Snowmail: Australia fires "hell"
Updated on 08 February 2009
The Australian bushfires have become the deadliest on record. Nearly 100 deaths have been counted so far and it is bound to get worse.
Tens of thousands of fire fighters and troops are trying to get the fires under control. Three states are affected but the casualties have mostly been in Victoria, a state the size of Britain with a population of around 5 million.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been out with the victims and declared hell had visited Australia. Bushfires are common in the summer but these are particularly bad, with very high temperatures and high winds making perfect wildfire conditions and once again the amazing fact remains much of it will have been started on purpose by arsonists. Police say they could charge those found responsible with murder.
Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and some of the stories of how people were caught in the fire are appalling. One of Australia's best loved newsreaders, Brian Naylor, and his wife are among the dead. Naylor was perhaps the Sir Trevor Macdonald of his time- long retired but still a big figure in people's memories. He used to end his broadcasts with the words "May your news be good news, and good night."
Darling questions bank bonuses
The bank bonus scandal is gathering pace. Alistair Darling has denied one report today saying 70 per cent state-owned RBS is going to shell out £1bn in bonuses. But while continuing to insist the banks must be mindful of the way taxpayers feel he is refusing to be as clear as Barack Obama has been stateside.
He is setting up a review of banking management, which will take in remuneration, but that won't affect anything in the short term. Siobhan Kennedy has the latest from her treasury sources.
The government's position over RBS bonuses is fairly hard-line, but they also say those who have been making money for the bank need to be rewarded to stop them leaving, and that it is in the taxpayer's interest to do this. But many people still can't understand by their hard earned cash is going into the pockets of bankers who screwed up.
The likes of Lloyds and Barclays like to pretend they are not the ones at fault, pointing the finger at RBS and HBOS, but they are still taking, or about to take, advantage of government help in one form or another, so should they reign in their customary excesses? We'll be talking to Vince Cable. We'll also be talking to the chef Anthony Worrall Thompson, who has become the latest credit crunch victim - four of his restaurants are closing and he's furious with the banks for not extending his business credit.
BAFTA battle: Britain vs Hollywood
And it's the BAFTA's tonight, with all the money on two films: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Slumdog Millionaire. One is a multi-million pound Hollywood stunner about a baby born old who grows young with a stellar cast, the other a relatively low budget British film, borrowing from Bollywood, which has taken the world by storm.
Slumdog Millionaire is the story of how a young boy from the slums wins India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Most of the cast were unknown but the dastardly TV host is played by a Bollywood star Anil Kapoor. I've been talking to him about working with director Danny Boyle and the runaway success of the movie.
