really suffering in a 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 of so christmas day so far crews themselves getting increasingly exhausted and others who are standing by and visit the are making sure that they're ready just in case another potential crisis emerges well 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 more but it's to the west of sydney in that blue mountains area and south sydney 2 which are really big and which are really suffering not only the firefighters suffering but also of course the people who live that interest in the mayor of the blue mountains admitted today that the crisis is really taking its toll on families he said the whole commu

temperatures predicted there is strong dry winds and furs of already started to break out to the south of sydney down to the south coast of new south wales where many people go there well it is at this time of year so you know it's right now the crisis is unfolding and we probably won't know the full impact of the situational conditions until 2 laura as you mentioned this is a key moment various planned fireworks in sydney they've been cancelled due to the bushfire threat that nots that was renowned display at sydney harbor how awful it is justifying this. well there's been a lot of talk about canceling the fires because you know it's not really a good look to let up smoke a system blanketing much of new south wales and said you know it will pass for life but at the same time the fireworks display on sydney harbor a key major tourist event for australia a 1000000 people turn up around the foreshore of sydney harbor area to watch the fires the fireworks themselves and also the the fog lifts are seen by and estimated of 1000000000 until there's a thing that struck around the world is a very very i

attention is east gets land which is sort of to the southeast of victoria and about 750 kilometers south of sydney there are multiple fires burning there and their revenue spreading across the region as you mentioned earlier that there are thousands of people living in this part of the world it's a key tourist attraction to spot it at this time and thousands well are asked to leave many disobey that all of that decided to stay there and take their chances and tonight those fires are still burning roads have been closed so there's very little opportunity of to escape that particular part of the victoria into the other general genuine concerns for those thousands of people who are on holiday and who live in the east it's an area but the news is that the cool southerly wind is due in the next few hours and may will ease the crisis for the moment ok we've been following these fires for for weeks now and does australia have the resources to deal with these these new fires you just told us about in victoria are there enough men and women to fight them to go around. well there are thousands of volunteer

it's really been a horrid day in australia fires have raged right from east get slammed up to the south sydney south wales the following is stretched an estimated 500 kilometers it's the day started almost early enough in the molecule to the down and victoria the small country town which is inhabited by a lot of tourists at this time of year in the middle of summer they will work on a breakfast and by sirens sounding an alarm people woke to up a black evening 8 o'clock in the morning but sky those who turn to a deep bridge and there's the bushfires hatred towards town full 1000 people fled to the beach to escape what they feared was going to be a of a fiery end but fortunately at the very last minute the wind changes direction and the the the town escaped the flames although a few properties were destroyed in the process but even so those 4000 people were cut off by the fires and still can't get out because the roads in and out of the town closed but far as service people are telling me stranded it's hope that they will be rescued either by army any got disney or one of the navy but it could t

released this footage of one of its crews being caught in a forest furnace about 170 kilometers south sydney. the crew did manage to escape the flames on the home of. extraordinary pitches the shots take a look now at some of the other stories making news around the world chinese president xi jinping has called for calm and stability to return to hong kong in his televised new year's addressed she's comments come off the months of sometimes violent pro-democracy demonstrations in the terrorist range disturbances have sent tongues economy into recession untarnished city's reputation as one of the world's safest. of course in slovakia has sentenced amount to 15 years in jail over his role in the mud of an investigative journalist. confessed to acting as a go between in the killing of a young and his fiance the murder and 2800 sparks of political crisis in the country. bolivia's interim president has expelled top mexican and spanish to the months it's alleged they were attempting to help form a bolivian officials flee the country the bolivians have sought refuge in the mexican embassy since the

west of sydney are the ones probably getting close to homes and then on the south coast as well further down the coast from sydney but at some stages this last week we've had up to 100 far as binning across the state that died down a little bit yesterday but it's still in and around that number. now under a meteorologists have been saying the fire is caused by drought that's being exacerbated by climate change as we know this tragedy has been locked in a political battle for many years over climate and energy policy these fires having any impact on the debate. well it's funny because we've just this last week had the last sitting wake of parliament before by close up of the year and conspicuously absent from dubai yesterday with anything to do with the bush far as the politicians know it's happening but i think at the moment they're struggling to talk about it because we have a very divided to bite and i probably don't want to politicize it right in the middle of the fall is that the heart because it really is challenging a strenuous biggest city at the moment i'll

and northern sydney around the hawks free area and down on the south car east of new south wales around joe spy in sussex inlet there with a number of blazes continuing to burn threatening properties right across seas foregrounds james 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 us the time 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 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

joining me now from sydney is james morris he's the spokesperson for the new for the new south wales rural fire service james thanks so much for joining us authorities say things have reached a catastrophic level sydney which is where you are is surrounded by raging bushfires can you describe to us what this means for people living in the affected areas. good evening and you look terrible conditions he for areas across new south wales tonight as you mentioned catastrophic fire danger declared for parts of new south wales for us that means it eases about as it gets we still soaring temperatures today up in the mid to high forty's winds in excess of id to 100 kilometers after a southerly buster southerly wind chimes coming through a number of areas which even at the moment i was doing new fawzi not central and northern new south wales flaring up threatening homes due to that wind chimes we've seen a number of areas threatened right across areas in western sydney and through the blue mountains up through northern sydney through our whole 3 area and even down on our new south wales south

some 70 fires are burning near sydney new south wales more than 1000 firefighters and now the military are in 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 hitting towards coastal villages already more than $850.00 homes have been raised in new south wales. authorities are also working to protect infrastructure surrounding a vital dam west of sydney that provides water to around 4000000 people in the city but which could be at risk if the fires spread. and for more on this journalist roger manor joins us from sydney roger the weather forecast for you is hot and windy what does that mean for fighting the fires well it doesn't bode well i must say as you mentioned just now those are sort of burning across new south wales alone and the hull of still yet to be contained and the situation will is certainly get worse at the weekend as we see a return to those heat wave conditions we experienced earlier this week and also the strong winds which accompanied

little bit all right will for closer to city in the southwest paypal's houses have been damaged south of sydney on the south coast people's houses have been damaged but the main point about obese as well for the general residents is cd is that all of the smoke that's being created the ash that's forward from the sky is really impacting people's wives right in the city is where we've got office where is with mosques on we've got kids not laid out. gray say so in the school and we've got sports events canceled so it really is actually affecting a lot in the city proper as well laundry you mention the weather and of course this dry very windy weather is making the fire worse have these fires had an impact on the debate surrounding climate change in australia. this is a very political debate and at the moment it's quite tailing with the politicians wrapping up their political year this waking cambra at all but for an all day in question to on they didn't talk about a bush boss at all even though it's what people on social media and in the straight that's all i talk about i think the politicians are

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 the 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 that the force of claims overnight and that's 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 addit

the flames in new south wales and the real fear is that it's going to be a major problem to the south of sydney lonely at the southern new south wales coast where many people are on holiday at the moment and fathers are already breaking out there in coastal areas so the crisis is still growing much up in unfolding if you like and we will really know the full scale what's going to happen until perhaps tomorrow all right raja may not aid it sydney for us thanks. again when a 2nd it mounts on the other stories making news around the world tesco is in the u.s. state of texas is shot dead a gunman who opened fire at a sunday service killing 2 parishioners in september new york came into effect in texas allowing licensed gun owners to carry weapons in places of worship. i chinese court has jailed the scientists who claims have created the world's 1st gene and said baby pigeon quake received a 3 year sentence for practicing medicine illegally last year he shocked the international science community announcing he had used the gene editing technology known as christa to alter the genes of 3 babies you k

temperatures predicted very strong dry winds and funds of already started to break out to the south of sydney down on the south coast of new south wales where many people go there all of it at this time of year so you know it's it right now the crisis is unfolding and we probably won't know the full impact of the situational conditions until 2 laura. so a list roger made a speech into us from sydney we'll take a look now at some of the other stories making news around the world or thirty's in somalia right now believe that saturday's that deadly bombing in the capital mogadishu was planned by a foreign country an explosion at a busy intersection killed at least 90 people officials have named the country under suspicion but say they will continue their investigation with the help of foreign intelligence agencies. of course in sudan has sentenced 27 members of the country's national intelligence services to death for torturing and killing a protester in february it's the 1st time sudanese court has handed down convictions related to the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations earlier this yea

high temperatures predicted very strong dry winds and funds already started to break out to the south of sydney down on the south coast of new south wales where many people go there all of it at this time of year so you know it's it right now the crisis is unfolding and we probably won't know the full impact of the situational conditions until tomorrow. that's roger mine out in sydney now let's take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world u.s. military has released a video of air strikes that is carried out against a pro iranian militia group in iraq the pentagon says it targeted 5 bases of the hezbollah brigades in retaliation for the killing of an american contractor the militia group spam to take revenge. authorities in somalia and i believe a deadly bombing in mogadishu was planned by a foreign power of explosions a busy intersection killed at least 90 people officials have not named the country they suspect and say they'll continue to investigate the help of foreign intelligence agencies. of course in sudan has sentenced $27.00 members of the intelligence services

on thursday to volunteer firefighters were killed battling flames just south of sydney and road wire and jeffrey keeping died after a burning tree fell on their truck these 2 brave young men who lost their lives that represent for us the thousands and thousands of volunteers on the ground today tomorrow and in the days coming in put their own life their own safety on the line to protect others sydney meanwhile has been envelop than a shroud of smoke with fires raging near the state capital only it's taller structures remain visible its famous landmarks kasten an epochal looked like light . on the ground a few dared to venture outside without facemasks air pollution in sydney is now several times what experts believe to be hazardous the fires are being fuelled by drought and record temperatures which scientists say a result of climate change. and many are angry at the smell prime minister scott morrison is currently facing criticism for leaving the country to holiday in hawaii . protesters turned up at his empty home in sydney and accused him of not doing enough to end the country som

release this footage of one of their crews being called to the burning forest at 170 kilometers south of sydney. glad to say the crew escaped and. there's also welcomes of the new year this time with a toned down spectacle over victoria harbor so if your thoughts are called off the traditional fireworks from the center of the harbor for security reasons even small scale pyrotechnics and a laser show pro-democracy protesters have been rallying around the city for a human change through shopping streets and neighborhoods the latest developments in months protests. chinese president asian ping addressed those demonstrations in his televised new year's address calling for a return to calm and stability in hong kong the address came amid the high tensions are. more than 6 months of sometimes violent pro-democracy demonstrations of sent the economy into recession and tarnish the city's reputation was one of the world's safest. and it will take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world former runner nissen boss. is in lebanon after skipping bio in japan where he was awaiting tri

service released this footage of one of its crews being caught in the blazing forest 170 kilometers south of sydney. like to say the crew did manage to escape not far from that residence of the said georges basin because the almost apocalyptic images they were preparing to see in the new year are those plumes of smoke come from the nearby coral one files. crowds of protesters attacked the u.s. embassy in the iraqi capital baghdad in response to recent u.s. astronauts targeting iran backed iraqi militia u.s. president donald trump has accused iran of orchestrating the protests washington says all u.s. personnel of the embassy are safe and this additional forces will be sent to got the compound. hezbollah brigade supporters crossed the. river tigris in the morning and marched toward the u.s. embassy to demonstrate. their protests began after a funeral service for fighters killed in u.s. airstrikes on sunday. the militia officers had previously killed a u.s. citizen. the demonstrators broke through the embassies external security barriers and made it as far as the last security wall of the embassy bui

released this message of one of its crews being caught in a forest fund us about 170 kilometers south of sydney. but the crew did manage to escape the flames unharmed. ok let's take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world today a court in slovakia has sentenced amounts of 15 years in jail over his role in the murder of an investigative journalist sultan and consists to sing as a go between and the killing of young and his fiance and murda and 2018 set off a political crisis. bolivia's interim president has expelled top mexican and spanish diplomats it's alleged they were attempting to help form of the libyan officials flee the country the bolivians have sought refuge in the mexican embassy since the change of government. a us president donald trump has accused iran of orchestrating violent protests in neighboring iraq 2 people died off to angry protesters broke into the u.s. embassy in baghdad stuff had to evacuate the building dozens of angry iraqis shiite militia supporters smashed a main door and set fire to the reception area security forces fired tear gas and gunsh

released this footage of one of its crews being caught in a burning forest about 170 kilometers south of sydney. to save the crew escaped a. home call has also been welcoming in the new year this year with a toned down spectacle over victoria hot city authorities called off the traditional fireworks launch from the center of the harbor for security reasons. that were largely replaced by laser show and projections pro-democracy protesters have been rallying around the city for me hugh would change their shopping areas at the latest developments in months of protests. the chinese president xi jinping addressed those protests in his televised new year's address and called 3rd term to calm and stability in the city his comments come amid. i tension in hong kong where more than 6 months of sometimes violent pro-democracy demonstrations sent the economy into recession and tarnished city's reputation as one of the world's safest. and crowds of protesters attacked the u.s. embassy in the iraqi capital baghdad on good by recent u.s. airstrikes targeting an iranian backed iraqi militia u.s. president don

two volunteer firefighters were killed when a tree fell on their fire engine south of sydney.ragedy prompted the australian prime minister to cut short a holiday in hawaii. scott morrison was criticized for going overseas during a time of crisis. he h apologized. >> it is uortunate it has come at such an awful time, particularly i sydney and new south wales. i'm close to returning. porter: as the debate over the promised her's leadership rages, so do thee ires. for th the frontline, it is exhausting and dangerous work. nerable areas ve been told to leave while they can. phil b mercer, news, new south wales. ♪ nada: there have been more mass protests in india today, over a w, controversial citizenship law. at least six people have been the demonstration critics say the legislation discriminates against the country's 200 million strong muslim population, many fearing they could become stateless. but they've moved by prime minister nur end of modi is popular with prime minister modiops par with his hindu supporters. reporter: controversial citizenship law intensifies. scenes of d

some 70 fires are burning near sydney new south wales more than 1000 firefighters and now the military are in action across the state trying to contain the fires and prevent them from reaching more inhabited areas. way just putting it back in time and law in detroit prevent far from getting towards coastal villages already more than 850 homes have been raised in new south wales. authorities are also working to protect infrastructure surrounding a vital dam west of sydney that provides water to around 4000000 people in the city but which could be at risk if the fires spread. we're joined now from sydney by james morris he's a spokesman for the new south wales fire service james thank you so much for talking to us now the weather forecast for us trail in the coming days is extreme heat windy conditions what does that mean for all of you fighting the fires. a local you say yeah good afternoon mariano these are the conditions that we we most fear obviously we're looking at severe and extreme far dangerous for our more populated areas certainly through the sydney area down in the new south

today we've had some really horrific pictures of the fires burning out of control both north and south of sydney 3 people 3 firefighters have been up and only burned in those blazes and there are reports that as many as 20 homes have been destroyed. roger with all this unpredictability how are people coping as specially with the health threat from smoke we've been seeing the images in sydney. we'll have to take a look at the world particularly because the slogan which is blanked is sydney and most of new south wales for the past fortnight or so today was really bad totally worse than earlier in the week you could see you know a few 100 metres if you were lucky and you know that visibility in the sort of conditions creating the health hazards here to many people the smoke and the heat is arguably more serious than the actual bush far as you get more people dying in australia from heat waves than bush files or floods put together and doctors in devising everyone to stay indoors it's possible or they have to go outside to replace mosques you know roger the heat wave this is another climate change a

sydney . he's a spokesperson for the new south wales. thank you very much for talking to us and firstly we want to say how sorry we are to hear about your 2 colleagues fathers of young children who've lost their lives fighting these days is can you give us a sense of the scale of the fires these men and thousands of firefighters are facing. good evening and good morning to you emirates are obviously a very big loss off the roof or service and and the water firefighting fraternity here in new south wales 2 very loved well respected and dedicated men who gave a lot of time to protect a community i'm not on a cot now but i was the last 10 all say yes' if they members of the roof or service fortunately they were killed in the early in the light and i was rather of last night's i when they're far falling appliance was struck by tree and they fall rolled and unfortunately those 2 men did die at the same 3 firefighters who were in the back of the vehicle were transported to hospital via ambulance and thankfully they're in night in a stable cond

two volunteer firefighters were killed when a tree fell on theirfire engines south of sydney.tt morrison has apologised for going overseas during a time of crisis. it's just unfortunate that it's come at such an awful time, particularly for those living in and around sydney and new south wales. and it's just devastating to be here and seeing what's happening there, so i'm pleased to be returning. as the debate over the prime minister's leadership rages, so do the fires. for those on the front line, it's exhausting and dangerous work. it was scary. and, er, when you see flames come over the top of you, and it's that hot that you can feel the burning through protective clothing and masks, where you're actually breathing hot air and the air‘s hurting the back of your throat, it is hot. in south australia, a catastrophic warning has been issued, and emergency crews are battling 120 fires. parts of new south wales are bracing for similar conditions on saturday. officials say it would be a miracle if more homes weren't lost. residents in vulnerable areas have been told to leave — wh

two nsw rfs volunteer firefighters have died tonight near buxton, in south western sydney." l the current fires burning. there is a particular concentration in new south wales, but there are many others elsewhere. and they're likely to worsen with more hot, dry weather is forecast. australia is waking up to another day of extreme heat. it's the hottest place in the world right now. thursday set a new record — the average temperature was 41.9 celsius. but temperatures in some places went much higher. in south australia, temperatures reached 49.9 degrees. that's so hot the roads melted. of course, australia is always hot and dry at this time of year, but not like this. the fire season has started earlier and the temperatures are higher. that is why we are seeing more and more pictures like this coming in. this is from the blue mountains to the west of sydney. this is the same fire — it's being called the mega blaze because several fires have come together. already over 400,000 hectares have been burnt — and it's not finished yet. across the state of new south wales — where all

sydney. fiona reynolds lives in the uk, but is on holiday in the coastal resort of austinmer, south of sydneyery 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 smoke house, throughout everything, you can just smell smoke everywhere. so whether you are right in the

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 fire as prevent them from reaching more inhabited areas. way just putting it back in time and law in detroit prevent a far from hitting towards coastal villages already more than $850.00 homes have been razed a new south wales. authorities are also working to protect infrastructure surrounding a vital dam west of sydney that provides water to around 4000000 people in the city but which could be at risk if the fires spread. and joining us now from sydney is james morris he's a spokesman for the new south wales rural fire service james the weather forecast for you is hot and windy what does that mean for fighting the fires. good afternoon nick obviously that means challenging conditions and certainly somewhat erratic fire behavior expected across a large area of a far grounds some i do you want pushing grass fires continue to burn across new south wales with around $35.00 of those still yet to bake in time and that still a lot of fog that we

two people south of sydney found dead after they were reported missing when a fire ripped through that town. smoke darkening the sky to an eerie orange color. at an evacuation center in bateman's bay up the coast, thousands of people are trapped at a beach in mall cuda after fleeing their homes as strong winds brought wildfires and smoke so thick, the morning sky turned dark. a resident tells cnn there's no way in or out. >> and the rural fire service warning people along the coast taking refuge are facing a, quote, long, difficult, dangerous night. across new south wales, more than 100 fires burning with reports of people unaccounted for, and so the fear is that they may be dead. as the day wore on, the skylightened to that bright orange that you see there, so ominous as the fire spreads. in new south wales, smoke as far as the eye can see. simon is there. >> reporter: christine, leyla, this is a fire crisis that continues to get worse every day. as you can see behind me, the air is thick with smoke, there is bush fire ash falling from the sky. in fact, the nearest fire front is just