this is deja vu news live from berlin and australia's prime minister apologizes and cut short his holiday to face the country's unprecedented bushfires to volunteer firefighters battling a blaze near sydney have been killed crews are working to contain more than 100 fires fueled by record temperatures and high winds also coming up the discussions have been long and intense but now russia ukraine and the e.u. have reached a tentative gas and that means russian gas can continue to flow through ukrainian

territory into europe. at least 3 people have been killed as police and in the air crackdown on nationwide protests against a controversial new citizenship law more than a 1000 demonstrators have been arrested. i'm brian thomas great to have you with us australia's prime minister's stop morrison has apologized for going on holiday in hawaii as the nation contends with a worsening bushfire emergency morrison also paid tribute to the 2 volunteer firefighters killed in a road accident while deployed to a blaze near sydney 3 others were seriously injured the men were among thousands of firefighters battling to contain more than 100 blazes raging across. state of new

south wales smoke from the wildfires is also spreading across australia southeastern cities like sydney fueling public anger over the government's climate poll 6. sydney's skyline and developed in a shroud of smoke with bushfires advancing on the city from multiple sides only its tallest structures remain visible its famous landmarks cast in apocalyptic light. on the ground few dare venture outside without face masks sydney now has the 4th worst air quality in the world experts say it's difficult to avoid such sustained pollution. when air pollution exposure is short it's easy to tell people give people advice about how to avoid it stay indoors avoid physical activity but when it sustained over a number of days or weeks then the messaging becomes more complicated the fires are

being fueled by drought and record high temperatures which scientists say are the result of climate change. prime minister scott morrison is facing criticism for leaving the country to vacation in hawaii protesters turning up at his empty home in sydney also accuse him of not doing enough to end the country's reliance on fossil fuels to match the reality of climate change is upon us droughts are getting longer and more severe heat waves are becoming longer and more severe now bushfire season is creeping into spring and when top we are living in a dangerous climate and it is time for up running the stuff to get out of pockets of the coal and gas lobby groups and to start thinking about the future of the strategy in morrison has responded to the crisis and cut his holiday short but while he's apologized for being absent he has yet to give. and to demands to act on

climate change. ok let's get more on this now from sydney with journalist roger maynard good day to you roger will the prime minister's apology for being away on vacation during this crisis deflect some of the growing criticism we just saw some of it against him. i don't exert it's been a public relations disaster. scott morrison has been selling him self in a way for nearly a week now while australia burns today under pressure he was forced to cut short that they gave. and is expected to get back to sydney by saturday morning he was also forced to issue a statement that missing any deeply regretted any offense caused by his decision to leave the country as the bushfire crisis worsened but the damage has been done and affected only decided to return home early after the tragic deaths of those 2 firefighters overnight only highlights

a howl of out of touch i think he's being with public opinion here the national mood will undoubtedly place added pressure on him and the government to take climate change more seriously and as you know so far there's been great reluctance by the government and scott morrison to admit to any link between climate change and the bushfires but that may well change now this could well provide the tipping point for the government to take some action ok so we have been out of touch prime minister and out of control fires how are authorities and crews especially on the ground coping with their images we're seeing these these lethal conditions that the men and women out there are thousands of them are confronting these fires and they're facing. hit extraordinary really i mean they are extraordinary conditions and although the australians who used to work for hours and they used to you know handling this and coping with these bushfires have been worse than anybody can

remember i think in living memory i mean there's been much more intense and much more extensive than anybody can remember but indeed yesterday we saw the 2nd hottest average temperature on record in australia with the mercury nudging 41 degree elbow in some parts of the country is even worse it's got about 40. $49.00 degrees a bit early isn't all outback areas where it often does get extremely hot but the bushfire season has started much earlier and it's cording causing enormous amount of stress for those firefighters who are only ground trying to contain the last you know because today a. workman like just flat out on the floor is trying to consider the resident roger it's not just stress for the crews who are doing an admirable job risking their lives out there but also stress for for thousands of people living in sydney for example of the air quality there are now the 4th worst on the planet how was the situation involving where you are. today fortunately it's

a little clearer than it has been earlier in the week yesterday was very bad it was a difficult to say for months at a lot of the other because. the smoke today is a little bit but it's still of the interest and although you know the quality of the air is bad some people say it's like smoking 30 cigarettes a day and i must admit i'm a bitch estate at the end of the vehicle up met will simulate condition you know it didn't it's bad and it's having a very good look at it don't people self ok roger maynard for us in 70 or roger thanks very much and stay indoors as much as you can i guess thanks a lot for that roger. ok let's take a look now at some the other stories making news today the gambling hub of macau has been celebrating 20 years since its fans 1st a chinese rule at a ceremony marking the anniversary chinese president xi jinping said china would not allow foreign interference in macau or hong kong both recent regions with the

one country 2 systems model she also swore in a new probe aging government for macau. in the u.s. democratic white house hopefuls sparring in the 6 the bate of the race to pick a nominee for next year's presidential election just 7 of the remaining 15 candidates took part now this allowed lesser known figures to shine the 1st round of voting will begin in iowa in february. hundreds of thousands have marched in cities across the down to celebrate the 1st anniversary of the uprising that toppled former president omar al bashir the campaigners promised to continue their push for political reform and for charges being brought in the killing of civilians during the uprising. now it's still only a deal in principle but after hours of discussions russia ukraine and the european commission have agreed on the future transit of russian gas through ukrainian territory beginning on january the 1st the deal was brokered right here in berlin

here's what we know about it so far. these types of front and center of a geopolitical crisis natural gas is supposed to be sent from russia to germany to supply the e.u. with one of its major energy sources the north stream and nordstrom to pipelines allow moscow to bypass ukraine and safe on billions in transit fees that are currently a major source of income for the neighboring country not to rely entirely on the north rim delivery system russia still wants to send some gas to ukraine asked for ukraine the country depends on gas from russia but must call has weaponized its supply in the past cutting it off repeatedly in the 1990 s. russian president putin says similar action is no longer planned. we are not going to sign any kind of contract with ukraine in order to stop gas translator no we are interested in this gas transit be a ukraine we want it it's

a convenient route incidentally the ukrainian route is longer. then the route along the baltic sea it is longer and more expensive for us but nevertheless this route is worked out to central and to southern europe it's good and we're ready to keep it. talks in berlin have now led to a deal between russia and its neighbor. to these very intensive talks i'm very glad to say that we reached agreement in principle. on all key elements which i believe it's very good and very positive news for europe for russia grain for gas markets and for citizens in. moscow and here yet to go over some details of the deal before signing. in india at least 3 people have died in protest against the conference your new citizenship law

authorities banned protests after previous for hours became violent but crowds defied that ban police have made hundreds of arrests the new law offers fast track citizenship to non muslim immigrants only. widespread anger and not everyone is holding back in northeastern india violence fled out rage protests is defying the ban on demonstrations they said the government's new law discriminates against muslims and threatens india's secular democracy yet you'll see aired this citizenship amendment act is against the indian constitution it is a legal it is against the spirit of independence of our country. my get out and get on twitter condemnation of the police man handling of one of our most prolific and influential public intellectuals and scholar as ramit chandra guha he

says he was engaged in nonviolent protest when he was arrested. the government says it was forced to act in the interest of public safety after many protests turned violent last wake. in the capital delhi more than a dozen train stations were closed. roads blocked traffic congested authorities osa shut down mobile phone networks and the internet in several rage ins. have very difficult situation and a very bad situation we're facing a lot of problems the red still so have a lot of traffic jams and some of them a blocked so it's a pathetic situation. and there might be even more disruption on its why there are few signs prime minister narendra modi is going to back down over the law and many here are determined to make him change his mind whatever the consequences

. are let's get more now from journalist us sunday our rubbish onkar joining us from shy good day to you. first off can you tell us what are you expecting today will there be more protests despite the bad. the brutus are. all. there. is. lots of laughter. and. look pretty intense against it up from the large number of. religio i was at me up in was a girl as you know not all of this and. see the morning. after now as you said there are 3 get it and number in your head it is not.

going to display of anger out on the streets right now what are the main arguments that the protesters are bringing to the government against its citizenship. then she said. because there are a. lot of those vessels in the northeast in the uk and i was particularly more. and these people don't want. to come into the media so all our other guests are to make sure that there's no influx of migrants. into india. one in one hour as far as the muslim might not get to. eat. he knows the law gives you the money and this is the beginning of the store where. you

know and maybe you could leap to the fire when combined with the national citizen not just oil and the cars are the greatest i realized you know. maybe it's up to me up when you cut which. you know which you did this in cleveland and prednisone and you know what he stands for much of them and so i tell you and i think it's fair to say the end again is the money because you know it's not just the cd or so the citizenship. or the n.r.c. the combination of people that have now does not become not. so on the are rather shankar in charge for us they thank you very much for that. air strikes in syria are claiming an increasing number of civilian lives now that's according to

a british based monitoring group that says at least 30 civilians have been killed by russian and syrian government airstrikes in the past week alone does that's a come as damascus launches a new offensive in the problems. when i was told from under the rubble after i asked strikes hit home scenes all too common in the province since monday at least 30 people have been killed and dozens more injured by russian jets most if not all were civilians and many of them children residents say their town has no military importance. is that it but the government is an industrial area only civilians live here is not a single soldier here russia is worse than the syrian regime we civilians have no one who can help us. the current overall plan hit the area with missiles

i left my motorcycle and ran for cover there were people on the rubble there. in. the conflict in northern syria escalated again earlier this year when the syrian government backed by russian at power began a large scale offensive against rebels in the region. caught in the crossfire civilians are fleeing their homes some 8000 people are said to have fled to areas near the syrian turkish border since tuesday a region and their id home to many displaced by the war and as long as the offensive continues it's likely more will follow. here's some other headlines right now lebanon's political parties have nominated new prime minister after months of protests in the country university professor haasan vowed to an act reform so country out of its economic crisis protesters of already rallied against his

appointment. the british parliament is set to vote on the prime minister's plan for the u.k.'s departure from the european union the passage of boris johnson's withdrawal bill is expected to be a formality after the conservatives won a large majority at last week's general election. this is date of units live from berlin still to come on the show it's a spacecraft that could put nasa back into the manned flight space race the u.s. is starliner prepares for a test flight to the international space station after a 2 year delay. but 1st is to china where the government is trying to get farmers to start raising pigs again the country has been battling an outbreak of african swine fever for more than a year now the disease has wiped out at least 40 percent of that country's pig population farmers are very reluctant to return to port production and that is a problem in china because pork is

a staple food there in fact china is the world's biggest consumer and producer of pork so the shortage has sent prices skyrocketing across asia did it be a correspondent traveled to yet kang that's a village east of chung quitting to take a closer look at how the crisis is playing out there an advisory this report does contain images some may find disturbing. it's a trade me john shear has learned from a young age he's a butcher in a village in southwest china he buys hogs from farmers in the surrounding villages and takes them home for slaughter need has kept his routine for decades but lately he has become worried about his business a few months ago an outbreak of african swine fever was reported in a nearby village is or do classic it's a disease old pig farmers fear we don't usually worry about our livestock but since one fever broke out everyone is anxious. how much in that village all the pigs were

code and immediately buried since then no more cases have been reported in the area african swine fever is a disease caused by a virus originated from africa but which is now spreading rapidly throughout china does harmless to humans but highly contagious and usually terminal for horrors in his backyard knee or so raises his own eggs. that this one so fat she has trouble getting up. it was when you will have it in the chinese new year. and infected pig here would most likely kill his entire life stock worth just over 2000 euros yeah well we don't years in your ear is a minute you have to use my eyes we don't have any tools for a diagnosis. the only criteria we can applies to observe the hog if it eats an x. normally i'll buy it for you but if it looks sick all week of shows signs of flu or

anything else that i don't buy. the real extent of the epidemic is unclear some experts estimate that up to half of china's pork livestock is affected. early in the morning the time has come for the halt for the previous night. the fact is white and the meat looks tender that's good quality. home. he says the pigs he buys now of course twice as much as they did last year in order to ease the story and prices the government has released part of its strategic frozen meat reserves the frozen meat sells a lot cheaper but me says he's not worried that his customers might dump him for the cheap moment. been gone i don't really have very few people here would buy frozen meat. once it's frozen people don't like it they won't touch it.

the meat is still warm when the 1st neighbors show up. first come 1st serve those who live nearby get to choose their cuts even before you can take the meat to the market pork is china staple meat you must feel any price spike immediately increased pork prices are the main reason behind the rising inflation in the country and while his customers stay faithful to him that does not mean his business has not been affected and. my guess is it is more expensive so i buy less nowadays i do feel the difference i can't afford to buy as much meat as i used to. china's government recently announced that pork production has begun to rebound whether this is true or not is impossible to verify in the meantime we can do little but to continue

selling meat and to hope that the virus does not come back to the region. just a few hours the u.s. aircraft maker boeing is due to launch its star liner astronaut capsule on its 1st unmanned journey to the international space station now if successful this spacecraft will free nasa from reliance on russia to travel to the us but the project has. untroubled by technical delays arrival capsule built by space x. well it's completed its stars fly last march. the heavy duty rocket is set to launch the starliner into space for its test flight and deposit it 180 kilometers above the earth's surface. from there the space capsule equipped with its own measurement sensors and thrusters is supposed to fly to the i access international space station and dock with it completely automatically. a few days

later the starliner will decouple from the i assess and part with that service module in order to return to earth. the unpiloted capsule should then safely and gently land on the ground in new mexico with the help of parachutes and airbags if all goes to plan the starliner will soon be able to transport astronauts into space. the space shuttles were once readied for lift off and this hangar for the past few years it's where the starliner has been built. a man transport system for the next generation nasa is having it developed and built by boeing a private company. the starliner resembles the apollo spacecraft which once landed astronauts on the moon. its crew

capsule can be reused after the flight it should complete 10 missions in total and carry up to 7 astronauts into space at a time. when the crew will be seated an upper and lower rows when they lift off for their missions. at the beginning of november the starliner completed a simulated takeoff emergency a security system had to transport the manned capsule out of the danger zone the test is deemed a success even if one of the 3 parachutes fails. in order to clear this important hurdle the rescue system's newly developed thrusters were fired on a test stand. the

crew members for the 1st flight to the i assess were selected years ago christopher ferguson will need the trio. the space shuttle era ended with his last flight his next one is hoped to open a new chapter in american space travel if there are no further delays he and his crew could head to the sense in 2020. 5 are you go from on. the earth controlled or go. back and. let's give you a modern now of our top stories at this hour 2 volunteer firefighters have died in australia while battling one of the more than 100 bush fires raging across the state of new south wales prime minister scott morrison has apologized for being away on holiday during the crisis is now a swale. russia ukraine and the european union have agreed in principle on a new gas deal starting january 1st the current deal regulating the transit of

russian gas are ukraine's in europe expires at the end of the year. eco africa is up next with a look at how humpback whales are making a comeback in south africa this is the w. news live from berlin i'm brian thomas with the entire team thanks so much for being.

absolutely. eco africa. they are garbage and there are not many construction materials. for to. use the garbage like coke bottles to milk. this is just all the hormones i hear. a simple solution for

a serious problem the be cold comfort go next to a couple. ceiling lights that can send an e-mail a floor lamp that can stream a fellow. called alarmist network that uses my. sounds like science fiction. why fine the internet like. to go to 60. 0. shit head of things this is your new ball speaking let come to the show with a ding dong yeah ya concerts. with illustrations give.

and then incredible location. 2 such groups every week on t.w. . howdo on a warm welcome to this new edition of the co-op into the environment magazine that brings you topic some all over africa and europe i am now outside with coming to you from lagos nigeria and joining me from uganda is my colleague sandra. yes today's still takes us on another sunday of course of the go on to a new.