this one is dropping fire retardant right on top of the fire there in a desperate bid to stop these flames. ukraine says it's captured two north korean soldiers fighting for russia. hello, i'm carl nasman. welcome to the programme. more evacuation orders have been issued in los angeles where crews continue to battle multiple wildfires. the largest blaze is now bearing down on a new area — the wealthy neighbourhood of brentwood. here are live pictures from the scene right now. at least 11 people have been killed so far and 13 others are missing. police sniffer dogs are now helping the search for victims. several blazes have devastated parts of los angeles. control efforts are now being supported by firefighters from canada and mexico.

there've been dramatic scenes of aircraft dropping thousands of gallons of fire retardant on the hills in an attempt to put out the blazes. more than 12 thousand homes and other buildings have been destroyed. now there are fears that the fierce winds that fanned the flames are likely to pick up again and continue for several more days. there are still four active fires, as two blazes were fully contained earlier today. the hurst and kenneth fires are now 75% contained, with the eaton fire, hitting the north of the city, only 15 percent contained. high winds and other dry conditions have been working against firefighters battling the palisades fire — the largest of blazes. five days on, it's still only 11 percent contained — and is on track to become the most destructive in california history.

they have been working against those fire crews. five days on, it's still only 11% contained. it is on track to become the most destructive in california history. our correspondentjohn sudworth has more from los angeles. they're throwing everything they've got at these fires. in multiple waves, the aircraft swoop in — the helicopters dropping thousands of gallons of water every run. so, we've seen these planes now 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 these 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. on the other side of the city, an eerie silence. but amid the devastation and grief, questions are being asked, too. how were firefighters left without water? did budget cuts hamper the response? the city's fire chief has directly criticised city officials. in her latest press conference, though, the mayor pushed back. let me be clear about something. the fire chief and i are focussed 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 few days,

the weather's been on their side, but winds are forecast to pick up again, and this city's fight is far from over. john sudworth, bbc news, los angeles. our correspondent helena humphrey is there for us on the ground in altadena. she's in altadena, one of these areas are hit. what's the latest where you are? carl, an evacuation _ latest where you are? carl, an evacuation order _ latest where you are? carl, an evacuation order still - latest where you are? carl, an evacuation order still in - latest where you are? carl, an evacuation order still in force l evacuation order still in force here. many people have lost everything. they're still in shelters, but you start to get a picture of what happened on tuesday night in the fires came through here. little clues that you see with every house that's been destroyed. as you can see, this car relatively unscathed, but the dichotomy of the fact that they aren't able to take their cars appear as they came out here. in this landscape, what you see time and time

again is if wejust pan in this direction, we can see the chimney there up into the sky. that is what you say all across altadena. they're almost like gravestones warehouses once stood. —— where houses. when you look at the destruction, you look at the destruction, you can only then start to paint a picture of perhaps you might have lived here in this house. we can see that twisted metal of what it appears to be a personal gym for example. people staying in shelters or hotels. we are speaking to some people today earlier at the pasadena animal shelter. when these people were leaving, they have to try and gather their pets with them if they could. the animal shelter announcing over a50 animals. they have been impacted, the wildlife here too. we saw a cat in this

area and contacted the authorities, the local shelter. i was speaking to the shelter earlier and spoke to kevin mcmanus about how difficult it is for these families to not only lose everything, but also flee with their pets, just a really distressing situation. it must be so hard for those families when they've laid down might have to leave everything behind and they have to be separated from their animals. those families must be distraught.— those families must be distrau~ht. ., �* ., , , distraught. you're absolutely ri . ht. distraught. you're absolutely right. that's _ distraught. you're absolutely right. that's the _ distraught. you're absolutely right. that's the most - right. that's the most heartbreaking thing. i think just the loss of a home is you can rebuild a family without a lost person or a lost pet. for us, the tragedy is going to come in the next couple weeks

because you have a lot of people coming and we don't know if we have their pet. we don't know if the pet they left behind is still safe. so i think we're in that lull of coming back. ._ think we're in that lull of coming back. . are there any stories that _ coming back. . are there any stories that really _ coming back. . are there any stories that really stick - coming back. . are there any stories that really stick with l stories that really stick with you? stories that really stick with ou? ~ ., ., stories that really stick with ou? . ., ., ., stories that really stick with ou? ~ ., ., ., ., stories that really stick with ou? ~ . . ., ., ., you? well, we had a dog who was found in a — you? well, we had a dog who was found in a birch _ you? well, we had a dog who was found in a birch building _ you? well, we had a dog who was found in a birch building who - found in a birch building who thankfully was still alive — in rough shape, severe burns — so we didn't know the owner was. somebodyjust we didn't know the owner was. somebody just found we didn't know the owner was. somebodyjust found him and somebody just found him and brought somebodyjust found him and brought him in. we were treating him and we think everything is going great. yesterday, his owner came in and i did invite him as his dog —— as their dog. we know that home is gone, so the dog is

still here in our care. the owner is left thinking they're glad the dog a safe, but then what happens next? talking about that impact, the obstruction here is just talking about that impact, the obstruction here isjust so random. time and time again, we'll see house completely destroyed, but you'll see for example here, we've got a peachtree. you see countless — i believe it's actually an orange tree — countless oranges that survive this disaster. what i will say is a concern now is in regards to the winds picking up once again. at the moment, that level of payment is not what they want to be right now. helena, not something that firefighters have struggled with. what's the latest we now?

0bviously, with. what's the latest we now? obviously, in its fifth day, but are those efforts progressing and what is on the minds of the firefighting crew right now as they got those blazes? ~ �* , , . blazes? well, it's very much ebbin: blazes? well, it's very much ebbing and _ blazes? well, it's very much ebbing and flowing - blazes? well, it's very much ebbing and flowing in - blazes? well, it's very much ebbing and flowing in terms| blazes? well, it's very much l ebbing and flowing in terms of containment, as he reported earlier. palisades for example seeing more containment. at the same time, you have the blade growing —— blaze growing, and i think some of the areas where you have those orders in place — print brentwood, for example, where kamala harris has a home — these are internationally recognised names. to show you how far these wildfires are coming into urban centres. eaten fire, we have seen some progress overnight. going from 3% to 11% containment. fire crews will be wanting to hold onto that progress. we do saw an arizona fire crew coming

through right now. they are coming from all across the united states. they've been authorised to come in for 180 days. that international crews coming in now. it's really a case of all hands on deck. so man case of all hands on deck. 50 many areas seeing so much devastation, including where you are in altadena. helena humphrey, thank you. a task force has been set up involving several local and national agencies to determine if the separate blazes are linked. meanwhile, officials are defending their response to the incident, saying it was not a lack of preparation that led to the fires but rather, the cause of "a natural disaster". kathryn barger, a member of the los angeles county board of supervisors, is calling on the federal government to do more. we need all level of support,

both at the local county level, the state level and the federal level, and we need it immediately. today, i wrote a letter to president—elect trump him to engage in every effort to see the impact first—hand on every socioeconomic individual in this county. engaging the white house makes the way for the rapid deployment of federal resources. joining me now is jeffrey schlegelmilch, director of the national center for disaster preparedness at the columbia climate school. could have you on the bbc. california stated, that a course to wildfires. and has almost more resources. why have these fires been so difficult to bring under control? in this particular— to bring under control? in this particular situation, _ to bring under control? in this particular situation, it - to bring under control? in this particular situation, it really i particular situation, it really comes home to three factors — the weather or the, the fuel in the weather or the, the fuel in the firefighting. the weather

has been the biggest challenge. it's very dry, what's a few on the ground from prior years when it was very wet. lots of vegetation grew and is now dried out. the winds are making it very difficult to get assets in the air. in the present situation, it's the weather that's one of the biggest factors. ~ ., ~ , factors. we look at los angeles itself, a region _ factors. we look at los angeles itself, a region that's _ factors. we look at los angeles itself, a region that's no - itself, a region that's no stranger to wildfires, but the regions we are thinking devastated along canyons. does that play into the vulnerability here as well. ? absolutely, la in particular has a very unique topography inserted these hills and canyons. as we see the impacts of climate change and prolonged periods of heat and low humidity, and also how we build. we all want that picturesque view, that nice house up on the hill close to

nature. unfortunately, that's becoming more and more hazardous. becoming more and more hazardou— becoming more and more hazardous. ., , hazardous. some of these newer buildinus hazardous. some of these newer buildings are _ hazardous. some of these newer buildings are taking _ hazardous. some of these newer buildings are taking wildfires - buildings are taking wildfires into account. are there ways that communities can build to make them more resilient these sorts of dramatic wildfires? absolutely was the... we were in an suv in the hills. having an inch of structure for firefighting. using fire retardant materials for building. even what we planned as mentioned earlier. the orange trees that are still

standing. ithink orange trees that are still standing. i think we'll need to be very front and centre. we've been hearing — be very front and centre. we've been hearing complaints - be very front and centre. we've| been hearing complaints though my complaints about the way the city we've heard that one of the reservoirs wasn't filled. again la, it is fire, how prepared you think it was for what was to come. there's a lot of preparedness that's an. what was to come. there's a lot of preparedness that's— of preparedness that's on, but the table is — of preparedness that's on, but the table is set _ of preparedness that's on, but the table is set for _ of preparedness that's on, but the table is set for disasters. i the table is set for disasters. a lot of times we're not really thinking about disaster vulnerability in the face of climate change and these disasters, that has to change. we have to put more and more that of a disaster impact front and centre and all of the other types of urban planning. in

many ways, the state of california on the front lines of climate change. certainly not the only area. thank you for your time.— not the only area. thank you for your time. thing from me. -- | for your time. thing from me. -- i think— for your time. thing from me. -- i think you _ for your time. thing from me. -- i think you for _ having me. a us department ofjustice special counsel has resigned after overseeing two federal investigations a us department ofjustice special counsel has resigned after overseeing two federal investigations into the president—elect donald trump. jack smith filed his final report on his criminal investigations into trump on january 7th — but it's release has been temporarily blocked. president zelensky says ukraine has captured two wounded north korean soldiers in russia's kursk region, which it partially occupies. the two men, who are receiving "necessary medical assistance" according to ukraine, are being held in custody in kyiv. ukraine believes there are around 12,000 north korean soldiers fighting for russia in the war against them.

0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford reports from kyiv. it was a special operation by ukraine's elite forces, who've released this video and say it's inside russian territory. their mission was to capture north korean soldiers. now kyiv is presenting their faces to the world — two men it calls the first firm proof that north korea and russia are fighting side by side. 0ne soldier had this russian military id. ukraine says it's fake. volodymyr zelensky announced the news as ukrainian intelligence said the soldiers had thought they were being sent for training, not to war. translation: the russians - issued their documents to these koreans, but they won't deceive anyone. russia is the one doing everything to prolong and escalate the war. last august, ukraine's military

launched a surprise incursion into the kursk region of russia, humiliating for vladimir putin. the us believes moscow then sent thousands of north korean troops to help stop the advance. kyiv says that's where these two men were captured. but so far, neither pyongyang nor moscow has reacted to what does look like evidence that russia is not fighting its war with ukraine on its own. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. the us appears more combative stance with american users are getting ready to say goodbye to the chinese—owned social media app tiktok. it's set to be banned here in just over one week — unless bytedance sells off the company in the us. tiktok�*s legal team gave theirfinal plea in hopes of overturning the ban at a us supreme court

hearing on friday. they were joined by content creators, many of which rely on the platform as a means of income. they were joined by content creators, many of which rely on the platform as a means of income. president—elect donald trump has also argued against a ban. and while more than a third of americans use tiktok, some us lawmakers and supreme courtjustices are wary of potential surveillance or interference from the chinese government. tiktok accusses the us of unfairly targetting the rapidly growing social media company and says that implementing a ban violates free speech. for more now, let's speak to jacob huebert, president of the liberty justice center. walk us through these arguments against these laws. yes, we represent nonprofit organisations that use it tiktok to reach a young gen z

audience with his message of individual liberty and free markets. they can't reach anywhere else. if this platform shuts down, we say that's a violation of their right to free speech because they won't be able to speak there and they won't be able to reach this unique audience. the government, tojustify unique audience. the government, to justify this, then said to shut this down. 0ne then said to shut this down. one of them is protecting americans' data privacy and then ensuring china can't lean on bytedance i get the us government interest. as i don't know if that is totally illegitimate. they are essentially saying it is only the combination of ideas that might be put in front of people think that would be harmful. the whole point of the first

amendment cannot suppress the speech that thinks goes against his interests was the even if it did attack her �*s foundations, that's not really what's going on on tiktok. it's primarily americans talking to another americans but all kinds of things was the we another americans but all kinds of things was th- of things was the we have been s-ueakin of things was the we have been speaking of _ of things was the we have been speaking of the _ of things was the we have been speaking of the co-author - of things was the we have been speaking of the co-author of i speaking of the co—author of that bill. he said tiktok is a chinese company, so that's not protected under the light to free speech. also saying this is a concern on cracking down on freedom of speech, so this solution he puts forward for bytedance to sell tiktok to the american buyer. what you make of that argument? it’s american buyer. what you make of that argument?— of that argument? it's not literally a _ of that argument? it's not literally a ban. _ of that argument? it's not literally a ban. expand -

of that argument? it's not| literally a ban. expand the tiktok divest the us company. but that's not feasible. the us tiktok relies on content regulation maintained by people in china and it cannot be exported under chinese law. if that algorithm that helps to tiktok what it is. you can't really slice off a separate us tiktok. that would be the same can tiktok any more. of course the chinese government doesn't have rights. —— in an american company. they don't have the right to... and to use this platform to reach a unique american audience. we will

definitely be violated if it stuck down.— definitely be violated if it stuckdown. �* . ., , ., stuck down. i'm curious what ou stuck down. i'm curious what you think _ stuck down. i'm curious what you think this _ stuck down. i'm curious what you think this would - stuck down. i'm curious what you think this would set - stuck down. i'm curious what you think this would set with | you think this would set with the president. with the government can force an app off—line or ban it or tell it needs to be sold, is a dangerous precedent? imilli needs to be sold, is a dangerous precedent? will be a very dangerous _ dangerous precedent? will be a very dangerous precedent - dangerous precedent? will be a very dangerous precedent if - dangerous precedent? will be a very dangerous precedent if the government and just said can just say the where his national security, back it up with very little evidence — and there is very little evidence — they would support that. let alone everybody�*s first amendment rights. we will be waiting to see what supreme court says. thanks for your time. supreme court says. thanks for your time-—

the father of molly russell, a british teenager who took her own life after seeing harmful content online, has appealed to the uk prime minister to tighten online safety rules to protect children. the 1a—year—old died in november 2017 after being exposed to a stream of dark content on the social media sites pinterest and instagram. her father ian russell is now warning more children are at risk due to the implementation of the government's 0nline safety act by regulator 0fcom — claiming it's been a "disaster". mr russells letter to sir keir starmer also came in response to meta's announcement that it will end third party fact—checking on its platforms in the us. on the social media sites pinterest and instagram. her father ian russell is now warning more children are at risk due to the implementation of the government's 0nline safety act by regulator 0fcom — claiming it's been a "disaster". mr russells letter to

sir keir starmer also came i'm sure kier, as a father, protects his children from online dangers as much as any individual can. but as a prime minister, he needs to really back online safety and move forward so that the uk is the safest place in the world to be online. and children, when they're there in the future, don't face the dangers they're facing today. but there's been a complete u—turn. and one announcement this week, the announcement that mark zuckerberg made in particular, just leads me to believe that meta is turning its platforms back towards the platforms that molly saw in the last months of her life. back towards the way that they were run, back towards the harmful content that molly was exposed to and therefore more children would be exposed to in the future. and by turning the platforms backwards away from safety, let's turn to some other important news

around the world... there have been celebrations in parts of sudan, after the army said it had �*liberated' the eastern city of wad madani from the paramilitary rapid support forces. the rsf, which has controlled the city for a year, has been accused of widespread human rights abuses. since sudan's civil war began, tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 11 million have been displaced. the un says the war has created the world's worst famine. german authorities say an oil tanker that belongs to russia's "shadow fleet" is stuck in the baltic sea. these pictures show german tug boats dragging the tanker to safe waters after it lost power and steering. germany believes russia uses the vessel — which is carrying about a hundred thousand tonnes of oil — to avoid sanctions. about a 100,000 tonnes of oil — to avoid sanctions. before we go — a reminder of our top story — the battle to contain multiple wildfires that have devastated swathes of los angeles. you can see the smoke burning and that line of colouring, the fire retardant that ms. been dumped from the aeroplanes went over the scene, an attempt to keep the fires from spreading, you see the active hotspots, fire pumping along that line, who is still working to get that under control. more coming on that story at the top of the i work right here on bbc news. hello there. this really cold spell of weather is coming to an end

in the next few days, but we still have some cold, frosty and icy conditions this weekend. it was particularly cold in the midlands where the fog lingered, and we have some fog in eastern england and also in northern ireland overnight. and these are the temperatures early on sunday morning, so a widespread frost. those temperatures not quite as low as they have been over the past few nights, mind you. that's because there's a bit more cloud around that's pushing its way through the midlands into eastern england, the mist and fog lifting. sunny spells developing in england and wales, the fog lifting in northern ireland. as the cloud comes in, the winds pick up and that cloud will push its way into scotland, bringing a little rain into the far northwest. but for many eastern parts of scotland, northern england, down through the midlands towards the southeast, it's still a cold day, butjust not quite as cold as it has been just recently. the really cold air that's been trapped underneath that high pressure — that's getting squeezed to a certain extent, allowing these weather fronts to topple down from the north—west to bring a bit of rain. but more significantly, we're picking up a stronger wind coming in from the atlantic this time, and that's lifting the temperatures.

early on monday, quite a contrast in the uk. a very mild start for scotland and northern ireland, but still cold enough for some frost towards the southeast. here, the winds are a bit lighter. we may have some sunshine around on monday. elsewhere, that wind is picking up, blowing in the cloud. a bit of rain moves through scotland, northern ireland, into northern parts of england and north wales. a little bit of rain follows on from that as well. but it's the change in the wind direction and the strengthening of this south—to—south—westerly wind that is tending to lift the temperatures. it's still quite chilly, perhaps, on monday across large parts of england and wales, where temperatures are going to be 5—6 degrees perhaps. but it is much milderfurther north — 12 or 13 in scotland and northern ireland. as we head into tuesday, we're still close to high pressure in the south, where it's a bit chillier. but elsewhere, the winds are coming in from the atlantic bringing in a lot of dry weather, but a lot of cloud, and we're continuing to see those temperatures rising — perhaps getting into double figures across parts of england and wales. again, 12 or 13 further north. and the highest temperatures over the week ahead are likely to be in scotland and northern

ireland. still a bit chilly across the far south of england and wales at night, with a risk of frost, but otherwise, we've got a breezy air, cloudy air and temperatures are rising.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour,

which is straight after this programme.