this is bbc news. i'm ben bland. our top stories: the leader of catalonia prepares to address the regional parliament will he declare independence from spain? at least ten people are killed as one of the worst firestorms in california's history tears its way through the state's wine region. and why a court case over dual citizenship could cost the australian government its majority in parliament. schools closed, flights cancelled and demonstrations — french unions urge more than 5 million workers to take to the streets. and staying relevant — the world bank says more needs to be invested in education, before artificial intelligence axes millions ofjobs. the leader of catalonia's devolved government will address the regional

parliament later, and there is intense speculation that he could unilaterally declare independence from spain. carles puigdemont will address regional politicians and present the results of a disputed referendum his government held, even though the spanish central government declared it illegal. reporting from barcelona, tom burridge. catalonia's future is hanging in the balance. the years, some have fought for independence, others are deeply opposed, as in this region's government threatens to cut catalonia out of spain. marie is worried about the uncertainty. people are getting angry with each other, she tells me, i do not like it one bit. it is rarely bad, this

woman says, i hope they can talk it out. things should not be as extreme as they are now. it is on everyone‘s lips but the two players in all these, are still not talking. so all eyes on what decision has been made in the corridors of catalan power. this evening the focus will shift to the parliament. a statement in this chamberfrom the parliament. a statement in this chamber from the man the parliament. a statement in this chamberfrom the man in charge of the evolved a government. when catalonia's leader stands the and addresses catalan mps, is exact words are crucial. as the endorsed unilateral declaration of independence or will the step back from the brink? he could announce more us strategist. the government is still trying to pressure madrid to allow them to hold a recognised referendum on independence. that is something of this politician also

wa nts something of this politician also wants but have low, the left—leaning leader of spain ‘s third biggest party is against breaking away. dialogue is key. we have to talk. democracy should be the element that the government is needs to use. i think violence is not the way. there is uncertainty and attention here also. some of the worst wildfires ever in the state of california have killed at least ten people and forced around 20,000 from their homes. at least 1500 properties have been destroyed as the flames spread in hot weather, whipped up by strong winds. governor, jerry brown, has declared a state of emergency in the wine counties of napa, sonoma and yuba. the bbc‘s dave lee reports from san francisco. fierce winds and low humidity — the perfect conditions for a raging blaze to spread across california's famous wine

region, north of san francisco. late sunday night, dramatic videos posted to social media showed locals desperately fleeing towns that were being engulfed by the flames. slow down, stop! stop! winds as strong as 70 mph meant the fire spread quickly and unpredictably. what started the initial blaze is not yet known. 11 o'clock somebody came around honking their horn, like, just crazy. we're just like "what is going on?" and i don't know what inspired me to look out my bedroom window, necause it's in the back of the house and the car because it's in the back of the house and the car was in the front of the house, but i drew my blinds and i just saw flames all up behind the hills, behind my house. by monday morning, more than 14 separate fires, covering almost 60,000 acres were being dealt with. a conservative estimates suggest 1500 structures had been destroyed, many of them people's homes.

evacuation centres were set up for those affected, including several hundred patients at two hospitals. the city of santa rosa was particularly badly hit. many homes and the hilton hotel were burnt to the ground. every spark is going to ignite a fire and so, regardless of what that may be — wind can impact, and start fires, downed power lines, vehicles pulling off into the dry grass — all of those things have the potential and under these kind of conditions, the risk is just extreme of new starts. california's governor, jerry brown, has declared a state of emergency in a region which is no stranger to large brush fires. the state's stretched fire crews are also tending to large fires in southern california. in wine country, authorities prioritise getting people out of harm's way before attempting to tackle the blaze. more than 20,000 people have left their homes and so attention is now turning to try to control the fire form the air.

people across northern california are being told to close their windows to minimise the danger of breathing in ash. weather forecasts predict the wind levels will drop, which could may make containing the fire easier. dave lee, bbc news, san francisco. debbie follweiler is a resident of bastopol in sonoma county, about seven miles. she join us on the line now. give us an update of the situation around you right now? inaudible. we

are watching... inaudible. around you right now? inaudible. we are watching... inaudiblei around you right now? inaudible. we are watching... inaudible. lam afraid the line is quite poor. we are struggling to hear what you are saying but we will try to make contact with you later. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: a british—iranian woman imprisoned in iran faces new charges, according to her husband, and they could mean more time injail. nazanin zaghari ratcliffe was arrested in april last year as she tried to leave tehran. she was jailed for 5 years, accused of trying to overthrow the government. human rights groups have called for her release. the trump administration has confirmed plans to repeal another of barack 0bama's keynote policies, which reduced greenhouse gas emissions from power stations, and encouraged states to move to cleaner energy sources. the head of the environmental

protection agency, scott pruitt, says he'll sign a document on tuesday to withdraw the clean power plan — as he put it, the "war on coal would be over". a man in a shark costume has fallen foul of an anti—burka law that recently came into force in austria. designed to ban the full—face islamic veil, the law says people's faces must be visible from hairline to chin.the man in the shark mask was advertising a business in central vienna which was fined. sally is here with all the business news. she has details of potential disruptions in france. de ja vous — france is braced for mass strikes and protests today. unions have called on their 5.4 million members to take to the streets. so what's got them marching this time? they're angry about massive

job cuts in the public sector — 120,000 positions are to be axed over the next five years. plus the unions are calling for higher wages that they argue have become stagnant and hugely impacted their buying power in the country. another main sticking point is proposed changes to social security contributions. president macron‘s plans would unify payments for all taxpayers, eliminating separate contributions for sickness and unemployment insurance. to add to the chaos today some air traffic controllers will be on strike which may result in the cancellation of up to 30% of flights across main airports in france today. so, if you're flying in and out of france make sure to double—check with your carrier before you set off. we will have an in—depth conversation about the impact it

will have and the outcome of the strike action if it occurs. also automation is rapidly changing the employment market. one study by pricewaterhousecoopers suggests more than a third ofjobs in the us could be at risk over the next twenty years. so how can people and countries prepare? the world bank is preparing to roll out a new initiative to encourage more investment in human capital and education. we'll have a special interview with the head of the bank — about the millions ofjobs at risk from automation — and what needs to be done about it. fascinating watching. i think you andi fascinating watching. i think you and i are safe for a little while. the cameras are automated. plenty of robots but still to humans. thank you very much, sally. liberia's political parties have been campaigning ahead of the first round of voting in the country's presidential election. twenty candidates are standing

to replace current president ellen johnson sirleaf. it's the first liberian elections in 12 years, and as andrew plant reports, competition between candidates is running high. monrovia, capital of liberia, hours before the polling stations open. with 20 candidates standing, there is a different campaign party around almost every corner. in a country of 11.5 million, more than half the voters are young people. this election will be the very first time for liberia to go through a peaceful transitional process in our country. so we have observed that youth has been actively engaged in politics. for 15 years, civil war killed hundreds of thousands of people here. now they are anxious to protect more than a decade of peace. africa's first elected female president, ellenjohnson sirleaf, will step aside and, for the first time in memory here, power will be passed

to a democratically elected successor. former footballer, george weah, is one of the candidates. we can all live together in peace. the current vice president, joseph boakai, is also in the running. with all the resources that we have, with our agriculture, mining, we should not be dependent on foreign aid. liberia, on the west coast of africa, has many issues a new leader will need to tackle. many candidates pledging to end corruption and revive the economy. issues that could decide who wins. with so many candidates, it is unlikely that any one will get more than half the vote which means the top two left in the running will battle each other for the presidency. andrew plant, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: banging the drum for iceland — as they become the smallest country ever to qualify for the finals of the football world cup. this was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. they believe everything's going to be different from now on. they think their country will be respected in the world once more, as it used to be before slobodan milosevic took power. the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet, has won this year's nobel peace prize. as the parade was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded and a group of soldiersjumped from a military truck taking part in the parade and ran towards the president, firing from kalashnikov automatic rifles. after 437 years, the skeletal ribs of henry viii's tragic warship emerged.

but even as divers work to buoy herup, the mary rose went through another heart—stopping drama. i want to be the people's governor. i want to represent everybody. i believe in the people of california. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the leader of catalonia's devolved government will address the regional parliament later amid intense speculation that he could announce a unilateral declaration of independence from spain. some of the worst ever wildfires in the us state of california have killed at least ten people and forced around 20,000 from their homes. a hearing on the case of seven australian politicians caught up

in the country's dual—nationality saga is taking place at the high court in canberra. all seven admit they may have breached the constitution by taking office while holding citizenship rights in other countries, if some, such as deputy prime minister barnabyjoyce, seen here on the top left, lose the case, then the australian government could lose its majority. professor margaret thornton joins us now. she specialises in constitutional law at australian national university. good to see you. thanks forjoining us on good to see you. thanks forjoining us on the programme, professor. how significant a constitutional crisis is this basing the government if that's not overstating it? -- facing. the government would certainly see it as the government would certainly see itasa the government would certainly see it as a crisis once it loses its majority because it throws the whole turnbull government into turmoil.

we've picked out the deputy prime minister, apart from the fact that it's a very senior role, is that a particularly significant person being involved in this? or is it purely the numbers involved and the fa ct purely the numbers involved and the fact the government could lose its majority that the more pressing concern? yes, i think it is, majority that the more pressing concern? yes, ithink it is, because barnaby joyce is the concern? yes, ithink it is, because barnabyjoyce is the only one of the seven in the house of representatives. the other six are all members of the senate. so if their election was found to be constitutional or unconstitutional, there could be a recount and so another senator would simply slot in but in the case of barnabyjoyce, there would have to be a by—election. there would have to be a by-election. i suppose it's rather unsettling for the government that

this is happening at all, but i suppose what would have been worse is for uncertainty and for this to drag on, so at least they've got a hearing that's going to decide it one way 01’ hearing that's going to decide it one way or another. yes, that's right. the issue of course has bid on the agenda for a very long time —— been on. in the 1890s this clause was drafted and i suppose at that time there was concern about russia and other countries that may not have been seen to be allies. and of course, at that stage, there wasn't such a concept as australian citizenship that all so—called australians were actually british citizens. so it's rather peculiar to 110w citizens. so it's rather peculiar to now find that britain is a foreign power according to this clause of the constitution. that was decided ina the constitution. that was decided in a case in 1999. 0k, professor

margaret thornton from australian national university, thank you very much indeed. uk ministers will today launch the analysis of the government's racial disparity audit, which was ordered by prime minister theresa may more than a year ago. it looks at how ethnic minorities and white working class people are treated by public services such as the nhs, schools, police and the courts. the bbc‘s elaine dunkley has the details. it will highlight some of the things... it was theresa may's promise when she became prime minister, to make a fairer britain for everyone. today's audit of race shows inequality and divisions. parina is a maths teacher. she won a race discrimination tribunal and believes we are far from an equal society. the fact i have to be ten times better than my white collea g u es times better than my white colleagues in order to go forward and make any progress, although i was the most qualified and the most experienced, i was still looked over bya

experienced, i was still looked over by a white male, who was eventually put into the position. today the government will introduce extra help for getting minorities trying to find a job for getting minorities trying to find ajob in for getting minorities trying to find a job in ethnic minorities... is it enough to tackle what the government calls uncomfortable truths. there should be a coherent strategy where government actually appoints one individual, ideally a secretary of state, to lead on the development, the implementation and the delivery of a coherent race strategy. the government says it's highlighting burning injustices, but there's also the burning question, can the government deliver radical measures that will get under the skin of racial and social inequalities? elaine dunkley, bbc news. sport now, we begin with football, and iceland have qualified for the world cup finals for the first time. goals from gylfi sigurdson and johann berg gudmundsson gave them a 2—0 win over kosovo and top place in their group and a place in russia next year. and you may hear more of this.

this was the centre of reykjavik just a couple of hours after they qualified. the viking chant caught the imagination of fans at euro 2016 in france last year. iceland has a population of only around 333,000 people and is the smallest nation ever to feature in the ultimate football event. translation: pride and joy come to mind. this is one of the biggest moment in the sports history of iceland. we are a small nation but we use that as a strength. serbia have also qualified for the finals. they beat georgia 1—0 to finish top of group d. the republic of ireland finished second to make the play—offs after they beat wales 1—0 in cardiff. james mclean's goal breaking welsh hearts as they miss out on a place.

really i think i speak for a lot of the nations in the play—offs, i don't think anyone will want to play italy, i don't think anyone would really wa nt italy, i don't think anyone would really want to be playing portugal, although portugal might beat switzerland. and there's about six others that i'd rather not have but i'm delighted to be in it. syria could take a big step towards qualifying for their first world cup on tuesday when they face australia in sydney. the tie is level at 1—1 after the first leg in malaysia last week, where syria have been playing their home games because of the civil war in their country. chris latchem previews the action. reaching the world cup could not be much closer. both australia and syria are just two qualifying rounds away from a place in russia. after a 1—1 draw in malasya, last tiem out, australia are back on home soil tuesday, and reaching a fourth world cup is the only thing on their mind. what we know is if we win tomorrow night,

we're through to the next round and our objective is to play our football. we want to be aggressive, we want to be attacking and take it to the opposition and test them and that is what we will do. the socceroos may have home advantage but as many as 15,000 syrian fans living in the country could attend the match in sydney. despite sitting 25 places below australia in the world rankings and battlnig with a depleted squad, syria are confident they have what it takes to win. translation: we hope the benches will do well. the absence of five players would affect any team, but anyway, my faith and trust is in the players we have and, god willing, the absence of players will not affect them because their morale and their will is important. for one team, this will be the end of the road. for the winner, just one final round of qualifying awaits — a play—off against the fourth placed team from the concacaf federation. with the world cup dream still very much alive. chris latchem, bbc news. last year's olympic games in rio

were widely considered a huge success. but there was tragedy amidst the festivities. a coach with the german team, steffan henze, died in a car crash near the olympic park. his organs were donated for transplant and one brazilian woman was given a new lease of life. the bbc‘s tim allman takes up the story. ivonette balthazar, 67 years old, a grandmother. she looks completely normal but she has the heart of an 0lympian, literally. after a lifetime of smoking, she suffered a heart attack. bedridden, she was on a waiting list by nearly two years. then she was finally given the transplant she so desperately needed. translation: her heart is great, marvellous. it functions very well. and the heart will now allow her to change her life. she'll be able to get back to doing things that she never would have dreamt she'd be able to do. that's thanks to the person

who's no longer here with us. that person is stefan henze. he won silver for slalom canoeing at the athens olympics in 200a. he became a coach with the german team, but died from head injuries sustained in a car crash at last year's games. ivonette was given his heart and last month, she took part in a 3—kilometre walk along copa cabana beach with a grandson by her side. she knows how lucky she is and how much she owes to stefan henze. translation: i'm really taking care of this heart. i'd like to give his mother a hug, because i'm also a mother, and i know how much she must be suffering. i would hug them and tell then that i'm going to do everything i can to make sure this heart is alive for a long time. she says she will continue walking and racing, seeing it as a tribute to the man who saved her life. she thinks, appropriately enough, it's like winning a gold medal.

tim allman, bbc news. a reminder of our top story: an open air swimming poll in the british seaside town of brighton has opened its doors to hundreds of dogs and their humans to celebrate the last weekend of the swimming season. and if you were thinking of swimming there next summer then don't worry about the furballs, staff at the saltdean lido have promised to give it a thorough clean overwinter! a reminder of our top story: the leader of catalonia's devolved government will address the regional parliament later amid intense speculation that he could announce a unilateral declaration of independence from spain. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter, i'm @benmbland hello there.

the day is going to start on quite a gloomy note across many parts of england and wales thanks to the thick cloud and even some outbreaks of rain. best of the sunshine as we get started is going to be across scotla nd get started is going to be across scotland i think and extending perhaps into northern england. for northern ireland, some thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain for the next couple of hours. not short of showers in the central lowlands of scotla nd showers in the central lowlands of scotland i think but to the north the showers more scattered and some decent sunshine here and as promised, in northern england and packed the midlands. let's have a closer look at what's going on at rush—hour at 8am tuesday morning —— perhaps the midlands. northern ireland with some sunshine to the south and east, to the north and east, cloudier outbreaks of rain, wet and windy in the northern isles but mainland scotland, brighter skies with isolated showers and more cloud in the central lowlands but moving south again. sunny spells in

much of northern england with showers coming in through the liverpool bay area, out towards linkage. to the south of that, quite a lot of cloud around and difficult to pinpoint where we get the best of the breaks —— lincolnshire. some bright breaks in east anglia and the south—east. not looking likely for the south—west and south wales but to the lee of the welsh mountains, hopefully some breaks across the likes of herefordshire, warwickshire and derbyshire. enjoy the early brightness across southern and eastern areas because it looks like the cloud will fill in from the west during the day, a gloomy picture with a bit of light rain thrown into the mix for the afternoon. brightening for wales as the hours go by, the midlands not looking too bad for northern england. northern ireland perhaps loses some of the showers for the afternoon but what a change for scotland after that glorious start, thicker cloud arriving by the afternoon, strengthening winds and the chance of heavy rain. this frontal system

making itself felt on wednesday. heavy rainfall southern scotland, northern england and later in the day, wales. scotland and northern england will brighten with punchy showers later in the day but some of the rain could be heavy for the cumbrian fells and the welsh mountains. 18 still possible in the south—east with some sunshine. thursday probably the quietest day across the border, a ridge of high pressure, light winds, fine weather and temperatures somewhere in the mid teens for the majority. this is bbc news. the headlines: the leader of catalonia's devolved government, carles puigdemont, will address the regional parliament later on tuesday, and there is intense speculation that he could unilaterally declare independence from spain. more than a dozen wildfires raging across the us state of california's northern wine region have killed at least ten people and forced thousands from their homes. at least 1500 properties have so far been destroyed. a hearing is beginning in

australia's highest court to clarify whether seven parliamentarians are entitled to hold office. the decision could deprive the government of its majority. iceland have got through to the football world cup finals for the first time in their history.