it's really disappointing looking forward to seeing if you always want to see the blue mountains such a shame when we. all know it's like this. but that problem is small compared to the challenge firefighters in new south wales are set to face at the weekend after a brief spite securing a few days of damper weather over christmas temperatures are again expected to soar bringing new risks. that's going to bring not just the heat of the service we're going to see the temperatures up into the larger mid forty's across a lot of areas but it's going to bring a very draw as well so that's going to elevate far by inches and we know the winds are going to start turning around to the west in the northwest which is war so much work is going going on over this last week while conditions are more more out. some 70 fires are burning near sydney new south wales more than 1000 firefighters and now the military action across the state trying to contain the fires and prevent them from reaching more inhabited areas. where just putting it back in time and law in detroit prevent the fallout from getting

the country areas that are really suffering in the moment the fires are still burning in the blue mountains west of sydney and also to the south of sydney as well many firefighters here that hardly had a day off since christmas and many of not spent any time with the families and so christmas during a so far crews themselves getting increasingly exhausted and others who are standing by and visit the are making sure that they're really just in case another potential crisis emerges when roger you yourself are in sydney etc its largest city fire around 5000000 people live there tell us how these bushfires are affecting daily life. well not so bad in sydney at the moment which is enjoyed a couple of very very pleasant duis i must say with blue skies and temperatures around the mid twenty's or but it's to the west of sydney in the blue mountains area and south of sydney too which are really big in which are really suffering not only the firefighters suffering but also of course the people who live that interest in the mirror of the blue mountains admitted today that the crisis is really taking i

dense the impact on people's health can be serious smoldering ruins in the town of lythgoe in the blue mountains. there's a. lot of. logs last year. you. know. the village of balmoral has been almost entirely destroyed the fire came so fast steve harrison didn't have time to escape the day before i had actually built myself a small down the back. side to kill. just big enough for me to crawl inside my head in there for half an hour before. saturday was catastrophic sunday less so it was cooler firefighters could make some progress in containing fires but the fire chief made very clear the crisis is far from over. we've got to keep in mind that we're not expecting any rainfall to mike any meaningful difference for those 4 hours until january january february that's the way to go i was still talking 4 to 6 weeks at best before we start to see a meaningful reprieve in the weather australia has already been fighting wildfires for months extreme heat and drought brought about an early start to the fire season challenging weeks still lie ahead for the public and the firefighters who are battling not o

earlier on in your report those fires are still raging in the blue mountains and also to the south of sydney is world many firefighters here hardly had any time the tools that were that them is over the christmas holiday and so the stress and the exhaustion of that is certainly beginning to take its toll and you know those the those fun and the fun of fighters who've managed to get a few days off to try to conserve their energy for what my worldly another is to very serious situation developing particularly on sunday and monday ok i can only imagine the stress and fatigue with no end in sight as it would seem present roger maynard thanks for that. time now to take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. russia's defense minister says its new intercontinental hypersonic missiles became operational on friday the kremlin says the missiles travel up to 27 times the speed of sound and can make sharp turns allowing them to evade missile intercept systems. in the gulf of oman iran has begun naval exercises with its russian and chinese allies the drills are taking pl

to bushfires blue mountains are also causing problems you say extraordinary levels of destruction you're talking about here the prime minister has now apologized after returning from his holiday in hawaii given the situation how's that gone down with australians. well particularly world i mean australians are basically pretty silly cool people and they have girl talk of politicians particularly politicians all prime ministers ago and all it's all like this he's been criticized who do 'd a certain extent on social media to do it in the newspapers here and these are a lot of pressure politically so he's pulling out all the stops to. try to in advance his image this morning you went to the rules for service of quarters and certainly don't all the offices there for there are it works at a press conference he didn't accept criticism. apologize for any offense caused by his absence over the past week or writes for jim maynard in sydney thank you so much. now the afghan president ashraf ghani appears to be heading for a 2nd term according to preliminary results wrist released a short while ago

and i actually left the blue mountains with valuable things, because there's a fire there as well.ins, that's, like, in that whole greater sydney region, it's still very, very real. the fire is still coming. it's five kilometres from my house down there. and how the community rallies together, it just does. in times like this, it's when the leadership has to come from the community. the important stuff comes from the community. and comes from the firefighters and the community does support the firefighters so much more than the government does. i want to ask you about that, because you are a climate activist, you have done some work with the extinction rebellion group, the movement. what kind of hope, what kind of message, do you want from the government, and what do you want them to do? what action do you want them to take? we want them to stop mining and burning and exporting coal and actually transition to renewable energy. there is so much available in terms of the different technologies that have been created. they are still continuing to say that in order to have a strong eco

thank you, fill in the blue mountains west of sydney. of the other stories making the news. the queen will attend the state opening of parliament in london later following last week's general election. with the conservative party enjoying a healthy majority, the focus of its legislative programme will be the bill to approve the withdrawal agreement to leave the european union and additional funding for the national health service. five members of a prominent political family have been found guilty of ordering the killing of dozens of people in the southern phillipine province of maguindanao, 10 years ago. the maguindanao massacre was intended to prevent a political rival from challenging the power of the ampatuan clan. gunmen shot dead 58 people included 32 local journalists. all mcdonald's restaurants in peru have closed for two days of mourning after the deaths of two teenagers on sunday. the young man and woman were electrocuted during their overnight cleaning shift at a branch in the capital, lima. peru's ministry of labour is to inv

phil mercer, bbc news at echo point in the blue mountains.ildlife migrating to the uk because of climate change. it's also warning that some of the country's native species were harmed by the varied weather during 2019. butterflies from the mediterranean were seen along the south coast of england, but water voles and seabirds suffered because of heavy rainfall in the north. fiona lamdin is at the ebworth estate in gloucestershire. it is not all bad news, fiona? now the fog has lifted we can see where we are, 600 acres of beech trees and some of them are 400 years old. they are being affected, as much as the wildlife is by the mixed weather. the start was very warm and it has been a wet, tail end to the year. a mixture for the habitats. we have been to the other side of the country to cambridgeshire to wicken fen to see how they are faring there. are they mallards? yes. this is thought to be the oldest nature reserve in the uk. back in the day we would get one or two individuals, now into the thousands. over the last two decades they have doub

phil mercer, bbc news, at echo point in the blue mountains.nfrastructure which could be damaged or contaminated by ash. that includes that warragamba dam — which provides 80 % that includes the warragamba dam — which provides 80 % of the water used by sydney‘s 5 million residents. the dam is currently less than half full, after an extended drought. the government has announced that from april thousands of nhs patients, visitors and staff will benefit from free parking at hospitals in england. most visitors to hospitals in scotland, wales and northern ireland are already exempt from charges. james waterhouse reports. for specific groups. so from april, all 206 hospital trusts in england will be expected to get free parking to those described as being in the greatest need. this includes blue badge holders, frequent visitors to outpatient clinics, patients of sick children staying overnight and staff working night shifts. let‘s not forget, hospitals make a lot of cash from parking. according to freedom of information request, trusts in england la

with valuable things because there is a fire there as well and down in the blue mountains, and thatis still coming, five kilometres from my house and how the community rallies together, itjust does stop in times like this, it is where the leadership has to come from the community. the important stuff co m es from the community. the important stuff comes from the community and comes from the firefighter and the community supports the firefighters so community supports the firefighters so much more than the government does. allee willis, who co—wrote the theme song for the sitcom, friends, has died at the age of 72. ms willis won grammies for other work, but she's still best known for penning the long—running theme song. danny aeberhard looks back at her life and work. it was the late 1970s, and though they might not have known it, people across the world were strutting their stuff to allee willis. boogie wonderland, the disco anthem she co—wrote for earth, wind and fire. she also worked with the band members on another of their classics, september. allee willis was born in detroit, t

why the story is going repeated in so many areas of australia at the moment you know in in the blue mountains and in south west of sydney we've got this sort of christened of flame and circling a lot of the outer regions. and no one can really stop it basically roger briefly as you heard in the piece that we just ran with hundreds of fires burning you says many of the damage has hardly started just how bad do authorities fear the damage actually is. well no one can really say i mean at the moment we know that 800 homes were lost because of the person damage to your knowledge the death toll is no that's not and in addition to that you know dozens of people have been injured many of them fighters on the job so there's that to sit through as well and then there's the damage to the land that got something like 7000000 to lend or up to 3 mm lens destroyed in the past month or so alone as well aaron end will have to stop it there very much roger maynard in sydney thank you so much. germany has strongly objected to u.s. sanctions against the north stream to gas pipeline from russia to germany the sa

drop in temperature and that certainly helped firefighters who've been battling blazes in the blue mountains now for most of the weekend is help them to gain some degree of control although a limited amount of control because these fires are so immense earlier today we heard of another potential disaster in an area south west of sydney in a little town called balmoral which has a population of about $400.00 of the prime minister and the state premier of wind to this particular part of the world earlier on today and and and the work was that although no one's actually been allowed back into the village yet that most of the village has been lost such was the false claims overnight and that's why the story is going to repeat it is so many areas of australia at the moment you know even in the blue mountains and in southwest of city we've got this sort of christened of flame and circling a lot of the outer regions. and no one can really stop it basically that was journalist roger maynard in sydney speaking to us a short while ago germany has strongly objected to u.s. sanctions against the north s

here for the past few weeks but that's the good news is the bad news is that a mega fire in the blue mountains west of sydney continues to reach through bush land and this morning there are also details of averting of another major fire loss in south australia at cuddly creek in the adelaide hills it's now known that 70 homes have been destroyed there and $227.00 motor vehicles and in another major fire which you were alluding to were just now worst of sydney the small community of lowell has been literally devastated by a ferocious blaze overnight which seems to have destroyed much of the village now balmoral is home to about 400 people i was very close there only yesterday a lovely part of the world normally but many of the $150.00 houses are not believed to be lost i will say where 2 bushfires blue mountains are causing problems you say extraordinary levels of destruction you're talking about here the prime minister has now apologized after returning from his holiday in hawaii given the situation how's that gone down with australians. well not particularly well i mean australians are basica

from right across new south wales which are focusing on it on areas rather a rotter around the blue mountains west of sydney and northern sydney around the hawks free area and down on the south coast of new south wales around joe spy in sussex inlet there with a number of blazes continuing to burn threatening properties right across as far grounds can you give us an idea of how bad the damage has been over the past 24 hours look at this stage we're still trying to ascertain the damage certainly of the last 12 hours where were you saying reports of widespread property loss especially through the blue mountains and in some south western sydney around the the. area and the human heart eyesight will assess those overcoming dies we are largely talking in excess of $23.00 to potentially even 50 harms destroyed unfortunately we still have one person which is unaccounted for and hopefully tomorrow will form some some good news but certainly you know a grim harvest if for a number of reports from from that area in north western sydney secondly huge pressure on the firefighters not to mention the peopl

why the story is going to repeat is so many areas of australia at the moment you know in the blue mountains and in southwest of city we've got this sort of christened of flame and certainly a lot of the outer reaches. and no one can really stop it basically dreamless roger maynard in sydney speaking to us just a short while ago now to some of the other stories making news around the world. in hong kong police and activists have clashed at a sit in against china's treatment of it's a weaker ethnic minority police were seen striking protesters with baton making arrests the protesters say china is abusing an estimated one to 2000000 we are muslims detained in camps beijing denies the abuse at least 18 prisoners have been killed while riding in a jail in honduras the fighting broke out in a prison located in the northern port town of tele rep or relatives of the dead prisoners gathered to collect the bodies for burial. ashraf ghani seems headed for a 2nd term as president of afghanistan according to preliminary results he won september's election with just over half of the vote the announcement

last 12 hours where were you saying reports of widespread property loss especially through the blue mountains and in some south western sydney around the the. area and hume harbor eyesight will assess those overcoming dies we are likely talking in excess of $23.00 to potentially even 50 harms destroyed unfortunately we still have one person which is on accounted for and hopefully tomorrow will form some some good news but certainly you know a grim harvest if for a number of reports from from that area in north western sydney huge pressure on the firefighters not to mention the people whose whose homes are being affected by this is there any relief in sight as whole. ulick think fully this in the is always or a catastrophic fire danger is that we saw yesterday you want to spread across the sydney and southern parts of new south wales that has now aged once we still the southerly change comes through the drop temperatures and very quickly some 20 degrees celsius we did say those winds obviously continue to give us issues but i have since had bided in southern parts of new south wales which is r

just thought you might expect at one of australia's most popular tourist sites visitors to the blue mountains west of sydney afford to wear face masks as a smoke from a nearby bush for ice fills the ask the iconic rock formations are barely visible in the hades. it's really disappointing to really looking forward to seeing you always want to see the flame out in search such a shame when we've kind although it looks like this. but that problem is small compared to the challenge firefighters in new south wales are set to face at the weekend. after a brief spite securing a few days of damp a weather over christmas temperatures there again expected to soar bringing new risks. that's going to bring not just the heat of the service we're going to see the temperatures up into the larger mid forty's across a lot of areas but it's going to bring a very dry air as well so that's going to elevate far beyond just and we know the winds are going to start turning around to the west in the northwest which is war so much work is going going on over this last week while conditions are more more out. some 70 f

here in the blue mountains of sydney authorities are facing off against a number of challenging factors there's the extreme heat and the strong winds but also the low humidity and that is putting lives and property at risk here in the blue mountains it's worth bearing in mind that this is not just bushland this is a residential area and i'm speaking to you from a residence back yard here in black he would joined now by richard smith who has been a local in this area for a number of years richard tell us what does it feel like to see your community go through something like this it's really horrible it's really frightening it's getting really bad now and it's been we haven't no one's being a slave and it's paying because it can just flare up at any time during the night. and richard what is your plan residents here have been told i will. saying because it's just getting too bad now it's too windy and it's going to close richard thank you and what we have just heard from authorities here in the community of blackheath they're advising that the safest thing for residents to do at this mome

just go washington is in the blue mountains that's west of sydney just give us a sense of what's happening where you are hell things might be fearing elsewhere in the country as well. sand this is not just a crisis for the state of new south wales which is a strangely its most populous state this is a crisis that's being felt also in the neighboring states of south australia and victoria but here on the ground in the blue mountains this has been one of the key areas of focus for authorities there are a number of fires burning here and this is an incredibly fast moving situation if you take a look at where we are just in this surrounding area the area is blanketed in smoke the heat is so intense here that it's actually creating its own weather systems you see those clouds there that's the result of the fires here we have been speaking with residents on the ground and they have been telling us that these conditions while of course bushfires are a normal part of the summer what we are facing at this moment in time is unprecedented. and how are things going to look from here as well because yo

i left the blue mountains with valuable things because there is a fire there is well.in the bl mountains, if the whole greater sydney region it is still very real or it the re is still coming. y is five kilometers from house. how the community rallies together, it just does. in times like this, it is when the leadership has to come from the community. the community.uff comes from and it comes from the tefirefi. the community supports them so much more than the government does. activists.u are a climate you have done work with the movement.n rebellion gro, the what kind of hope, what kind of message do you want from the government? what you want them to do? what action you want them to take? >> we want them to stop mining and burning coal and transition to the renewable energy. there is so much available in terms of the technologies that have been created. they are still continuingsa t that in order to have a strong economy, we need to keep ndilding the coal industry lot of people continue to believe that. they think that in order for us to have a strong economy, we nee

i have always wanted to see the blue mountains. it is s such a shame t to see it like this. >> but that problem is small compared to the challenge firefighters in new south wales are set to face over the weekend. after a brief respite, temperatures are again expected to soar, bringing new risks. >> that is going to bring not just heat, but temperatures into the 40's across a lot of areas. there will be a lot of dry air as well. that will help. the wind will start turning out to the west and northwest, which is why so much work is going on. conditions arere more e mild. >> some 70 fires are burning. more than n 1000 firefighters ad military are in action to try to contain the fires, prevent them from reaching more inhabited areas. >> they are just putting in a contaiainment line to try toto p the fire from heading toward coastal villages. >> more than 850 homes have been destroyed. authorities are working to protect infrarastructure surrounding a vital dam west of sydney that provides water to 4 million people. it could be at risk i

what would be the largest deployment ever seen where jessica washington is joining us from the blue mountains which are west office sydney new south wales jessica one of 3 states on high alert and authorities bracing for worsening conditions what they're calling catastrophic conditions. elizabeth that's right this situation is incredibly volatile and authorities say it is a dynamic one and people must be aware of their surrounding it's the combination of 3 factors today on saturday which makes the situation so dangerous for crews on the ground it's that. stream heat that's coming from the heat wave which is affecting not only new south wales but also the neighboring states of south australia and victoria but the other factors are of course the low humidity and also the strong winds these are the factors which crews mostly bowl and she is a battling as they face these fires today and just as we know as we've been reporting 2 volunteer firefighters have been code 8 people killed and that's a total death toll from the bushfires so what is far she's telling people. lose of it these fires have bee

phil mercer, bbc news in bilpin, the blue mountains.of his family in south—west london on christmas eve has been named as swedish national flamur beqiri. police say the 36—year—old man was attacked in battersea as the family returned home from a night out. no arrests have been made and detectives are continuing to appeal for information. in israel the prime minister is facing a political struggle, his party is choosing a new leader, because the country is about to face its third general election in a year. there has been a united front behind him despite a lot of problems in the past year including two elections after which he was unable to form a government and then charges of corruption. against him was that he is very popular still, a lot of loyalty to him, but this is beginning to show a crack, and that is a challenge that is not expected to unseat him necessarily, that would be a big upset, but one that shows disquiet among some members of the party. not senior members publicly, but there isa senior members publicly, but there is a

visitors to a famous rock formation in the blue mountains took photographs in front of the sign, afters obscured by smoke. i've always wanted to see the blue mountains, so it's such a shame that when we've come, it looks like this. a bit disappointed, we came into sydney, the first couple of days, there was a lot of smoke and smoke haze. it made us cough a little bit, especially at night. trade is way, way down, and i'm doing about a third of what i would normally do at this time of year. i think that is the same for everyone. this is usually the busiest time of year for australia's tourism industry. and despite the hot conditions and smoke in sydney, more than one million people are expected to attend the infamous fireworks display for new year's eve. the famous fireworks display for new year's eve. courtney bembridge, bbc news. chile's president sebastian pinera has set a referendum for the 26th of april, to decide whether the country's constitution should be changed. he's agreed to the vote after more than two months of anti—government protests. they've taken their toll on the econo

phil mercer, bbc news, in bilpin, the blue mountains.ks the century of women being accepted into the legal profession. during that time, the number of women practising law has increased. however, figures show that they still hold less than 25% of the top jobs. sian lloyd has been finding out about some of the changes that have taken place. and i'm introduced to somebody very charming, very pleasant, and they'll say, "what do you do?" and i'll say, "well, i'm a judge," and quick as a flash, they'll say, "do you work in family?" it tells you a lot, doesn't it, about subconscious assumptions that are still being made that we need to battle against. this piece of art is an emblem of how the change has happened and how the future has got to be different because law has to reflect the world that we live in, and it's getting there. the first—ever artwork commissioned to celebrate women's contribution to the legal profession, marking the centenary of them being allowed to practise law. unveiled in the supreme court, a legacy to those who paved t

firefighters in australia are battling to contain blazes in the blue mountains national park that's west of sydney hundreds of bush fires have been raging across the country for months now conditions are getting worse temperatures in new south wales are set to top 40 degrees. now it's to the story of death squads that allegedly silence the voices of dissent in the former soviet republic of belarus 3 opposition politicians banished there 20 years ago without a trace now belarus has been ruled by this man president alexander lukashenko for more than 2 decades the disappearances came as he rose to power and put in place a system that does not tolerate opposition the missing men include this individual he's the former interior minister yuri zaka rango now there was speculation at the time that the president had ordered him killed now in an exclusive interview w. has spoken with the man who says he was part of the death squad that carried out the order. beauty good of skiis living in a central european country and is seeking asylum that. in a deitsch avella exclusive he tells us about his tim

firefighters in australia are battling to contain a blazes in the blue mountains national park west of sydney hundreds of bush fathers have been raging across the country for months conditions are getting was temperatures in new south wales all set to top 40 degrees celsius. when i go i will summits has started in geneva aimed at finding better ways to support the world's growing number of refugees is the 1st meeting of its kind it brings together politicians business leaders and those affected people who have been forced to leave their homes the u.n. says persecution and war have forced 26000000 people around the world to flee their homelands almost half come from just 3 countries we're talking about syria afghanistan and south sudan and before the conflict in syria the single largest refugee population was palestinians now most refugees live in countries bordering their own some spend their whole lives in camps like that up in a kenya like mohammed from somalia who we meet in office report. mohamed he has come to pray at his father's grave hidden away in one of the biggest refugee ca

visitors to a famous rock formation in the blue mountains took photographs in front of the sign after wanted to see the blue mountains so it's such a shame that, when we came, it looks like this. a bit disappointed. we came into sydney and the first couple of days, there was a lot of smoke and smoke haze. it made us cough a little bit, especially at night. trade is way, way down. i'm doing about a third of what i would normally do at this time of year. i think that's the same for everyone. this is usually the busiest time of year for australia's tourism industry. and despite the hot conditions and smoke in sydney, more thani million people are expected to attend the famous fireworks display for new year's eve. courtney bembridge, bbc news. in india, protests are continuing over the country's new citizenship law, which grants amnesty to illegal migrants from three countries, excluding muslims. since the law was passed, more than 20 people have died in clashes. most of them were from the northern state of uttar pradesh, from where our correspondent yogita limaye reports. in kanpur, a po

i've always wanted to see the blue mountains, so it's such a shame that, when we came, it looks like couple of days, there was a lot of smoke and smoke haze. it made us cough a little bit, especially at night. trade is way, way down. i'm doing about a third of what i would normally do at this time of year. i think that's the same for everyone. this is usually the busiest time of year for australia's tourism industry. and despite the hot conditions and smoke in sydney, more than1 million people are expected to attend the famous fireworks display for new year's eve. courtney bembridge, bbc news. emergency services in the us state of hawaii say they've found the wreckage of a tour helicopter that went missing on thursday, carrying seven people, including the pilot. members of two families are thought to have been on board the flight. debris from the helicopter was found in a remote area of hawaii's koke'e state park. emergency crews said the crash site is consistent with known routes ta ken by helicopter tour companies in the region. the cause of the crash remains unclear and an investi

visitors to a famous rock formation in the blue mountains took photographs in front of the sign aftermountains so it's such a shame that, when we came, it looks like this. a bit disappointed. we came into sydney and the first couple of days, there was a lot of smoke and smoke haze. it made us cough a little bit, especially at night. trade is way, way down. i'm doing about a third of what i would normally do at this time of year. i think that's the same for everyone. this is usually the busiest time of year for australia's tourism industry. and despite the hot conditions and smoke in sydney, more than1 million people are expected to attend the famous fireworks display for new year's eve. courtney bembridge, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why drink—driving risks more than merely blurred vision — on the streets of paris. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got under way with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today. and then we'll be in france and again, it will be the sa

phil mercer, bbc news in bilpin, the blue mountains.hot dead on christmas eve, was killed in front of his family as they returned home from a night out. police were called to reports of shots being fired in battersea church road at about 9pm on tuesday and found a 36—year—old man with gunshot wounds. no arrests have been made and detectives are continuing to appeal for information. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, is a facing a vote today, for his leadership of the likud party, from long—time rival, gideon saar. it's said to be the biggest challenge mr netanyahu has faced to his 20 year rule of likud. yesterday evening a rocket fired from the gaza strip, interrupted a party rally in the border town of ashkelon. the prime minister and his wife were escorted from the stage, after sirens went off. 0ur middle east correspondent, barbara plett usher, is injerusalem. she explained a little earlier, why support for benjamin netanyahu could be showing signs of weakening. there has been a united front in likud behind him, despite

phil mercer, bbc news in bilpin, the blue mountains.njamin netanyahu has led his likud party with an iron grip — but now he faces a challenge to his leadership. more than 100,00 members of israel's governing party, are eligible to vote on whether the veteran prime minister should lead them into the next election. barbara plett usher reports from jerusalem. the man who would be king. gideon saar has issued the most serious challenge to the party in a decade. i feel a great awakening on the ground. people understand that a change has to come today. with the help of god, together we will make that change today. he once party members to vote for change because he says he wants party members to vote for change because he says the prime minister failed to form a government after two general elections and has no chance of doing so in a third. there is a growing sense of disquiet. this is an important day because there hasn't been any voting for this party for the past five years. there is a feeling of decay in the democracy from within the par

phil mercer, bbc news in bilpin, the blue mountains.tacey to our tv screens saw the highest christmas day ratings for more than a decade. more than 11 million people tuned in for the show‘s christmas special comeback, according to initial figures. seven of the top ten most watched programmes yesterday were made by the bbc. 0ur correspondent, lizo mzimba, said the success of gavin and stacey was a huge win for the corporation. the biggest overnight audience of the year. the biggest christmas day overnight audience for more than a decade, since 2008. in recent years, the story we have been telling is of christmas day viewing figures slowly declining on terrestrial tv but gavin and stacey has really reversed that trend this year. unlike most of the recent offerings on recent christmas days, this related feel like event, must see television. the first new episode for nine years, unlike for instance, just having festive editions of shows which are regular parts of the fixtures. this felt like something really special for audiences. it's also

i've always wanted to see the blue mountains, so in such a shame that when we've come, it looks likeme into sydney, the first couple of days, there was a lot of smoke and smoke haze. it made us cough a little bit, especially at night. trade is way, way down, and i'm doing about a third of what i would normally do at this time of year. i think that is the same for everyone. this is usually the busiest time of year for australia's tourism industry. and despite the hot conditions and smoke in sydney, more than1 million people are expected to attend the infamous fireworks display for new year's eve. courtney bembridge, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news... the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has won a clear victory in a leadership contest for the likud governing party. he'll now lead the party into ageneral election in march, israel's third within a year. building contractors hired to refurbish the headquarters of the british secret service m16 in london, have had their contract terminated, after losing a set of floor plans. the documents

across the state in what will be the largest deployment ever seen just a washington news in the blue mountains west of sydney just bring us up to date on where things are at the moment jessica. we'll see what we do know is that this is an incredibly fast moving situation and the area where we were just moments ago was blanketed in smoke and that smoke is spreading over this blue mountains region but across the greatest city region as well residents in blackheath where we are have just received a text they've just received an alert from emergency services here saying that the safest thing to do at this moment is to move on to a neighboring suburb if their path is clear now we're joined now by one blackheath president richard smith richard thank you for speaking with us tell me a bit about how it must feel for you as as a resident of blackheath at this moment do you assess a lot of pressure things already as it's bank officer along now and you can't sleep and this is where you know over. and what's what's your plan richard what are you planning and what a little bit if it gets too much worse i'm

there is jessica washington reports on the blue mountains west of sydney where many fear the worst is still to come. this is usually one of sydney's most popular tourist attractions the normally picturesque blue mountains bordering the outskirts of the city. much of it now decimated by bushfires but. they've been burning across large parts of australia for months now with flames as high as 70 metres high in this region alone has destroyed an area 7 times the size of singapore. but this isn't just bush land it's home for thousands of australians fire crews are working tirelessly to protect residents robert beecroft is a former volunteer firefighter he's seen many bushfires in his time but this one is different for being here for 67 years i've seen a lot of for sure the mountains actually in my younger days for quite a few forms. i haven't seen so many out of control back to the b. crops like so many families here face a difficult choice leave everything behind or stay and potentially put themselves in danger it's a little bit stressful but you just got to remain positive us suppose it'

this is amount for courier in the blue mountains, —— mount victoria.e is coming from the ruined castle bushfire which has been burning for weeks and weeks and driving up from syd ney weeks and weeks and driving up from sydney earlier today, one major hwy up sydney earlier today, one major hwy up into the blue mountains and when you get here, it is smothered in smoke, you can feel it, you can swell it and the smoke is everywhere and sometimes it feels pretty overpowering. we are quite close to the town of keith and they have been serious fires in the last week or so. “— serious fires in the last week or so. —— blackheath. early next week dangerous conditions likely to return, very hot temperatures and very dry winter. there has been a lull in the last few days, milder conditions helping the firefighting effo rts conditions helping the firefighting efforts but this is set to intensify again in the coming days. bad weather, black friday deals and online sales are being blamed for a fall in the number of boxing day shoppers. analysts said the number of peo