to be a really quite damp start to thursday morning, i think. could be a touch of frost for some sheltered glens of scotland, but still mild to start the day towards the south on thursday. and thursday's weather driven by yet another low pressure system, this time just moving in towards the north—west.

this occluded front bringing some heavy showers. but down towards the south we've also got more heavy rain across southern parts of england, lingering on that frontal system, combined with gales that are once again going to develop through the english channel around some of these irish sea coasts, and turning windy later in the day across the north—west too. so the next band of rain crosses from west to east, followed by sunny spells and scattered heavy downpours moving in from the north—west. temperatures still about 7—9 in the north but up to about 13, possibly 14, down towards the south—east. so it stays mild. a hint that through the weekend things turn a little less unsettled, but those temperatures are going to drop a little bit until we get to sunday. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: california is being affected by widespread flooding and mudslides following weeks of heavy rain. there have been several deaths and forecasters say more rain is expected. new climate data suggests 2022 was the fifth—hottest year on record with europe and the polar regions hardest hit by global warming. the last eight years are now also the warmest eight yet recorded. australia's cardinal george pell, the former treasurer of the vatican who was acquitted of sexual abuse charges, has died aged 81. he spent more than a year

in prison after a jury found him guilty, but the verdict was quashed on appeal.