this is bbc news. our top stories: torrential rain continues in california where storms have now killed 17 people. new climate data suggests 2022 was the fifth hottest year on record, with europe and the polar regions hardest hit by global warming. fierce fighting in the eastern ukrainian town of soledar — ukrainian forces battle to keep the russian mercenary wagner group back. cardinal george pell, the australian former vatican treasurer, who was found guilty of sexual abuse before his conviction was quashed, has died. and also ahead, a big night in hollywood.

# well, you may go to college, you may go to school... austin butler wins best actor for his portrayal of elvis presley, at the golden globes. we'll have the latest from the awards trying to recover from controversy. 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'd be better off with a canoe. large parts of the state are already underwater following back—to—back storms, and there is more to come. in less than 12 hours we've received more than eight inches of rain, with seven to eight inches still forecast to fall. 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 worked hard the last week to make sure 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 a few weeks ago. jon donnison, bbc news. scott safechuck, a public information officer with santa barbara county, gave us an update on the situation in california. well, we're 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 here received as much as 15 inches within a 36—hour period. luckily the storm has passed for the next couple of days. we are expecting some rain through the weekend, but of a lighter condition. we experienced lots of flooding damages, isolated to different areas which were not like what was mimicked in 2018, when we had catastrophic mudslides through montecito with the death of over 23 people. and are you expecting the situation to get worse at all with the severity of the weather, and how is your team preparing? yeah, that's a good question. we feel we're on the backside of the storm now. we in the county had a lot of investment into our montecito area, which they did a great job 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 a lot of ways. we consider it a success that we didn't have any loss of life. yes, and no doubt rescue teams are working around the clock here to help. there are fears of a repeat of the 2018 mudslide, so, is that the last time you have seen it this bad? will all we have never seen rain like this, weather that bad. will i have been here for 22 years. will all to 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 in the event of a 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 any life during these operations and none of our personnel were injured — we really think it's a success that we have made it through the storm unscathed. and scott, briefly, what is the advice for the residents in those worst affected areas at the moment? well, the advice now is 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 back in there. but the fact that they have power, electricity, they have running water and they're able to flush the toilets — that's a good thing to be able to get those people back in there and get

on with our lives. 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, 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 there and ready to go if need 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 2030s, so we are 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. president biden and the leaders of canada and mexico

say they've strengthened their regional partnership after a three—way summit in mexico city. they discussed economic co—operation, climate change and the movement of people and drugs across the southern us border, 0ur correspondent will grant has more. even president biden �*s arrival ball the mark of his house, andres manuel lopez 0brador requesting air force one land outside mexico city,. considered by his critics as an expensive vanity project. it is not clear what the two men discussed under that long shed drive but body language was warm enough at photo opportunities which contrasted sharply with the mexican�*s led a public rebuke of washington. translation: it is a public rebuke of washington. translation:— a public rebuke of washington. translation: it is time to put an end to this _

translation: it is time to put an end to this oblivion, - translation: it is time to put an end to this oblivion, this - an end to this oblivion, this abandonment and disdain for latin america and the caribbean which runs contrary to the good name of the policy.— name of the policy. president joe name of the policy. president joe biden _ name of the policy. president joe biden did _ name of the policy. president joe biden did not _ name of the policy. president joe biden did not miss - name of the policy. president joe biden did not miss a - name of the policy. president| joe biden did not miss a beat, joe biden did not miss a beat, defending his administration's record end of the region. we rovide record end of the region. - provide more foreign aid than any other countryjust provide more foreign aid than any other country just about combined in the world. unfortunately, our responsibility does not and in the western hemisphere. figs responsibility does not and in the western hemisphere. as the bilateral meeting _ the western hemisphere. as the bilateral meeting between - the western hemisphere. as the bilateral meeting between joe i bilateral meeting between joe biden bilateral meeting betweenjoe biden and leaders as a so—called three amigos, the emphasis was to find shed solutions to problems. some analysts say it remains a huge challenge in a series of areas, from energy policy and security, too, crucially, immigration.— immigration. mexico is insistent _ immigration. mexico is insistent a _ immigration. mexico is insistent a lot, - immigration. mexico is insistent a lot, for - immigration. mexico is - insistent a lot, for instance insistent a lot, for instance in the importance of regional

development and subregional development and subregional development and subregional development and central america in particular, as a way to address in the mid—to long—term immigration. and it is true, the us is concerned about how you get to that be determine solution. you need a solution now. and that is true as well and that is not solved in one meeting. fist and that is not solved in one meeting-— meeting. at the end of the two-day — meeting. at the end of the two-day summit, - meeting. at the end of the two-day summit, to - meeting. at the end of the two-day summit, to freely| two—day summit, to freely decide to present a united front as i discussed the issues touched upon, the spaces between them seemed as big, arguably bigger than the areas of common agreement. for all the talk of progress in areas of mutual interest such as climate change, green energy, immigration and the opioid crisis, this summit will be viewed by some as a missed opportunity. it was a chance, after years of pandemic and economic downturn, for the so—called three amigos to show that in fact share a political

and economic vision for the region. if they do, many of those watching on here in mexico city, remain unsure as to exactly what it is. will grant, bbc news. lets 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 the ukrainians, and i think there are two main reasons for that. firstly, as i think 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.

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 world 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 choir boys 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. 0ur correspondent in sydney, shaimaa khalil has more. he is a controversial or was a controversial figure, 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 cleric 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 served as the archbishop of both sydney and melbourne. in 2018 he was convicted of sexually abusing two young choirboys in the 1990s, in a case that shocked australia and of course hugely embarrassed the catholic church, before he was then acquitted 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 been to this in australia? well, he has always maintained his innocence. we heard from the archbishop of sydney, who said that 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 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 underway. he is suing for damages for mental injury. so a towering figure, an influential and powerful figure he was, but he leaves behind a very complicated legacy. the golden globe awards are coming to a close with big wins for steven spielberg, austin butler and cate blanchette. the

banshees of inesherin has just won the best comedy award. the globes have not had their usual glitz for the past two years, due to the pandemic and revelations about their organizers' lack of diversity among others. american broadcaster nbc decided not to air the show last year, but brought it back on a one—off basis after the organizers introduced some changes. i am joined now by rebecca sun, who is the senior editor, diversity and inclusion at the hollywood reporter. shejoins us now from los angeles. hello rebecca, thank you so much forjoining us at bbc news. ajust almost much forjoining us at bbc news. a just almost wanted to get your reactions to the event so far, who are the biggest winners and who are the biggest losers? i winners and who are the biggest losers? ~ ., ., , , losers? i think that obviously steven spielberg's _ losers? i think that obviously steven spielberg's the - steven spielberg's the feeblemans took the final award of the night best picture which is generally considered the

most prestigious, he also won best director. as you mentioned banshees of inesherin, that was also a film that did very well tonight with best picture, best screenplay by martin mcdonough and best screenplay for colin farrell also kind of a traditional telecast despite the fact that the hfea promised a number of changes in coming back to tv this year. find a number of changes in coming back to tv this year.— back to tv this year. and how do ou back to tv this year. and how do you think _ back to tv this year. and how do you think that _ back to tv this year. and how do you think that the - back to tv this year. and how do you think that the golden l do you think that the golden globes has moved on this year and learn from its mistakes after all that controversy, especially to do with diversity?— especially to do with diversity? especially to do with diversi ? . , especially to do with diversi ? ., , ., diversity? yeah, well they have certainly moved _ diversity? yeah, well they have certainly moved on, _ diversity? yeah, well they have certainly moved on, and - diversity? yeah, well they have certainly moved on, and i - diversity? yeah, well they have certainly moved on, and i think| certainly moved on, and i think thatis certainly moved on, and i think that is safe to say because for the most part other than the host's monologue at the beginning, the telecast was really kind of business as usual. we had a few absent

winners, three winners were not there. they all gave reasons for not being there, but everybody else showed up and seemed really honoured to receive a golden globe award from this voting organisation that did promise a number of reforms. the reason for the controversy two years ago was that it was a very small voting body that the diversity controversy you are alluding to was the fact that in 80 something members not a single black member of the hfpa which in 2024 and industry is meant to cover hollywood is pretty disproportionate, but they had other issues as well such as a lot of accusations of except in cushy prizes and access to celebrities, sorry, excepting cushy trips, so that will take

a time to see if those reforms have really ta ken a time to see if those reforms have really taken place. find have really taken place. and 'ust have really taken place. and just briefly. _ have really taken place. and just briefly, many _ have really taken place. and just briefly, many of - have really taken place. and just briefly, many of the winners were actually present to collect their awards despite lots of the suggestions that the stars wouldn't turn up, does this surprise you? it doesn't surprise me because they think what we have learned in hollywood, especially with things like five years after the so—called #metoo movement is that this machine of giving awards is very alluring and at the end of the day, these celebrities and all of the people that manage them, they like collecting award, so if they make enough of an effort to make it look like they have changed and perhaps they have, time will tell.— time will tell. 0k, we are running _ time will tell. 0k, we are running out _ time will tell. 0k, we are running out of _ time will tell. 0k, we are running out of time - time will tell. 0k, we are running out of time but i time will tell. 0k, we are - running out of time but thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news. and finally he's driven buses in the west midlands area of the uk for more than a decade. and he loves singing. which is why ranjit singh

decided to make a music video about hisjob. it's notjust to show friends and family in india but is also a celebration of all the people he works with. 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 video 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. his enthusiasm is so infectious that in just a few minutes he was able to gather a group of colleagues

you can reach me on twitter, i'm @monikaplaha. 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 6:00 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 60mph gusts possible there. but even further inland, we're looking at 30, possibly 40mph 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 northwest too. so the next band of rain crosses from west to east, followed by sunny spells and scattered heavy downpours moving in from the northwest. temperatures still about 7—9 in the north, but up to about 13, possibly 14, down towards the southeast. so it stays mild. a hint that through the weekend things turn a little less unsettled, and those temperatures are going to drop a little bit by the time we get to sunday. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: officials in california say 17 people are now known to have died following weeks of torrential rain. there's been widespread flooding and landslides. weather experts predict more rain in the coming days. severe weather warnings are in place, potentially affecting millions of people. new climate data suggests 2022 was the fifth hottest year on record, with europe and the polar regions hardest hit by global warming. the measurements confirm that the last eight years have been the warmest ever 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