and ugly scenes in the europe league as marseille's patrice evra's sent off for kicking a fan in the head. so the houston astros and their fans have been celebrating their victory in baseball's world series. the astros beat the la dodgers 5—1 in game 7 in los angeles on wednesday, to clinch the title for the first time in their history. the team was keen to dedicate the win in the fall classic to their home city, which was devastated by hurricane harvey just nine weeks ago. our sports correspondent katie gornall reports. every baseball team dreams of a world series win. perhaps the houston astros needed one. we did it! we earned it! nine weeks ago, the players returned home from a road trip to find their city devastated by hurricane harvey. for the people here in houston their dramatic journey to the the people here in houston their dramaticjourney to the top has been a welcome distraction. the astros had never won the world series before and face the daunting task of playing the deciding game seven in

front of a boisterous los angeles crowd. but if they felt the weight of history on their shoulders they w0 re of history on their shoulders they wore it lightly. an early mistake from the dodgers allowed a few stern a foothold in the game and they never looked back —— houston. a home run from their most valuable player put them five runs ahead. but the dodgers saw a disaster. their picture was removed before the third inning. baseball can be cruel. in a series that has swayed one way and then the next... houston managed to avoid any late drama, closing out the game in a famous victory. the people in houston have gone through a tough time and we are just so happy for the city. this is our first championship in 56 years, so it will be fine in houston. one of the sport's most memorable finishes will be given a scriptwriter‘s finish.

this short stop proposed to his girlfriend in the post game celebrations. of course she said yes. for houston, this was a hollywood ending. it's been quite a turnaround for the houston astros. just four years ago they lost a club record 111 games. let's hear from two of their players who have seen the ups and the downs, starting with mvp george springer. unbelievable. indescribable. when you get to spring you know who you have, you see what you have and there's always the thought of, we could do it, but 162 plus games is a lot and a lot of things have to go right in order to get here. our team believed in each other all year. i'm so believed in each other all year. i'm so happy to be a part of it, to bring a championship back to a city that desperately needed one is a surreal feeling. i think the that desperately needed one is a surrealfeeling. i think the key

that desperately needed one is a surreal feeling. i think the key was staying very humble. we all know how good and how much talent we have, but we never take it for granted. we also knew that we were playing the dodgers and they are one of the best teams in the league. they were playing extremely good in the play—offs, so we were trying to make every piece and every swing count andl every piece and every swing count and i think we did the small things in baseball, everything you've got to do. tennis and rafael nadal is through to the quarter—finals of the paris masters. the world number one remains on course for his third masters series title of the year, following his victories in monte carlo and madrid. the french and us open champion beat uruguay‘s pablo cuevas in three sets, with nadal taking the deciding set 6—3. he'll now face the serbian qualifier filip krajinovic in the last eight. juan martin del potro moved a step closer to sealing his place in the world tour finals after beating robin haase. john isner is also through to the quarter—finals, but there was a shock defeat

for the number five seed, dominic thiem. austin halewood has the details. juan martin del potro had never lost to robin haase before but the dutchman looked up for a fight in the third set. robin haase one in the third set. robin haase one in the previous round but it was one dell port —— juan martin del potro who took the open. he had a brilliant second half of the season and is now 10th in the rankings. juan martin del potro through in straight sets, winning him one stop away from the finals later this month. dominic thiem is already guaranteed a place there, but the world number four had guaranteed a place there, but the world numberfour had a day guaranteed a place there, but the world number four had a day to forget in paris on thursday. spain's fernando verdasco dealt with everything dominic thiem threw at him and took the first set. dominic

thiem breached his first grand slam final in the french open earlier this year and with glimpses of that form in the second set. but the austrian couldn't keep it up and his opponent used all of his experience to come through for his second victory in a top ten this year. onto football and the marseille defender patrice evra was sent off before his side's europa league tie against vitoria guimaraes in portugal. footage showed him aiming an acrobatic kick at a fan at the side of the pitch during the warm—up. marseille went on to lose 1—0. elsewhere, five teams have qualified for the knock—out stage, with two games to spare. lazio beat nice 1—o with a last—minute own goal to secure top spot in group k. dynamo kyiv, steaua bucharest and former winners zenit saint petersburg have also qualified for the last 32. they include arsenal, who were held to a goalless draw by red star belgrade, but that was enough to guarantee a top two finish in group h. in the end of course we didn't see

gold. we are not used to that at the emirates. so for us it's frustrating as well, that we didn't score, but there are many young players in the tea m there are many young players in the team andi there are many young players in the team and i think that's part for them of the learning process, to play this kind of game. we now go to cologne. we will try to win our two last games. three players share the lead after the opening round of the turkish masters at antalya on thursday. south africa's haydn porteous is one of them. he carded a flawless round of 64 with seven birdies, as did dutchmanjoost luiten. belgium's nicolas colsaerts is the other leader on seven under. he dropped one shot on his round but made up with an eagle on the 12th. race to dubai leader tommy fleetwood finished on level par.

i need a really big star and i put myself on the right foot coming into this next couple of weeks to get me into dp world and to share a bogey free 64 is exactly what i was looking for. cricket and west indies have won their two—test series in zimbabwe after the 2nd test in bulawayo ended in a draw. the home side began the day with a lead of only 18 runs and six wickets in hand, but managed to bat through the final day, thanks to half—centuries for butt and chakabva. west indies take the series 1—0. england batsman mark stoneman says he hopes all—rounder ben stokes can still play a part in the ashes series in australia. stokes won't be selected until further notice, following an incident outside a bristol nightclub in the uk in september. england's opening tour match against a western australia eleven starts on saturday in perth, with the first test on 23rd november. it was very unfortunate what's

occurred and i feel for him. it was very unfortunate what's occurred and ifeel for him. i hope there's a way back. obviously once things get settled, it would be if we could have him for part of the tour, but most importantly that he is well and comfortable with himself. the schedule of matches for the 2019 rugby world cup has been confirmed. the fixtures were announced injapan, which will be the first asian country to host the tournament. the holders new zealand will begin the defence of their title against south africa in the pick of the matches in the pool stage. they'll face each other in yokohama on saturday, 21st september. the tournament gets under way the day before, when the host nation japan will face europe's top qualifier. let's bring you up—to—date with the thursday night football in the nfl. the buffalo bills travel the new yorkjets. the jets leave

thejets leave by the jets leave by ten thejets leave by ten points to seven. they've just thejets leave by ten points to seven. they'vejust finished thejets leave by ten points to seven. they've just finished the second quarter. the goal is the difference. the buffalo bills have had a really great start to the season had a really great start to the season and are five and two ahead of this one. very much in the running for the world cup and afc east. they are down by three points at the break. really close. just a field goal separating them, after they we re goal separating them, after they were put ahead in the first quarter in newjersey. were put ahead in the first quarter in new jersey. that's were put ahead in the first quarter in newjersey. that's all for now. you can get the latest sports news at our website. from me and the rest of the sport today team, goodbye and see you again soon. hello. thursday turned out to be a day of mixed weather fortunes right

across the british isles. for some, the morning fog became the afternoon fog. it really didn't get away from some spots, especially in the somerset levels. first thing on friday, a coolish start, despite the extensive cloud. but it's the fog again that will be concentrating my mind and should be on your mind too across the southern counties of england, especially for that morning rush—hour. bbc local radio will keep you right up—to—date with the worst of the conditions, which could stretch from the eastern side of devon, through the west country, central and southern england and into parts of the south—east. from wales to the midlands to east anglia, more cloudy and maybe a spot of rain. dry weather for the most part as we get into the north of england, much of northern ireland and the eastern side of scotland. drift further towards the north and west in scotland, a new set of weather fronts coming in, with cloud, wind and rain making very slow progress through the day. much of the fog will lift away

through the morning as more cloud comes down towards the southern counties. we may find the odd glimpse of sunshine coming through. temperatures as you see for most in double figures. one or two sheltered spots in the east of scotland, despite the brightness, will be stuck at 9—10 degrees or so. overnight this is where we see quite a dramatic change. the weather front is making itself felt in scotland and northern ireland, but we have more cloud and a real developing situation here, with the rain becoming widespread in england and wales as we start the weekend. the weekend of course is one forfireworks and bonfires perhaps, but it's turning colder eventually and there will be a mixture of sunny spells and showers and it will take time before we get rid of these weather fronts, which will bring in a fair amount of cloud and rain widely to start off saturday across the greater part of england and wales. maybe the far south of scotland too.

further north and west, a mixture of sunny spells and showers and a north—westerly and a chilly one at that. that will take time before it works its way down into the south—eastern quarter of the british isles and don't hold me to that exact timing of that rain getting away from the coast of east anglia and kent. it could be 2—3 hours perhaps later than that. but eventually i think the colder air will win out. sunday looks to be more straightforward, with a mixture of sunny spells and blustery showers. especially in northern and western parts. a high of 11. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: thousands protest in catalonia, as eight regional leaders are held in custody on charges of rebellion and sedition. new details emerge about the killing of four american servicemen in niger. we have a special report from the battlefield.

as the site of the new york terror attack reopens, federal investigators question the suspect. and donald trump prepares for his first presidential tour of asia, with the shadow of a rising china looming large.