battled to contain the los aneles _ battled to i contain the los angeles fire. conditions of predicted to continue through wednesday. these wins, combined with dry air and dry vegetation, will keep the fire threat in los angeles county hi. keep the fire threat in los angeles county high. jack smith, the us prosecutor who led two of the four criminal cases against donald trump, has resigned. the move comes as the president—elect prepares to return to the white house. rachel reeves announces trade agreements worth £600 million during a visit to china, but is criticised for the timing of her trip. criticised for the timing of hertrip. ukraine criticised for the timing of her trip. ukraine says it has captured two north korean soldiers who have been fighting alongside russian forces in the kursk region. in america's top court appears poised to up hold a law that bans tiktok unless

its chinese parent company sells the platform. you're watching bbc news. i am leila nathoo. i want to take you to a press conference by the los angeles fire department. let's have a listen. . , , ., listen. the rapid deployment of federal resources, _ listen. the rapid deployment of federal resources, including - federal resources, including emergency personnel and financial assistance. i cross paths today with speaker revis and actually, i think the entire family was there. i told the speaker that the state has to be incredibly flexible and streamline all of their processes, and he has promised to work with us. my goal is to

help the communities rebuild like for like, if not better. but there are state and county requirements that can sometimes add an additional cost to the building process. my ask is, at the state and the county, work together to ensure we repealed together to ensure we repealed together safely, together to ensure we repealed togethersafely, but together to ensure we repealed together safely, but we must remove costly or requirements not related to health and safety that would make it prosper limited to residents —— cross limited to rebuild. whether a community can afford to rebuild... we need to be extremely responses to the individual needs of thousands of residents who are going to have to navigate this incredibly difficult process. our community's resilience has 0ur community's resilience has always been inspirational and it will be our guiding light as we move forward together. i

understand that many of our residents are looking and thinking rebuilding is notjust a priority, it is an urgent need. i talked to people who know their home is gone and they want to begin today. i will make sure the county works quickly to eliminate unnecessary red tape, ensuring permits are improved safely and swiftly so reconstruction can begin as soon as possible. again, my priority is to ensure that government becomes a facilitator, not an obstacle. studio: is a press conference in la by the la county board of supervisors. talking about the urgent need to rebuild. we have just brought you the first part of the press conference there,

being given life in los angeles. but strong winds there. they are likely to continue for several more days. these are live pictures, as firefighters battle to contain the fires, which began on tuesday in several different parts of the city. still over the hillsides surrounding los angeles. you can see a helicopter there in the air, still thick with smoke. 11 people are now known to have died in the fires and 13 people remain missing. thousands of structures, including homes, have been completely destroyed. a local health emergency has been declared because of the poor air quality. with six fires still burning, an evacuation order has been extended for the largest palisades fire. two have been contained. live now to los angeles.

let's cross live to los angeles, let's cross live to los angeles, where we can hear the latest update from the fire department. with the latest from los angeles, here's our correspondent john sudworth. they're throwing everything they've got at these fires. in multiple ways, the aircraft swooped in. the helicopters dropping thousands of gallons of water every run. so, we've seen these planes coming in time and time again. this one is dropping fire retardant right on top of the fire there in a desperate bid to stop the flames reaching the communities on the other side of the hill there. this latest flare—up poses a major threat to new neighbourhoods. new evacuations have been ordered, with more property and lives in the reach of this disaster. this is what

they're trying to prevent. 0n they're trying to prevent. 0n the other side of the city, an eerie silence. but amid the devastation and grief, questions are being asked, too. how are firefighters left without water? to budget cuts hamper the response? the city's fired chief has directly criticised city officials. the mayor pushed back. let criticised city officials. the mayor pushed back. let me be clear about _ mayor pushed back. let me be clear about something - - mayor pushed back. let me be clear about something - the i clear about something — the fire chief and are focused on fighting these fires and saving lives, and any differences that we might have will be worked out in private, but right now, our first and most important obligation to angelenos is to get through this crisis. for the past — get through this crisis. for the past few _ get through this crisis. for the past few days, - get through this crisis. for the past few days, the weather has been on their side. but winds are forecast to pick up again, and this city's fight is

farfrom over. john sudworth, bbc news, los angeles. my colleague helena humphrey is in the north of the los angeles area, in the area of altadena, just north of the city of pasadena. she spoke to me earlier, witnessing firsthand the aftermath of the fire. the devastation becoming ever more apparent, particularly as we start to see some containment. but of course, sadly, with that news, we know that 11 people have been killed, 13 still missing right now, and authorities saying that they will be sending cadaver dogs into some of the wreckage as people continue to look for their loved ones. family assistance centres will also be set up. and so those people, of course, they have lost everything, they are looking for their loved ones. and i also want to show you just by taking a walk down one street, how their communities also have vanished. the first thing we come across down this street, this is all that is left of a mosque here in altadena.

all you can really make out is perhaps some bent iron, some bent metal of some chairs, but really nothing else that's recognisable. if we just continue a little bit further down this street, as we just go down a street that's just so similar for all of us, i guess, really, that you would find anywhere around the world. this is all that's left of what was a local chiropractic centre. if you just head into this area here, you can see a little bit mangled office furniture, some filing cabinets, but really nothing else that is left beyond that. but really nothing else that is left beyond that area. that is where people lived in homes which have also gone. a car park, a parking lot. and then coming further down this way still, we've got what is just a local grocery store, which, as you can see, completely charred

and burnt out. and then also beyond that we've been mapping it on maps. you can also see that there was a child care facility, a nursery facility, so all of this is gone right now. just to give you a little bit of an update on the situation when it comes to those blazes. we do have some containment in the palisades area. it's currently at a containment level of ii%, but it's also been growing — growing in that area, for example, where we know that the vice president, kamala harris, has a home. and just to talk about those evacuation orders, these are names that we all know around the world. sunset boulevard, for example, mulholland drive, all now subject to that extended evacuation order because, asjohn sudworth wasjust saying in his report, the concern is that those winds could pick up once again, fire crews are coming in notjust from other states like arizona, nevada, for example,

but also internationally as well now, too — fire crews from mexico, from canada — because it is all hands on deck here right now. theyjust need all the support that they can get. feels unpredictable, helena, with the possible resurgence of those winds, is anyone talking about a time scale when people could perhaps start to return to the areas that have been devastated, or where things could be slightly more under control? i mean, there's nothing to go back to. essentially, we are seeing acre after acre destroyed. there are no homes. if they were to try and rebuild them, people are concerned about trying to get insurance for those places ever again. as you take a lookjust at this area, the fact that you've got shops — a chiropractic clinic, for example, all wiped out — this is where people, of course, would work as well. would work as well, so people will be worried about theirjobs.

president biden has authorised these fire crews to come in from other states for 180 days to get on top of this situation, and that perhaps just gives you a little bit of an indication about how long firefighters think it will actually take to get these blazes, six of them now under control. let's speak to los angeles resident sierra santana, who's been working throughout the last few days to support the community. many thanks for joining many thanks forjoining us. i should start by saying you were evacuated, but now safe. you've been working to help your community. just described to us what you've been doing and what the situation has been where you are. the situation has been where ou are. . ., , you are. yeah, immediately, once the _ you are. yeah, immediately, once the fires _ you are. yeah, immediately, once the fires hit, _ you are. yeah, immediately, once the fires hit, i - you are. yeah, immediately, once the fires hit, ijust - you are. yeah, immediately, once the fires hit, ijust tookj once the fires hit, i just took to social media and via mutual aid la, people were dropping resources, options and ways to connect. ijust plugged in immediately from there. i've been getting donations to different shelters, i've been correlating with community members to see exactly what families need, their sizes. people have lost everything. i've been a coordinator, a

club, driver, just to get these families what they needed. henge families what they needed. have ou found families what they needed. have you found the — families what they needed. have you found the atmosphere, - families what they needed. have you found the atmosphere, have you found the atmosphere, have you found the atmosphere, have you found people pulling together?— you found people pulling touether? �* , ., ~' together? it's nothing like i've seen _ together? it's nothing like i've seen before. - together? it's nothing like i've seen before. i- together? it's nothing like i've seen before. i think. i've seen before. i think there's a misconception of los angeles that we're wealthy celebrities. we're very working class, we're transplants, we're immigrants and peoples of all walks of life have banded together and are so activated, so activated. there are hundreds of people at every centre just organising, driving, centrejust organising, driving, in good spirits and just very eager to help each other. ., , ., just very eager to help each other. . , ., ., other. have you found it difficult _ other. have you found it difficult to _ other. have you found it difficult to co-ordinate l other. have you found it i difficult to co-ordinate and difficult to co—ordinate and organise people? difficult to co-ordinate and organise people?— difficult to co-ordinate and organise people? no, not at all. i organise people? no, not at all- i am _ organise people? no, not at all. i am connected - organise people? no, not at all. i am connected with - all. i am connected with multiple people on my phone who i don't even know. what do you

need? i have a pretty strong reach on social media, some people have reached out to me with specific needs for specific families. i reached out to contacts that i don't know. ijust have their phone number. we found each other via social media. and get them exactly what they need. this community is truly amazing and we are holding each other in a way that's really necessary. and are you helping the emergency services at all? because they've obviously been under huge pressure working all hours, haven't they?— hours, haven't they? yeah, i've been organising _ hours, haven't they? yeah, i've been organising with _ hours, haven't they? yeah, i've been organising with my - hours, haven't they? yeah, i've| been organising with my friends alex and krista, and social media call to action and they raised a couple thousand dollars in which we've gone to the fire departmentjust dollars in which we've gone to the fire department just to bring them breakfast. they've been working around the clock and are so exhausted but really appreciative that... they feel the love and support we're giving them. the love and support we're giving them-— giving them. sierra, many thins giving them. sierra, many things indeed. _ giving them. sierra, many things indeed. sierra - giving them. sierra, many i

things indeed. sierra santana talking to us there about her efforts to help those affected by the fires in los angeles. the prosecutor who launched an investigation in donald trump over allegedly retaining classified documents and trying to overturn the 2020 election result has the 2020 election result has resigned. jack smith dropped the charges against the president—elect following the vote in november, but was due to release a report into allegations. mr trump was accused of encouraging the people the storming of the capitol building on 6january 2021 and the allegations that classified documents were found in mar—a—lago after he left office. let's speak to our correspondent merlyn thomas, who is in washington for us. and you just remind us of the background to this case? what was jack smith looking into? jack smith is the department of... that's according to a

court file that was submitted to date as well as according to a federal official. he was in charge of writing and investigating two reports into alleged cases into donald trump. 0ne alleged cases into donald trump. one was of his alleged mishandling of classified documents and the other was his alleged attempts to overturn his election defeat in 2020 against resident by then. now, both of the cases have been shelved because, according to a us department ofjustin policy, they are seen as an unit —— department ofjustice —— president biden. department ofjustice -- president biden.- department ofjustice -- president biden. ., . ., . president biden. how much of a surrise president biden. how much of a surprise is _ president biden. how much of a surprise is his _ president biden. how much of a surprise is his resignation? - president biden. how much of a surprise is his resignation? it i surprise is his resignation? it was rumoured for a while now, and mr trump was rumoured for a while now, and mrtrump had was rumoured for a while now, and mr trump had also said as soon as he gets into office, he would fire him. but this has been a kind of protected, long legal battle it's been going back. we saw itjudge in florida earlier this week

temporarily blocked one of those reports, and that was into the mishandling of the classified documents. but it's worth noting that was only a temporary injunction for three days and after that, mr trump's legal team went to the us court of appeals and the 11th circuit to ask for a request to block another one of those reports, and that was rejected. now mr trump's lawyers could still go further and ask the court to intervene, to stop and delay the release of another report. right, and would anyone fill his shoes?— right, and would anyone fill his shoes? . ., , ., , his shoes? that remains to be seen, his shoes? that remains to be seen. but _ his shoes? that remains to be seen, but what _ his shoes? that remains to be seen, but what it _ his shoes? that remains to be seen, but what it means - his shoes? that remains to be seen, but what it means nowl his shoes? that remains to be l seen, but what it means now for donald trump is the essentially, even though this legal back—and—forth will go on, even though mr trump may have won the legal battles, there is still an ongoing public battle as to whether the public battle as to whether the public will be able to redefine these investigations and make

up these investigations and make up their mind.— up their mind. merlyn, many thanks indeed. _ up their mind. merlyn, many thanks indeed. merlyn - up their mind. merlyn, many l thanks indeed. merlyn thomas up their mind. merlyn, many - thanks indeed. merlyn thomas in washington bring us up—to—date with w