With its opinion poll results on the slide, the Morrison Government ramps up its response to the bushfire emergency with $50 million for threatened wildlife; and can Australia meet climate change emissions targets without relying on carry over carbon credits?

Several states prepare for more extreme fire conditions today, while South Australia's Kangaroo Island gets a brief reprieve; Canada mourns dozens of people lost in the Tehran plane crash, which is now thought to have been caused by a missile strike; And a caravan makes its way down the coast from Queensland to New South Wales for an Aboriginal elder after the community heard she'd lost her home in the fires.

Royal family 'blindsided' by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to step back from royal duties, but one Australian observer wasn't surprised; The ex-boss of carmaker Nissan makes his first public appearance since fleeing Japan in mysterious circumstances; And the animals returning to a New South Wales zoo hard hit by the bushfires.

Iran has launched missiles at at least two air bases housing US troops in Iraq, in retaliation for the death of one of its top generals; the PM is visiting fire-ravaged Kangaroo Island today; and exhausted fire crews are working tirelessly to prepare for more hot weather from tomorrow.

A Liberal backbencher taken to task on UK TV for his climate stance; as the trial of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein begins, new charges of sexual assault are filed against him in Los Angeles; and the challenges facing Indigenous communities affected by the bushfires.

The devastating scale of stock losses becoming clear in fire-affected areas; The World Today look at the fires' impact on tourism and small businesses; And international criminals targeting Australians with investment scams at unprecedented rates.

The PM's coming under attack over his handling of the bushfire crisis; in Mallacoota, nearly a thousand people are being ferried out to the navy's HMAS Choules; and with more than 5 million hectares of burnt land, our wildlife has been left without habitat, food and water.

Thousands of tourists are clogging roads trying to make their way out of fire-ravaged regions in NSW and Victoria as business operators start counting their losses; The Pope begins 2020 with an apology after being filmed slapping away a pilgrim's hand; And the NSW Young Liberals call for more action on climate change.

The full impact of the deadly NSW blazes is only beginning to emerge as firefighters regain access to some communities along the South Coast; in Victoria's far east another community is bunkering down as a fire approaches; and insurers are preparing for a flood of claims and say assessors will be heading into the affected areas as soon as it's safe to do so.

Tributes for a young father-to-be and volunteer firefighter killed in New South Wales; The World Today looks back at the key events of 2019, both here and overseas; and when Greta met Attenborough: the young climate activist ends the year with a chat to Sir David.