shaimaa khalil many thanks. our correspondent shaimaa khalil in new south wales. the factors fuelling the bushfires — the 16—year—old campaigner greta thunberg is calling on britain to ensure that crucial climate talks that it will host in glasgow next year succeed in combating global warming. she's become the face of an international youth movement pressing for more action on climate change. mishal husain went to stockholm to meet her. she's the girl who galvanised the children to go on strike she's the girl who galvanised children to go on strike from school, and people of all ages to march, pushing for more action to control a warming world. it's a mission that has taken greta thunberg around the globe, becoming a distinctive but also a divisive figure. i haven't really grasped what's happened during this last year. i am being listened to, and we climate activists are being listened to, but that doesn't mean that what we are saying is translated into action. she spoke at the recent cop25 un climate talks in madrid, part of the system under which countries make

shaimaa khalil is in the nearby town of thatane. shaimaa khalil is in the nearby town of whakatane.nother planet. this is white island hours after its devastating eruption. it's dangerous for this rescue helicopter and for those still looking for survivors. officials have said there is a 50% chance of another volcanic blast in the next 2a hours. eight bodies remain buried on this ash—covered rock. one of the paramedics who originally helped move the injured to safety described the scene. it was quite a, um, it was quite an experience. it was like, i've seen the chernobyl miniseries and there was just — everything was blanketed in ash. it was quite a...it was quite an overwhelming feeling. mary scully lives close to the whakatane harbour. she's been on a trip to the volcano and white island with a local guide, who is also a family friend. hayden marshall—inman was on the island when the volcano erupted. he died of his injuries. he's a lovely guy, hayden. we've known hayden since he was primary school age. going through the swimming club and soccer and all the things kids do — he's th

shaimaa khalil therefore us. up—to—date. shaimaa khalil therefore us. one more story to bring you. greater manchester have been named dancer, prancer, dasher, and blitzen in homage to their sleigh—pulling cousins. daring dasher escaped and swam upstream, but the other three were reluctant to follow. they were all eventually saved by the rspca and fire service in a rescue that took four hours. but they are all fine. now if you are a regular feel you may remember a gentleman called terrance. this christmas has been very different for him. the whole of december has since he told us his story he has been busy. today he is volunteering with age uk and i met up volunteering with age uk and i met up with him to find out how his life has changed. hello, terrence. lovely to see you. how are you? are you well? fine, yeah. you're looking well. thank you very much. what are we up to today? well, i'm taking you to a tea dance. i'm excited about that. do you want to show me the way? you come with me. you come with me. you've been busy. # dreaming of a white christmas... did you say you had two l

shaimaa khalil reports from sydney.mperatures, strong winds and thunderstorms have done to vast areas of the state of victoria, with blazes rapidly expanding and firefighters rushing to control them. as the temperatures soar to the mid—40s and the winds change direction, some fires were too fast and too big to contain. officials said the wind—driven flames were racing towards the coast and had moved faster than predicted. what we've seen up until today is more than 70 new fires in the state. more than 20 of those are going fires at the moment. we have got a long way to go. we're only partway through the day in terms of the fire risk to the state and to our communities. the east gippsland region is a popular tourist destination, and it has seen the worst of the fires. thousands of holidaymakers and residents have heeded the authorities‘ calls to evacuate earlier in the day, trying to beat the speeding blazes in the area. so we decided last night to leave nungera — family farm, leave there, because it takes so long to get

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, in sydney.how her and her mother's homes were destroyed by the fires. in were destroyed by the fires. november, early novt fires in november, early november, the fires were in september as well but november is also early for the bushfire season. there was a fire that was burning in the mountains behind this area. it had been burning for a few months, actually, and it came down — this is not uncommon at the moment — is a massive firestorm. definitely australia has bushfires but the firestorms are a whole new thing. big firestorms with 50 metre high balls of fire and if they create their own weather and it roared through this whole village, this whole area and took out over 80 homes, over half the homes in the area. yes, it is devastating. we have heard of the two firefighters who have lost their lives battling these bushfires. how does the community, how do you rally around and support each other given these temperatures are not going down and we are expecting high temperatures once again to come

shaimaa khalil, thank you.tions to usher in 2020 have already started in the southern hemisphere. and a warning, flashing images follow. new zealanders were among the first in the world to celebrate the arrival of 2020 — with thousands of revellers gathering in auckland. and within the last hour, the traditional display in sydney has got underway, despite some calls for it to be cancelled because of the bushfire crisis. asa as a mark of respect for those who have been made homeless or have died in those bushfires over the last four months. the former boss of the car giant nissan has fled japan where he was facing trial over allegations of financial misconduct. once one of the most powerful figures in the car industry, carlos ghosn flew to lebanon to escape what he calls "injustice and political persecution". rupert wingfield—hayes is in tokyo — there's some flash photography in his report. last march, carlos ghosn disguised himself as a construction worker as he attempted to slip past the waiting media on his r

here's our sydney correspondent shaimaa khalil. worst days australia's most populous state has ever seen, and it's lived up to every urgent warning. huge flames spiralling out of control, moved by strong, unpredictable wind. this is the second time in less than two months that new south wales has seen catastrophic fire conditions. firefighters have been patrolling this area throughout the day. they have been keeping an eye out on the smoke just behind that tree line. this is where villagers have fires at an emergency level and they've been told to evacuate and they're concerned that embers will blow this way. elizabethmaclaren evacuated her house a few hours ago. she packed the necessities and a few other things she couldn't afford to lose. her family's ok, but she worries about those she left behind. i hope my house doesn't burn down but, ultimately, all of my friends stayed to fight the fires at their house. they can't get out now, so i'm just hoping that they're safe. i can replace my house — i can't replace lives, you know? hel

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, in sydney.t fire in chile, prompting a mass evacuation during christmas eve celebrations. high summer temperatures and strong winds are whipping up the flames. authorities in valparaiso are investigating suspicions that the fire was lit deliberately. olivia crellin reports. christmas day up in flames. this was the scene that residents fled in the middle of celebrating christmas eve festivities, after a nearby forest fire swept through two districts of valparaiso, destroying 150 homes. while others awoke to gifts and good cheer, those affected spent the night in shelters and returned to their homes to find their belongings reduced to ash. 2,000 residents were without electricity. translation: i managed to get the pets and the tv out but i couldn't take more because the police took me away as there was nothing that could be done. families are returning to find their houses destroyed. translation: a cousin and uncle, we all have houses on this street. this is the house of my mother, where she was m

shaimaa khalil in sydney, thank you so much.: the russian intelligence agency says a tip—off from the us has helped foil what it called "new year terror attacks" in st petersburg. the kremlin said president putin had thanked donald trump in a phone call for passing on us intelligence. it said this had led to the recent arrest of two russians alleged to be planning to attack large crowds of people. the authorities in the philippines say ai people are now known to have died as typhoon phanfone devastated several islands. tens of thousands of residents are still sheltering in evacuation centres where many celebrated christmas. a dozen people are missing. votes are being counted in the presidential election in the west african state of guinea bissau. 0bservers praised the peaceful conduct of the poll. both candidates — domingos simoes pereira from the ruling party, and the opposition‘s umaro cissoko embalo, are former prime ministers. the two men have promised to bring stability to guinea bissau, which has suffered nine coup attempt

shaimaa khalil has this report.raordinary few moments after the volcano on white island erupted. it hit briefly and fiercely, filling the air with huge plumes of smoke and smouldering ash. the people on this boat had left just moments before the eruption. the boat operators were not taking any chances. go inside! go inside, go inside! go inside! translation: we were on the volcano for about an hour. ten minutes after we left, and got on the boat, the volcano started erupting. the boat turned around and went back to the island to try to help the people who were still there. i'm not sure if everyone got out alive. white island is one of new zealand's most active volcanoes, but it's also a popular tourist destination. thousands come here for walks and scenic aeroplane rides. nothing escaped the devastation here, the scale of the damage clearly shown here with this sightseeing helicopter, barely recognisable under the thick smouldering ash. down the beach, a large group could be seen waiting to be rescued. at this stage

shaimaa khalil in sydney, thank you so much. stay with us on bbc news.onfidence through medieval battle. 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 same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oxfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it was good. reporter: just good? no, fantastic! that's better! big ben bongs this is bbc news. the latest headlines: authorities in texas now say two parishioners have died after a gunman walked into a church in fort worth and opened fire. president trump has called for unity in the fight against anti—semitism following a knife attack on the house of a rabbi in new york state in which five people were injured. hate crime in america's five largest citi

shaimaa khalil is in the nearby town of whakatane.the island yet? so far they haven't been able to get close to the island. police have been trying to launch drones with specialist equipment to measure gas levels to deem it safe and that hasn't been possible because of wind and ash conditions. this is a waiting game in what has become a very difficult recovery mission. it looks like the surface of another planet. this is white island hours after its devastating eruption. it's dangerous for this rescue helicopter and for those looking for survivors. officials have said there is a 50% chance of another volcanic blast in the next 2a hours. eight bodies remain buried on this ash—covered rock. one of the paramedics who originally helped move the injured to safety described the scene. it was quite an experience. like, i've seen the chernobyl mini—series, there was just... everything was just blanketed in ash. it was quite um... quite an... an overwhelming feeling. mary scully lives close to the whakatane harbour. she's been on a trip to the

this report from shaimaa khalil. extraordinary few moments after the volcano on white island erupted. it hit briefly and fiercely, filling the air with huge plumes of smoke and smouldering ash. the people on this boat had left just moments before the eruption. the boat operators were not taking any chances. go inside! go inside, go inside! go inside! translation: we were on the volcano for about an hour. ten minutes after we left and got on the boat, the volcano started erupting. the boat turned around and went back to the island to try to help the people who were still there. i'm not sure if everyone got out alive. white island is one of new zealand's most active volcanoes, but it's also a popular tourist destination. thousands come here for walks and scenic aeroplane rides. nothing escaped the devastation here, the scale of the damage clearly shown here with this sightseeing helicopter, barely recognisable under the thick, smouldering ash. down the beach, a large group could be seen waiting to be rescued. at this s

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney.o come: a scientist — who was condemned globally when he announced the creation of the world's first gene—edited babies — has beenjailed in china. we'll discuss the case with a bioethics lawyer. this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines: a man accused of stabbing five people during hanukkah in new york, has been charged with federal hate crimes. a british teenager has been convicted by a cyprus court of falsely claiming she was raped by a group of israeli tourists. her lawyers say she will appeal. a chinese scientist who claimed he'd created the world's first gene—edited babies has been jailed for three years and fined more than $400,000. he jiankui was condemned as unethical when he announced his experiments in november 2018. he said he was trying to make two twin babies, lulu and nana, immune to the hiv virus, but research later showed that he may have given the babies a mutation that significantly shortens their life expectancy. josephinejohnston is the director of research

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, mittagong, new south wales.hind the british defence company, cobham, has criticised the government for approving a £4 billion take—over by an american firm. a merger between the dorset—based manufacturer and us private equity group advent was agreed injuly, but it was delayed over national security concerns. the business secretary, andrea leadsom, who announced the decision late last night, said it had been taken in conjunction with defence chiefs. lady cobham said the announcement had been "cynically timed" to avoid scrutiny. our business correspondent, katy prescott, reports. one of the uk's oldest defence companies. a pioneer of air—to—air refuelling, cobham started life in the 1930s as a flying circus. for the last few months, the government has been grappling with whether to allow its sale to the american private equity firm, advent. the daughter—in—law of the founder has been critical. she says: "this is a deeply disappointing announcement and one cynically timed to avoid scrutiny on the weekend before chr

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, whakatane. headlines: borisjohnson wants voters of a hung parliament if they do not support the conservatives. jeremy corbyn promised a relentless focus on the nhs the labour party went power. in new zealand, six people confirmed dead after yesterday's volcanic eruption. among the injured, to british women. —— two. the international court ofjustice at the hague, has been hearing claims of how myanmar carried out a systematic campaign of genocide, including mass murder, rape and torture, against its minority muslim rohingya population. myanmar‘s de—facto leader, aung san suu kyi, once regarded as a champion of human rights, turned up in court, and is expected to defend her country. it was two years ago when around 700,000 rohingya muslims, were driven from myanmar, during a brutal army crackdown against people the military said were extremists. thousands were killed. 0ur myanmar correspondent nick beake reports now, from the hague. they used to think aung san suu kyi was the epitome ofjustice. no

shaimaa khalil has the story. it feels like a deserted war zone, but this is the aftermath of the catastrophic bushfires that have ravaged new south wales. and in the village of balmoral, the devastation is everywhere. russell scholes has been a volunteer firefighter for six years. he was out with his team trying to control the blaze in the village when his own house was burned to the ground. so many of the brigade are tired. that's the mental side of it — when you're continually battling something you can't beat. the prime minister scott morrison, appearing for the first time today after fierce criticism of his holiday in hawaii, conceded that more needed to be done to tackle global warming, with scientists saying that drier conditions brought about by climate change have worsened the impact of bushfires. the catastrophic fires have subsided but the situation is still extremely dangerous here. the roads remain closed off. balmoral was one of the worst—hit areas by saturday's fires and the community is still very

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, balmoral, new south wales.tary helicopters dropped warning flares over baghdad tonight, after militiamen attacked the us embassy there during the day. protestors were reacting to us air strikes from the weekend. president trump accused iran of orchestrating today's violence. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, reports. chanting furious crowds and an american embassy, the largest in the world, under siege. protesters and pro—iranian militiamen inside baghdad's protected green zone, venting their anger, attempting to breach the embassy walls. 0ne entrance is pushed open, but the crowd is forced back by tear gas fired from inside. the sentry post is attacked but this is a heavily fortified compound. the soldiers inside seem alert, but not yet alarmed. fires are lit outside, the air thick with smoke and anti—american slogans, but the crowd is not huge. sources inside the compound say the situation appears to be under control. no one has been evacuated. directing the protests are some of the country's leading

shaimaa khalil has the story.s like a deserted war zone, but this is the aftermath of the catastrophic bushfires that have ravaged new south wales. and in the village of balmoral, the devastation is everywhere. russell scholes has been a volunteer firefighter for six years. he was out with his team trying to control the blaze in the village when his own house was burned to the ground. so many of the brigade are tired. that's the mental side of it — when you're continually battling something you can't beat. the prime minister scott morrison, appearing for the first time today after fierce criticism of his holiday in hawaii, conceded that more needed to be done to tackle global warming, with scientists saying that drier conditions brought about by climate change have worsened the impact of bushfires. the catastrophic fires have subsided but the situation is still extremely dangerous here. the roads remain closed off. balmoral was one of the worst—hit areas by saturday's fires and the community is still very much in

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, whakatane. the hague, has been hearing claims of how myanmar carried out a systematic campaign of genocide, including mass murder, rape and torture, against its minority muslim rohingya population. myanmar‘s de—facto leader, aung san suu kyi, once regarded as a champion of human rights, turned up in court, and is expected to defend her country. it was two years ago when around 700,000 rohingya muslims, were driven from myanmar, during a brutal army crackdown against people the military said were extremists. thousands were killed. 0ur myanmar correspondent nick beake reports now, from the hague. they used to think aung san suu kyi was the epitome ofjustice. not any more. today, they demanded her arrest. a one—time human rights icon now standing up foran army accused of genocide. good morning, ms suu kyi, are you defending the indefensible? the nobel peace prize laureate took her seat at the un's top court and listened to accounts of the brutality the rohingya refugees had suffered in her country.

shaimaa khalil, bbc news. leaders of ukraine and russia have declared they will try to fully and comprehensively implement a ceasefire in the conflict in eastern ukraine by the end of this year. the joint announcement came at a summit in paris between the two, along with the french and german leaders. but there was no agreement on the withdrawal of russian—backed forces, and ukraine's president said very little was achieved overall. translation: the meeting was long and difficult but the mood of the meeting was rather positive. it is true and i want to make it clear we will have the chance to continue the discussions in four months and see the results of what we have managed to achieve. the first thing we agreed on is immediate measures on stabilisation of security in eastern ukraine. it means full, complete and unlimited ceasefire in the east of the country and it must start by the end of 2019. the russian president was equally cautious. translation: the process of achieving a ceasefire needs to be synchronis

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, balmoral, new south wales.d girl has opened a pack of tesco christmas cards to find a message saying they were packed by prisoners in china being forced to work against their will. tesco says it's stopped production at the factory while it investigates. jon donnison has more it was six—year—old schoolgirl florence widdicombe who had sat down at home to write out her christmas cards to her friends and family when she discovered one of the cards had already been written out. we were writing in them and on about my sixth or eighth card, there was somebody older who had written in it. the message read, we are foreign prisoners in shanghai qingpu prison, china, forced to work against our will. please help us and notify human rights organisation. the first thought was it must be a prank, but on reflection we realised it was actually potentially quite a serious thing, and so i felt very shocked but i also felt a responsibility to pass it on to peter humphrey, as the author asked me to do. the family did just that and

shaimaa khalil, bbc news.od warnings are in place across southern and eastern england, the midlands and yorkshire. the met office says more rain is expected in southwest england this afternoon. motorists heading on roads for christmas are advised to check their routes in advance. the duke of edingburgh has spent the night in a hospital in london, after being admitted for treatment for a pre—exisiting condition. let's talk now to helena wilkinson who is outside the hospital. outside the king edward hospital in central london where the prince is staying. some debate about how he got there yesterday. any indication of his condition and how long he is expected to remain? there hasn't been any further update from buckingham palace. not surprising, given they don't tend to give a running commentary for what they say isa running commentary for what they say is a private matter. the duke of edinburgh still here at the central london hospital. he stayed overnight. he was brought here yesterday on the advice of his doct

from there, our correspondent shaimaa khalil reports.er the volcano on white island erupted. it hit briefly and fiercely, filling the air with plumes of smoke and smouldering ash. the people on this boat had left just moments before the eruption. the boat operators were not taking any chances. go inside! go inside! translation: we were on the volcano for about an hour. ten minutes after we left and got on the boat, the volcano started erupting. the boat turned around and went back to the island to try to help the people who were still there. i'm not sure if everyone got out alive. white island is one of new zealand's most active volcanoes, but it's also a popular tourist destination. thousands come here for walks and scenic aeroplane rides. nothing escaped the devastation here. the scale of the damage clearly shown here with a sightseeing helicopter, barely recognisable under the thick smouldering ash. down the beach, a large group could be seen waiting to be rescued. at this stage, we can confirm that amongst those currently listed as m

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, whakatane. stay with us on bbc news.ning, and the country hunkers down for a wild ride. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion, estimated at £120 million. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: in the united states, leading democrats have unveiled formal impeachment charges again

shaimaa khalil, in sydney, thank you.lent winds and heavy rain have flooded rivers, brought down power lines and disrupted travel across mainland europe. in sardinia, a merchant ship got stranded on a rocky stretch of coast near sant‘antioco. it got into trouble after its captain decided to return to port after unloading and its 12 crew had to be airlifted to safety. in india, prime ministerand 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 force. our south asia correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports. is this a moment of reckoning for the world's largest democracy? as anger over a controversial citizenship law intensifies. 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 cu rfews were imposed country's 200 million muslims

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. press conference taking place in melbourne. the victorian state authorities are speaking about the fires. this is the emergency management commissioner. some really good work was done across a lot of oui’ good work was done across a lot of our state in relation to those fires, and a lot of those fires were contained, and we had some existing fires and some really good work done on those fires. so our focus is very much on what has happened in the east of our state. if i go to the north—east, and a fire started on the new south wales side of the border, north of corryong. and before i talk about that fire, i wa nt to before i talk about that fire, i want to just acknowledge again the tragic loss of life of another new south wales royal fire service volunteer. and other members that we re volunteer. and other members that were injured as part of that particular incident. 0ur were injured as part of that particular incident. our thoughts go out to the new south wales rfs and the friends

shaimaa khalil in new zealand.ts and corporations of failing to tackle climate change and hiding behind clever accounting and creative pr. addressing the un climate summit in madrid, she criticised what she said were constant attempts to find loopholes to avoid emission targets. greta thunberg has just been named time magazine's person of the year. our environment correspondent, matt mcgrath, reports from the summit. just a year ago, she was a little—known swedish climate striker with a home—made sign. but she arrived in madrid for cop25 as the world's most famous climate activist. greta thunberg came to this key climate conference not to generate soundbites, she said, but to reiterate that the science was clear — this was an emergency and the world was not treating it like one. so, please tell me, how do you react to these numbers without feeling at least some level of panic? how do you respond to the fact that basically nothing is being done about this without feeling the slightest bit of anger? and how do you co

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney.t by a car outside a school in essex. harley watson died after the vehicle struck a group of pupils in loughton on monday. 0ur correspondent emma north was in court. it all happened very quickly and was very low key. the 51—year—old from light and made his first appearance at chelmsford magistrates‘ court, charged with the murder of 12—year—old harley watson on monday afternoon. he faces ten more charges of attempted murder of a group of teenagers aged between 12 and 16 and a 23—year—old women. he also faces a charge of dangerous driving. it relates to events that took place at the end of play at school on monday afternoon. harley and the others we re afternoon. harley and the others were hit by the car in a hit—and—run. harley was airlifted to hospital but died later. the others we re hospital but died later. the others were not sustaining life threatening oi’ were not sustaining life threatening or life changing injuries but harley‘s family have said there boy was good and lovely and

shaimaa khalil is there and has sent this report.e bay of plenty of around 30 miles off the post of fort walker tony. shaimaa khalil is there and has sent this report. the extraordinary few moments after the volcano on white island erupted. the extraordinary few moments after the volcano it hit briefly and fiercely, filling the air with huge plumes of smoke and smouldering ash. the people on this boat had left just moments before the eruption. the boat operators were not taking any chances. go inside, go inside, go inside! these pictures of the steaming crater were filmed by tourists half an hour earlier. after getting in their boat and seeing the blast, the group returned to the island to look for survivors. they found this sightseeing helicopter destroyed by the eruption. the ash was still building, and further down the beach, a large group could be seen waiting to be rescued. translation: it was hot, so everyone had burns. some were seriously burned, others a bit less, and i'm not sure if they managed to rescue everyone. 23 people

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, balmoral, new south wales.en violent clashes outside the american embassy in the iraqi capital, baghdad. tens of thousands of militiamen attacked the complex, in response to us air strikes against its members on sunday. president trump has accused iran of orchestrating the violence, and criticised the iraqi government for failing to prevent it. additional us troops have been deployed from kuwait to baghdad to bolster numbers at the embassy. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, reports. chanting. furious crowds and an american embassy, the largest in the world, under siege. protesters and pro—iranian militiamen inside baghdad's protected green zone, venting their anger. attempting to breach the embassy walls. 0ne entrance is pushed open, but the crowd is forced back by tear gas fired from inside. a sentry post is attacked. this is a heavily fortified compound. the soldiers inside seem alert, but not yet alarmed. fires are lit outside, the air thick with smoke and anti—american slogans. but the crowd is not

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, whakatane. off the london bridge attacker has told bbc news he was prepared to die to protect others. john crilly used a fire extinguisher to tackle usman khan, even though he thought he was wearing a suicide vest. mr crilly has been speaking to our legal correspondent, clive coleman. nearly two weeks ago, ex—offender john crilly found himself at the centre of mayhem and butchery at a prison education event at fishmongers‘ hall, where his good friend jack merritt was murdered. yeah, just a very high pitched wail — like, a scream. john saw a woman sprawled on the stairs, bleeding, then usman khan, two knives out, wearing what looked like a suicide belt. john attacked him first with a wooden lectern, then a fire extinguisher, shouting at khan to blow his belt. instead of waiting for the police... he said he was waiting for the police? before he blew it, yeah. i was prepared to lose my life, yeah, iwas. did it seem like he was targetting anyone in particular or any group? no, itjust seemed like any

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney.knife attack on people hosting a celebration of the jewish festival of hanukkah in new york has spoken of his client's mental health issues. at least five people were injured after saturday's stabbingsm, which have prompted new york mayor bill de blasio to announce a series of measures to tackle anti—semitic attacks. the suspected knife man, 37—year—old grafton thomas, who denies a charge of attempted murder, may have been following a direction from a voice in his head, according to his lawyer. let's listen to some of that press conference.( he seems to be in an alternative universe, in his head, which is not unusualfor universe, in his head, which is not unusual for people suffering from his sort of psychosis. the direction that he was following did not involve violence for other persons, but involved the destruction of some property. our correspondent in new york is michelle fleury. as far as the accused man's mental health is concerned, it is very much at the four of this. no that i

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. a knife attack on people celebrating hanukkah in new york says the 37—year—old "has a long history of mental illness and hospitalisations". at least five people were injured in the knife attack at a rabbi's house on saturday — in an incident which has prompted mayor bill de blasio to announce a series of measures to tackle anti—semitic attacks. grafton thomas has denied a charge of attempted murder. 0ur correspondent in new york is michelle fleury. tell us more about what the lawyer of this man has been saying. tell us more about what the lawyer of this man has been saying! michael sussman representing grafton thomas, the accused individual who a p pa re ntly thomas, the accused individual who apparently entered a rabbi's home over the weekend and stabbed five people, says his client's actions we re people, says his client's actions were fuelled by mental illness not anti—semitism. but us authorities ta ke anti—semitism. but us authorities take a different view. new york governor has

shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney.s on holiday in the coastal resort of austinmer, south of sydney, and joins us now. fiona, thank you very much for joining us. how aware of the incredible fires have you been while on holiday there? well, i think it's com pletely on holiday there? well, i think it's completely difficult to escape the fires. where i am at the moment i haven't seen the sun since i've been here. the area isjust haven't seen the sun since i've been here. the area is just blanketed, really, and smoke. and on different days to different degrees. last night, because he you sleep with all the windows open to get the ocean breeze, i woke up during the night with smoke all in the back of my throat, everyone was awake, today you can't go outside at all. i'm sitting inside with all of the windows closed because when you walk outside it is, the air isjust windows closed because when you walk outside it is, the air is just smoke and smoke then coming throughout the house, throughout everything, you canjust smell smo

our correspondent shaimaa khalil reports.erted war zone, but this is the aftermath of the catastrophic bushfires that have ravaged new south wales. and in the village of balmoral, the devastation is everywhere. the prime minister, scott morrison, appeared for the first time today after fierce criticism of his holiday in hawaii. it is quite humbling as you come and you speak to families and speak to individuals, you speak to the volunteers, and you see the best of australia on every single occasion, and that is what we are seeing here again today. russell scholes has been a volunteer firefighter for six years. he was out with his team trying to control the blaze in the village when his own house was burned to the ground. it wasn't until this morning when i came back, because we couldn't get back in here because it was too dangerous, so when i came back this morning, to check the chickens, i then had a look at the property, and that's when, you know, it's gone. russell's main worry now is what happens in the next few weeks. the