bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. alp top stories: —— our top stories: deadly wildfires rage on across the wine region of california — at least 15 people have been killed. catalonia's president signs a declaration of independence, but the spanish government dismisses his offer of talks. fresh allegations against harvey weinstein — the hollywood producer denies claims he raped three women. and the surge in deaths from herald of years here in the uk. we have a special report on a potentially fatal addiction. —— from heroin abuse here in. hello. the wildfires raging across california's famous wine region have left at least 15 people dead. hundreds of houses have been destroyed and a state of emergency has been declared. 20,000 people have fled their homes. california is no stranger to wildfires but these are some of the worst—on record. a combination of dry weather and strong winds are fuelling the destruction.

the bbc‘s dave lee is on the scene and has this report. it's the vast scale of these wired fires that is most alarming. more than 15 major blazes across 15,000 acres, creating an apocalyptic landscape. the conditions were perfect: dry tender ignited with the help of 50 mph winds. when the fla mes help of 50 mph winds. when the flames came up, we came down, and you could not see your hand in front of yourface. fire you could not see your hand in front of your face. fire was coming you could not see your hand in front of yourface. fire was coming up about 100 feet, both sides as street. firefighters say contentment has been virtually impossible, so they have been concentrating on getting to safety. these people in this car fleeing to escape, shocked by the mass destruction. holy moly!

and in kansas city north and south of san francisco, much to destruction. every thing is gone. -- and in towns and cities. it is pretty awful. fires of this ferocity, in this famous one producing region of northern california in a row. it is not yet clear how they started. every spite can ignite a fire. so regardless of what that might be, we can impact, power lines, vehicles pulling into dry cards, all those things have the better. —— dry grass. dry cards, all those things have the better. -- dry grass. the risk is extreme. it has been two days since the fire swept through this part of town. you can still see pockets of flame still smouldering away. we understand there were around 30 homes in this area, and, as you can see, most of them have been

com pletely see, most of them have been completely destroyed. but some houses were, miraculously, spared. we are very 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... and they were able to save my house. 0thers and they were able to save my house. others are taking refuge in a number of shelters across the region. to see the fire that close, anti—hibi pimping, you see the fire that close, anti—hibi popping, you know, like, it was like gunfire, explosions. just to see some of the sites that we know. to know that they are no longer there, and that friends have lost their house... i suspect it will be years before everything gets back to, truly, normalcy. the flames have taken almost everything they could touch. people's lives, their livelihoods, and their community. chief ken pimlott is the director of the california department of forestry and fire protection better known as calfire and he joins us from the main incident centre in sacramento. thank you very much for sparing are

some of your time. how bad is that? good evening. it is a serious situation. this is a fire siege. as you mention in the beginning, late sunday evening, at the time 1a major fires, being california. we have over 17 large fires now. well over 115,000 acres have burntjust in the last 2a hours. we are updating our acreage figures in the next couple of hours, and i think we will find that the acreage has gone up significantly. today, we have had active burning on severalfires, even with dead as winds subsiding it being so dry. these fires are being fuelled by the tinder dry factor in the fuel. yes. we are looking now at the fuel. yes. we are looking now at the live pictures from the reuters news agency feed from sonoma. you

talk about a fire siege. what is the forecast? could get worse? adam gooley more of the same. we've had a breakfrom gooley more of the same. we've had a break from the wind and the low humidity today. but tomorrow, we are back into the dry north winds. they might not be as extreme as the weekend, but we are expecting 15—20 mph winds from the north. humidity could be done in the single digits. that will push the fires well to the south, threatening communities and structures. so we are a long way from out of the woods. a lot of people are listed as missing. heaven forbid they have joined the people that did not leave enough time, babs, to escape, or have been caught by the fire moving so fast. it is possible some of them could turn up, and have not been listed at? absolutely. we hope they are with

family orfriends absolutely. we hope they are with family or friends or have gone away and have not been to make contact. but these fires move so quickly. there are hundreds and thousands of acres out there. we have not had a chance to port through these areas. the shape or through these areas. we are hoping to crack down on this and locate these individuals. —— we have not had a chance to pore through these areas. a lot of investment in these areas. a lot of investment in the area. what will be left of the wine industry? did most people get their harvesting, yet? be harvest seasonis their harvesting, yet? be harvest season is going on now through the act one valley and other parts in california. there is still a large portion of the wine country not affected by the wildfires. so there are areas of impact, but the wine industry in the napa and sonoma valleys will continue. all the best

to you. thank you very much. the catalan leader, carles puigdemont, has signed a document declaring catalonia's independence from spain. but he told the catalan parliament the effects of the declaration would be suspended to allow time for talks. he says he hopes for a negotiated solution. the spanish government has dismissed the move, but will hold an emergency cabinet meeting on wednesday to discuss the crisis. 0ur europe editor katya adler reports from barcelona. they came in hope today, in expectation and determination. thousands and thousands of them to this central barcelona square, believing they'd witness the declaration of catalan independence today. independence! "now is our time," genvieve told me, "the president here has to announce an independent catalonia today." their wish for separation from spain so nearly came true when their president, inside the regional parliament, announced the decision by catalans

in favour of independence in their recent referendum. applause. this is the moment the crowd has been waiting for. catalonia has won the right to be an independent state, says their president. they believe they're witnessing the birth of the new republic of catalonia. then came the "but..." translation: the government and a myself propose that this parliament suspends the effects of the independence declaration in order to establish dialogue without which we cannot reach a solution. this was the catalan president acknowledging the fact that spanish courts deemed the referendum illegal, so it hasn't been recognised by the spanish government or by catalans wanting to remain a part of spain.

but disappointment amongst this pro—independence crowd was deep. translation: i'm really sad. we were expecting something very different. so, too little indepdence for the spanish catalans, too much for the spanish government. translation: the speech the president gave today is that of a person who doesn't know where he is, where he's going, or who he wants to go there with. the government can't accept the validity given to the catalan referendum law because it was ruled illegal by the spanish constitutional court. tonight a roller—coaster of emotions here, including confusion. separation from spain may not be happening now, but the catalan president has simply put it on ice. katya adler, bbc news, barcelona. let's take a look at some of the other stories making

the news. donald trump has challenged his secretary of state, rex tillerson, to an iq test — saying "i can tell you who's going to win". he was responding to reports that mr tillerson had described him as a moron. in an interview, mr trump said it was "fake news" — but an iq test would prove he was the smarter man. the un has started a mass vaccination programme against cholera for rohingya refugees in bangladesh. but the number of rohingyas arriving is not going down, on monday alone the un says more than 11,000 people crossed the border from myanmar, a big increase on last week's average daily arrivals. the un says many of those arriving say they're fleeing violence, and the burning of their villages. south korea's military says two us bombers have been flown near the korean peninsula in a show of force amid continuing tensions in the region. the bombers were on a training exercise and flew from the us airbase in guam. the operation follows allegations that north korean hackers stole military documents from the south — including a plan to assassinate

kim jong—un. equifax has revealed that many more uk customers were affected by a data breach than first thought. it says more than 690,000 people in the uk had their details stolen in the cyber breach this year. equifax now says that it will contact its affected uk customers by letter to offer them help. the hollywood producer harvey weinstein has now been accused of sexual harassment by some of hollywood's biggest stars — angelina jolie and gwyneth paltrow. and the italian film star asia argento and two other women claim that he raped them, according to an investigation by the new yorker magazine. weinstein was sacked by his own production company at the weekend. he has issued a statement ‘unequivocally‘ denying any allegations of non—consensual sex. nick bryant has the latest. few people have dominated hollywood quite like harvey weinstein, a movie mogul who changed the face of the film industry, but who now stands accused of abusing that power by harassing women and preying on them sexually in a modern day version of the casting couch. he could not.

some of the biggest names in movies are now coming forward. gwyneth paltrow claims that when he hired her as the lead in the film, emma, he suggested they head to his bedroom for massages. she was a kid, she told the new york times, and was petrified. angelina jolie, who was in the weinstein movie, playing by heart, claims he made unwanted advances in a hotel room, which she rejected. in los angeles tonight, louissette geist, who was then a young actress, described pitching a film to him in 2008. when i finished my pitch, i was obviously nervous, and hejust kept asking me to watch him masturbate. i told him i was leaving. he quickly got out of the tub and grabbed my forearm, as i was trying to grab my purse, and he led me to his bathroom pleading that i just watch him masturbate. the italian model,

ambra battilana gutierrez, has accused weinstein of groping her and, after complaining to police, wore a wire to capture a conversation at this manhattan hotel, in which he appeared to admit it. i'm everything, i'm a famous guy. i'm feeling very uncomfortable right now. please come in now and one minute and if you want to leave, when the guy comes with myjacket. why yesterday you touched my breasts? oh, please, i'm sorry, just come on in, i'm used to that. you're used to that?! please. yes, come in. in a statement from his lawyer, harvey weinstein denied accusations he'd raped three women. "any allegations of non—consexual sex are inequivocally denied by mr weinstein. "mr weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances." leading liberals were much quicker to condemn donald trump after a tape emerged of him boasting about molesting women than the movie mogul, a major democratic fundraiser. tonight, his friend, hillary clinton, gave herfirst response, saying she was

"shocked and appalled." america is a country of second chances and improbable comebacks, but given the number of women who are now coming forward, it's hard to see how harvey weinstein can ever be such a force in the movie industry again. hollywood hierarchies have been dramatically upended, the power now lies with his accusers. nick bryant, bbc news, washington. stay with us on bbc news. still to come... the last da vinci: we'll tell you about the portrait of christ that may sell for $100 million. 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: deadly wildfires continue to rage across california's famous wine region — at least fifteen people have been killed. catalonia's president has signed

independence but the president has denied talks. there's been a surge in deaths from heroin addiction across the uk. last year there was a death from heroin or morphine abuse every five hours. it's the highest number since records began. this extended report by our special correspondent ed thomas contains images and details of drug abuse from the start. 0.2 grams in weight, £10 in money. how long did it take you to get it? about five minutes, if that. you can get it from most backstreets in most villages. has that taken over you? yeah. county durham, searching for the next hit. i haven't got time to look for a job. being a drug addict is a full—timejob. every day the same. by the time i do get sorted, it's time to start all over again. this is lisa's life. a mother, ruled by heroin.

i put it before my children. do you need heroin more than your children? yeah, ido. before all this, lisa was married with five children, two jobs. then she faced violence, heroin and despair. i lost my oldest daughter, and that's where basically every minute since i've just used that as, like, coping. i haven't really dealt with her death. i've just buried my head in the sand. now drugs and chaos surround her. as we talk... ..herfriends get high in the kitchen. he's weeing everywhere. not only wee now. i'm not the same person i was. do you want to be that person again,

the person you were before you took heroin? i don't even know where that person is now. every five hours in the uk, someone dies after taking heroin or morphine. in the north—east, there are more drug—related deaths than anywhere else in england. how many friends have you lost? aye, there's loads. how many? at least 20. 20 friends, from heroin overdoses? yeah. my son niall was 12 when he first became addicted to drugs. eventually, i got the knock on the door and they found him dead. he was 28 years old. partly, it was a relief because i was waiting for it. i knew. what was that like as a mother, saying that you were relieved? terrible, really terrible. over 16 years, niall lied, threatened and stole from his mum

for drugs, for heroin. i was really tortured mentally, really. very badly. i did actually threaten to commit suicide one night. i left a note. i couldn't even go to bed and keep my purse under my pillow, because he would creep in during the night and get it. how do you remember your son? as that smiling boy. that's what i've got to remember. and this is the cost of addiction on our streets. walked in, noticed the fridge was gone. came into the kitchen, cooker had gone. when i go in, the needles that you've got lying around in there... 0n patrol with durham police. there's uncapped needles there. the needles have got blood inside them. every day, the same.

the only way they're going to fund that habit is by dishonest means, which is going to be stealing stuff. 0ne adult male for shoplifting... the government says up to half of all crimes like shoplifting, theft and robbery are committed by offenders who use cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin. the majority of the people we deal with are repeat people all the time, whether it be thefts from shops, small, lower—level crime to fund an addiction. and are you seeing the same faces again and again? yes, constantly. the same faces... again... and again. can you tell us how you feel? just sick. how many times have you been arrested? 400. shoplifting, driving, possession.

what do you think about when you wake up in the morning? go out, get sorted. for drugs? yeah. in the middle of the day, what do you think about? drugs. when you go to sleep, what's the last thing you think about? getting sorted. what has heroin taken away from you and your life? family, kids... everything. now, there's a call for radical change. i think the first thing is to actually decriminalise personal use of heroin, of all drugs. if we go down that particular route, that then opens the door for a medical solution to the problem. nobody who dies from an overdose... in switzerland, durham's police and crime commissioner is looking for that medical solution. they tend to ask for less and less, rather than more. it's called heroin assisted treatment. he believes it can reduce

crime and save lives. here, long—term addicts are patients, not criminals. no street dealers, just nurses. every day, chantelle comes here to be treated... to be given... medical grade heroin. it costs around £15,000 per year per patient. for some, the idea of bringing this to durham is controversial. what do you say to people who say, i've worked all my life, so why on earth are these people, many of them offenders, getting money off the state for heroin? i don't hear any outcry about people getting nicotine patches to give up nicotine, but it's a health problem. i don't hear criticism of people getting help with their alcoholism. it's a health problem. the policies we've adopted so far haven't worked and we need to radically change those.

in switzerland, they say crime is down and nobody has died in these clinics from an overdose. in the uk, heroin and morphine—related deaths are at their highest levels since records began. and this is how people like lisa die. shooting up heroin from the street. in every town and city. unseen... unheard. a previously lost portrait by leonardo da vinci is to go on sale in new york. the painting — the last one remaining in private hands — is estimated to be worth around a hundred million dollars. but the auctioneers admit it is so rare they don't really know what it will sell for. the bbc‘s tim allman has the story. it has been described as the last da

vinci. salvator mundi, saviour of the world, a portrait of christ from around 1500. it was rediscovered 12 yea rs around 1500. it was rediscovered 12 years ago when it was sold at auction, initially believed to be a copy. the nearby started the restoration process and what the old paint layers began to come out, you could see the original quality and it was at that point it was beginning to be understood that it could be leonardo da vinci's lost original but was presumed to be destroyed. leonardo da vinci, perhaps the greatest and most important artist of all time, the creator of the mona lisa and the last supper. so what price do you put on a genius? we're being little vague, around $100 million. there

has never been anything like it sold. how much it makes is really... we are not really sure. the market will decide what it is around $100 million is an estimate. all will be revealed next month when the auction ta kes pla ce revealed next month when the auction takes place in new york. soon, the last da vinci will have a new home. a reminder of the main news: deadly fires raging across california's wine region. these are like pictures. at least 15 people have been killed and a lot of people are missing but it is hoped a lot of those are simply misplaced in the frantic evacuation. thank you for watching. hello there. we have a wet wednesday on the cards for some western parts of the british isles.

some heavy rain, some strong winds, as well, courtesy of a slow—moving weather front. an area of low pressure drifting to the north—west of the british isles. this front here really dragging its heels, as it pushes its way south and east. so in some places it will rain for pretty much all day long. now, down to the south—west of england, could be some patchy rainfirst thing. but a lot of dry weather at 8:00am in the morning, and that dry theme extends further east, as well. certainly across south—east england and east anglia we will see some spells of sunshine. fairly large areas of cloud floating around, as well. temperatures around 1a degrees. similar story for the midlands — north—east england getting off to a mainly dry start, particularly close to the east coast. a similar story for northern scotland, although some hefty showers will be packing in here. south—west scotland having a wet start. pretty miserable rush hour in glasgow. rain moving across northern ireland for a time, but the wettest weather will be across north wales and the north—west of england. and here, with a south—westerly wind just funnelling this rain in across the same places for hour

upon hour upon hour, especially over high ground, could see 50mm to 80mm of rain, maybe 100mm or more for some of the hills of cumbria. could be enough to give some issues of localised flooding, and the winds will be strong — could be gales in exposed spots. so our band of rain only slowly moving southwards and eastwards, behind it, something brighter for scotland and northern ireland, but some hefty showers, too. staying largely dry down towards the south—east, but often fairly cloudy, and temperatures of 1a to 17 degrees. but our slow—moving weather front finally gets its act together during wednesday night, pushing off to the east. and, behind it, will leave largely clear skies. could be the odd fog patch here and there, and particularly in the south, where the winds fall light, it could be a bit chilly. some spots in the countryside down to four or five degrees. thursday, then, a decent day. certainly a drier day for north—east england and north wales. many of us fine, with some spells of sunshine.

thicker cloud though for northern ireland and northern and western scotland. some outbreaks of rain here later — 12—17 degrees. the cloud in the north west will then sink its way into the picture on friday. another band of heavey rain. this one slow moving. the further south you are, though, particularly if you get some sunshine, your temperatures could get up to 20 degrees. a sign of what is to come for the weekend, warm air wafting up from the south. and, if the sun does come out, we could get to 23 degrees. but it will always be cooler, with some rain, towards the north—west. the latest headlines on bbc news: at least 15 people are confirmed dead in wildfires in california's wine region. more than 150 others are missing — although that may be a result of the chaotic pace of evacuations. one of the worst affected towns is santa rosa where entire districts have been gutted.

catalonia's president has signed a declaration of independence — but suspended secession to give space for dialogue with spain's central government. the independence referendum was illegal under spain's constitution, and the government in madrid immediately rejected his statements. it will hold an emergency cabinet meeting on wednesday. the hollywood producer harvey weinstein has now been accused of sexual harassment by some of hollywood's biggest stars — angelina jolie, gwyneth paltrow, and mira sorvino. and the italian film star asia argento and two other women claim he raped them — according to an investigation by the new yorker magazine.