lots of people from the university of syd ney of people from the university of sydney on their puttingle, putting motion sensors on people, putting motion sensors to track our people were sleeping. part of the testing was also food as well, nice puddings and stea k also food as well, nice puddings and steak so it was about pushing our circadian rhythm into sydney time. even though we got on the flight at about 6am uk time, it was trait —— straight into dinner and wine. that doesn't sound like a very normal flight doesn't sound like a very normal flight experience for most people. were you sitting in coach class? there are not very many of you on the flight and i can see you doing some exercises. that will not be the reality for most people on board these lights. not at all. there was 53 of us including crew on the plane and the passengers, we will roll in business class and it was quite spooky walking round this huge 787 dreamliner and seeing all the empty seats while you are in the air. i asked the ceo allanjoyce asking why you won't doing tests in economy class. i'm sure you will be f

it is mostly for the fringes of syd ney go? it is mostly for the fringes of sydney itself.ensely populated areas, actually into the city. sydney is surrounded by national parks and bushland is and there are communities that actually stretch into those. so that the actual notification of the advice is for those communities in what we know is bushfire prone land. so we want we bear —— we want them to move out of it but it was part of the day. under these conditions fires will start incredibly quickly and move rapidly. we don't want people in the path of them because there is the potential for them to be killed. and we have heard measures could include firefighters coming across from new zealand, other parts of australia, even the military, perhaps, stepping into help. so the military can actually help us here in moving people around, obviously, and also logistical support. at those other firefighters from other states, they are moving into help. but we have got problems obviously in other states as well. look, this is a massive effort and unfortunately we have a ready seen a

i'm on the south side of syd ney overnight. i'm on the south side of sydney in new south wales.d catastrophic fire warnings, even down here as well and is the first time we've ever had those. we are regularly keeping an update on the absent example here, this one showing where the fires up and down the coast. further north, they are having a horrendous time, particularly in queensland, as you've heard. stilli particularly in queensland, as you've heard. still i think i'm a 70- you've heard. still i think i'm a 70— plus fires burning uncontained. some of these fires are notjust related to climate change, it is arson. it is one of the things where you see this strange event happening and people are saying not to talk about climate change, the fire seasons are getting longer, they are starting earlier and just last month, we had 20 of the most senior retired firefighters across all the states in australia actually warning that it was going to be a bad fire season, we need to be better prepared and i was meant to be a coast in the northern part of new south wales, talking about clim

we were at one rally in the centre of sydney, outside the syd ney the centre of sydney, outside the sydneyrters of the liberal party. the liberal party is of the governing party in the state of new south wales, which has seen devastating bushfires. it is also the major partner in the federal government. protesters angry at the prime minister scott morrison, accusing him of standing idly by while australia burns. they believe the australian government, a centre right administration, is doing enough to rein in the fossil fuel industry or taking climate change seriously. both noting that scott morrison admonished a couple of local council leaders for linking bushfires with climate change. hundreds of people outside the liberal party headquarters in sydney and many more demonstrating in other parts of the country. do you get the sense that as these protests go on, there is a rising sense of anxiety linked to these bushfires? in september, we had an estimated 300,000 people attend various climate demonstrations across australia. today's rallies are not anywhere near that number. i put that ques

heathrow to sydney but it raises the prospect that we will see these nonstop flights from london to sydlondon to sydney and qantas really needs that because it has a high cost base. if you want to travel one—stop gp from europe to australia, you can do it very economically through the gulf oi’ very economically through the gulf or china. in orderfor very economically through the gulf or china. in order for qantas very economically through the gulf or china. in orderfor qantas to get some kind of premium, they need to offer something different and they are the only game in town. certainly british airways and virgin atlantic are not british airways and virgin atlantic a re not interested british airways and virgin atlantic are not interested in this. qantas needs to do this and it thinks to get the premium market sewn up from london to sydney and new york to sydney. environmentally speaking, surely a long haulflight like sydney. environmentally speaking, surely a long haul flight like this is worse in terms of carbon emissions than stopping so that's going in the wrong direction, isn't it

unprecedented, and even the edges of syd ney unprecedented, and even the edges of sydney at risk.quite new, even for this country that is very familiar with bushfires. it's interesting it is lapping up the doors of sydney. 78 overnight warnings. it is the beginning of summer, not the middle or the end. this is being stoked by whether that is extremely hot and dry and low in humidity. it isn't the right time to talk about one does need to consider what can be done to prevent these in future, green margins, irrigated areas, there needs to be some planning here. some population management. an interesting angle in an american paper about how indigenous australians have managed very well with fire historically. i wonder if there is an argument by nothing more traditional techniques? it's interesting, as you say, this has to be looked at in terms of future planning, not just has to be looked at in terms of future planning, notjust for australia but other parts of the world where we are what is an annual event because of our climate getting warmer. it's becoming that much more catastroph

for business just now, up by seng opened for business just now, up by 0.2%, however a slight fall in sydlight fall in sydney's all ordinaries, lowered by one tenth of a percent. thank you, see you in the next hour. this is bbc news. the top stories this hour: president trump denies asking the attorney general to exonerate him of any wrongdoing over his controversial phone call to the ukrainian president. a new yorkjudge orders president donald trump to pay $2 million for misusing funds from his charity to finance his 2016 political campaign. a "major incident" has been declared in sheffield in response to heavy downpours and flooding, which has also affected other parts of northern england. the don river in sheffield has breached its flood defences in parts of the city. city authorities and are monitoring the situation and emergency services are standing by, though there've not yet been compulsory evacuations. hundreds were stranded at the meadowhall shopping centre, and tom ingall was there. it should have been one of the busiest nights of the year for them, the christmas lights switch

we are talking about the outskirts of syd ney talking about the outskirts of sydney at risk of bushfires of population, potentially at risk. we did speak with ben shepherd from the new south wales rural fire service just a short time ago. he spoke a little bit about that message for people to get prepared now because come tuesday, the resources might be so stretched that if they call for help, that help might not arrive. we are talking about a massive area here now that we are with. some 6 or 700,000 hectares of bushland that is alight so we are having to deal with that ahead of these worsening conditions on tuesday. we need people to obviously understand that when they do ask for assistance that a fire truck may not be able to turn up. the winds of those kinds of strengths, we may not be able to get you aerial support. so we're trying to encourage everybody to use this weekend to prepare. you reported on fires on the ground in some of these locations we are talking about. what is different about them this time? well, in terms of, it is a different location was at this time last year i

but we have had significant threats over the last couple of days to homes especially over north of sydh of sydney in the auditory area, and the gosford fire burning at 170,000 hectares. we've seen significant loss of homes, especially around the mid north coast and do a number of koala habitats in those areas. so we're still seeing significant work done by firefighters emergency service personnel, trying to contain these fires, but it certainly will be some weeks and months before we see some containment. we've been busy herewith was far since the beginning of august. typically we don't see our was fire danger period start until october one, so seeing a lot of fire activity, more homes lost tha n lot of fire activity, more homes lost than in our more significant fire seasons in lost than in our more significant fire seasons “119911, 2001 lost than in our more significant fire seasons in 1994, 2001 and 2002. a lot of these fires have been in remote and rugged terrain. until we see significant rain, we need weeks of it, significant, persistent rain to put these fires out. if we get rainf

we are talking about the outskirts of syd ney talking about the outskirts of sydney at risk, huge populationso the fire service a short time ago and he spoke about that message for people to get prepared now because come tuesday, the resources might be so stretched that if they call the help, that help might not arrive. we are talking about a massive area we are dealing with, some 600 or 700 thousand hectares that is a light so we are having to deal with that ahead of these worsening conditions on tuesday so we need people to understand that when they do ask for assistance, a fire truck may not be able to turn up. we may not be able to get you aerial support. we are trying to encourage everybody to use this weekend to prepare. you've reported on fires like this on the ground. what is different about them this time? well, in terms of, it is different location so time last year, i was in new south wales reporting on bushfires in a small country town called tathra and it was complete he wiped out so it is happening again this time. to have another bush tire —— bush fire disaster in string ——to h

somebody who used to do the london— syd ney somebody who used to do the london— sydney route quite frequently to get there, sometimes you do feel that, i have had enough. i personally would not do it. i like the break. refresh and then get back on. now, on the other hand, those who think byjust doing it one way, you are also saving in terms of, on the business case, you are reducing the number of flights going up in the year and the whole issue of the carbon footprint in terms of the number of flights a person is making. so there is a business case on the one hand, or an environmentalfactor, case. however, iam not environmentalfactor, case. however, i am not so sure on the human side. this is it because ultimately this will only work if there is consumer demand but yes, you point to the environmental practicalities, perhaps, of having fewer flights if they can go longer distances but ultimately, for qantas, this could potentially be game changing because when you look at their rivals, they all operate out of hubs. they all have singapore airlines, you know, pa rt have singapore airlines, you

syd ney wo ke this catastrophic fire danger.ydney woke up to a haze as the smoke from other areas, neighbouring areas, has come and settled near the skies here. i certainly, and people around me, felt it. you could smell it in the air. and really, as the day progresses, the danger becomes more severe. the firefighters and the fire authorities have been updating people on an hourly or two hourly basis, and now we are seeing more localised fires, really. but it all comes down to the heat into the wind, because things can get out of control really quickly. and i think people have been told that, if they are in vulnerable areas, they should leave. because firefighters are trying to control some areas. they can't be everywhere all of the time. and in those areas close to the fires, people have described to us, even before the fire reaches cars, say, there is so much eucalyptus in the air, because explode before the fires get to them. all this exacerbated by, i guess, the bone dry ground, and a strong drought. strong winds, high tempe

syd ney sydney and regions to the north, south and west are on edge. hours, could be facing horrific conditions. australia is a land well used to nature's extremes, but officials say this is unprecedented. a bushfire emergency has been declared here in new south wales. a state of emergency has also been declared a further north in queensland. what that means is that fire authorities have extra powers to destroy to deal with the onslaught. —— to try to deal. there are hundreds of boots on the ground being supported by a squadron of water bombing aircraft. it really is a military style operation to try to protect life and property. but fire authorities warn some residents who decided to stay in bushfire prone regions, the flames may well be too intense and help may not come. australia is bracing for the onslaught. phil mercer, bbc news. oscar—winning film director steve mcqueen opens a new exhibition at the tate on tuesday. year three saw him and his team photograph more than three—quarters of a million year three children across london's schools. the pr

for the very first time, the greater syd ney the very first time, the greater sydney area, also the illawarra conditions. what that means his hot temperatures, about 38 celsius, strong wind, low humidity on top of all of that and a long—standing drought has made the ground beneath your feet into dry. a state of emergency has been declared here in new south wales over the weekend. a state of emergency was declared in queensland as well. this crisis spans queensland as well. this crisis s pa ns two queensland as well. this crisis spans two states here in eastern australia. thank you. police in hong kong have fired live ammunition at protesters, hitting at least one person. footage broadcast on social media appears to show an officer shooting a demonstrator in the chest at point blank range. a hospital authorities spokesman told the bbc that the person who was shot is currently undergoing surgery and is in critical condition. and it was mike‘s turn to face the music last night — as he became the latest contestant to waltz out of the strictly ballroom. he may not have won the glitterball, but he‘

catastrophic fire danger warnings on tuesday for a vast stretch of the new south wales coast from south of sydt from south of sydney all the way north to the queensland border as well as inland areas as well. on friday we had an unprecedented 17 emergency bushfire alert and there are fears that tuesday could be even worse. the fallout from the fires over the last few days, as you say, at least three people have died and at least 150 homes have been destroyed. thank you, phil. we have been talking about the weather this week. is there any good news, ben? it depends what you call good news. it will stay chilly over the next few days and there is more rain in the forecast and perhaps a bit more this as well. not all of us got snow yesterday but some of us did. this is how it looked in some areas and there are still flood warnings in force as well and number of severe flood warning still on the river don. as you say, there has been much going on. but for day, remembrance sunday, we have a chance to take a breath. a quiet day with mostly dry spells of sunshine. there is still some rain around and t