this is bbc news. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: texas braces itself for further catastrophic flooding as hurricane harvey moves inland. the power of the hurricane is all too clear, when you looks at the damage it caused these homes. this is a really poor neighbourhood. a lot of the people hear say they simply don't know how they will rebuild their lives. the king of spainjoins half a million people in a march against extremism in barcelona. iraqi forces consolidate their hold on the city of tal afar, as the strength of is militants continues to crumble. police halt the search for landslide victims in south—eastern switzerland as more rockfalls are expected. eight people are still missing final preparations in las vegas, ahead of the much hyped, mega money, boxing bout of the year — mayweather versus mcgregor. welcome to the programme.

as hurricane harvey weakened to a tropical storm, the authorities in texas are warning of serious flooding to come. towns along the texan coast are assessing the damage. rockport is the worst hit with some residents thought to be trapped in collapsed buildings. james cook reports from the city of corpus christi, close to where harvey made landfall. are you in there? this is what a category four hurricane means in reality. searching in the wreckage to find out if your neighbour is dead or alive. it seems that dan got out in time, luckily. he was not the only one who had a narrow escape. many texans took to the road at the last minute as the power

of the storm became clear. others like judy had nowhere else to go. i just went to bed, because i was like, i've got to ride out the storm. did you get any sleep? no, i stayed in my shaking bed, waiting for the roof to come off. and then later it quietened down and there was a tree in my yard and becky's house is completely gone. the power of the wind is plain where harvey made landfall. 30 people in five vessel had to be rescued. these men wrote it out. they are lucky to be alive. were you in your boat last night? yes, he was, too. how was that? no... no brains! the power of the hurricane is all too clear when you look at these homes. this is a really poor neighbourhood and a lot of people say they do not know how they will rebuild their lives.

this is what they endured through the night. 130 mph winds which left nearly 250,000 homes and businesses without power. it is still too early for a comprehensive assessment of the damage, but it will be costly. the danger is not over yet. the storm is inching inland, bringing huge amounts of rain. our primary concern remains dramatic flooding. the state and various agencies remain very active in the search and rescue process, and that will be one of the foremost tasks that we undertake in the coming days. the flooding has begun and the information is that it will get a lot worse. this disaster is still unfolding. on the line is c] wax, the mayor of rockport in texas which has been hit particularly

badly by the hurricane. thank you for speaking to us. can you tell us about the death you have suffered in rockport? we had one confirmed death that the county judge has released a statement about. that was related to a fire. we have not yet determined whether the fire was directly related to the store. logically, you can assume that but we have not confirm that. there are other stories about injuries out there. we have teams out there going literally door to door, hopefully before the sun goes down, to try and determine if anyone is trapped in collapsed buildings but as of right now we have one confirmed death. what kind of things

are yours teams finding?” confirmed death. what kind of things are yours teams finding? i do not know if the word devastation or the word disaster accurately the pics that impact on this community from the hurricane in. it came ashore with 130 knot winds. buildings and homes lying in the street, i have utility poles across roads, all utilities are dead, that includes water, waste water, gas, sanitary sewer, everything. all telecommunications are down. there is extremely spotty circular coverage and, frankly, only vocational satellite telephone coverage. it is... it is... it has

been devastating to our community. that is a long list of destruction. do you feel like you have everything you need to get rockport right ain? you need to get rockport right again? we have gotten tremendous support from federal and state agencies. the government call me today. air force one has sent to people in two helpless out. the roads in and out of the community are not safe, frankly, —— to help us out. we thank our citizens who heeded the morning. i issued a volu nta ry heeded the morning. i issued a voluntary evacuation on tuesday and a mandatory evacuation on wednesday and to those citizens who left, we hope and pray that they remain safe

and outside of the danger area. i heard your previous coverage, this is only a step one. we have just received a category four hurricane and upfront porch. starting tomorrow 01’ and upfront porch. starting tomorrow or the next day, we will receive a flood on the back porch from tremendous amount of rain that is dumping on the interior section of the state. it is now falling downhill and will come back to the coast where we live so life—threatening floods are in our future. that is the way it looks 110w. future. that is the way it looks now. you talked about the citizens who have left rockport. i wonder, have you found many people that tried to stay? we do know some that did stay. we have a refuge of last resort in one of our schools. there has been minor damage. two to 3000 people are in there. we are

community of around ten thousand, right on the coast and people understand the power of mother nature when she wishes to come ashore and they left and god bless them to doing that. i would only ask that all of your listeners, if you area that all of your listeners, if you are a resident of rockport, texas, state where you are. stay out of the area, it is not safe to you in your family. do not return. there is no food, the utilities, no lights, no water, though the communications. stay where you are and protect yourself and your family. it sounds almost apocalyptic, the way you are talking about it? that is probably a fairly good description. i have thought about the term biblical but i will accept the term apocalyptic. we wish you and your rockport all

the best. thank you very much. we will have more on hurricane harvey later in the programme. but now, let's move on. two truck drivers have been arrested after a crash killed eight people in the uk, on the m1 motorway in buckinghamshire. four others have been taken to hospital with serious injuries, including a 5—year—old girl. ben ando reports from the scene of the accident near newport pagnell. crushed almost beyond recognition. the minibus carrying around a dozen people, many believed to be from the same family, was travelling from nottingham towards london. also involved in the accident, two large trucks. images suggest the minibus was crushed between the two huge lorries and broken up into at least two pieces. it happened in the early hours on the m1 motorway southbound carriageway between junction 15 for northampton and junction 1a for milton keynes, and caused huge delays for drivers heading south. fresh marks on the road reveal the desperate attempt to avoid the collision. the six men and two women

who were killed were all travelling in the minibus, as were four others who were seriously hurt, one of them a five—year—old girl. all but one have life—threatening injuries. both lorry drivers have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. one is a 53—year—old man from stoke—on—trent, and the other is a 31—year—old man from worcestershire, who is also being held on suspicion of drink—driving. police say some of the victims may not have been from the uk. some of those involved were visiting the uk from india. we're working to keep the families abroad informed. the scene facing officers who attended was complex and the recovery operation was particularly challenging. tragically, eight people have lost their lives. it's our duty to establish what happened. the m1 motorway, one of britain's busiest sections of road, was closed here for ten hours on a bank holiday weekend that was always going to see high levels of traffic with people visiting friends or family or major events like the notting hill carnival or the british motogp at nearby

silverstone racing circuit. both lorry drivers remain in custody. it is not known if the driver of the minibus is among the dead. exactly what caused this devastating crash remains under investigation. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: hundreds of indian troops have been deployed around the headquarters of a sect led by a controversial guru whose conviction for rape led to deadly violence yesterday. the self—styled holyman, gurmeet ram rahim singh, was found guilty of raping two woman followers 15 years ago. at least 36 people have died. the venezuelan government says 200,000 troops and 700,000 civilians have taken part in the first day of military exercises. the drills were called after the united states announced new financial sanctions

against the government of nicolas maduro, accusing of him of being a dictator. hundreds of migrants evicted last week from the building they'd been occupying for four years have marched through rome to demand a place to stay. the migrants — mainly from eritrea — walked behind a banner that said they were refugees, not terrorists. police used water cannon last thursday to clear them from the square they'd been camping in since their eviction. wives of french soldiers have protested in paris against poor living conditions in the army. they say their husbands are forced to live in damp hangars infested with cockroaches and lice. thousands of soldiers were deployed on anti—terror duties following recent islamist attacks in france. king felipe of spain hasjoined tens of thousands of people on a march through barcelona in defiance of extremism. 15 people were killed in and around the city last week by islamist militants.

during the march, the king and prime minister walked the streets in front of hundreds of catalan flags. our correspondent, tom burridge was there. this was barcelona's response to terror on its streets. tonight, halfa million, their message written here — "i am not afraid". we are going to continue to be a city of peace and be open to the rest of the world. it doesn't really matter where they come from, what their faith is, united we stand. up the front, those who rescued and protected people on that night. standing tall in the middle, the spanish king. a main avenue in the city centre was, for hours, like las ramblas, cars replaced by a never—ending crowd. the atmosphere here is not upbeat, but i wouldn't say it is sombre. it is about remembrance and defiance. it is still raw on las ramblas,

but life and holidays go on. i find it very moving, my daughter sends peace from the uk and we all stand together. a separate protest in this small town where all of the known terrorists grew up. speaking in catalan, one of their sisters gave this emotional address. translation: we must work together so this never happens again. at the barcelona march, plenty of catalan pro—independence flags. the politics here is very divided, but today was about being united. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: las vegas prepares for one of the biggest boxing bouts ever but is a case of hype overshadowing sport?

he is the first african—american to accept the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts 45 years ago to the day that martin luther king declared, "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliar light will appear in the south—eastern sky. an orange, glowing disc that is brighter than anything save the moon — our neighbouring planet mars. there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation. it will take months, and billions of dollars, to re pair what katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest the great clock has been off duty in 117 years, so it was with great satisfaction that clockmaker

john vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again. welcome back. you are watching bbc news. the latest headlines: the authorities in texas are warning of catastrophic flooding to come as hurricane harvey weakens to a tropical storm. rescue efforts are being hampered by strong winds and hundreds of thousands are without power. king felipe of spain has led a huge crowd of demonstrators through barcelona in defiance of the islamist militants who killed fifteen people in catalonia.

after victory in mosul, iraqi forces have been trying to re—take the city of tal afar in the north—west — one of islamic state's last strongholds in the country. and it seems that victory could be in sight. elite forces are believed to have raised the iraqi flag in the centre of tal afar — as rylee carlson reports. after six days of fierce battle in the is holdout of tal afar, the iraqi army has raised its flag from the top of the citadel. commanders here say they have cleared 70% of the city from militants, forcing them to leave behind weapons and evidence of how they tried to escape. translation: the resistance of snipers, there are also booby—trapped cars, mortars. they have been defeated. tal afar lies in a strategic position, sitting on a supply route from the former is stronghold of mosul to syria. us and iraqi military say as many as 2000 militants are still in the city. the iraqi army is fighting neighbourhood by neighbourhood to clear the final pockets of resistance. reminders of the terror the group left behind in graffiti, but troops try to erase the symbols where they can.

the offensive here follows weeks of coalition air strikes. while visiting soldiers in the area, the iraqi defence ministry said victory is close. translation: the enemy is no longer able to face up to our troops. the enemy has completely collapsed. our troops are advancing steadily. god willing, the liberation of tal afar shall be announced soon. between ten and 20,000 civilians are still thought to be in tal afar. even if this battle is swift, it won't be the last. there are still more cities near the syrian border where is is holding out. let's go back to our top story, the storm in texas. on the line isjoey

nichols in cypress. can you tell us what happened to you? the clouds we re what happened to you? the clouds were already very low and we noticed that they started, and then a giant tornado dropped right in front of us. tornado dropped right in front of us. we had to break really quick and turn around. and then what happened, joey? we werejust turn around. and then what happened, joey? we were just trying to get away from it. so you out drove the tornado? it was going the opposite direction. what was going through your head when he saw this thing in front of you? presumably, you have not seen too many tornadoes. that is probably the first time i saw one that close. my heart dropped. i got so that close. my heart dropped. i got so scared. yes, i can imagine. joey, i had to ask if you are meant to be oui’ i had to ask if you are meant to be our driving i had to ask if you are meant to be ourdriving in i had to ask if you are meant to be our driving in this ferocious weather. no. so why were you? we had

to get home. i was at my girlfriend's grandparents‘ house girlfriend‘s grandparents‘ house with them. we had to get back to the house because it was identified. so this really does make it terrifying ordeal, joey. yes, it was terrifying. we are glad you are safe 110w. terrifying. we are glad you are safe now. all the best. swiss officials have called off a search for eight people missing since a huge landslide struck near the border with italy on wednesday, acknowledging they were likely to be buried under millions of tons of rock. police have warned they are expecting more landslides in the remote valley. sarah corker reports. high up in the swiss alps, this is what remains of the small village of bondo. two landslides in three days have buried homes, vehicles, and people. this dramatic footage shows

an entire mountainside collapsing on wednesday, sending a torrent of mud and rocks for five wednesday, sending a torrent of mud and rocks forfive kilometres wednesday, sending a torrent of mud and rocks for five kilometres down the valley. 100 residents were taken to safety and eight hikers from germany, austria, and switzerland are still missing. the search for them has now been abandoned. translation: it became clear that the eight missing people were caught in the back part of the val bondasca, hit by a landslide. to be clear, it lends glide like this travels at a speed of about 200 kilometres —— a landslide that this travels at a speed of about 254 mr rau. the town is near the border with italy, in the graubunden region. on friday, as had been feared, a second, smaller landslide, and a revolvers. diggers brought

into the initial clean—up was swept away. this was once one of the area‘s main roads. swiss police say in places the mud and rock is tens of metres deep. and geologists warned the mountain still poses a threat to the communities living below. sarah corker, bbc news. here in the uk, the main opposition labour party has announced a shift in its policy on brexit, pledging that britain would continue to accept the rules of the single market and the customs union during any transition period after it leaves the eu. the proposal, which would mean accepting freedom of movement for eu citizens beyond 2019, has been set out by the party‘s brexit spokesman sir keir starmer, in an interview with the observer newspaper. the party has been accused repeatedly of a lack of clarity on the issue. after months of hype and insults, the richest fight in boxing history is just hours away.

the undefeated american champion, floyd mayweather, has come out of retirement to face the biggest name in mixed martial arts, the irishman conor mcgregor. 20,000 people will pack the arena in las vegas to see the bout ringside — millions worldwide will watch it on tv. our correspondent, ade adedoyin, has more from las vegas. well, here in las vegas, the hours and the minutes counting down ahead of what will be one of the richest fights in boxing history. conor mcgregor set to earn in the region of $70 million, floyd mayweather — the best pound—for—pound fighter of this era — set to earn over $100 million. all the talking is now done. the hype and the build up to this fight has been off the scale. some have criticised it as a bit of a circus because of mcgregor‘s lack of boxing experience. but that hasn‘t stopped the number of bets going in on him. i spoke to an odds—maker here, in las vegas. he said that the majority of the bets have gone

on conor mcgregor, but the big money has gone on floyd mayweather. the likes of $1 million and $1.3 million bets on the american. can conor mcgregor cause what would be notjust the biggest upset in boxing but the biggest upset in sports history? we will find out in the coming hours. lewis hamilton has secured the 68 poll position of his career for sunday‘s belgian grand prix. he equals the record for polls held by michael schumacher. he will be lining up his mercedes in his 200th grand prix in spa on sunday. bentrat jazz more. after the summer break, it qualify for the belgian grand prix had a familiar feel to it qualify for the belgian grand prix had a familiarfeel to it. fernando alonso drag his mclaren to 11. he said it would have been first to be have a better engine. where used to seeing him struggle. lewis

hamilton described this lap is a dream. the fastest ever around the spa circuit, to take provisional pole. sebastian vettel brought all he could from his ferrari, but was almost a quarter of a second shy of lewis hamilton. that is now lewis hamilton‘s 68th, equal with mark schumacher. ben croucher, bbc news. let‘s get your a reminder of our top story, now. as tropical storm harvey continues to lash the us state of the texas, the governor said dramatic flooding is now his biggest concern. that is the way it is looking. you can get in touch with me and the rest of the team on twitter. i‘m @duncangolestani. do stay with us on bbc news.

hello. if you approved of saturday‘s weather, then sunday shouldn‘t disappoint. let‘s look at a couple of images from saturday. often cloudy, but there were some warm sunny spells coming through. one or two places stayed dry. there were some isolated showers. this finger of high pressure that has moved in across the uk will keep most places dry for part two of the weekend, during sunday. it won‘t be all clear blue sky — there could just be a few spots of drizzle around, north wales, north western england, feeding into scotland, northern ireland, in north—west england. elsewhere, the cloud will break and some sunny spells will come through. again, while most places will be dry, there is a weather system close to north—west scotland — the thickest clouds here, more breeze. there are some patchy outbreaks of rain especially into south wales.

most of us into the mid—20s. we are looking fine at the test match at headingley. there will be some sunny spells coming through that cloud, a bit more breeze by monday. for the notting hill carnival, glorious weather. temperatures head up even further by the time we get to the bank holiday. the winds will remain quite light. here is how it is looking to sunday evening. if you are planning a barbecue, you are in good shape. but as we go through sunday night, the rain starts to gather a bit more towards the north—west of the uk into northern scotland. some outbreaks of rain moving through. on towards the northern isles as well. the wind is picking up. these overnight temperatures. monday‘s big picture looks a little different. high pressure being squeezed away, weather fronts coming in. they are poised to move their way southwards through monday into tuesday. what that means for monday — that means for scotland and northern ireland, more cloud, stronger winds, and outbreaks of rain moving south. monday, some will be moving into northern england and north wales. whereas to the south of that, it will be notjust dry,

but plenty of sunshine. a range of weather on monday. a range of temperatures, as a break from the breeze in the rain to where we see the best of the sunshine, with some places reaching into the upper 20s to nearly 30 celsius. looking ahead to tuesday and wednesday, we will take that cool and fresher air and gradually filter that further southwards across the uk. so that‘s how it‘s looking here over the next two days. not a great deal of change in texas. even though harvey has been downgraded to a tropical storm, that‘s a wind classification, and more rain is being generated. it will continue to do so for a few days. the extremely dangerous situation continues in texas. this is bbc news, the headlines: the governor of the us state of texas has said dramatic flooding is his primary concern as the rains from tropical storm harvey continue to lash the state.

hundreds of thousands remain without power. authorities are warning the flooding is likely to worsen before the waters subside. the king of spain has led a huge crowd of demonstrators through barcelona in defiance of the islamist militants who killed 15 people in catalonia this month. police say half a million people took part. the main banner bore the slogan "i am not afraid." iraqi government forces have been consolidating their hold of the central district of the city of tal afar, as the strength of the islamic state militia crumbles. after a week of heavy fighting, the general in charge of the operation said the national flag is once again flying over the citadel. scotland yard says a man who attacked police officers close to buckingham palace on friday night drove directly at a police car before reaching for a four—foot sword.