welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: at least 21 people have died in the huge wildfires in california, and the authorities fear they're about to get worse. the harvey weinstein scandal intensifies. hollywood a—listers are the latest to accuse the movie mogul of sexual harassment. as president trump threatens to decertify the iran nuclear deal, one of its original negotiators defends the agreement. india's border with china isn't as secure as you might think. in california's wine country, the national guard, thousands of firefighters and dozens of search and rescue teams and helicopters are now fighting 22 large wildfires.

21 people are confirmed dead, more than 500 are missing, thousands have been left homeless. the flames are now burning an area larger than chicago. and there are worries strengthening winds and falling humidity will fan new outbreaks. this report from peter bowes. entire communities completely wiped out. in some areas, the deadly wildfires have out. in some areas, the deadly wildfi res have left out. in some areas, the deadly wildfires have left nothing but charred rubble and bricked chimneys. it said through northern california's wine country and is still burning out of control. this is what the firefighters are facing, one of more than 20 fires burning across several counties. devastation on the scale has never been seen before in this region. more than 3000 homes and businesses have been destroyed. fire officials say there

is more to come, with high winds and tinder dry vegetation expected to hamper efforts to put out the flames. there are fears new fires we re flames. there are fears new fires were started anytime. they are literally burning faster than we can put them out. imagine being out there in difficult terrain with miles and miles of fire. to catch up to that is very challenging. and they are spreading thousands of it. it is difficult to get any kind of containment. the advice to residents is clear and blunt. i cannot emphasised enough, if you look at how fast it is going, people have underestimated how powerful it is. if you can go somewhere, go. you do not need to be here. people living in one of the hardest hit counties do not need to be told about the destructive power of this inferno.

they have seen it first hand the blue this is like apocalyptic. this is so out of the norm. southern california, everything is dry, were used to it. but not in an urban area. all of our pictures are gone. everything. we have a fire pit. it is pretty awful. but we are all healthy and safe. we have to just try and be grateful for that. but it is pretty awful. the cost of the fires will run into tens of billions of dollars, and with the death toll continuing to rise and hundreds of people missing, there is no end in sight for this catastrophe. peter bowes, bbc news. let's get more now from rachel hundley. she's the mayor of the city of sonoma about an hour north of san francisco. how are things now?”

how are things now? i wish i could say things are better. it has been a long night and a long day. everyone has been waiting for good news. but we are still in fire defence mode like we were last time we talked. 20,000 people have evacuated so far from the region. a voluntary evacuation order has been issued. what does that mean? yes. for the north part of sonoma and also part of the incorporated county outside the city, it is voluntary. it means we are not in imminent danger. but it does mean if people have packed up, now with a good time to leave. if people have packed up, it is a good time to get their stuff together and put up by the door, just in case we have to do a mandatory evacuation. and think ahead about traffic. we don't want people to get caught if things get bad. the wins were dying down yesterday. now they seem to be

picking up. —— winds. the humidity is dropping. that could make it harder to control the current fires and could be new ones. it could. we had a report that at 1pm the wind would pick up. but in sonoma it hasn't happened. . it is pretty steel. further up the valley i have heard it is pretty windy. i hope things will stay low so we have a chance to make some progress with these fires. we see these figures, 170,000 acres, 30,000 homes and structures destroyed. how does this work? will people be able to return, will they get insurance, other neighbourhoods gone? sonoma is one of those places where people move here because they love it so much. i have full confidence people will rebuild their lives. with the support of the community i have seen

in the past, it is something we will all be together. some are hurting more than others, but at the end of the day, we will help each other. with 22 large wildfires on the go, can they be controlled? 0r with 22 large wildfires on the go, can they be controlled? or do you get people out of the way and wait for them to burn out? it is challenging. these are mountain fires. steep ravines, valleys, which are hard to get into. that is one of the reasons they have been hard to fight. we have had backup from all over the country coming into the area. even fire services from illinois and the national guard have come. the whole country is here to help us. i think that perhaps tonight we will make some progress and wake up the positive news tomorrow morning. perhaps... let's hope. from sonoma, thank you very much. thank you. the wife of hollywood producer, harvey weinstein, has announced she's leaving him amid a growing storm of allegations of sexual harassment and rape.

she described her husband's behaviour as "unforgivable. " in los angeles, the organisation that oversees the oscars is to hold an emergency meeting to consider its response. and there are new moves from police and prosecutors in new york. he has claimed some of the allegations are "patently false." nick bryant reports. this time last week, harvey weinstein was at the centre of hollywood's in—crowd. but now, he is a virtual outcast, known not for the magnetism of his personality, but what accusers have described as the menace. a—list actresses, to women who just wanted to break into the movie and tv industry, all saying he sexually abused or harassed them, claims he denies. but now, his wife of ten years has decided to leave him, horrified by what she has been hearing. the british fashion designer georgina chapman described her husband's actions as unforgiveable and said, "my heart breaks for all the women who suffered tremendous pain." the new zealand model

zoe brock claims the producer harassed her at the cannes film festival in the late 1990s. harvey walked out of the room, and came back in naked. he came back naked? naked. what did you say? and he said that he wanted a massage, could i give him a massage? and i said no. weinstein claims many sexual encounters were consensual. not according to zoe brock. i hope he's watching. say that to my face, harvey. i would happily stand in a courtroom and testify. happily. tonight, the british model and actress cara delevingne claimed he harassed her in a hotel room. some of hollywood's leading men have also distanced themselves from a friend who gave them their big breaks. george clooney described weinstein‘s behaviour as indefensible. so how's your lady?

ben affleck, who made his name in the weinstein movie good will hunting, said he was angry. his co—star matt damon said he was sick to his stomach, and said he had never seen this kind of behaviour, or been part of an attempt to suppress stories about it in the past. this is the new york headquarters of the weinstein company, which sacked its co—founder on sunday. it is said to be considering a name change. the company faces the same questions as the industry as a whole. did it protect him? did it enable him? was this an open secret, that friends and colleagues simply chose to ignore? those who worked with him speak of his immense power, and ca reer—breaking influence. if you had been an actress who — let's say harvey had groped your breasts

while you were supposed to be auditioning for him, what are you going to do? you're not going to go to the police. they're not going to take that seriously. you're not going to call a journalist, because at that point harvey had the whole media world in his pocket, and no—one was going to go up against harvey weinstein. there is only a downside to reporting it, ie, harvey's going to destroy your career. there's no upside to doing that. why is anyone going to do that? bafta has suspended weinstein from its membership. the hosts of the oscars are now considering taking action. his beloved red carpet, the place where he used to parade his power, for now at least seems out of bounds. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. president trump says he could envisage a new trade pact with canada that might exclude mexico. speaking at the white house with canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, mr trump said us workers had to be protected. mexico has warned such a deal would damage cross—border relations, including cooperation in the war on drugs. the united nations has accused

the burmese security forces of a systematic policy of brutal expulsion of the muslim rohingya minority. it says attacks against the rohingya, destruction of their homes, crops and livestock, render any return of the refugees to normal life in rakhine state almost impossible. a study of two vaccines against the ebola virus has found that they can both protect against the fever for at least a year. the research, published in the new england journal of medicine, found that of the 1,500 patients at least 60% developed antibodies. ebola killed more than 11,000 people in an outbreak in west africa in 2014. pope francis says roman catholic teaching must contain a prohibition on the death penalty. he was speaking at a conference in rome to mark the 25th anniversary of the publication of the catechism of the catholic church. the pope said that no matter how serious the crime, capital punishment is inadmissible because it denies the possibility of redemption. later this week, president donald trump is expected to announce whether he'll "decertify" the iran nuclear deal.

mr trump has described the agreement, which has been in place for two years, as the "worst deal ever." but catherine ashton, one of the original negotiators, says the agreement is doing what it set out to, limiting iran's stockpiles and nuclear ambitions. she's urging washington to leave it intact. it is really important to let diplomacy work sometimes. and the agreement does what it says, and so it should be allowed to continue. there are plenty of other issues which need the energy of the united states and other nations to really try and make us more safe and secure. well, it seems baroness ashton has support from republican congressman ed royce who addressed the house of representatives foreign affairs committee earlier. as flawed as the deal is, i believe we must now in force the hell out of

it. -- we must now in force the hell out of it. —— enfore. let's work with allies to make certain international inspectors have better access to possible nuclear sites, and we should address the fundamental shortcoming as our allies have recognised. stay with us on bbc news. still to come. lights, camera, action. why have dramas set in cornwall been a hit in germany for decades? 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: at least twenty one people have died in wildfires in northern california and hundreds more are reported to be missing. the harvey weinstein scandal intensifies — hollywood a—listers are the latest to accuse the movie mogul of sexual harassment. spain's prime minister says he wants

clarification from catalonia within five days on whether or not it has formally declared independence. on tuesday the catalan president signed a declaration to that effect — but suspended it to allow further talks. mariano rajoy accused the catalan leadership of a dangerous attack on the country's constitution — and rejected calls for mediation. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas reports from madrid. in every people's story there are fateful days. for spain and catalonia, these are times fraught with risk. after emergency cabinet meetings this morning, spain's prime minister came to tell his parliament he is demanding clarity from catalonia. the question — did the document signed yesterday by the separatist leader amount to a declaration of independence, or not? translation: the answer given by mr puigdemont will determine what happens next.

in his hands lies either re—establishing the rule of law, as everybody is asking him, or continuing the instability, the tension, and the divisions in catalonia. because the spanish government's position is simple. catalonia cannot use an illegal referendum to secede. and if catalonia does try to split away, mr rajoy told parliament, he would begin moves to impose direct rule on the region next week. spain's prime minister is a leader under intense pressure. some here in parliament say he should not compromise with catalans, who they say are trying to blackmail spain. others say he should seek compromise. what nobody is criticising him for is defending spanish unity, and if anything, it is the catalan leader who is under more pressure. this is the declaration at issue. the catalan leader, carles puigdemont, signed it, and immediately said he was suspending it, and left it ambiguous. the fact it was fudged has left catalans who want independence

for their region feeling cheated. translation: i feel totally let down. he took a step back. the people supported him to do something, but he didn't do it. in madrid, tomorrow is spain's national day. and in an office, puigdemont does not speak in my name. spain's divisions are growing deeper, and now the government has ,19§,'i1-,@§3,u§:frfi

nitin srivastava has travelled to a remote village in india's fi§fehz§§§f§ffifi§§v§e§t§ ' 77 w'” of arunachal pradesh, to find out. it isa it is a dangerous mountain to rain in was not a single soul in sight. you have to travel for over two days ona dirt you have to travel for over two days on a dirt track to read each one of india's last villagers before f; 2 == zfiith one

50 internet nor phone connection, the! place to purchase household nearest place to purchase household goods is five hours away. popping across the border into china is the easy option. translation: there is a lot of development out there and unlike here they have roads and infrastructure. their government has constructed homes for each family living on the border. every second family in this village has a relative on the other side, in china, and some get to meet them once ina china, and some get to meet them once in a while. . what is unusual

for them is to see chinese troops at least once a year inside indian territory. this man has seen this with this own highs. he works as a guide and translator. translation: i met chinese soldiers almost 100 metres inside the indian border and they asked me how many troops were nearby. i said 300. they went back a few hours later. with the outbreak offighting... india few hours later. with the outbreak of fighting... india and china have a long—standing border dispute and countries even went to full—scale war in 1962. the stand—off was resolved peacefully but only after two months of intense media hype. the reality on the ground is very different for these villages. china

is not foreign to them, it is family. girls will be allowed to join the boy scouts of america from next year. the move follows years of campaigning by families and girls to the organisation which has existed for 100 years. critics say the move is an attempt to stop falling numbers in the us. but scout leaders say it's a move forward. i think today shows the world that the boy scouts of america is moving forward and moving beyond some of the stereotypes we have had in the past that we were not interested in moving on nor serving a family. we are moving on nor serving a family. we a re interested moving on nor serving a family. we are interested in serving the use of the families in this community across northern virginia, dc, marry land, down to the virgin islands where we have young people in our programme. it is a great day that we will be able to serve more young people in what we do. that is what

we are all about. that is what we wa nt to we are all about. that is what we want to do. they are quintessentially english romantic novels set in the rugged cornwall countryside — not that well known here but for 20 years they've been a fixture of sunday night viewing in a hit tv series in germany. and german fans of the cornish author rosamunde pilcher are coming in droves to cornwall to see the locations that feature in the series — and adding tens of millions of pounds to the cornish tourist industry too. here'sjon kay. it is one of germany's biggest shows. an everyday tale of cornish folk. and here is the result. every week, hundreds of fans turn up on a pilcher pilgrimage to visit locations they have seen on tv. this house near padstow has featured in 20 films. linger her mother and have

come from dortmund. they love the romantic storylines and are feeling quite overwhelmed. we saw the scenes when someone quite overwhelmed. we saw the scenes when someone was quite overwhelmed. we saw the scenes when someone was heartbreaking and crying and then they fell in love together. it is incredible to be here. last year, pilcher tourism brought £50 million into the economy. 80% of the tour groups now come from germany. they put in locks of fla kes come from germany. they put in locks of flakes flowers... the real-life owner cannot believe our luck. were booked already for next year and it is helping keep the roof on the house. it makes that much of a difference? it does. what would your message be to rosamunde pilcher herself? thank you! thank you! just outside newquay they are shooting the 100 twentieths movie. there is no sign of them stopping. as well as

this one there is another pilcher film being shot in cornwall at the moment and a third about to start. the films are all made in german by germans for germans, but about cornwall. all of our names are english and everything is english but we speak german. what do you think rich people will make of this? i don't think many of them know it is happening. they would think we are crazy. rosamunde pilcher is 93 and recovering from a fall. but she is said to be delighted her stories are benefiting her beloved cornwall. this is what she is so proud of, that she is putting back some sort of muggy back into the place that she was born. pilcher's writing may have been underrated sometimes. but there is no underestimating its value now. space experts say an asteroid

the size of a house will have a "close miss" with earth later on. it will hurtle past at a distance of about 26,000 miles and travel within the moon's orbit. scientists from nasa, say although there's no risk to earth this time, it's a chance to test asteroid warning systems. scientists say planning ahead is vital — and they are trying to work out what they could do if an asteroid were found to be on a collision course. it seems to be approximately the same size as the rock that exploded over russia in 2013. much more on all of the news any time on the bbc website. you can reach me and the tea m website. you can reach me and the team on twitter. hello and good morning. the weather

is much quieter now, turning chilly out there under the clear skies. for a while on wednesday we had severe weather in cumbria. heavy cloud, low cloud as well producing a lot of rain, feeding into the rivers as water rained down from higher ground. it was on the highest ground that we had some of the heaviest rain. 0ver that we had some of the heaviest rain. over 200 millimetres in one area of falling in 2a hours it was localised but heavy for a while on a figure active weather front. as that swept south eastwards, the cloud thinned and narrowed, and the front wea ke ns. we thinned and narrowed, and the front weakens. we are into a flat reach, if you like, for two day at this deepening low pressure is raiding waiting in the winds. quite today on thursday. a little chilly out there in the morning, a couple of mist patches in the south. a lot of dry

weather and sunshine as well. as you had further north, the wind is a bit stronger and scotland and northern ireland in particular. there will be more cloud here from the word go and a few showers, mainly around the highlands and islands. heavy with showers for the northern isles. winds will be gusty and scotland, picking up a northern ireland. a bit more cloud around here from time to time. the threat of rain in the far north—west. patchy cloud in england and wales but more sunshine than we had yesterday. fresher air but which will be similar to what we had on wednesday and that should be a decent day for most. those weather systems arrive in the north—west overnight, thickening cloud, bringing out rain and wind will pick up bringing out rain and wind will pick up as well. wettest weather over the hills. more rain over western scotla nd hills. more rain over western scotland pushing into cumbria in northern wales. further south and east gets sunshine with temperatures close to 20 degrees. warm air across much of the uk and as we head into

the weekend we will draw up some warmerair the weekend we will draw up some warmer air from the weekend we will draw up some warmer airfrom iberia, from biscay into the central and southern parts of the uk. a difference in temperature as you can see. either side of the weather front which, having moved southwards will start to move north again on saturday. initially, not much rain on that at all. a band of cloud, drizzly rain over the hills it may turn wet in the north—west later in the day but warming up to the south and the two temperatures reaching 1920 degrees. hearing continues on the north—west of the uk. northern ireland and over the hills of western scotland, quite as warm here but further south, get some sunshine and particularly in the south—east where it could be 22, or 23. this is bbc news. the headlines. more than 200 fire engines and firefighting crews from across america are being rushed to california to help contain the devastating wildfires that are raging in an area larger than the city of chicago. fire officials said the death toll has climbed to 21

with hundreds missing. the american academy of motion picture arts and sciences is to hold an emergency meeting in los angeles later to consider the film producer harvey weinstein's future with the organisation. the academy has handed out 81 0scars to films produced by miramax and the weinstein company. the spanish prime minister, mariano rajoy, has given the leader of the catalan authorities five days to clarify officially whether the region has declared independence from spain. if he confirms that is indeed the case or doesn't answer, he'll be given an ultimatum to revoke the declaration. now on bbc news: the day in parliament.