live from singapore, this is bbc news. disaster in los angeles — four wildfires are burning out of control. firefighters say they are short of water as the fires remain completely uncontained. at least 70,000 people have been ordered to flee their homes. at least five people have died, and more than a thousand buildings have been destroyed. authorities are warning all la residents that they are in danger. officials expect the fires to worsen due to ferocious winds, as president biden pledges extra firefighters and resources. we start newsday in the us where the death toll from california's wildfires has risen to five.

four fires are continuing to burn out of control in the suburbs of los angeles and more fires are still popping up. the latest blaze starting in hollywood hills in the last hour or so. officials say despite best efforts, the fires are zero percent contained. these are live pictures from los angeles. at least 100,000 people have been evacuated and tens of thousands more have been told to pack and be ready to go. you ready to go. can see a panning shot showing you can see a panning shot showing those fires raging across the los angeles skyline. the areas affected include. a fire around the palisades — between santa monica and malibu — started last night, driven by fierce winds. it spread with incredible speed through tinder—dry conditions. within a matter of hours, the area on fire had doubled in size. the city's police chief says the fire conditions are unprecedented and unpredictable and that there is no possibility of bringing them under control.

more than a thousand firefighters have been deployed, including some from other states. 1000 buildings have been destroyed in one area alone — the pacific palisades neighbourhood. us presidentjoe biden has promised additional personnel and assets from the us department of defense. speaking in the last hour, we heard from mayor of los angeles karen bass. hurricane force winds are usually accompanied by rainstorms but these are hurricane force winds that are combined with extremely dry, drought conditions. to provide context, at 10:20am yesterday, the palisades fire was at ten acres. 12 minutes later, it was at 200 acres. to those who fled their homes, especially those who have lost your homes, our hearts are breaking for you and we stand with you. i know the world is looking at images of our city's devastation, i have seen the frontlines of the palisades

fire and it is staggering. we also heard from the chair of la county's board of supervisors. we are prone to wildfires. but nothing like what i witnessed today. the eaton canyon fire is ripping through a community like i have never seen. it's like a third world country out there. i would ask that anyone listening, if you do not need to be in the area and you've been evacuated, please hear the evacuation warning and if you don't live in the area, please stay away. well for more on the rapid spread of the fire and its damage, here's our correspondent emma vardy. as dawn broke, la awoke to an apocalyptic sight. smoke blocking out the skies over santa monica beach after a terrifying 2a hours. the fire grew at an extraordinary speed, flames raging out of control as hurricane force winds battered the coast.

and the fire continues to grow with 0% containment. we have over 500 personnel assigned and unfortunately, la county and all 29 fire departments in our county are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster. there are not enough firefighters in la county. along this coastal road we have been seeing the fire's destruction. there is power lines down, patches still smouldering and the air is so thick with smoke that we can barely see more than a few metres in front of us. this was the moment two residents found their house engulfed by flames. it's going to be ok, all right? we are going to be ok. thousands made homeless, a state of emergency called in a situation out of control. some abandoning their cars to the mercy of the flames.

0thers made attempts to stay and save their homes. fire crews struggled against a terrifying inferno causing utter destruction. flights continued to land into la's main airport. passengers witnessed the frightening scenes below. oh, my god. emergency services have been stretched to their limit, battling the unpredictable fires on multiple fronts. at least a thousand buildings have been destroyed as the situation took many people by surprise. my sister called and she was like, are you 0k? and at that moment, a helicopter flew over my house and just dropped water and i was like, it's raining. she was like, no, it's not raining, your neighbourhood is on fire, you need to get out. in one of the worst hit areas a reporter described the carnage.

you're at the heart of the pacific palisades in a neighbourhood that is completely lost. home is out in the street gone. homes down this street gone. as the second fire broke out, elderly residents of a care home huddled in a car park. a lot of these people are terrified and they don't have a blanket, they have nothing. in some of la's most exclusive neighbourhoods, hollywood stars left their homes to the flames. none of the fires have yet been brought under control. some returned to their neighbourhoods now turned to ash. i'm ok, i will be ok. i am tough and we will start over, even though i am 91 years old. i will start over again. this afternoon, president biden visited teams on the ground to get an update. we will do anything and as long as it takes to contain these fires and help reconstruct, make sure we get back

to normal. it will be a long way. many still unsure where to go in this fast changing situation. look at this. beyond comprehension. a dark day for los angeles. the californian dream becoming a nightmare. emma vardy, bbc news, los angeles. the bbc�*s north america correspondent david willis has been speaking to us from the pacific palisades — the site of the fire that officials are calling the most destructive in the history of los angeles. 0fficials officials have been hoping that they could at some sort of handle on these massive fires tonight given that the weather forecast was better than it was forecast was better than it was for last night butjust after six o'clock here it is totally dark and the wind is already whipping up. what they are

doing is carrying embers from this massive pacific palisades flyer and carrying them to dry brush which ignites other fires such as the one you can see just behind me. to give you some idea of how volatile the situation is here, 15 or 20 minutes ago, just before we came on air there was nothing here whatsoever but it suddenly sprang up and now firefighters have to be deployed to put this fire out as well. one of a number of fires throughout this region and fire officials have conceded that they are overwhelmed by the task at hand. additional resources are on the way from neighbouring states, machinery and men, but in the meantime it appears to be putting their faith in the meantime it appears to be putting theirfaith in air drops of flame retardant and water from the air but i have to say that with these winds picking up there really is very

little they can do. earlier on those winds were blowing towards the pacific ocean now they have turned, steve, and they have turned, steve, and they are blowing inland towards they are blowing inland towards the city of los angeles. it seems like an unpredictable and chaotic situation. we hope you are safe there. you mention the fires were not there a short time ago. how are authorities keeping residents and yourself, as well, informed on where you can be safe?— can be safe? officials at a news conference - can be safe? officials at a news conference a - can be safe? officials at a news conference a short l can be safe? officials at a - news conference a short while ago perhaps in an acknowledgement that firefighters are losing the battle to combat these fires said that, basically, they would not be brought under control, it would matter of time. and they said that additional resources, as i

mentioned, were on the way, basically trying to appease some of the anxiety. there was considerable anxiety throughout the city of los angeles as you could imagine with all these fires bursting out all over. this area of california has been hit by devastating wildfires before, but these blazes are stronger and have come at an unusual time of year. so how much of a role does climate change play in such extreme events? here's our climate editorjustin rowlatt. still images show the fury and the horror of the fires engulfing parts of california. wildfires are a year—round threat in the state, but this year, it experienced its hottest summer on record. we know climate change is making the kind of hot, dry weather california has experienced in recent months more likely, and scientists say that is increasing the number of what are known as fire weather days. now, this graph shows the increase in the area burned by fires in the us since 1983. as you can see, it appears

to have been growing steadily over the years, and there is another factor this year — the winter rains that normally reduce the fire risk in california didn't come. in fact, downtown los angeles has only received 0.16 inches of rain since october. that is more than four inches below average. the california governor, gavin newsom, believes the pattern of wildfires is changing. we were here not too long ago, the franklin fire, a few weeks prior to that, the mountain fire. in november, december, nowjanuary. there is no fire season — it's fire year, it's year—round. and look how the wind has been blowing the fires. these santa ana, or "devil winds" as they are sometimes called, are a normal part of california weather caused by cool, dry air blowing from the interior of the state to the coast.

climate change doesn't appear to have altered the pattern of the santa ana winds, but as our world warms, the dangerous combination of strong winds with very dry vegetation is becoming more likely. and just look at the scenes on the other side of the country — the east coast and parts of central us are experiencing icy, cold weather and snow storms that have killed five people and left 60 million under extreme weather warnings. the contrast could hardly be more stark. justin rowlatt, bbc news. i'm joined now byjoaquin beltran, a local los angeles resident who is at the evacuation shelter in pasadena now. thank you for speaking to us today, we appreciate your time. tell me how you have been affected and what is your experience with these fires been like?—

experience with these fires been like? . , ., ., been like? last night on x, on television _ been like? last night on x, on television i _ been like? last night on x, on television i saw _ been like? last night on x, on television i saw seniors - been like? last night on x, on television i saw seniors being | television i saw seniors being evacuated from their elder care facility because the fire was about to engulf their centre. so it broke something in me and i came straight throughout abina and distributed respirators because particulate matter is some of the worst that anyone can breathe in and so we really did not have any respirators here, unfortunately. but what is regrettable is that our government is prepared for this level of emergency. so our community had to step up, source the masks and distribute them here, over 1000. source the masks and distribute them here, over1000. i've not slept an overnight distributed

one by one to every person here from child to senior citizen, making sure that they had the protection from the toxic fumes that are remitted by the wildfire. i that are remitted by the wildfire. u, that are remitted by the wildfire.— that are remitted by the wildfire. , ., wildfire. i can see you are also wearing _ wildfire. i can see you are also wearing a _ wildfire. i can see you are also wearing a mask - wildfire. i can see you are also wearing a mask to i wildfire. i can see you are i also wearing a mask to keep yourself safe. what is it like at the evacuation shelter where you well. are you close to any fires? , , ., , , fires? the fire is probably, last night _ fires? the fire is probably, last night it _ fires? the fire is probably, last night it was _ fires? the fire is probably, last night it was about - fires? the fire is probably, last night it was about ten | last night it was about ten minutes away from here and so everyone got evacuated from where the fire has been concentrated and brought here to pasadena and what has been happening here is that people have been largely abandoned, unfortunately, there has been situations where senior

citizens do not have their medication, they need to take insulin but they do not have their insulin. there is one woman, about 90 years old who was here alone and did not have a phone and did not sleep the whole night. i had to convince her in a loving way that it was ok to sleep, to take a nap. 0k to sleep, to take a nap. another woman, as volunteers we had to step up to make sure that she was able to be transported from a bed to a wheelchair and then back again. what is going on is that the community is stepping up to take care of our community. unfortunately we needed to be better prepared from our government in order to save lives, save homes but luckily our community is prepared. it

doesn't seem like there is uncertainty as to how long fires will rage for. a close watch on where the wind is blowing and how the weather impacts that as well. how do you cope with the uncertainty of the situation and the other residents there with you at the evacuation shelter? just residents there with you at the evacuation shelter?— evacuation shelter? just being helful. evacuation shelter? just being helpful. that's _ evacuation shelter? just being helpful. that's all _ evacuation shelter? just being helpful. that's all we - evacuation shelter? just being helpful. that's all we can - evacuation shelter? just being helpful. that's all we can do. | helpful. that's all we can do. so that is what individuals are doing, coming here, bringing respirators... there are waves of evacuees coming in, coming in, coming in, right? susie new faces all the time and we make sure that they have everything that they need and it is largely volunteer —based. another challenge has been that many of the people in the public health department themselves are residents in the area and themselves are affected. so in order to really be prepared for this you have to account and prepare for redundancies to make sure that we have, you know, we have

adequate firefighting support and in a larger sense have state and federal support. the national guard should not have been called this afternoon but rather yesterday, as soon as possible. rather yesterday, as soon as possible-— possible. thank you for sneaking _ possible. thank you for speaking to _ possible. thank you for speaking to us. - possible. thank you for speaking to us. we - possible. thank you for - speaking to us. we appreciate your time. speaking to us. we appreciate yourtime. given speaking to us. we appreciate your time. given the circumstances we will have to leave it there. all the best. a local there speaking to us from an evacuation shelter in pasadena. we havejust heard of she is heartbroken beyond ,: 51., we fji’ : she is heartbroken beyond ,: 51., we have if 7 she is heartbroken beyond ,: 51., we have just heard of another evacuation order pasadena. we havejust heard of another evacuation order related to the new fire that related to the new fire that has started in the hollywood has started in the hollywood hills. there is no mandatory hills. there is no mandatory evacuation order for everyone evacuation order for everyone in the hollywood hills. the in the hollywood hills. the fire department posted that, an fire department posted that, an immediate threat to life. this immediate threat to life. this is a lawful order to leave now. is a lawful order to leave now. the area of los angeles hit the area of los angeles hit by the fires is a particularly by the fires is a particularly wealthy neighbourhood, wealthy neighbourhood, and celebrities have been reacting. and celebrities have been reacting.

among those directly affected is paris hilton — among those directly affected is paris hilton — who said who said she is heartbroken beyond words, writing "sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in malibu burn to the ground on live tv is something no—one should ever have to experience." billy crystal also lost his home. his wife and he released a statement saying words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation they are witnessing and experiencing and they ache for others who have lost homes and businesses. mandy moore, star of television series this is us was one of the thousands forced to flea her home.

around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. a body found in italy's dolomites mounatins is believed to be of 35—year—old british man samuel harris. he and aziz ziriat, who's 36, were last heard from on new year's day after sending messages home from the region. following ongoing search operations wednesday the rescue team said a body was found "unfortu nately lifeless, buried under the snow". rising flu cases are putting hospitals across the uk under severe pressure. around 20 hospitals trusts in england have declared critical incidents. the head of urgent and emergency care for nhs england, professorjulian redhead, has warned that the peak of flu season is still to come. economists are warning that the chancellor rachel reeves could be forced to cut spending or hike taxes even further, as the government tries

to meet its self—imposed borrowing target. the warning comes as government borrowing reached its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. you're live with bbc news. meanwhile germany and france have warned donald trump against threatening greenland, following the us president—elect�*s refusal to rule out using military force to seize the autonomous territory. on tuesday, mr trump reiterated his desire to acquire greenland, saying that the arctic island was "critical" for national and economic security. denmark — a longtime us ally — has made it clear that greenland is not for sale. without specifically naming mrtrump, german chancellor 0laf scholz said eu leaders were baffled at his statements. the french foreign minister said the eu would never allow that kind of aggression. translation: greenland is a territory of the european

union. european territory. and so of course, it's out of the question for the eu to let any nation in the world, whichever it is, and let i say starting with russia, attack its sovereign orders. we are a strong continent. we have to keep on strengthening ourselves and we should wake up. so why does trump want to acquire greenland? the vast arctic territory is strategically sited here — between the us and russia — and has a wealth of oil, gas and other natural resources. here's our analysis editor, ros atkins. donald trump is seeking territorial expansion. greenland is the world's largest island. it's been part of the kingdom of denmark since 1953, having been colonised by denmark centuries earlier and with its position between the us and europe. it has huge value in terms of trade, security and natural resources too. as climate change warms the arctic, it may become more valuable still. and while the us already has a military base there, donald trump wants more than that.

this week, he posted that greenland will benefit tremendously if and when it becomes part of our nation. and he was asked if he'd rule out using military or economic coercion to gain control of greenland and the panama canal. no, i can't assure you on either of those two. greenland makes its own laws. it has its own prime minister. and he says greenland is not for sale. in fact, he wants full independence from denmark. and this week in denmark, he said, greenland belongs to the greenlanders. the danish prime minister has used that exact same phrase emphasises greenland is not for sale. but this issue is unlikely to go away. yesterday, donald trump's son donjr, was in greenland on what he called a personal trip. a little bit of fun. but there are other ways of describing it because as donjr well knows, his father, soon to be president, talks of ownership

of greenland being an absolute necessity. donald trump's commitment to putting america first appears in this case to mean territorial expansion, involving possible coercion of an autonomous territory and a european ally. he's not even making a secret of it. trump has also refused to rule out using military coercion to take control of the panama canal — stating economic security reasons. he also said that �*the panama canal was built for our military.�* however, in a press conference, panama's foreign minister said the sovereignty of the panama canal was non—negotiable. and then there is canada. leaders have said that donald trump's suggestion that he will turn canada into the 51st state of america isn't funny anymore, calling for him to quote "stop the joke and focus on the issues in his own country" venezuela is cracking down on opposition figures and civil society groups ahead of friday's inauguration of nicolas maduro for a third term in office —

in an election that was riddled with irregularities. in the latest round of arrests, the government says it has detained seven people, including two us citizens, who they claim were �*very high level�* and accused of �*terrorist actions without providing further details. this comes as outgoing us presidentjoe biden met with exiled opposition candidate edmundo gonzalez, who was seen as the true winner of lastjuly�*s elections. cecilia barria from bbc mundo has more. tension has been rising in the south american country. the government of maduro has deployed thousands of police officers and cut off many roads around the capital, caracas. in what is widely seen as a tactic to deter any anti—government protest. 0pposition leaders have called on their supporters to take to the streets on friday when maduro is suspected to begin his third consecutive

term under strong international condemnation of his rule. following a contested election victory injuly following a contested election victory in july the following a contested election victory injuly the opposition has denounced that venezuelans were detained and maduro recognise that foreigners including two americans were arrested for planning unspecified terrorist attacks. the former candidate edmundo gonzalez who has been living in exile says he will return to his homeland to take 1544 0