she works for a swiss businessman named ernst mercer. mercer is an interesting character. as was the case so often with international businessmen in the 1930's. he is a double agent. he was recruited in the 1930's by german military intelligence and started supplying them with information because he moved between europe and the middle east with his business dealings. he was able to supply them with information. meanwhile, he had, as a young man, studied in england and had the same kind of affinity for the british that cicero had a dislike for the british. he was an anglophile. he did not mention that in his interview. he met an english playwright named somerset mom. he spent time in switzerland. while he was in switzerland, these two crossed paths and somerset says, you might want to take a look at doing some work for mi six. he jumped at the chance. that is how mercer became a double agent. he employed this younger polish girl as a housekeeper at his house, she worked there and she was befriended by ida and she became part of this circle of friends, this group of young pe

phil mercer, in sydney.fery who runs the wave 0cean b&b in mallacoota was forced to flee to the beach when the fires struck, and joins me now. just tell me, what is going on right now? well, it's evening now, so people are settling a little bit. behind us, it's still fire. fire trucks are filling up from the inland here, a bit of salt water. still trying to douse the fires. occasionally, another house goes, u nfortu nately. occasionally, another house goes, unfortunately. not just houses occasionally, another house goes, unfortunately. notjust houses but people we love and care about and it's their dreams going up in smoke. this is a beautiful, beautiful part of the world. we know the danger is when we live out in these areas. yes, it's been dry but these are eucalyptus forests. they've been selected by fires over many centuries. we know the dangers but the reality is we know it but we don't really know it. when it goes off, it's horrendous. i'mjust thinking, i don't want to ever go through this again. i thi

phil mercer, bbc news, bago, new south wales. phil mercer, bbc news, bargo, new south wales.hit a hurdle. nasa hopes the boeing starliner could be used to ferry passengers to and from the international space station — but a test flight in florida failed to go as planned. jonathan amos reports. and lift off for the starliner, a new era in human space flight. a new era perhaps, but notjust yet. boeing launched its starliner capsule on time from cape canaveral in florida, but the automated ship then failed to carry out its commands properly. when it came off the top of the rocket, it was supposed to fire its engines to increase its height. it did, but at the wrong time and for too long. the starliner put itself in the wrong part of the sky. it can no longer reach the space station and will have to come home. the american space agency has been overseeing the development of the capsule. nasa has provided milestone payments to help boeing bring the vehicle into operation. and despite the setback, the agency is staying positive. if we would've had crew in there, number one, they wou

phil mercer is in sydney.s to show the tensions in australia as the country battles these bushfires? a quarter of a million people signing this petition, what does this tell us about the extent of trauma that australia is going through at the moment? well, this is an unprecedented bushfire crisis. and in the next 2a hours a vast swathe of south—eastern australia, including the states of south australia, victoria, tasmania, new south wales are expected to face extreme fire dangers and also extreme fire dangers and also extreme heat. and we are hearing that one particular part of the state of victoria, a place called east gippsland, the authorities down there are urging all residents and all tourists to leave as soon as they can because of that extreme fire danger that is forecast for monday. here in new south wales more than 80 fires are still burning. here in sydney, that petition has attracted almost 300,000 signatures. we are on sydney harbour. we are not showing you at its best. there is a slight smoky haze

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.dition in hospital in new york state after a man wielding a machete, attacked people attending hanukkah celebrations. three others are also being treated for stab wounds. eyewitnesses said the attacker entered the home of a rabbi in monsey, with his face covered and began stabbing people. leigh milner has this report. it was supposed to be a night of celebration at this rabbi's house in monsey, just north of new york city, then this happened. someone came in, face covered with a scarf, started stabbing people. five people, in total, were stabbed. two of them were taken from the scene in a critical condition. equally, one of them is senior and in a very critical condition. according to the 0rthodoxjewish public affairs council, one of the victims was stabbed at least six times. it comes just a day after new york city police said officers were stepping up patrols in heavily jewish districts like monsey, after a spate of anti—semitic threats and attacks. we were scared, but we were not su

mercer reports from new south wales.l: koalas and other australian animals are the unseen victims of the fires. much of the habitat has been destroyed, and the survivors need all the help theyuean get. the xtent of australia's bushfire crisis gi gradually em, as the charred remains of devastated towns are inspec. nce the start of july, authorities here in new south wales say that almost 1000 homes have been destroyed by the bush fires. this property was devoured by flames that tore up through a gully. communities like this irlevised by fes that in many places recently burning out of control. >> we want to make sure you guys -- phil: the damage would be far oworse without the effortf volunteer firefighters. here in buxton, local seven showing appreciation to those who have been working round-the-clock to keep the town y. >> just overwhelming support. presents an stuff for the kids. christmas shopping already for my daughter. just thank you very much. phil: to boost the emergency efforts, the australian pcome minister s mo

mecer, bb -- phil mercer, news, new south wales.amantha: a news reporter at abc in sydney who has been covering the fires has the lest. >> luckily conditions have eased. we are seeing cooler weather across the country, and firefighters in new south wales have taken advantage of that. we have some 2000 firefighters in new south wales alone working on christmas day, ging up their time to basicalk to otect communities in and ar sndney and on the new south wales south coast. samantha: what kind of help and support are many hundreds of families getting? >> a lot of support through various government departments. we heard about the federal government giving leave to volunteers. we are also seeing many of the different government departments giving grants and a lot of volunteer organizations helping to giveomnities something is agreed to live in. 'reg seets and lots of people going to family and friends. really 1000 --nearly 1000 homes destroyed in new south wales alone. closed ijalisco around 4:00 last night. that was so people could go a

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.ctors workingith refugees on the greek island of lesb tell the bbc they are seeing more children self harming and attempting suicide. ere has been a spike in refugees arriving in recent months. lest are fleeing war. arly 18,000 pere living at a camp on lesbos built to house just 2000. you may find the details in this port upsetting. child, and yet the camp is home to more than 7000 of them. the vast majority of these children have fled war-torn countries and arrived here in europe, a place supposedly of humanity, safety, and securi.at the nearby children's emergency is unfolealth a 17-year-old boy slashed himself across his chest and arms overnight. his friend brought him in. a just asking if we can talk. reporter: this idly common scenhere. >> he is not worried. he talks about wantingino do this aga. reporter: more than 150 children have been referred to msf psychologists in the last two months alone, double the number from the summer. two of those children attempted suicide. the youn

this report from phil mercer in sydney contains lashing images. —— flashing images.n left in ruins by the bushfires. flames up to 40m high tore through bilpin in the blue mountains near sydney. the intensity and scale of the fire crisis have unnerved many australians. thousands have signed a petition calling on sydney to scrap its dazzling new year's eve fireworks display. they insist the event would be an insult and could traumatise some of those affected by the bushfires. the city's lord mayor, clover moore, said the fireworks were planned months in advance and that most of the budget had already been spent. so, barring catastrophic fire conditions in sydney on new year's eve, the event seems certain to go ahead. in between now and then, the authorities are warning of severe to extreme fire dangers across much of south—eastern australia. volunteers are a vital part of the emergency effort. many have been fighting the flames for weeks. the government says they will be able to apply for about £3,000 in compensation, for taking time off work to battle the blazes. this

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.ell, this is the shocking moment a fire and rescue truck was overrun by a bushfire burning in new south wales, with the crew being forced to shelter as the fire passed through. left, left, left! radio chatter copy. fires on the road already. jasper? jasper, put the blanket up. that is bravery. earlier, i spoke to david jeffery. he runs the wave 0cean b&b in mallacoota and had to seek refuge on the beach when the fires struck. i asked him what the situation was like now. well, it's evening now, so things are... ..people are settling a little bit. behind us, there's still active fire. that there is fire trucks filling up from the inland here, a bit of salt water and everything, still trying to douse the fires. occasionally, another house goes, unfortunately. notjust houses but people we love and care about and it's their dreams going up in smoke. this is a beautiful, beautiful part of the world. we know the dangers when we live out in these areas. yes, it's been dry, but these are eucaly

phil mercer's report contains flashing images from the start.over moore said she shared the deep sympathies of those who had signed the petition but stress the fireworks were planned months in advance and most of the budget had already been spent. so, barring catastrophic fire conditions in sydney on new year's eve, the event seems certain to go ahead. in between now and then, the authorities are warning of severe to extreme fire dangers across much of south—eastern australia. volunteers are a vital part of the emergency effort. many have been fighting the flames for weeks. the government says they will be able to apply for about £3,000 in compensation, for taking time off work to battle the blazes. this is a very prolonged fire season. this is putting additional demands on ourfirefighters in particular, and it means that the turn—outs, and the call—outs have been far more extensive than in previous years going well and beyond and above what is normally expected of those who are engaged in volunteer service. the money and the gesture from the go

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. in sydney with more on the areas most at risk. the story actually is in victoria at the moment, with the area of east gippsland, that is on the east coast of victoria, being under most threat. as of a couple of hours ago, a third fire emergency warning has been issued and we know two of the three fires in east gippsland have merged into a mega blaze. all through the morning we have seen videos on twitter of sirens sounding in some of these towns, of residents posting pictures of them leaving the area, of that main highway, being really crowded as tens of thousands of people aim to leave east gippsland. but authorities are saying the situation — it is now too late for people to leave area and they should take shelter where they are. we have the triple threat here, if you will, soaring temperatures of above a0 as you've mentioned, with that are very strong winds that could change direction, and dense, dry bushland, dry being the key word. the other concern is this is a very popular holi

thaeporter: mercer and hundrede s'tel. it spread quickly from the second floor. th we got the smell of smoke, we got to hearing people screaming, and looked out, it was just filled with smoke. >> reporter: officials say that 250 people were staying at the hotel, many of them already homeless, lost all they had. s we literally just started over again, and then lost everything all over again. ca reporter: the county sent out an urgent call for assistance. hundreds respond, showing up with diapers, blankets, clothes, shoes, and other supplies. they gave so much that some of it had to be turned away. ed minneapolis is awesome. sorry, it's kind of emotional. >> reporter: an overpowering and ngerwhelming show of support for the less fortunate. >> it let me know that there's heople who still really care about us here. >> reporter: county shelter ntams are work around the clock in an effort to help these oamilies find somewhere to stay as they believe that the drake hotel is a loss. officials say this fire could major. >> garrett: kate raddatz, thanks so much. this holid

phil mercer in sydney.ring back his eu withdrawal agreement bill to parliament on friday, but with a new clause that will make it illegal for mps to extend the post—brexit transition period beyond the end of next year. critics have accused him of putting a no—deal brexit back on the table. 0liver cornock, editor—in—chief at the oxford business group joins me now. good morning. are you surprised to hear about this tweak to the withdrawal agreement bill?|j hear about this tweak to the withdrawal agreement bill? i don't think it should really be a surprise in the sense that borisjohnson now has a much stronger mandate and a much stronger argument, a much stronger negotiating position. therefore, to have a edger on the table is arguably part of that process. he has critics will say that it process. he has critics will say thatitis process. he has critics will say that it is just going back to where we we re that it is just going back to where we were before, and anybody who felt that with a big mandate he might

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.ocking moment a fire and rescue truck was overrun by a bushfire burning in new south wales, with the crew being forced to shelter as the fire passed through. left, left, left! radio chatter. copy. fires on the road already. jasper? jasper, put the blanket up. quite a powerful image because yesterday a firefighter was killed when his truck was clipped by the force of the wind and fire causing it to go, he was crushed as a result of that lost his life. the remainder of that lost his life. the remainder of the source of dangers firefighters are putting themselves into every single day. for the last four months. david jeffery runs a b&b in mallacoota and had to seek refuge on the beach when the fires struck. he gave us an update on the situation. well, it's evening now, so things are... ..people are settling a little bit. behind us, there's still active fire. that there is fire trucks filling up from the inland here, a bit of salt water and everything, still driving around trying to douse

phil mercer, bbc news, bago, new south wales. dangerous driving of a teenage motorcyclist in a road crash. after harry dunn died, anne sacoolas flew back to the united states under diplomatic immunity. extradition proceedings are now under way, but mrs sacoolas says she will not return voluntarily to the uk. duncan kennedy reports. ijust hope and hope that it's going to be the right choice today. harry's parents, charlotte and tim, travelled to london not knowing what today would bring. but, at the cps headquarters, they were told the main suspect was being charged with dangerous driving. harry's family have spent four months waiting to see if charges would be brought in his case. we really do feel it's one huge step towards that promise to harry, and that in itself is one hell of an achievement, us as a family, to have. and, as parents, we can't be any more satisfied with ourselves. harry's dad, tim, was also moved by today's events. bit speechless at the minute. i'm still in shock from the meeting, and, uh... i'm sorry. anne sa

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales.nd have called off the search for the bodies of two people missing since the volcano eruption on white island earlier this month. police say they took the decision after extensive shoreline and aerial searches. the bodies of hayden marshall—inman, who was 40, and 17—year—old winona jane langford are thought to be in the water off the island. ms langford's parents were among the 19 people killed by the eruption. police in hong kong have fired tear gas at pro—democracy protesters who've been holding rallies. the demonstrators had gathered around shopping malls and areas popular with tourists. some activists threw umbrellas and other objects at the police, who responded by beating them with batons. thousands of people have been arrested since the unrest began injune. a record number of cattle were slaughtered last year because of bovine tuberculosis — nearly 16,000 — and the disease is considered a significant animal health problem for the uk. now one farmer on the west coast of wales is

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales. say they have called off the search for the bodies of two people still missing since the white island volcano eruption earlier this month. police said their decision follows extensive shoreline and aerial searches. the bodies of hayden bryan marshall—inman and 17—year—old winona jane—langford are thought to be in the water off the island. winona's parents were among the 19 people killed by the eruption. at least 26 people have died in indonesia when a bus plunged into a ravine. the bus left the city of beng—kulu with 50 passengers on board. rescue teams and volunteers evacuated the survivors, who were trapped on the bus, before taking them to nearby hospitals. thousands of children in care are living more than 100 miles from their family and friends in places they have never heard of — according to a report by the children 5 commissioner for england. more than 30,000 children in care are placed "out of area", which is a 13% increase over five years. while some children are placed furt

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. after their home addresses and contact details were accidentally published online. it has now apologised and referred the data breach to the regulator. the list included the addresses of politicians, military figures and counter terrorism officials, as well as celebrities such as sir eltonjohn. our correspondentjohn mcmanus said over 1,000 address were published. some of them are people who really need to keep their details private, for example former military people, counterterrorist people, the former director of public prosecutions, all people who do not want their details in the public eye and also celebrities who will be unhappy about this, like eltonjohn and ben stokes as well. the cabinet office has apologised and referred itself to the data watchdog. the ico may investigate and could levy a large fine on the government if it so chooses. its powers were upgraded last year in 2018. they can now, as in the case of a british airways data breach, levy a fine of £183 million so it i

that's phil mercer there.ave been more mass protests in india today over a controversial new citizenship law. at least six people have been killed in the demonstrations. critics say the legislation discriminates against the country's 200 million strong muslim population, with many fearing they could become stateless. but the move by prime minister narendra modi is popular with his hindu supporters. from delhi, here's rajini vaidyanathan. is this a moment of reckoning for the world's largest democracy, as anger over a controversial citizenship law intensifies? scenes of defiance, protesters ignoring cu rfews, police accused of heavy—handed tactics. hundreds of thousands across this vast and diverse nation have taken to the streets to oppose a law they say discriminates against muslims. it offers fast—track citizenship for illegal immigrants from three neighbouring countries, except muslims. the government says it is to protect religious minorities fleeing persecution. india prides itself on its secular principl

phil mercer's report contains flashing images from the start.dazzling fireworks display, but thousands of people want sydney to scrap its new year's eve spectacular. they say it would be an insult and could traumatise some of those affected by the bushfire crisis. sydney's lord mayor, clover moore, said she shared the deep sympathies of those who'd signed the petition, but stressed that the fireworks were planned months in advance and most of the budget had already been spent. so, barring catastrophic fire conditions in sydney on new year's eve, the event seems certain to go ahead. in between now and then, the authorities are warning of severe—to—extreme fire dangers across much of south—eastern australia. much of the heavily populated parts of australia, that include south australia, victoria, tasmania and new south wales where more than 80 fires continue to burn. dangerous fire conditions and extreme heat are forecast for south—eastern australia from tomorrow. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come — where

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. after their home addresses and contact details were accidentally published online. it has now apologised and referred the data breach to the regulator. the list included the addresses of politicians, military figures and counter terrorism officials, as well as celebrities such as sir eltonjohn. our correspondentjohn mcmanus is with me now. this is very embarrassing for the government, is this now going to be a huge headache for them? i think it will be and it could be a huge financial headache as well because of the seriousness and sensitivity of the information. more than 1000 addresses were published of recipients of the owners list. some need to keep their details private, for example former military people, counterterrorist people, the former director of public prosecutions, all people who do not wa nt prosecutions, all people who do not want their details in the public eye and also celebrities who will be unhappy about this, sir eltonjohn and ben stokes as well. the cabinet offic

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales.s wifejenny in which he praised the efforts of all of those fighting the country's fires. he delivered a tribute to the two volunteer firefighters who lost their lives earlier this week. we think especially of the families of andrew o'dwyer and geoff keaton, who we lost in the fires recently here in new south wales. and to melissa and tojess and all of your family, to andrew and jeff's parents, we know this will be a tough christmas for you this year — the first one without both of these amazing men — and to all of those out there in the horsley park brigade, we send our great love and our best wishes to you. they are a reminder of why this country is amazing and they are a reminder of what we have got to give thanks for, despite these many challenges. so, on behalf of our family to yours, we wish you a very merry christmas. prime minister scott morrison and his wife there. let's get some of the day's other news: in northern burkina faso, militants killed 35 — mostly female — civilians

phil mercer, thank you very much.ritish man and his two children in a swimming pool on the costa del sol was a "tragic accident" — according to the resort owners. the three family members were found unresponsive on christmas eve at ‘club — la costa world' near fuengirola. sean dilley reports. this was the scene of a christmas tragedy at one of spain's most popular tourist destinations. a nine—year—old british girl is thought to have found herself in trouble in this pool, before her 16—year—old brother and 52—year—old father jumped in to help her. why none of them emerged alive is the subject of a major investigation. a british tourist told the bbc she spoke to the children's mother. i noticed a woman was walking to where i was. she looked really distraught. when she came closer she was just saying, "help me, help me, please help me! my children are drowning." it was horrible. i didn't sleep, i can't even begin to tell you how distraught i feel. i don't want to imagine what the mum is going through. it's still not clea

phil mercer has more.rs and beasts. lives have been lost and hundreds of homes have been destroyed. a long drought has made the ground bone dry. hot and windy weather has conspired to raise the threat level in parts of australia in recent days to catastrophic. scott morrison‘s centre right government is an ardent supporter of the coal industry. it generates much of australia‘s electricity and pumps billions into the economy. to some of his critics, he is a climate criminal. mr morrison concedes there is a link between global warming and the bushfires, but he says there is no need to panic and impose new carbon emissions targets, which he calls reckless and job destroying. you don‘t run government on sentiment. you run government on the facts, and you run government on what you need to do to protect our environment, sustainability for the future, to protect our economy and the jobs and livelihoods that australians depend upon. 100 blazes still burn in new south wales. some are so big they‘ll only be extingu

thank you so much for the date, bbc‘s phil moser. —— the update, bbc‘s phil mercer.minister and then as president of russia. in that time, he's built a system of power which revolves around him — resulting in all major decisions being taken by the kremlin. that's why many russians feel they have to go directly to him to solve their problems, sometimes with remarkable success, as steve rosenberg reports from eastern siberia. russian rulers are like siberian winters — they go on and on. joseph stalin's icy grip spanned a quarter of a century. brezhnev ruled 18 years. for vladimir putin, it's already 20, and counting. nadyezhda is a putin fan. when eight houses in her village burnt down, she went on tv and begged the president for help. the very next day, mr putin sent in the builders, and — abracadabra — new homes, courtesy of the kremlin. da. nadyezhda even got to meet russia's leader and shake his hand. translation: people in the village told me, don't wash your hand for a year. some of them asked me to shake their hands with the hand the president shook. under putin

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales.erson for the new south wales rural fire service, he explains that although there remain uncontained fires across the region, there is cause for some christmas cheer. tha nkfully thankfully we‘ve seen a bit of respite here across the state. in the last four hours we‘ve seen between 30 having 50 millimetres of rain falling across much of northern new south wales, which will hopefully put an end and certainly for some time to fires across northern parts of new south wales. certainly around the sydney areas, central and southern parts of new south wales have a long way to go with next to no moisture falling across those areas. currently we still have grassfire burning, many still have grassfire burning, many still to be contained. we have good conditions today, allowing our firefighters to get the upper hand and start working on containment lines and doing direct firefighting, which we haven't been able to do for some time due to those deteriorating conditions. james, we are hearing from

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales. clashes between police and pro—democracy protesters who've been holding christmas eve rallies in hong kong. some demonstrators threw umbrellas and other objects at police, who responded by firing tear gas and beating protesters with batons. thousands of people have been arrested since the unrest began injune, although the demonstrations have been smaller in recent weeks. at least 26 people have died in indonesia when a bus plunged into a ravine. the bus left the city of bengkulu with 50 passengers on board. rescue teams and volunteers evacuated the survivors, who were trapped on the bus, before taking them to nearby hospitals. thousands of children in care are living more than 100 miles from their family and friends in places they have never heard of, according to a report by the children s commissioner for england. more than 30,000 children in care are placed out of area , which is a 13% increase over five years. while some children are placed further afield for their own safety, to

phil mercer, bbc news, in bilpin, the blue mountains. the new south wales rural fire service told us how they are preparing for yet another heatwave. many of our volunteers have been out there on the fire line trying to get some level of containment on these fires before we see the onset of another heatwave, unfortunately, where we are expecting temperatures to climb into the a0 degrees and coupled with strong westerly winds, dry winds, from the centre of the continent which tend to drive these fires. so they are doing what they can. they understand this is going to be still another difficult time and the real thing that we obviously need is rain and there is just none of that really on the horizon so it's going to be a difficult few days and a difficult few weeks, while we continue to deal with more than 70 fires burning across new south wales. we are fortunate at this time of year, many of our members do take leave but they're using that leave to go out on the fire ground and actually assist where they can. but the community response t

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.hose named in the new year's honours list, after their home addresses were accidentally published online. the list of more than 1,000 recipients — including sir elton john, cricketer ben stokes, mp iain duncan smith and the former director of public prosecutions alison saunders — was uploaded to an official website on friday evening and removed around an hour later. the government has apologised and referred the data breach to the regulator. a british woman whose husband and two children drowned in a swimming pool in a spanish resort on christmas eve has said she may pursue an independent investigation, according to her lawyer. a spanish police report said that tests had found nothing wrong with the pool — and suggested that gabriel diya, his nine—year—old daughter and 16—year—old son, had got out of their depth. let's go now to our europe correspondent gavin lee who's on the costa del sol. tell us more. what we are hearing today are two very different conflicting accounts of what was

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales.peak now to danuta kozaki, a news reporter at abc in sydney who's been covering the fires. welcome, thanks for being with us. what is the latest situation on the ground there? likely conditions have eased, we are seeing cooler weather gci’oss eased, we are seeing cooler weather across the country, and firefighters in new south wales have taken advantage of that, and they are strengthening containment lines today. so we've got some 2500 firefighters in new south wales alone working on christmas day, giving up their christmas to work and protect communities in and around sydney and around the south coast. what kind of support are the many of the hundreds of families affected getting? there's been lots of support through various government departments. we've heard about the federal government giving leave to volunteers. we are also seeing many of the different government departments giving grants, and we are seeing lots of volunteer organisations helping to give communities something basi

one mechanism is land concessions a system that allows for the private use of public lands david mercer traveled to the maya biosphere reserve in guatemala the largest tropical forest north of the amazon people in the village of carmelita say concessions have enabled them to live off the riches of the forest or also protecting its. deep inside the rain forest in guatemala's northern potential region edom a town searches the forest floor for riches at a town you know earns a living harvesting shot today a palm frond used in floral arrangements in europe asia and north america the value belief is part of the prize in a unique conservation strategy starting in the 1990 s. 9 communities won the right to make a living from the forest as long as they do so sustainably rosa says that her people's dependence on the forest gives them a powerful incentive to protect it. there have been many changes to our quality of life people make twice as much money harvesting shows a timber as another big allowing us to invest in social programs and infrastructure and we help all the communities by giving the

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

phil mercer in sydney.d by the us government shows the white house sought to freeze aid to ukrainejust 91 minutes after president trump spoke to president volodymyr zelensky by phone in july. in the call, mr trump asked the ukrainian leader to investigate his political rival, democratjoe biden. that phone call is central to president trump's impeachment, as democrats argue it shows the president used his office for personal political gain. in india, prime minister and hindu nationalist leader narendra modi has tried to calm anger over a controversial new citizenship law, saying indian muslims have nothing to fear from it. at least 20 people have been killed in days of protests over the law, with the police accused of using excessive force. 0ur south asia correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports. days of deadly violence, as indians continue to oppose a law they say is an assault on the rights of the country's 200 million muslims. as curfews were imposed and internet was blocked in india's largest state, ut

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.sh boxer anthony joshua has regained his three world heavyweight titles. he beat the mexican—american, andy ruiz on points in saudi arabia in the so—called clash in the dunes. straight now to our sports editor, dan roan, who's there. redemption, relief, the fans behind me stream out of the arena. they will know that they have seen a piece of boxing history because, as you say, anthony joshua piece of boxing history because, as you say, anthonyjoshua regained all three of his heavyweight title that he lost to andy ruiz earlier this year. he becomes a member of an elite number who have managed to do it on the first attempt. we can show you some of the pictures from this evening. asjoshua you some of the pictures from this evening. as joshua made you some of the pictures from this evening. asjoshua made his way towards the ring, he would have been all too aware that it was make or break here in saudi arabia. the first heavyweight title fight the middle east has hosted. it was a fight he s

thank you, phil mercer from australia.s a law which prevents mps from extending the brexit transition period beyond the end of 2020. under current plans, he intends to end britain's eu membership on january 31, with an implementation to run to the end of 2020 — while the government negotiates a free trade deal with brussels. the financial markets have reacted to the announcement — and the pound has fallen by 0.5%. here's our political correspondent, iain watson with the details. the latest development is with that brexit registration look like? and it looks like there will be one crucial difference according to government sources and that crucial difference is that at the moment, the brexit legislation would allow, and a post brexit well, if trade talks get into trouble, would allow the implementation period, the transition period to be extended beyond the end of next year, in other words, you could request longer to try to hammer out a trade deal with the eu. what borisjohnson is going to do on friday is actually ta ke is

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, sydney. world's big sleep out to raise awareness about homelessness. an estimated 100 million people across the globe don't have a home. sleep 0uts are being staged in 52 countries, including here in the uk. the bbc‘s gareth barlow is at one of them, in london's trafalgar square. it has been quite a wet and cold and pretty miserable night so far, gareth, for those people behind you. miserable is most certainly the word! like you say, the iconic trafalgar square, everything would have with nelson's column and the christmas tree but a site you would not normally see with thousands of people camped out under the pouring rain, covered with the orange bags under the umbrella, out of the world's big sleep 0ut, 50,000 people in 52 countries all raising awareness and money for people experiencing homelessness and to do not have a home around the world and iamjoined by not have a home around the world and i am joined by three people who have been braving the elements, chelsea, shea and louisa. how has

phil mercer, bbc news, in bilpin, the blue mountains. ago today, more than 230,000 people died in a massive tsunami along the coast of the indian ocean — triggered by an earthquake, magnitude 9.1, off northern sumatra. there've been memorial services in indonesia, thailand and sri lanka — some of the worst—affected countries. since then money has been spent to improve systems, to give better warning of a similar disaster. olivia crellin reports. 15 years, the images of devastation brought by the indian ocean soon i'm you no less shocking. waves as high as 17 metres steer on into pristine beaches, homes and entire communities, killing more than 230,000 people and displacing more than 2 million. while the physical landscape has recovered and development has returned to thailand, sri lanka and indonesia, among other areas affected, a psychological trauma remains. this child at lost both parents and five other relatives. i'm still scared, very scared, i want to go to live somewhere else but is not possible because i was born here, grew up he

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

our correspondent phil mercer joins me from sydney. search for more missing victims? well, there will be no navy or police diving operation of white island trying to find the last remaining two victims of last monday's volcanic eruption, rico. there will be more aerial surveillance over the weekend. teams went back into the water and back onto the island itself looking for those unaccounted for bodies, two of them without success. but the police to say that they are committed, and as long as there is a chance of finding those individuals, they will keep going back. and we understand that there is a plan for those police divers to go back into the waters on tuesday in search of those two bodies. four more bodies have been formally identified by the authorities. they are all australians, and clearly, rico, what happened on white island a week ago is sending shockwaves well beyond the bay of plenty in new zealand. there are victims and survivors from australia, germany, the united states, britain, china and malaysia, and the country will

phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales.h for the bodies of two people, missing since the volcano eruption on white island earlier this month. police say they took the decision, after extensive shoreline and aerial searches. the bodies of hayden marshall—inman, who was 40, and 17—year—old winona jane langford, are thought to be in the waters off the island. ms langford's parents were among the 19 people killed by the eruption. police in hong kong have fired tear gas at pro—democracy protesters, who've been holding more rallies. the demonstrators had gathered around shopping malls and areas popular with tourists. some activists threw umbrellas and other objects at the police, who responded by beating them with batons. thousands of people have been arrested since the unrest began injune. in syria, five children are reportedly among the latest casualties of a week—long offensive by syrian government forces, backed by russia, in the mainly rebel—held province of idlib. the operation has caused tens of thousands of people to flee