>> anger in france after expulsion of a 15-year-old roma girl. demonstrations are beginning about france's interior minister. the top ranking general has been killed by rebel forces, one of assad's inner circle was in charge of military security in eastern syria. new south wales battles bushfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes. the situation is described as very dynamic and dangerous. thank you for joining us.

in australia, dozens of wildfires continued to burn out of control. wildfires raging in new south wales that marked an early start for the annual fire season of poverty killed one person, destroyed dozens of houses, and forced hundreds of evacuations. milder conditions helped firefighters after unseasonably hot temperatures and strong winds which fanned the flames of the fire's now threatening towns around sydney. >> the morning after, residents survey the damage. bushfires destroyed hundreds of homes in new south wales. overnight, around 2000 firefighters battled massive flames in australia's most populous state. >> the fire activity reported was extreme. we had flames in excess of 30 meters. >> as the sky turned orange locals gathered at an evacuation

center. >> you suddenly sort out your priorities real quick. >> at least one man did not get to safety in time. the 63-year-old died trying to protect his home. most were not willing to take the same risk. >> you do your best. it gets to the stage where you realize you cannot do anymore and you go. you take what you can and go. in my case, it was the dog. >> the prime minister visited one of the worst hit regions 70 kilometers west of sydney. >> today is a much quieter day than yesterday but this is a fire emergency which could go on for quite some time. we grieve for everyone impacted by these fires. >> friday the mild conditions helped firefighters, but high temperatures and strong wind are

forecast to return over the weekend. scores of fires are still burning. many which authorities say a raging out of control. >> in france, more student protests are kicking off as anger grows over the expulsion of a 15-year-old roma girl. she and her family were denied asylum after several years in france. they were sent back to goes a vote earlier this month. several hundred french teenagers erected barricades outside their schools and marched through paris to protest the expulsion of immigrant families and express their anger over the controversy will asylum policy. our reporter has been having a look at the plight of roma children in france, the hurdles they have to jump through to get into school, and the difficulties they face staying there. >> it is 7:00 a.m. at this roma camp in northern france. time for the children to get up for school. >> are you going to get ready

for school? >> he is in his first year of primary school. he is driven there in the same then he sleeps in. but his sisters will not make it in today. >> it is very difficult because i do not have running water or a shower to wash the kids. i do not have a washing machine to wash our clothes. the girls are not going to school today because they have not got anything to wear that is clean. >> heading in education is not simple. to earn a place at the proper school as it is known to the roma, first he has to learn french. lessons for many roma children take place in local schools. >> we do not have much idea of their previous schooling in romania. one or teed up of my current

peoples are just starting to learn to read. age 11 and 12. so we can assume that their education has not been normal. >> classes and the fans only last a few months, preparing people for education in traditional schools. only about 1/3 of the children in the camps are educated. many who go to school often find their educations interrupted by repeated exclusions from class. he's managing to keep his attendance up. >> he has a certificate that says he goes to school. that goes in our file, the file that could help us get a house here. >> he is only seven, but he knows his family's future in france rests on his shoulders as well as his father's hopes for a better life. >> for more on the protests

getting underway in the french capital, we speak to our reporter. james, thank you for joining us. the protests are due to be kicking off shortly. tell us about the atmosphere around you. >> a few thousand high school students are here today to demonstrate. we have been speaking to a few of them. they say they want the interior minister to step down. others are simply here to show support and ask for these two young french high school goers to be reintegrated in these schools. they were sent out recently, expelled from france. what is happening also is the government is backing the minister on these expulsions. what is being studied is not only for school to be a

sanctuary but also all the activities around school, so there might be a slight modification in the way these expulsions are handled. for the time being -- [no audio] for the government, including the minister of education he has asked for all peoples to go back to school and not stop the other students -- to not prevent them from studying. >> james, this kicked off with the expulsion of the young roma girl when she was taken off the bus on october 9. thanks to the highlighting of an ngo, it has snowballed into a real political crisis for the french government. >> yes indeed. we have these demonstrations that started yesterday. it is sparking off a rather important debate in france. for the moment, the government is supporting the minister. he is also number one in the

polls as far as the government popularity is concerned. he is around 60% when francois hollande is only around 25% so indeed he is one of the most popular ministers in france. this issue of expelling high school goers is becoming quite an issue here. as i was saying, what the government is thinking about is changing the rules of these expulsions and making school a sanctuary where it is impossible to expel students from. but also the buses and all activities related to school. >> james will continue to cover the demonstrations throughout the day. thank you. it is an issue that has bitterly divided not just the french parliament but also french society for much of the last year. a bill allowing gay marriage was signed into law in may.

the issue is once again under the spotlight. today the constitutional council ruled french mayors could not refuse to marry same-sex couples on the grounds of what their consciences allowed. those opposed to gay marriage have vowed to return to the streets. >> may 20 9, 2013 -- may 29 2013, an historic day for france. a beefy -- they became the first gay marriage in france. their joy was shared by some politicians. >> i wish them every happiness. at the same time, i told them i hope they would be quickly forgotten in the wake of other gay marriages in france. now there is opposition from officials against the law. >> little more than a month

before, france had legalized gay marriage, making it the 14th country in the world to do so. while many celebrated the news others reacted with anger their protests often turning violent. opponents to the law, including catholic groups, the conservative party, and extreme right wingers argue gay marriage devalues society and family life. >> just because the law was passed we should be silenced? we cannot speak about the family? just because the law was passed, we can no longer speak of our convictions of what we should pass on to our children? no. >> a group of marriage sought -- mayors sought the right to not conduct the marriage is on the grounds it would go against their moral beliefs. they brought the case to the constitutional council. on friday, the highest judicial authority ruled mayors would not be able to opt out of marrying same-sex couples.

the mayors have said they will take their case to the european court of human rights. >> to italy where commuters have been facing travel chaos in rome with transport workers on strike. they have taken out two streets. some protesters gathered close to the station with a planned demonstration to coincide with the strike by transport workers. in syria, rebel snipers have killed a top ranking general in the country's military intelligence. major jamal was shot in the eastern city of the province largely held by opposition forces. he was in charge of military intelligence and within the close circle of bashar assad. we spoke to our correspondent in beirut who told us more. >> he was the head of military intelligence.

he is a man among the syrian generals seen as particularly close to president assad and as such, a feared figure among those who support the opposition in the country. he was associated by the united states and european union with the crackdown on the uprising and violence against civilian populations. they both imposed individual sanctions on him as a person. his name also came up a few years ago in connection with the killing of the former prime minister of lebanon. he was questioned by you and investigators looking into the killing that happened in 2005. at the time, he was a senior security figure in lebanon. they had troops here and controlled lebanon politically. he was questioned but not charged. >> what about the geneva talks we have been hearing so much about?

the international community continues to push for talks they hope could put an end to the conflict which has gone on for so long. there is doubt among the opposition about whether it should take part. >> that is right. this came over the last couple of days after the deputy prime minister announced what he called tentative dates for the conference on november 23 and 24. there has been no confirmation from the united states or russia although the attribute of those dates to the head of the human -- u.n. they have not received confirmation from the united nations. the question is whether anyone will turn up from the other side. the syrian national coalition one of the main bodies of exile opposition, have cast doubts over whether they would attend, particularly the syrian national council. they want guarantees assad will leave when the transition comes.

no guarantees have been forthcoming. >> saudi arabia has turned down a rotating seat on the un security council. the foreign ministry cited double standards that made it hard for the world body to end conflict and wars. in particular, the ministry said the council had failed in his duties towards syria. it said this alleged failure is what has ensured president -- allowed president assad's regime to continue killing its people. in an exclusive interview with south africa's president, he has addressed concerns about the health of nelson mandela. speaking to our reporter, he said although his 95-year-old predecessor is still too ill to receive official visitors and faces challenges, he is doing relatively well. >> i think even the doctors

admitted he is a born fighter because i think he has been able to fight as he has done, and they really to a state where you were able to see progress. i think in a sense, he always does things you think other people could not do. even the doctors admitted he is an amazing kind of man. >> league action resumed with a tough trip to nice wanting to wipe away the defeat. he knows the first visit to the new riviera will be tough. >> it is going to be a difficult

much again. nice is playing with a lot of commitment. in their new stadium, they have made a good start in the championship. when we have faced each other, it has was been tough, very tight matches. that is something quite interesting for us, to play such big games because during the match you do not have much time to think. marseille are unbeaten on the road and have not lost on the last two visits. both sides hope to stay in touch with the leaders while nice hopes the new surroundings will boost them. they are enjoying the best start to the season. they are only six points clear of matching others. the top scorer says continuity is the key to success. >> when you look at our

development since they took over coaching duties, you can say we have been having a good streak with lots of wins. that has continued. we were able to carry it on to the season. for me, it was not surprising. but of course, it is a lot of work to show that from one game to the next. i think the team grows with success because you learn and get more experienced. of course, you also need a bit of luck, which we certainly have had a couple of times. through willpower, passing and fighting spirit, we have been able to show it is possible to win matches even when it is not going our way. for us, this has meant a streak we have been able to keep alive.

>> in their last game before the international break, they became only the second team this season to take points off of munich. he admits they rode their luck, but in time, only the score line will be remembered. >> we won our points from that match. everybody who watched new we did not create a lot of chances and were under pressure, and got lucky in the end as well. in a couple of weeks, nobody will talk about that. all they will see is the result of 1-1, and that is why we were content with the outcome. >> they traveled knowing how important it is to keep up the momentum if they are to challenge the top two. >> for us, the goal is to win. if that means we will go top of the standings, we will take that, of course.

it will be great to achieve that because it will show us we came out of the international break exactly how we entered it. >> domestic couple returns to germany after the world cup qualification. it is a chance to prove their credentials. top seed jo-wilfried tsonga reached the quarterfinals of the bn open -- vienna open. tsonga did not allow him to use the momentum as he closed out the match. tsonga is world number eight. if he stays in that position, it will be good enough to reach the year-end finals in london. in basketball, moscow have beaten the french newcomers.

it was a baptism of fire against last year's semifinalists, but the french challengers rose to the occasion. they fought back and their italian coach still looked worried. the champions used to great expense to hold onto their lead and the favorites one 62-59. -- won 62-59. >> ♪ >> today, outrage in france following the deportation of a roma girl. colombian artist show support for their farmers. showing off incredible football skills at the church.

high school students in paris leave the classrooms to pound the pavement. as you can see from these images circulated from social networks, students across france stage protests. one student union and network have been particularly instrumental in the protest movement posting an article describing the way in which she was treated. the 15-year-old roma student was arrested by police when she was on a school field trip so she could be expelled back to kosovo with her family. the story sparked heated debate online. countless web users have taken to twitter to post their outrage saying expulsion goes against the values of the french republic and those advocated by the ruling left.

they have been demanding the schoolgirl be allowed to return to france. others like the general delegates for theu.m.n. tea party say it follows the law and if the majority are not happy with the law, it should be changed. columbia's agricultural sector has been campaigning for weeks demanding additional subsidies from the authorities and reforms to the country's land policy. the nationwide movement has been perceiving -- receiving a great deal of online coverage and support from artists. well-known artists and committed activists come together and recently uploaded this track written for colombian farmers. they have celebrities literally singing the praises of the

agricultural sector reminding the government it is high time they paid attention to the farmers. >> ♪ >> the initiative has been given a warm reception on social networks where users have been posting to let authorities know they believe taking care of the farmers is of the utmost importance. they need to be able to continue working in decent and economically viable conditions. this particular project has inspired others. another group of artists has come to music to show support for colombian farmers. it features a number of well- known faces singing about how important the agricultural tradition is to them. >> ♪ >> french web users have been slamming the government decision

to protect paris taxidrivers from the so-called tourist vehicles the french equivalent of minicamps. they will impose a 15 minute delay. lots of people in france think this is ridiculous and have taken to social networks to say as much with more than a hint of irony, imagining similar measures being implemented to protect postal mail from e-mail. the well-known swedish-based discount furniture stores often sound like heavy metal bands. the u.s. company has created a quiz where users have to guess. it is great fun. it will be very difficult to go to this concert because it is actually a stainless steel sink. >> ♪

>> to keep his guests entertained, the freestyler gave an impressive performance in the church where the wedding was taking place. it was a great way to get rid of nerves. you can check it out on this video doing the rounds the past few days. >> ♪

>> hello, and welcome to "the health show." today, it's all about india. the world's second most populous country, with its billion plus population, is facing some of the most serious health challenges on our planet. coming up, india's growing epidemic of diabetes, and the steps being taken to reduce it, both hi-tech and traditional.