this is bbc news. the headlines: the catalan leader says he will abide by the independence vote, but will first seek a negotiated solution with spain. translation: the government and myself propose that this parliament suspend the effect of the independence referendum in order to establish dialogue. britain's leading defence manufacturer, bae systems, announces plans to cut almost 2,000 jobs. kind of expecting it, obviously. just one of them. we have a big order coming in. there is no way we can sustain that. thousands flee from one of california's worst ever wildfires — 11 people have been killed. widespread inequalities in educational attainment, health and

employment are the findings of an audit on racial disparity. and over the volcano — a new scientific mission in iceland to try to forecast the next major eruption. good evening. welcome to bbc news. "i assume the mandate of the people for catalonia to become an independent republic" — the words of catalan president carles puigdemont to the region's parliament as he announced his intention to declare independence from spain. but he went on to say said that the declaration would not take immediate effect — instead it would be suspended for some weeks to try to negotiate a settlement with madrid. let's go over live now to barcelona and my colleague tim willcox. you join me live outside of the

cata la n you join me live outside of the catalan parliament. the speech was delayed by more than an hour. and in the end carles puigdemont, the cata la n the end carles puigdemont, the catalan president, marched his supporters almost up to the top of the hill but not quite. and then he marched them back a little bit as well. it was a crucial announcement by him. and it has left some separatists here disappointed. essentially what he said was the referendum gave him the mandate to declare independence. but then he suspended that declaration to allow some negotiation. will that please madrid? let's first listen to what mr puigdemont had to say. this was the first significant part of his speech to the parliament after several minutes condemning and

criticising not only the madrid government, whom he said had tried to cause panic in the region, he was also critical of the king. translation: the government and myself propose that this parliament suspend the effect of the independence creation in order to establish dialogue, without which we cannot reach a solution. we wa nt we want to work towards putting into practice the result of the referendum. there were moments during this address when most of the catalan parliament stood and applauded. that atmosphere changed a little when he introduced some of the caveats as well. let's listen to another part of his speech. we have won are right

to be an independent country and the right to be respected. now at this point, at this historical moment as the president of catalonia, i want to follow the people's wilfork catalonia to become an independent state. but has mixed —— mr puigdemont done enough to keep his fragile coalition empower? it was noticeable the hard left, the communist party seube p we re left, the communist party seube p were not enamoured with his withdrawal —— seube p. this party have ten parliamentarians, who are

essential for keeping have ten parliamentarians, who are essentialfor keeping mr puigdemont in power. let's talk to a couple of people we haven't talking to throughout the day, who are pro—independence. i have with me and italia, who is vice president of the pro—independence party. i am also joined by a university lecturer. he almost went there. what do you think? i think that the declaration of independence has been made. but also i think that our government and oui’ also i think that our government and our parliament chose to give a broad spectrum per negotiation and agreement. i think that says a lot about our country and our will to reach an agreement. the problem is that madrid, it seems, don't accept this. are you disappointed. i got the impression speaking to a lot of supporters of separatism that he could have gone further? i'm not disappointed. the session is not over. there are things still going

on. i think we have to wait and trust that this is a good tradition. if not now, when? this is the slovenian way, to announce the declaration of independence... yaz and announced that. he has announced his intent. -- he hasn't announced that. that is right. the catalan government is open to dialogue from international powers. we were thinking that this might happen, this may be an option. i think movement around the world and around europe have made this possible, have made this a credible step forward. and i think spain, the direction spain gives to this, will mark the future. and italia, your organisation erected big streams for

thousands of people who have come out. some of them were disappointed, a few out. some of them were disappointed, afew in out. some of them were disappointed, a few in tears? i think it is understandable. these are people who have worked a lot of independence and for democracy. i think we all saw the images with the police using violence to peaceful voters. so i can understand. the session is not over. and i think that we have to play our cards in a smart way. this is what happened. he actually thanked those supporters, the people counting boxes in their homes —— who hid counting boxes in their homes. is it enough to keep him in power? easy now broken politically? he seems to have upset everyone. he has upset madrid and members of the cup —— communist party. upset madrid and members of the cup -- communist party. i think this is

very much looking to the people abroad, to the foreign government and the international to minute. i am sure he has not upset many people abroad. he would appear to have upset madrid and they have international backing, especially from the eu? that may be true. a lot of people around the world have been calling for a this dialogue, for negotiations. they will be pleased with this announcement that the catalan government are open to dialogue come to negotiation, to all sorts of middle ground. i think it puts the pressure on the spanish government. thank you both. damian grammaticas is in madrid. he has been covering the reaction. will this cut any ice as far as madrid is concerned ?

will this cut any ice as far as madrid is concerned? no, i don't think so. in the last few minutes here the parliament, we have spoken to the foreign affairs spokesman for the government, for the ruling party. he gave us a brief statement. he said he had seen what happened in the catalan parliament. he said, it has been done in the framework of a law that has been ruled unconstitutional. we cannot add any validity to a referendum that was illegal, a fake and a farce. their criminal legal or political consequences from it. what he means by that, no legal or political consequences, is by that, no legal or political consequences, is that there is no way madrid views a legal referendum —— and the legal referendum with a low turnout of 40% as giving any validity or any negotiating position with which it can deal, particularly on the legal question. it means there is no legal basis for any

declaration of an independence. the government view is that the catalan authorities, speaking for less than half of the population in a referendum that is illegal, cannot use that as a means to force a negotiation. what they say here is that the catalan authorities have to put aside any talk of independence, and then anything can be discussed. but first, they want the catalan authorities to take that step. there has been a strong line all along. we understand the prime minister had set aside his schedule to deal with this. it is thought he will be meeting his cabinet tonight, tomorrow morning, to frame his response. tomorrow morning, to frame his response . sources tomorrow morning, to frame his response. sources close to marianna rawhide —— mariano rajoy claimed that he thinks he has been blackmailed. what potentially can

he, will he do? we are getting reports from the national newspaper here that the national p sabin sent to reinforce the airports, the borders, the railway stations and the nuclear power stations. talk smack through constitutionally, legally, what could then follow? the first thing to say is we can't confirm any of those reports about police. it is not clear the government here would take any steps like that at this stage. what they can do and they have the power to do is to revoke the autonomy that catalonia enjoys. that is under an article of the spanish constitution. it is an article that says if part of spain is acting on constitutionally, threatening the interests of the whole country, then the central government can step in. the process that would involve would bea the process that would involve would be a letter going from the central

government, from the prime minister to barcelona, to the regional cata la n to barcelona, to the regional catalan authorities. demanding that they have, within a time limit, to return to a constitutional path, and if they don't do that, or ignore that letter, then the central government can invoke that article of the constitution, go to the senate and impose direct rule on that area. catalonia in this case, that area. catalonia in this case, that would be. they would have to specify what action they want to take. they could do things like impose direct control on the security forces. they could also impose new elections on the region. they could try to force a political settlement. that is not a step spain has ever taken settlement. that is not a step spain has ever ta ken before settlement. that is not a step spain has ever taken before and it is one the comment would be reluctant to take. but it is the power of a have. and they will be contemplating it tonight. thank you. the stakes are still extremely high. brinkmanship

is not over. the next 2a hours will be fascinating, to see what the official response from madrid will be. here on the streets of barcelona just outside the catalan parliament, a sense of almost deflation. there was an expectation that carles puigdemont would deter independence. there was a party atmosphere outside the parliament before he arrived to give a speech. and certainly among some of his core supporters outside where i am now, there is a palpable sense of disappointment, some of those supporters were in tears that he hadn't actually taken that step and reached the summit of what they hoped he would have done. back to london. tim wilcox in barcelona. dr ruben ruiz—rufino is from the department of political economy at king's college london, and is here with me now. he has declared independence but he is not going to pursue it until there has been some kind of dialogue

with the authorities in madrid. what is the leader of the catalan government hoping to achieve from these negotiations with madrid? considering the whole uncertainty that has surrounded this afternoon, probably what he is doing is to buy some time. time for what? well, time to try to see if the catalan cores can earn greater support outside catalonia and outside spain, internationally. that is very unlikely because already leaders of the european union have declared the constitution in spain should be followed. 0n the other hand, he is also sending a message to the coalition government and he is saying, we obviously macro cannot implement independence because banks

are leaving the country, companies are leaving the country, companies are leaving the country, companies are leaving catalonia and they might not be seeing all the conditions they had originally expected being put into practice. so let's buy some time. the consequence of that is, for how long? this reto there. the street are filling with people chanting, we are disappointed. pro—independence voters in catalonia, you feel that they could potentially force the hand of carles puigdemont in trying to push forward a full declaration of independence? that remains to be seen. what carles puigdemont has said is i am postponing the declaration of independence. that means that in a couple of days, if north —— no

sufficient progress is made, he can go back to the parliament. he will respect and honour of the mandate of the referendum and declare independence. but that at the moment is quite unlikely. as time passes, i think that is very unlikely. support from the international community is zero. in fact, all the support seems to be for the authorities in madrid. the majority of the people of spain, polls suggest, do not want secession of catalonia. 0ne polls suggest, do not want secession of catalonia. one wonders what it is that ca rles of catalonia. one wonders what it is that carles puigdemont, in trying to hedge his bets and declare independence but not followed through, it's still not clear what he believes he can achieve? carles puigdemont is a very popular petition in catalonia. he has always been very much in favour of independence. his political preference is very clear. what he is trying to do, he is trying to steer

the view that may have, that the independent cause may have a broad, by opening up dialogue. he's saying, listen, i'm trying to do my best. i'm opening a discussion here. but the central government in madrid sees things differently. for them, this is a challenge to the constitution and they are not prepared to negotiate. the problem is he doesn't have much time. there are members within the coalition that helps to keep him in power in catalonia, they want independence sooner catalonia, they want independence sooner rather than later. he can't be hanging around? no. i don't know how long he is going to be following this strategy. that is creating more uncertainty than what we have at the moment. he can always call for a new elections and there would be a new way of citizens saying, let's go to the polls and hope the catalans will

say, if we get a very big majority that would give us a greater argument. a fascinating situation that we are seeing. thank you to adjoining us. are thank you. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are deborah haynes, defence editor at the times, and jessica elgot, political correspondent at the guardian. the headlines on bbc news: the catalan leader says he will abide by the independence vote, but will first seek a negotiated solution with spain. britain's leading defence manufacturer, bae systems, is to cut almost 2000 jobs after a drop in orders. at least 11 people have been killed in wildfires sweeping across parts of northern california. a state of emergency has been declared. time for a look at the sports news

with you. hello. it is a big evening for the world cup qualifiers. half the teams in europe are playing theirfinal qualifying games tonight. the dutch are in need of a miracle, qualifying games tonight. the dutch are in need ofa miracle, a qualifying games tonight. the dutch are in need of a miracle, a seven goal win over sweden. so far it's on but there is a long way to go. victor lindelof will feel aggrieved to give away the penalty that allowed arjen robben 3—step up and give the netherlands a 1—0 lead. a draw for sweden and defeat for france at home to belarus, that would put the french into the play—offs instead. france have taken the lead through antoine griezmann. portugal need to beat switzerland if they are to take top spot in their group. the swiss have nine wins from nine in qualifying. that game is

still scoreless. bernardo silva has just had a good chance well saved for portugal. the syrian national team fell short in their bid to reach russia. australia won their world cup play—off. there were high hopes for the syrian fans after their first leg ended level. the second leg finished i—i. leg ended level. the second leg finished 1—1. it went to extra time. former everton striker tim cahill‘s second goal the game gave australia a win. they must now play either panama or honduras for a place in russia. that was meant to happen and we deserved it. it was a tough game. but we believed and we knew it was going to go to the end. it is a great feeling to win. we have worked so great feeling to win. we have worked so hard to be where we are. liverpool fans will not be happy. they have been dealt a big blow with the news that sadio mane could be

out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury. he has scored three goals in five league appearances this season. he will miss games against manchester united and spurs, plus both champions league fixtures against maribor. he pegged got the injury playing for senegal against cape verde last saturday. away from football, there was a good win frawley is better net at the shanghai masters. he beat the italian paolo lorenzi. —— alijaz bedene harsh. kyle edmund was beaten by marin cilic. a year after serving a ban, nick kyrgios could be in more trouble. he retired after losing the first step —— first set tie—break against stevejohnson in an apparent protest at the fish —— at the officiating. he said he had a

stomach problem and was heard to say he would quit if he lost the first set. the barbarians are forming their first women's team. the world invitational club has featured the greatest rugby union player from the men's game through the years. players from each of the home nations, as well as france and new zealand, will play against munster at thomond park in their first match next week. that is all the sport for now. you can keep up to date with the goings—on in the world cup qualifiers on the bbc‘s website. thank you. britain's biggest defence contractor, bae systems, says it's cutting almost 2000 jobs. the firm, which makes the eurofighter typhoon, is facing a drop in demand. the majority of proposed redundancies are at the company's two sites in lancashire. around 750 jobs could be lost at the plants in warton and salmesbury. over a thousand job losses are also proposed at other sites across the uk. danjohnson has this report. another typhoon takes to the skies

but orders for this plane are running short, so the workers who build it now face uncertainty. job cuts had been rumoured but than others announced today were worse than expected. they'd made it pretty clear that there would be a rebalancing of the manpower unless there was a significant number of orders coming in. kind of expecting it, the news knew before we did, just one of them. in this area bae systems accounts or one in four manufacturing jobs but there are warnings that the impact could be broader. the government has to decide what capability it once and sure most taxpayers would say they hope that our air spaces are defended by planes produced in this country and not for example planes with bought off—the—shelf from americans. the eurofighter is getting old, it was designed in a different era. parts are made across europe but assembled in action where the new f the d5

is also partly built. --f -- f 35. —— f 35. international competition is making business tough. but bae hopes to secure new orders from qatar and saudi arabia. that are still people here with a great feature and we have orders going forward but we will fulfil. why those orders not in already? it is really about timing. it is a difficult market. you can't make customers by when you want them to buy. you have to respond to them. the announcement doesn't just affect the northwest, hundreds of maritime jobs will be lost in portsmouth and another 400 aircraft workers will be made redundant in east yorkshire. the company is a major employer and these job cuts will have an impact in places like this and local —— local companies could also be hit back. there are bigger questions

about the future for sites like this and the uk's ability to produce defence equipment. i think this is damaging for the uk's industrial capability. exports are key to the future of the uk with brexit, etc. aerospace is the number one export. what we are doing is diminishing that capability. in the house of commons labour, which has opposed sales to saudi arabia, called for more government support. be a point to more uncertainty in future orders as the reason behind the job cuts. we know the government has pursued a stop, start approach which has not given the industry the long—term stability needs. ministers stressed this was not down to government spending decisions. it's a result of internal restructuring that internal restructuring and a drive to reform the business so it can continue to be one of our most efficient companies generating export orders across the world. new orders are needed for more of these to take off from here. this plane carries with it the job prospects of thousands of highly skilled workers now facing uncertainty.

i can now speak to defence analyst tim ripley, whojoins me via webcam from lancaster. thank you forjoining me. bae systems has a relatively new chief executive. he has looked at the books and has been horrified. he has decided the only way to have a going concern globally is to lose jobs. does that make sense to you? concern globally is to lose jobs. does that make sense to you ?m concern globally is to lose jobs. does that make sense to you? it is very clear that bae systems is trying to change its aerospace business. it is a very diverse company. they have diversified into north america, australia, they have 5000 people working in saudi arabia alone. for them, it 5000 people working in saudi arabia alone. forthem, it is 5000 people working in saudi arabia alone. for them, it is not their co re alone. for them, it is not their core business any more. there is

also a lot of competition out there when it comes to providing fighter jets? indeed. the americans do the f-16, the jets? indeed. the americans do the f—16, the french have theirs. these swedes and the russians and chinese out there as well. there are not that many customers out there for a fighter planes. everybody has got to fighter planes. everybody has got to fight hard to get them. is this also a reflection perhaps, as some in the opposition would argue, this is a reflection of a lack of investment in the aerospace industry when it comes to the current government?m is very clear that at the moment as far as is very clear that at the moment as faras uk is very clear that at the moment as far as uk defence spending is concerned, the priorities are nuclear submarines for the successor to the deterrent, aircraft characters —— aircraft carriers and frigates. but the combat aircraft division is suffering from the uk not having a follow—on to the typhoon. there is talk of a franco

german fighter plane. but the government has yet to give a view on whether it wants to join that. things european are a little bit fraud at the moment for the government, so it is difficult to handle. —— fraught. government, so it is difficult to handle. -- fraught. some are suggesting with his highly skilled workforce that bae systems, who could potentially be losing their jobs, that is a resource that is a com plete jobs, that is a resource that is a complete waste, given that after brexit we need to get out there in the marketplace, get orders, and aerospace is the marketplace, get orders, and aerospace is one the marketplace, get orders, and aerospace is one of those sections of industry where we could do well? indeed. there are some things are british, it could do to boost the export potential of the typhoon. putting you electronically scanned radars on the plane. if the raf was committed to buy a new radar, it would make it more competitive and give itan would make it more competitive and give it an edge over the french and america, swedish and russian competition. they can do things to

make the plane competitive in those export markets. thank you for joining us. you are watching bbc news. now the weather. for many, the weather has been more or less the same as what we had yesterday. 0ver or less the same as what we had yesterday. over the next 2a hours, another weather system coming in and bringing some wind and rain, particularly to the north—west of the uk. these are the weather system is heading in our direction. this particular one is already bringing wet weather to the north—west. you see the clouds across the country are not very uniform, they are broken up. some of us had a bit of sunshine as promised, others had wet weather and the same is in store for tomorrow. the wind and rain increases across many western and particularly north—western areas. for some it will be a very wet a 2k hours, particularly around cumbria, around the lake district. here, we could see around 100 millimetres of rain. the weather front moves

through. the heavy rain will be very localised. you can see how it sticks around across western areas during the afternoon. eventually in the day it does brighten up in the north of the country. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines... the catalan leader says he will abide by the independence vote but will first seek a negotiated solution with spain. translation: the government and myself propose that this parliament suspends the effects of the independence declaration in order to establish dialogue. britain's leading defence manufacturer bae systems is to cut almost 2,000 jobs after a drop in orders. at least 11 people have been killed in wildfires sweeping across parts of northern california. a state of emergency has been declared. theresa may has warned public bodies

there will be nowhere to hide if they treat people differently on the basis of their race. let's get more reaction now on our top story — the declaration of independence and the immediate suspension of that declaration by catalan president carles puigdemont. we'll be hearing from an expert on spanish politics, professor sebastian balfour. but first let's hear a little of what mr puigdemont had to say. translation: the results of the referendum showed that we have won our right to be an independent country and the right to be respected. the voters said yes to independence and this is the will that i wanted to go forward with. now, at this point, this historical

moment, and as the president of catalonia, i want to follow people's will for catalonia to become an independent state. applause the government and myself propose that this parliament suspends the effects of the independence declaration in order to establish dialogue, without which we cannot reach a solution. we want to de—escalate the tension, in order to work towards putting into practice the results of the referendum. before we go to tim wilcox, we are

just hearing some more reaction from the authorities in madrid, the ruling party spokesman on foreign affairs, reacting to mr puigdemont‘s speech. he said what was done today was in the framework of a rule that was in the framework of a rule that was lord the unconstitutional. we have seen a fast today and we want the situation to go back to normal. let'sjoin tim wilcox. the situation to go back to normal. let's join tim wilcox. they wanted to go back to normal, that is not going to happen? i don't know. watch this space. it reminded me a bit of the nursery rhyme, the grand old duke of york. carles puigdemont marched his supporters almost to the top of the hill, saying he had a mandate to declare independence, cue applause from a lot of the

parliament, standing ovations from some of them. and then the mood changed because he said it's not going to happen yet. we want to have negotiations, we want to have dialogue. i don't think that will be enough for madrid, but we will come to that in a minute. let's talk to a journalist for the new york times, a writer about the struggle for catalonia, who knows carles puigdemont well. what did you make of it? under a lot of pressure, body language, what happened? of it? under a lot of pressure, body language, what happened ?|j of it? under a lot of pressure, body language, what happened? i think he was undera language, what happened? i think he was under a lot of pressure and he produced a big fudge that might not leave anybody very happy. the question is, how unhappy is everyone? he managed to keep at least the hardliners, the little party that is far less than determined to have secession, he ke pt determined to have secession, he kept them short of condemning the speech. he relies on them for the coalition, they are not happy? they are not, but they are hanging on the

same rope off that is, if they cut it they will fall. he knew that. there is a lot of disappointment, but it is a question of what they do about it. essential now how madrid reacts. about it. essential now how madrid rea cts. eve n about it. essential now how madrid reacts. even though he took them that far, the statement of intent was there, the trajectory is there, the relationship with spain is unsustainable and also very critical of the king? very much so. i think the first reaction is obviously that this is blackmail, unacceptable. the question is, what will they do about it? tomorrow is mariano rajoy the day and he is also making a very tough choice. if he steps in, he has tough choice. if he steps in, he has to assume the responsibility of running catalonia with a lot of angry people on the streets. we have spain's national day on thursday, it is coming to a head? the timing is beautiful, a perfect storm but we don't know when it will end. you know him well, did you see him under

pressure, was it clear?|j know him well, did you see him under pressure, was it clear? i think he was undera pressure, was it clear? i think he was under a lot of pressure. there must have been some final phone calls or discussions that made him think this was a lot of responsibility for one man. thank you very much indeed. the situation is not resolved. the game of brinkmanship continues. the splits in catalan society and the response from madrid are very clear. who knows where this will end and how quickly, if indeed madrid decided to actually impose direct rule on this region and suspend the autonomous parliament here in catalonia. with me is sebastian balfour, emeritus professor at the london school of economics and an analyst of modern spanish politics. it is good to see you again. the suggestion seems to be that mr puigdemont is playing for time. hopefully, he believes, he has placated those in his coalition that

wa nted placated those in his coalition that wanted some kind of reference to independence made clear and spelled—out, at the same time he has kept madrid at bay. is he basically, longer term, upsetting both parties and not able to satisfy anybody? absolutely. we don't know the extent to which the coup that the left independence party is willing to continue fudging or postponing the issue, they wanted it done almost immediately after the referendum. that is on the one hand. 0n the other hand, going by president, the rajoy government has been very hard—headed rajoy government has been very ha rd—headed about rajoy government has been very hard—headed about punishing or certainly taken to court, or threatening arrest and so on and so forth. he might, following that logic, you might consider the words

used in puigdemont today as seditious and move against him. it could be that this is something independence movement is hoping for. that is very speculative. every time that has happened, every time there has been a crackdown, particularly with the referendum on the 1st of 0ctober, with the referendum on the 1st of october, the response has been to increase support for independence. of course, doing this he is going to get the condemnation across the world. he has two balance those two options. is there anything short of full independence that might be ok for madrid, but might also satisfy the separatists, tax—raising powers? don't think there is any more. there might have been two three years ago,

but the independence movement has gathered speed and committed itself in different ways to independence. mariano rajoy has always said he is willing to negotiate a deepening of the consequences of autonomy, and barcelona has said that is not what we wa nt barcelona has said that is not what we want to discuss, we want to discuss independence. that is a major problem. a long—term possible solution is a reform of the constitution, enabling the right of self—determination. that is not something that the government of madrid would allow, they regard spain asa madrid would allow, they regard spain as a united nation and there is no question of any right of self—determination. it is certainly something that is being talked about among opposition parties. in

particular, by buttler stop but that would have to be ratified by the whole parliament, and that is not going to happen? it is a long-term possibility. but puigdemont does not have time. if he could spin this out for a little while and perhaps get a constitutional change in a year, two, three, but it is the coalition thatis two, three, but it is the coalition that is the problem for him. that's right. what we face is a possibility, if it continues much longer, if they are still on board for a few weeks and then it continues with an international commission, that madrid is not going to be interested in, if it is not several governments, the un or the eu, they are not going to be interested in that commission. eventually, they are going to say they have had enough of this will stop they will withdraw their support and new elections have to

ta ke support and new elections have to take place in catalonia. that is one definite possibility. thank you, good to see you. parts of california are being ravaged by fast—spreading fires that have killed at least 11 people. a state of emergency has been declared in northern counties after mass evacuations, with an estimated 1,500 properties destroyed. about 20,000 people have fled in response to one of the state's worst—ever wildfires. dave lee reports from santa rosa in northern california. it's the vast scale of these wildfires that is most alarming. more than 15 major blazes raging across 73,000 acres, creating an apocalyptic landscape. the conditions were perfect. dry tinder ignited with the help of 50 mph winds. when the flames came up we came here and you could not see a hand

in front of your face. 100 foot flames, the respondents on both sides of the street. firefighters say containment is virtually impossible so they have been concentrating on getting people to safety. these people in this car fleeing to escape, shocked by the mass destruction. holy moly. in towns and cities north and south of san francisco homes are disintegrated, people left with nothing. my pictures are gone, everything. everything has gone. we've got a fire pit. it's pretty awful. fires of this ferocity in this famous wine producing region of northern california are rare. it's not yet clear how they started. every spark is going to ignite a fire, so regardless of what that may be, wind can impact, start fires, down power lines, vehicles

pulling into the dry grass, all these things have the potential. in these conditions the risk is just extreme. two days since the fire swept through this part of town. you can still see the pockets of flames still smouldering away. we understand there are around 30 homes in this area. and, as you can see, most of them have been completely destroyed. but some houses were miraculously spared. we were lucky. ten more minutes and my house would have been gone. as the fire department rolled up this is where they started fighting, here and across the street, and they were able to save my house. the flames have taken almost everything they could to touch. people's lives, livelihoods, and their community. dave lee, bbc news, santa rosa. the death of two young adults with learning disabilities are among a number of fatalities being investigated by sussex police at a chain of care homes across the county. it's believed one man and one

woman in their 20s died. one of them allegedly choked to death, after being fed through a tube. nine homes run by sussex health care face allegations of lack of care and safeguarding. 0ur health correspondent mark norman reports. a chain of care homes across sussex, under investigation by the police, social services and the care quality commission and facing questions from the relatives of at least 12 residents who died. the death of adrian's mother, valerie, one of those under investigation. still the question is how she had come out of hospital and was supposed to be in bed all the time with a pressure mat that told the nurses' station that she was out of bed. how she got past the nurses' station, up to the first floor, hit her head on something and was found. no—one can explain it. sussex health care runs 19 homes for people with learning difficulties, neurological

conditions and the elderly. in april, concerns were raised about four deaths from the previous year. inspectors from the care quality commission made an unannounced inspection injuly. the allegations of a lack of care and safeguarding issues became public in august. in the same month, nine homes were searched and medical records removed. families learned about this investigation during a meeting in august, after that police raid. some of those who were in that meeting have told the bbc that the deaths involve at least two young adults in their 20s, and they say one of them choked to death after being fed through a tube. however, those families were not prepared to appear on camera. charities working in this area say similar issues are not uncommon. i think where you've got vulnerable people, you've got poor care and abuse which goes unchecked, because there is no—one to speak out for these people except for whistle—blowers. in many places, whistle—blowers fear to speak out because they know of other whistle—blowers who maybe did speak out and lost theirjob.

west sussex county council confirmed today they were offering current residents of the homes the chance to move if they wanted, and added they were not making new placements at any of the homes involved. mark norman, bbc south east today. the organisation looking after rail safety in the uk has warned parents of the dangers of leaving their pushchairs unattended near a railway line — releasing this shocking footage. it shows the moment a buggy is completely destroyed by a passing freight train at a railway station in nuneaton after its owner failed to apply the brakes. thankfully a child wasn't in the pushchair at the time and no—one was injured. the catalan leader says he will

abide by the independence vote, but will first seek a negotiated solution with madrid. britain's leading defence manufacturer, bae systems, is to cut almost 2000 jobs after a fall in orders. and at least 11 people have been killed in wildfires sweeping across parts of northern california. a state of emergency has been declared. two—thirds of the world's illiterate adults are women. so what is preventing girls and women from learning to read and write? this week, the bbc 100 women challenge 2017 arrives in delhi. 0ur reporter divya ayra brings together a group of extraordinary women, from entrepreneurs, activists, educationists to writers, to explore over the course of the week possible solutions to the issue of female illiteracy. india is one of the world's fastest growing economies and has seen an increase in school enrolment and literacy rates. but even then, one third of the female population still is not able to read or write. joining me is an educationist and

women's rights activist and who has worked with schools for over 30 yea rs. worked with schools for over 30 years. are you surprised? not at all. given that we live in such a strong patriarchal structure, where girls are only value for domestic, reproductive and sexual labour, they will be married off as soon after puberty. 0ne will be married off as soon after puberty. one third of the world's child brides are in india. i'm not surprised by the statistic. if they are not valued enough to be allowed to live, do you think they would be valued enough to be to school? and if we look at the age group you belong to, women over 60, the statistic is even more shocking. 70% of women in that age group do not have any literacy. at that time, social norms remain even more rigid. it was considered commonplace to have girls married at nine, 12, 14.

my own grandmother was married at 13, i barely made it to 18. the culture, women's illiteracy is a symptom. the real problem is gender inequality, social norms that are prohibitive. you know the high rate of female foeticide. it is an outcome of gender discrimination and gender discrimination has lethal consequences. you're right, as you mentioned, there was also dowry deaths, sexual violence. it adds up to how we value women. now we have new here, and four more experts, this whole week, to find a solution to where it all begins, getting the girls some education. where do you think the solution lies? can you look at technology? we certainly can. the problem is so huge, definitely technology is a huge catalyst. but we must remember that technology is just catalyst. but we must remember that technology isjust a catalyst. but we must remember that technology is just a medium. catalyst. but we must remember that technology isjust a medium. it is the message that is important. it is important that girls

should learn to read and write, but even more important what they learn to read and write. they must learn to read and write. they must learn to read and write. they must learn to read and write so that they can challenge discriminatory social norms, so challenge discriminatory social norms, so that they can change them, so norms, so that they can change them, so that they are able to harness literacy in order to live better, more equal lives. to find out more about the 100 women challenge and to take a look at some of the inspirational stories we've been looking atjust visit our website at www. bbc.co.uk/100women. the government has published its audit of how people from different backgrounds are treated by public services in the uk. the figures show disparities across the board in health, employment, education and treatment by police and courts. our home editor mark easton has been taking a look. the many faces of multiracial britain, but despite decades of efforts to improve equality between races, there are still big differences in people's life experiences. if you're black, you're treated more harshly by the criminaljustice system...

0n herfirst day as prime minister, theresa may pledged to fight the burning injustices of racial disparity and instructed officials to comb whitehall for any relevant facts and figures held by government departments. 300 data sets were found and this afternoon 60 of those were put on a dedicated website. they're not new figures, but they are now in one place. we've got the data, we've had it before, the key is — what are we going to do about it? and that's the question for government. white working—class communities left behind, black and ethnic minorities languishing in the jobcentre, failing in schools. what are we going to do? what's the action that's going to flow from having all this data on one website? there are differences in almost every area of public life. in education, whilst 71% of chinese pupils in england reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths aged 11, among white—british pupils it's 54% and for white gypsy and roma children it's13%.

in housing in england, the proportion of white, british senior managers who own their own home is 82%. among senior managers from other ethnic groups, it's 55%. in jobs, a focus on the west midlands reveals 5% of white people are unemployed, but among people from other ethnic groups it's a 11%. coventry in is one of 20 hotspots identified by the audit and new measures are being introduced to reduce the disparity. it shouldn't be about the groups, it should be just about — are you capable of doing what you need to do and that's it. i haven't felt it myself, but i know a lot of people have. so the majority would suffer inequality, yeah. what's there to be worried about, like? i'm still at university. i've got a year left, so just get a good grade and, hopefully, see what happens. prime ministers often complain how difficult it is actually to change things, so this race audit is really a tool for theresa may to get her ministers to focus on an issue she wants to define her premiership,

explain or change is the order. if there's no reason for a racial disparity, change your policies. this is a problem that i believe we do have to confront. race equality campaigners from across britain were inside ten downing street today, glad that the issue is back at the heart of government. these are complicated matters that cost the nation a lot of money and those who are victims of these injustices, it costs them in terms of life chances. so complicated they might be, but we can't afford to ignore them. costly and complicated. there are no quick—fixes to issues which have been debated in parliament for decades — the problems are well—known, the solutions often remain elusive. mark easton, bbc news, westminster. remember this? the last time there was a volcanic eruption this big in iceland, back in 2010, the resulting ash cloud caused massive disruption to flights throughout europe for three months. now uk scientists have embarked on a mission — led by the national centre for atmospheric science —

to measure the gases emitted by iceland's most active volcanoes to help forecast the next major eruption. victoria gilljoined the researchers on their flight. land of ice and fire. iceland's ruggedly beautiful landscape is the product of volcanic activity, but it can cause chaos. the ash cloud from this 2010 eruption grounded thousands of flights across europe. that's why british scientists are here on a mission that's seven years in the planning. at the icelandic met office, monitoring volcanoes is daily work, but with their british colleagues the scientists can now take crucial new measurements from the air. we are measuring at the ground level, maybe up to perhaps two meters, but now we're flying above, so we can fly at different levels and we're measuring at different levels in the atmosphere, which is going to help us understand how these volcanos are behaving. how they are breathing, you could almost say.

and here is the key to this airborne mission. this is the uk's atmospheric research aircraft and inside you can see how banks of seats have been replaced by banks of analytical equipment to analyse particles and air being brought in through these pipes, sucked into the plane. this is a chemistry lab that can fly. circling and carrying out passes at different heights means researchers aboard can build a picture of any plume of volcanic gas in the air. that's not related to volcano... the scientists think that changes in the amount of these gases could give them a signal of an impending eruption. i think we already know from this trip that we've got new findings where we can explain the connection between the trace gases that we observed from the aircraft and what's going on on the ground. this is the first time this has been done. there's particular interest in katla, the large volcano

beneath this glacier, that's thought to be overdue for an eruption. let's hope we've seen the peak this time. this is an active landscape, there'll be many more volcanic eruptions, but working in the skies above it could help make these natural phenomena a little less disruptive to modern life. victoria gill, bbc news, iceland. she has completed a skydive, a wing walk and been swimming with short bear sharks, but she is no ordinary daredevil. she is an 87—year—old from 0xfordshire. catherine dacosta has been to find out her latest adventure. it is nice seen the tops of trees. she might have her head in the clouds over wiltshire, but she's stranger to danger. as i say to

people, they say you are so brave. i say there is nothing brave about it. these people are fully trained. i said, army life, that was henry. —— that was hairy bust up there were real bullets, bombs and grenades. i nearly got shot going across the desert to the loo. the sponsored paraglider raised more than £20,000. this year, her chosen charity is the alzheimer's society, in memory of a close friend who died of the disease. very remarkable. for any individual, no matter what the age, to go out and do that is astonishing. nine years ago, she took the plunge and is derek parker signed up for a skydive. since then, she has taken on a different challenge each year, raising £250,000 in the process. i've always been a fundraiser since i was eight.

i lost my husband ten years ago. i lost him with cancer. i was sitting and thinking, it is no good sitting here feeling sorry for myself. get up here feeling sorry for myself. get up and do something. so, that started it i think. after nearly a decade of heart stopping antics, trish says she is running out of ideas for what to do next.|j trish says she is running out of ideas for what to do next. i suppose i could go over niagara falls in a barrel. that is a little dicey. my doctor said i am not too do a bouncy thing, bungeejump, doctor said i am not too do a bouncy thing, bungee jump, because doctor said i am not too do a bouncy thing, bungeejump, becausei doctor said i am not too do a bouncy thing, bungeejump, because i am too old. isaid, right, iwon't. but she hasn't banned anything else. so it seems this go getting grandma has no plans to retire any time soon. we salute you! amazing. hello. the weather is

looking pretty miserable for some of us over looking pretty miserable for some of us over the next 24 hours or so. there will be wet and windy weather around at least for a time. also, quite a lot of rain in one or two parts of the country. there is so much cloud out there, so much moisture in the atlantic and it is all moving in our direction. there is some sunshine around as well. just like yesterday, almost a repeat performance, this cloud pattern. the cloud is broken in some areas. the worst of the rain will be moving across north—western areas of the uk and we are thinking around the cumbrian fells there could be around ioo cumbrian fells there could be around 100 millimetres of rain. not through tonight, but over the next 24 hours or so. tonight, but over the next 24 hours or so. very mild, about 14 degrees in the south of the country. then through tomorrow the weather front continues to move towards the south. you can see outbreaks of rain across central areas and the temperatures will vary from around 40 degrees in glasgow to 70 degrees in london, pretty much the same to the end of

the week. welcome to outside source. we have been waiting for more than a week to see if the catalan president would declare independence. in the last couple of hours we heard from him. translation: at this point as president of catalonia, i want to follow the people's wilfork catalonia to become an independent state. but let's be clear, catalans hoping for a unilateral declaration of independence were left disappointed. the message was, we have the right to do this, but let's talk first. we live in barcelona. 30 people have died in wildfires in california. 1500 properties have been destroyed.