people continue to burn. this is the scene live as fires burn for a fourth night. a dust to dawn curfew is in force in parts of the worst—hit areas. our neighbourhood and our neighbours have been eviscerated. it is really devastating to see generations of people's lives and livelihoods completely wiped out. and rachel reeves becomes the most senior uk official to visit china for seven years. the chancellor wants to improve links with the world's second biggest economy. and will tiktok be banned in the us later this month? the app's fate is now up to the supreme court.

firefighters in los angeles are continuing to battle to contain massive devastating wildfires. these are live pictures from the city. firefighters have been dropping water onto the fires. in the last few hours more mandatory evacuation orders have been issued as the palisades fire continued to burn toward the 405 freeway and san fernando valley. one of the warnings is in brentwood where the us vice president, kamala harris, has a home. the popular art gallery, the getty centre, which survived a fire in 2019, is also in one of the evacuation warning zones. in the last few hours more mandatory evacuation orders have been issued as the palisades fire continued to burn toward the 405 freeway and san fernando valley. one of the warnings is in brentwood where the us vice president, kamala harris, has a home. the popular art gallery, the getty centre, which survived a fire in 2019, is also in one of the evacuation warning zones. forecasters say more high winds are expected in the coming days, which could stoke an already perilous situation.

at least 11 people are now known to have died, and about 10,000 homes and buildings are either destroyed, damaged or at risk. a night—time curfew is in force in the worst—affected areas to protect abandoned homes. police have warned that anyone involved in what they called "despicable" looting will be arrested. there are five fires still burning — and only limited progress has been made in containing them. the biggest fire is still the palisades one. the california governor, gavin newsom, has ordered an investigation into the loss of water supply by some firefighters. he said it had probably hindered the effort to protect homes. the eaton fire is just 3% contained. prince harry and his wife meghan have been meeting some of the first responders and victims of the fires at a world central kitchen site where food is being distributed. the couple spoke to people who'd been affected by the eaton fire. it's believed they had

already contributed clothing, children's items, and other essential supplies. our first report is from helena humphrey in la. they got out. that's what matters most. amid the ash and ruin, a hug from dad promises everything will be all right. even if this family doesn't yet know how. when the fires tore through altadena in the dead of night, daisy and keith bundled their young children into the back of the car. they had no official warning, just instinct. my husband was very positive, like, if we have to leave, we should be getting like a text message. we should be getting like some sort of alert. the sheriff's department will come with, you know, with the. loudspeakers and everything. they would tell us and i'm like, well, you know, i'm waiting for that. i'm waiting to get some sort of like urgency that we got to leave because it's getting more dangerous. but we didn't get anything. it was just my gut feeling that said, we have to go. it was 1.30 in the morning

and when i saw more flame going up, i said, we have to get out. like so many here, all this family has left is each other. the dream home they worked day and night for gone in an instant. it was absolutely terrifying to see that. i've lived through fires up in the foothills before that got really close, but never got into the houses so much. but this one, it moved so quickly. it was, you know, on a distant ridge one minute and then ten minutes later, it was like right on top of us. it was crazy how fast it moved with the winds blowing it. traces of christmas still linger, but it feels like a lifetime ago. all the gifts are gone. the rare toy rescued from the rubble now seems like a miracle. i found this and this. and my brother found this. how do you explain to children so young that the only place they've ever known, a place meant to be safe, is no more?

i loved that swing set and i wanted to play. with it every day. it's things like this swing set which is still smouldering, which really bring it home. what the next generation has lost here. and with an ever—warming planet, what they'll have to worry about in the future. for now, authorities are focussed on the immediate crisis. california governor gavin newsom is calling for an independent investigation into reported water shortages that hampered firefighters efforts. and with the hardest hit areas still burning. president biden has warned that things could get worse before they get better. mr president, have you been told that the loss of life is likely to increase significantly in california? it is likely it will increase, whether significantly or not. we don't know yet. there are still a lot of people that are unaccounted for. we don't know where they are. i think the toll is likely to go up whether it's significant or not. pray god it's not. but it could be.

the duke and duchess of sussex have visited a fire relief centre, where they met first responders and those impacted by the fires. we went to visit some - of the families in the impacted area, and then they wanted to go visit the first - responders and personally thank them for their efforts _ to help our familiesl and our neighbours. forfamilies like daisy and keith's, all they can do is cling on to each other. looking for a glimmer of hope through the lingering smoke. 0ur north america correspondent david willis is in altadena. he gave this update on the fire that is continuing to spread and what the firefighters make of it. they have been hoping for a break provided by a lull in those very high winds, and that break only really exists until monday night, when they're expected to return with a vengeance.

but within the last couple of hours, the pacific palisades fire, the biggest fire that has been raging since earlier this week, took a turn and is now heading, as you mentioned, towards the san fernando valley and the densely populated cities of encino and tarzana, and as well the upscale town or city of brentwood, which is home to, amongst other people, the american vice president, kamala harris. that is a very bad sign if firefighters fail to get it under control. and as i say, there was a lot of hope today that they would be able to do so, that they would be able to make use of this break in the weather by virtue of the water dropping planes that have been brought in. they've been dropping water, gallons of it and flame retardant from helicopters and planes overhead, and it has clearly made

something of a difference. but this was a crucial period, as i mentioned. and that turn of events isn't what the firefighters had been hoping for, to say the very least. behind me and behind the burnt out cars and behind the burnt out homes that lie behind the burnt out cars are national guard officers, members of the california national guard, hundreds of whom have been drafted in here over the course of the last 2a hours to protect sites such as this from looters. and already we are told about 20 people, would you believe, have been arrested for looting. and in a bid to clamp down on that, they have also imposed officials here a dusk to dawn curfew. it's extraordinary to think that, given the heartbreak that some people here have experienced, that they could then eventually return to their homes to find that some of the most valuable possessions that remain have been stolen. so officials clamping down

on that very hard indeed. david acuna, battalion chief with the california department of forestry and fire protection, gave his assessment as to what caused the fires. so, what's happening is these winds that came through earlier this week, going to 60 to 100mph all blew out over the ocean, creating a large air massjust sitting off the coast. well, as soon as the winds stopped from the east, all the winds that are off on the shore just blew right on back into the coast. but now, instead of being the onshore humid winds, they're still very, very dry, which is why we're seeing expansion of the fire perimeter to the north and to the east. now, we're very fortunate because we have a lot of really good partners.

la city, la county, the angeles national forest, as well as all the local co—operators and cities down there. every one of them works very hard, and we all train the same way, so that when a large incident like this happens, we all are working together with the same terminology and the same objectives. there's been a large addition of water tenders, trucks that have water tanks on the back, and what they're there is just to just to supply the fire engine so they can do the work of spraying down these hotspots. slowing down and potentially increasing containment. right now, the largest, the palisades, is only at 8% containment. and while we want to increase that, we also don't want to give a false sense of containment. and then it blows across the line when these red flag warning winds come in early next week. well, i have been right next to a wildfire, and i've also had the sad duty to be at evacuation shelters where people who have lost everything are there trying to get help and just being there in that sense

and just feeling their pain, the best thing we can do is support, and the best thing the public can do is be prepared. as some of the folks have said, that when if they can prepare an evacuation, go bag, have an evacuation plan, that is the best thing, especially since the entire region is looking at having these fire winds, at least for the foreseeable future. richard weintraub is a resident of la who was among those who battled to save his home. he told us how he defended his home. so, in 1993, my wife i and i had lost our home in a fire in malibu, ironically, and i didn't, - i saw that how that played out, and i didn't not like the end of that story. _ and so i decided against advice to stay and to fight the fire. . and i got three hoses- going with powerful nozzles

to wet down all the foliage - around us and to wet the ground and to put out the embers. the smoke was incredibly thick. you could not breathe. but i was there for many, many hours alone. - and by grace of god and a lot of blessings and prayers, - our home was was saved. but it was not without danger in doing so. i stefan doerr, is professor of wildland fire science at swansea university. fire science critical to understanding the causes and consequences of wildfires. will we ever really understand what caused these unimaginable scenes we're seeing across la? be main problem here has the

combination of meteorological conditions. we have had the strong santa ana winds, they are not unusual but they have been very strong. the more critical factories we have not had any winter rainfall. this is a mediterranean area. you would have expected winter rains to wet the vegetation of this has not happened. we are essentially dealing with a tinderbox. these conditions make it externally difficult to fight the fires. in make it externally difficult to fight the fires.— fight the fires. in previous ears fight the fires. in previous years there _ fight the fires. in previous years there was _ fight the fires. in previous years there was a - fight the fires. in previous years there was a lot - fight the fires. in previous years there was a lot of i years there was a lot of rainfall which arguably ensured that vegetation grew very strongly but then with the drought and lack of rain it made it really dry and a tinderbox and that's what we're seeing now. tinderbox and that's what we're seeing "ow-— seeing now. that's exactly ri . ht, seeing now. that's exactly right. to — seeing now. that's exactly right, to relatively - seeing now. that's exactly right, to relatively wet - right, to relatively wet winters and we see this more around the world, the seesaw conditions where we have very strong rainfall and wet conditions then later on very dry conditions. that

combination is essentially the worst—case scenario you can imagine for fires and unfortunately that is increasing notjust in increasing not just in california increasing notjust in california but many places around the world. arguably the consequence — around the world. arguably the consequence of _ around the world. arguably the consequence of that _ around the world. arguably the consequence of that is - around the world. arguably the consequence of that is that - around the world. arguably the consequence of that is that we | consequence of that is that we are seeing unimaginable pictures. this is an area, they are used to wildfires but what is your assessment of the scale of what we're seeing? in is your assessment of the scale of what we're seeing?— of what we're seeing? in this case the _ of what we're seeing? in this case the scale _ of what we're seeing? in this case the scale is _ of what we're seeing? in this case the scale is almost - case the scale is almost unimaginable. the number of evacuations and buildings destroyed, the number of buildings destroyed is not greater than what we have seen in california but a lot of the buildings are very expensive here, so the insurance losses likely to be the greatest in this century. in terms of the overall movement of the fire we see this in other areas as well. australia we see this in eucalyptus forests, greece some years ago, hawaii. but of course we have that combination

of a lot of buildings and an interface between the vegetation which is very flammable and many houses lying on the path of the wind. again it is the worst—case scenario. yes, and all of that devastation we are witnessing. professor, thank you very much forjoining us this morning. and don't forget, you can continue to follow developments from southern california on our app and website, we are running a live page with continuous updates from our team of reporters. numerous plays are still ongoing and six at least fires currently ongoing according to authorities. the palisades fire the largest, spanning just over 21,000 acres. described as 8% contained but obviously massive concern across the

region the british chancellor rachel reeves is in china, on a trip aimed at improving trade and economic ties with the world's second biggest economy. ms reeves began her visit with a trip to a brompton folding bicyle shop, and is expected to meet with other leading british brands while in beijing. she's the most senior british official to visit china in seven years, but it comes as borrowing costs in the uk hit a 16 year high, and the value of the pound fell to its lowest in over a year. speaking in beijing, rachel reeves said the trip was about opening doors to british business. growth is the number—one mission of this government, to make our country better off and that's what her arm in china, to unlock tangible benefits were british businesses, exporting and trading around the world. to ensure that we have greater access to the second biggest economy in the world and when we have these pragmatic conversations with chinese leaders could and indeed chinese businesses, we will always

be acting in britain was national interest. let's speak to our china correspondent laura bicker who's in beijing for us. we know she wants to improve relations with china, talk us through what her aims are. this is about mending _ through what her aims are. ti 3 is about mending strained ties between the uk and china. there has been no economic dialogue like this since 2019. this is a uk perspective it's a very big deal. to try to make it easier for uk businesses to do trade between china and the uk. she is here as part of that visit as part of a meeting between the uk prime minister and president xijinping. that

the uk prime minister and president xi jinping. that has kept this all off and i now see a different approach from the uk labour government. we have heard certainly seen an interaction between the uk chancellor and the vice premier and what he has said is there are ways in which the uk and china can work together that is mutually beneficial. to outweigh the differences between the sides. you see rachel reeves mentioning the word pragmatic. she says it a lot when it comes to relationship with china because she is trying to weigh up the economic needs of the uk with also security concerns. china will bristle at any mention of recent spying allegations. china will bristle at mentions of human rights and also if the uk accuses it of helping

russia's war effort in ukraine. these are big issues, certainly for china in the uk and rachel reeves will have to think about whether or not she brings it up while she extends a hand of friendship. there is something in it for beijing's. the uk currently is the only country not imposing tariffs on the likes of electric vehicles. the eu has done it and donald trump threatening more tariffs. beijing's mites see the uk as a way to end, a buffer zone when it comes to the west.— it comes to the west. good to net ou it comes to the west. good to get you analysis. _ the us supreme court appears poised to uphold a law that bans tiktok in the us over national security concerns unless its china—based parent company sells the platform ahead of a 19january deadline. representatives from tiktok appeared before the court on friday, as the us government

argued that without a sale, the app could be used as a tool for spying and political manipulation by the chinese government. an official decision by the court is due in the next few days. president—elect donald trump is critical of the ban saying he could negotiate a �*political resolution' to keep the app legal once he takes office. dr eleanor drage, is a senior research fellow at the university of cambridge and co—host of the good robot podcast. when it comes to these accusations that tiktok could be used as a tool for spying and manipulation by the chinese government how realistic is that? , ., ., that? this narrative has been around a _ that? this narrative has been around a very _ that? this narrative has been around a very long _ that? this narrative has been around a very long time - that? this narrative has been around a very long time and l that? this narrative has been | around a very long time and is part of what we call the ai arms race which is a fabricated narrative the us has been pushing many years. to boost

their assigned phobic rhetoric, they are pretty anti—china dolls have been. there is no to suggest china is doing more damage now with cybersecurity issues than it has ever been in the past. but the reason why trump has had this u—turn is possible because now there is less concern about china among the public. we are not as afraid of covid and china as we were before. the tiktok spying narrative has died down a little bit. there is lots of other reasons to suggest the public doesn't have china at the forefront of its mind. we are also not quite as concerned about bytedance, tiktok�*s parent company which was at one point thought to be a rival to 0penai, thejewel in silicon valley's ai crown. today,

instead, trump is saying actually i love tiktok and diane the big tackle talks start. let's keep tiktok and actually perhaps what he is trying to do is create political ever to say the supreme court made be against tiktok but i will be the saviour. when the ban comes which would be the 19th, that would be the day after he comes in as president. he could potentially beat tiktok�*s saviour and redeemer tiktok on behalf of the youth population which he now believes tiktok was very important for getting that audience to him. the inauguration _ that audience to him. the inauguration of _ that audience to him. the inauguration of donald trump happening the day after on the 20th of january but in terms of when you talk about that spying narrative may be of less interest to the public, but the narrative that tiktok was like algorithm, the idea potentially tiktok is dumbing down for western consumers, is that

credible discussion point? is that a credible aspect? if tiktok is bought by somebody else, if it is but by a us company us businessman, it would not have that algorithm any more. this is a real, it would be a real change to tiktok because the algorithm is the beating heart of the product. without it you wouldn't be getting the same experience as before. whether the algorithm does anything particularly negative for consumers, that damming down effect, is yet to be seen. these are speculations so i would be surprised if the supreme court is able to build a strong foundation for this case when it hasn't been able to get any real evidence to prove that the algorithm is one way or another really harmful to us consumers.—

a major search is continuing for two sisters who were last seen in aberdeen city centre on tuesday. eliza and henrietta hoostee's brother has told the bbc they seemed "fine" in the days running up to their disappearance. 0ur correspondent catriona renton is in aberdeen. what's the latest on the search? a lot of concern for this family. a lot of concern for this family-— a lot of concern for this famil. , , ., ., ., family. absolutely a lot of concern — family. absolutely a lot of concern for _ family. absolutely a lot of concern for the _ family. absolutely a lot of concern for the two - family. absolutely a lot of| concern for the two sisters family. absolutely a lot of - concern for the two sisters who are part of a set of triplets. they were last seen at 2am on tuesday. we are well into saturday morning, we have seen some police officers in the last few minutes walking along the banks here of 1537 00:24