Against brazilian side flamengo. The australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has acknowledged public anger at his decision to go on holiday while his country faces a bushfire crisis. Mr morrison said if he could go back he would have made a different choice. The fires are expected to worsen with more hot dry weather expected. Mr morrison did acknowledge the role of climate change, but said warming temperatures couldnt be connected to any single fire. Gareth barlow reports. This is the remarkable, almost apocalyptic scene facing firefighters tackling australias deadly and devastating wildfires. Fire chiefs described saturday as an awful day. As thousands of personnel tackle raging infernos, the countrys Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has been heavily criticised for being on holiday in hawaii, but the pm has cut short his trip to return home. I get it that people would have been upset to know that i was holidaying with my family while their families were under great stress. They know that i am not going to stand there and hold a hose, iam not a trained firefighter. Im conforted by the fact that australians would like me to be herejust simply so i can be here. An areas the size of belgium has been torched by the fires. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and at least ten people killed. Two firefighters are among those to have lost their lives. This week has seen record high temperatures repeatedly broken. With australia hotting up, the Prime Minister says the government would take action on climate change. There is no argument about the links between, in my view and the governments view, and any government in this country, about the links between broader issues of Global Climate change and weather events around the world, but i am sure equally people would acknowledge that the direct connection to any single fire event it is not a credible suggestion to make that link. So we must take action on climate change, we are taking action on climate change. Arson, lightning strikes, even self combusting piles of manure, have been blamed for triggering the blazes. First though, the authorities have to try and take control of the flames before they can try and control the causes to prevent future fires. Ive been speaking to the bbcs Shaimaa Khalil whos in hill top, New South Wales, and she gave me this update. The weather has changed quite a bit here. Temperatures have dropped but were still getting quite a bit of smoke and haze. Firefighters have gone out to do damage assessments in the worst hit areas. Here in hill top most homes were spared, but many people have been evacuated, we met them as they were on their way to shelters. The village next door has been quite devastated. Even though the weather has changed and temperatures have dropped, firefighters are telling us its still very dangerous for anybody to go there. Many roads have been blocked. The reason for that is because the fires have been so devastating in these areas, there is a large number of trees that have been burned, and they are at a great risk of falling on either houses or cars, so people are not permitted in or out. Those who are still in these areas, in their homes, have been told to stay indoors. So movement in those villages and in those areas that have been devastated by fires is quite limited. But now its teams that are on the ground, firefighting teams and police investigators, who are looking to assess the damage to make sure everybody is accounted for and to essentially see how many homes have been destroyed. We are told there are smaller pockets of fire but not nearly as big as they were yesterday. And the problem is for so many of the firefighters, isnt it, is not only the number of fires but also the sheer size of some of these fires as well . Do you know, its interesting, i was just speaking to the Division Commander in this fire station, and he said something quite telling. He said we no longer use the word control. We can no longer control the fires. We can manipulate them to move into areas which are not densely populated, to limit the damage. That is how huge these fires are, how spread out they are, but also how unpredictable they are. He said wind changes are not ourfriend, and wind changes is what has been happening here. The problem with the wind changing is that it changes the behaviour of fires, small fires can merge with bigger ones and turn into fires that are very hard to control. Its also hard to know where its going to hit next, and how big it will have to be to prioritise resources. That is why it has been quite challenging for firefighters. Its the fact that so many of the conditions that determine the size of these fires are not really in anybodys control, because are controlled by the weather. 60,000 people have packed into tokyos new National Stadium, to celebrate its opening ahead of next years olympics and paralympics. They cheered the retired jamaican sprinter usain bolt as hejogged around the track. And there was a taste of how the 2020 Opening Ceremony might look, with traditional drummers and a parade of dancers. Mark eames reports. Expect a few more drums when they do this for real next year. In just over seven months time, the tokyo 0lympics get under way and the stadium that will be the centrepiece for the games and also the paralympics has officially been opened. The success of the recent rugby world cup, aided by the host nations run to the quarter finals, has given sport injapan a big boost. The stadium, which cost nearly 1. 5 billion, will hold 68,000 for the olympics. Those lucky enough to get tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies will see more of this nextjuly but on a far bigger scale. If you are celebrating the opening of your Olympic Stadium you need a highly decorated 0lympian. They dont come much bigger and better than this man, usain bolt certainly knows a thing or two about winning 0lympic titles. The crowd delighted to welcome the eight time gold medallist and he was persuaded to take part in a relay race which used the Olympic Rings instead of batons. Even though the jamaican has been out of the spotlight since his retirement he was impressed with the atmosphere. It was a great experience, actually, to be in here in front of so many people. I was happy and excited because i wont be competing at the olympics so the fact i got to run on the track was an experience in itself. The drums, the dancing in the spectacle. Japan certainly knows how to put on a good show. Stadium hosts its first sporting events, on new years day. The first athletics comes in may with the test event for the games themselves. Mark eames, bbc news lets get some of the days other news. At least 18 inmates have been killed in an outbreak of Gang Violence at a prison in honduras. Officials say 16 people were injured in the northern port city of tela on friday. The fight was one of the worst recent outbreaks in the country where prisons are notoriously overcrowded. The cuban president has appointed the countrys first Prime Minister in more than a0 years the tourism minister, Manuel Marrero cruz. The post of Prime Minister was scrapped by the late leader of the cuban revolution, fidel castro, in 1976. It has now been reinstated and awarded to mr marrero, who has overseen a major boost in tourism to the island over the past 16 years. The american secretary of state, mike pompeo, has condemned russia and china for blocking a Un Resolution that would have kept humanitarian aid flowing to millions of syrians. The resolution would have extended an arrangement that by passes the government in damascus. The groundbreaking model and activist, mama cax, has died at the age of 30. The haitian american model died on monday after falling ill on a trip to london, herfamily said. She lost her leg to lung and bone cancer as a teenager, and was a powerful advocate for women of colour and disabled women in fashion. West African Leaders have been meeting in the nigerian capital, abuja, to discuss the deadly upsurge in islamist violence in the sahel region. Just over a week ago, more than 70 soldiers were killed in an attack in niger. The french president emmanuel macron, on a visit to the region, has promised to help. The bbcs ishaq khalid reports. The west African Leaders gathering here at nigerias president ial palace are under local and International Pressure to act decisively, as violence by militants escaltes in the sahel. Fighters linked to alqaeda and the so called Islamic State as well as boko haram are stepping up attacks. They have killed at least 200 soldiers in niger, mali and burkina faso in the last three months. Thousands of civilians have been affected too and are killed or displaced, creating a humanitarian crisis. The regional leaders say they are worried. Terrorism remains the major threat to the peace and progress of our region. Recurring attacks by terrorist groups remind us of the urgency to build an enduring Security Partnership to confront and defeat the evil of cross border terrorism. Currently there are thousands of regional and International Troops in the sahel backed by france, they have been battling the militants but it appears theyre making little progress and recently, the us and the uk have criticised the African Leaders for not doing enough, saying military action alone could not solve the problem. They urged them to focus on issues of governance, corruption and development, a view shared by many. Terrorist attacks are expanding. They are intensifying in their impact. And the International Community needs to be mobilised to understand that this is notjust a threat to west africa and sahel, but to the entire global community. The terrorist groups are showing more resilience and drawing on their international networks. The time has come to properly see the threat that terrorism is posing to west africa and sahel. And to the wider International Community. And this response should be both military, security, but at the same time, one that addresses the root causes of violent extremism. The extreme poverty, the lack of opportunity, providing social and economic infrastructure. The west African Leaders are expected to come up with a plan to deal with the multiple challenges facing the region. But many are sceptical if meetings like this without genuine, practical actions will make any meaningful impact. The french president , emmanuel macron, and president alassane 0uattara of cote divoire have announced the establishment of a common west african currency to replace the colonial era french cfa franc. Mr macron, whos in abidjan, said that young west africans, in particular, were justified in seeing the cfa, which was established in 1945, as an expression of french colonialism. The intention is for the new currency, the eco, to be launched in 2020. The death toll from a storm that battered spain, portugal and france has risen to eight people, with the affected areas bracing for the arrival of more violent weather. A strengthening storm, given the name fabien, is expected to bring downpours and strong winds to parts of western europe. With more, heres david campanale. Storm elsa hit the Iberian Peninsula on wednesday with the following day seeing an increase in its intensity. The historic riverfront streets of porto in portugal were flooded as large amounts of rain fell in short time. The deaths occurred when a tree fell, hitting a truck, killing the driver, while the second person died in the north of the country after a house collapsed with the force of the downpours. In the centre of portugal, the worst affected city seem to be agueda, where shops and restaurants in the centre we re overcome by rising water levels. Translation it was all so quick that we had to leave urgently. I never saw anything like this in agueda. Storm else flooded rivers brought down powerlines and disrupted rail and air travel across the region, as thousands hoped to travel in readiness for christmas. Portuguese authorities have now issued a red weather warning for a new threat, storm fabien. As well as inland cities, they say coastal areas are likely to get a battering from the incoming weather front. Five of the deaths this week have been entered spain where the authorities are also standing by for fresh turmoil. The National Weather office has put the the entire coast of galicia and the neighbouring region of asturias on red alert the highest level warning due to strong winds and high waves. David campanale, bbc news stay with us on bbc news. Still to come, liverpool can officially call themselves champions of the world after winning the Fifa Club World cup in extra time against flamengo of brazil. The world of music has been paying tribute to george michael, whos died from suspected Heart Failure at the age of 53. He sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. The United States troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. The pentagon says its failed in its principle objective to capture noriega and take him to the United States to face drugs charges. The hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. In its place, the russian flag was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. Day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan ams maid of the seas, nosedown in the soft earth. You could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, falls from 30,000 feet. Christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. Thousands went to Midnight Mass in the town of shkoder, where there were anti communist riots ten days ago. This is bbc news, the latest headlines the australian Prime Minister cuts short his holiday as devastating bushfires continue to rage across three states. Lets stay with our top story now. David bowman is professor of fire science at the university of tasmania, and hejoins us now from hobart. Thank you forjoining us here on bbc world news. Youve seen others see the devastation and the difficulty firefighters are having and fighting this fire. Do you think theyre going about it in right way . Well, in the immediate term, yes. There is no choice now. This is a historically significant fire crisis and basically they just historically significant fire crisis and basically theyjust have to use whatever resources they have got and hope that eventually the rain will come to stand this, all the indications are that this event is going to continue for at least another month. Possibly longer, and its important to stress that is not just New South Wales that is being impacted by fires. There are fires in south australia, victoria, western australia, and indeed tasmania as well as southern queensland. Its been going on since 0ctober, probably will continue right through to the end of february. What do you think needs to change in the way that australia confronts these types of fires . Because clearly they are getting a lot worse arent they . Thats right. Its been said that the best way to fight a bushfire is to fight it five yea rs fight a bushfire is to fight it five years in advance. And what that means is that youve got to do a lot of preparation a lot in the housing both in the Housing Stock to make their houses less prone to being burnt down, better garden design, and a better interface with the bushland to reduce the fire hazard in the bushland by using various techniques including burning the fuel, under controlled conditions, mechanical removal and in some cases using herbivores to eat grass and other combustible vegetation. So there is a Big Programme ahead of us i think to really get on top of fire preparedness and we cantjust continue expecting to be able to manage these fire crises with just these incredibly amazing efforts of firefighters, particularly volunteer firefighters, particularly volunteer firefighters who are putting themselves in grave danger, there has already been loss of life of firefighters. We cant expect that to bea firefighters. We cant expect that to be a norm. We have to do something different. What think australia can learn from, for example, other countries that suffer similar bushfires and forest fires . My similar bushfires and forest fires . My concern is that were going go down the american path of industrialising firefighting and there is a very good deed for industrial firefighting, and specialised aircraft and so on but that is. Is only one part of a broader strategy that we have to see really significant reform and investment in our firefighting capacity and building up the capacity and building up the capacity particularly in the community and individual landowners. We really need to empower them so they have better situational awareness, better resources, so they can make better judgements awareness, better resources, so they can make betterjudgements into the lead up, into the fire season so when they are enjoying a fire crisis like the one that is unfolding. The western we can do is simply invest in more kit. Thats got to be at least a two pronged strategy, investment in specialised firefighting but also investment in preparing the community to withstand these relentless fires. David bowman, professor of fire science at the university of tasmania, thank you. President trump has claimed the United States and china will very shortly sign the first part of their trade pact. It was announced earlier this month, in a bid to end the tit for tat trade war between the Worlds Largest economies. Under the deal, the