this is bbc news, i'm gavin grey. our top stories: robert mugabe's zanu pf party calls on him to quit the presidency as opposition continues to grow against zimba bwe‘s long—term leader. lebanon's prime minister, saad hariri, has left saudi arabia on a plane for france, after tendering his resignation two weeks ago. president trump tweets about the sexual abuse allegations surrounding democratic senator al franken, but stays silent on republican senate candidate roy moore. and the biggest ever relocation of elephants is completed in malawi as part of a major conversation project. tourist dollars have directly financed the work being done here in central malawi, and these 500 elephants now have a new home, 1800 square kilometres of pristine forest. veterans of the war against white

rule in zimbabwe, who've been president mugabe's most ardent supporters for years, have said he must step down at once. their leaders have called for a mass demonstration in the capital harare on saturday. mr mugabe appeared in public for the first time, since the military takeover in zimbabwe. from there, our africa editor, fergal keane sent this report. here in harare, the sense of crisis is swelling, after a day of the surprising and the surreal. it began with an appearance nobody expected. the aura is gone, robert mugabe is a man reduced, in stature and in options. in this coup unlike any other coup, he emerged today to open

a graduation ceremony. the voice that once preached revolution, now reciting the mundane requirements of the moment. applause. in the passing of any era, there are emblematic moments. caught napping — it's happened a lot to him these days. that appearance illustrated just how much robert mugabe's world has shrunk. he was effectively allowed out on licence today by the army, briefly shown and then taken away again. the fear with which he ruled his people, the patronage with which he bought loyalty, these have gone. but there is growing disquiet

at the fact he remains president. by lunchtime the pressure was intensifying. these are war veterans, old allies now publicly calling on him to go. between now and tomorrow we are giving you a stark warning to mugabe, to his wife, and anybody who still wants to be associated with him. the game is up, finished, done. we won't allow this to go on. applause the workaday normality of the street is only surface deep, and expectations of real change are growing. it has been long overdue. we expect things to improve economically, socially and politically. people should be free to choose who their next leader should be. we just want to be at peace. we don't want civil war, we don't want anything to do with us not having peace. the military has a dilemma, hence these photographs,

smiles and handshakes. under pressure from regional powers and the international community, they need a transition with a veneer of legality, ideally with president mugabe agreeing to resign. so far, he won't. that ambivalence has become the problem, the albatross around the military. having to play the legal constitution on one end, at the same time they want him out. by early evening it was apparent that most of his own party want him gone. a majority of provincial branches called on him to resign, and there's talk of impeachment. these moves could be decisive. the lebanese prime minister, saad hariri, has left saudi arabia for france, where he'll meet president macron. using twitter, mr hariri said it was a lie to say that he had been held by the saudi authorities against his will. saudi arabia is recalling its ambassador to germany, objecting to comments by berlin

on the hariri crisis. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports. mr hariri's departure for france marks a new chapter in an extraordinary political crisis which continues to be a source of intense political speculation, as well as condemnation. lebanese politicians have accused saudi arabia of holding their prime minister hostage, although mr hariri insists he came to riyadh two weeks ago of his own free will. he has repeatedly said he fled for his own safety, and accuses lebanon's hezbollah movement and its ally, iran, of fuelling regional instability. it is widely understood this curious saga is all about the escalating hostility between two powerful rivals, saudi arabia and iran. mr hariri's sudden resignation led to concern that lebanon could become another playing field in a proxy

war which already fuels tension in many countries across this region. translation: i believe that iran's reaction misunderstands france's position, which preserves the framework of the 2015 accord. but i still think regional tensions which exist from syria to yemen, including lebanon, implicate several regional powers and that iran must recognise its role in that. it is hoped that the french president's invitation will help defuse this tension, although this crisis is far from over. mr hariri is expected to spend time in paris and then visit other arab capitals before he eventually returns to beirut. the argentine navy is continuing to search for a submarine that's been out of contact for two days. there had been reports in local

media that the sanjuan had been found off the country's east coast, but they've not been confirmed. the submarine was last in contact early on wednesday when it was more than 400km off the coast of patagonia. the former opposition mayor of caracas, antonio ledezma, has fled house arrest and left venezuela. mr ledezma said he planned to travel the world to speak out against human rights abuses in the country. he was detained in 2015 and accused of plotting a coup to bring down the government of president nicolas maduro. the veteran american civil rights leader, the reverend jesse jackson, has disclosed that he has been diagnosed with parkinson's disease. mrjackson said he first noticed the symptoms of the degenerative neurological condition three years ago and said his father had also been a sufferer. he said he would now work for a cure for parkinson's. staying in the united states, where after days of relative silence

about a series of sexual misconduct scandals donald trump has now spoken out. but while he could have offered his thoughts on several individuals, he chose to target a senator from the opposition democratic party, al franken. it comes after a journalist, lee—ann tweeden, put this photo onto social media, dating from 2006, which appears to show mr franken groping her while she was asleep. he has issued a statement apologising for his actions. cue mr trump on twitter: now, it's worth pointing out that al franken is not the only politician whose actions are being scrutinised, but he is the only one mr trump is tweeting about. the president did not, for example, comment on republican roy moore, who's hoping to win a senate seat

in alabama next month, and has been accused of making sexual advances towards several teenagers. mr moore denies those claims, which he says are politically motivated. mr moore's wife has been speaking out in his defence. he is a loving father and a grandfather, and most important, he is a christian. let me set the record straight. even after all the attacks against me and my husband, against my family and the foundation, he will not step down. well, for the very latest on the allegations against roy moore, i spoke to the bbc‘s laura bicker in washington. this controversy has been building for the last week, since the washington post

printed allegations that roy moore preyed on teenage girls. one woman alleges she was preyed on as young as 14. again, roy moore, as you heard, denies all of these allegations. he continues to stay in the race, despite the fact that establishment republicans like senate leader mitch mcconnell have already turned around and said it's time for him to step out of this race. he is refusing to do that. now, he was already a controversial republican candidate. 0nstage, he brandished a gun to emphasise the right to bear arms. he was not donald trump's favourite republican candidate for the alabama seat, but he is running up against the democratic candidate. he was way ahead in the polls, but since this has been revealed he has dropped dramatically, and he is now trailing. president trump has been asked repeatedly, every time he appears, he has been asked to comment on roy moore. he has refused. the white house turned around and said it was up to the voters of alabama.

his daughter, ivanka trump, has no such qualms. in a statement, she said, "there is a special place in hell for people who prey on children. i have yet to see a valid explanation and have no reason to doubt the victims‘ accounts." 0k, moving on to al franken, we saw that tweet from president trump earlier. he is obviously really only prepared to talk about those in opposition? well, the white house said today that the difference between the two cases was that al franken had admitted guilt, whereas roy moore had not. when it comes to al franken, he has apologised for the picture. he says he remembers the incident differently. there is a picture of him where he is groping, or about to grope, a woman who was asleep. that is a well—known radio host who has come forward with these allegations. of course, donald trump decided to use the nickname ‘al frankenstein‘ in his tweet, and said what happened in pictures

two, three, four, five and six? the problem for president trump weighing into any of these controversies is that he has had some of his own. a dozen women came forward last year during the election campaign with various allegations that he had sexually abused them. he said at the time — he denied all the allegations, and said he would be taking legal action. it is a difficult position for president trump to take. if he weighs into any of these controversies, it brings up some of his own from the past. the united nations climate change conference has ended with delegates agreeing to take stock of individual country efforts to cut fossil fuel emissions. envoys spent the last two weeks in the german city of bonn, discussing what needs to be done if the world is to meet commitments under the 2015 paris agreement. our environment analyst roger harrabin reports from bonn. with president trump trying to pull

the us out of their global climate accord as quickly as he can, this meeting could have been a total car crash, with other nations uncooperative. it has not been that way. they made good progress on the new rulebook to the way climate will be governed in future. they have also rot agriculture into the talks for the first time. farming create about 25% of global emissions. there have been major warnings though that climate change is already happening, and future changes are locked in. on the optimistic side we have heard about the collapse in the price of renewable energy, which has made it affordable to china and india to make huge steps in that direction. these nations will meet again in a yea r‘s these nations will meet again in a year's time, but they will have some hope at last that some progress is being made. stay with us on bbc news, because

still to come this hour, reclaiming the streets: find out how these children are playing safely outdoors just like their parents did generation ago. benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election. she has asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson has been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself in to police in santa barbara. it was the biggest demonstration so far of the fast—growing european anti—nuclear movement. the south african government has announced that it's opening the country's remaining whites—only beaches to people of all races. this will lead to a black—majority government in this country and the destruction of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of the day.

150 firemen have been battling the blaze, which has caused millions of pounds' worth of damage. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: regional branches of robert mugabe's zanu—pf party have called on him to quit the presidency as opposition to the long—term leader of zimbabwe continues to grow. lebanon's prime minister, saad hariri, has left saudi arabia on a plane for france after tendering his resignation two weeks ago. president trump has put on hold a decision to end a ban on importing elephant parts into the us from animals hunted in zimbabwe and zambia. an announcement on thursday that trophies from legally hunted elephants could be imported had prompted outrage from animal welfare activists. but it's a different

story in malawi. wildlife officials there have completed the world's biggest ever effort to relocate more than 500 elephants because of successful conservation efforts. the bbc‘s ben tavener reports from malawi. the liwonde national park in southern malawi is home to some big animals. notjust hippos and crocodiles, but also elephants. lots of them. too many, in fact. conservation efforts have led to the elephants breeding prolifically. now they are straying more and more into local villages. but in nkhotakota wildlife reserve over 400km to the north, the situation is very different. poachers here virtually wiped out the local elephant population. so, african parks, a non—profit conservation organisation, embarked on the world's biggest elephant translocation. it is no mean feat — darting and moving these massive animals takes skill

and determination. to complicate matters further, families have to be moved together to reduce the stress of being transported and waking up in unknown surroundings. over two years, the $1.6 million project moved over 500 elephants to nkhotakota from overpopulated national parks in the south. now the area has been made safe with regular patrols and 400km of electrified fencing. this used to be an elephant country and it has been without elephants for some time, so the vegetation, the habitat is just perfect for elephants. we can see that most of the elephants are carrying young ones. that's one good sign that these elephants are settling in very, very well. so neighbours of the community, show them how the park can contribute to the local economy. there might be 520 elephants here now, but they are still not easy to find in such a big area. we venture out to look for them and after an hour

of searching, success! tourist dollars have directly financed the work being done here in central malawi, and these 500 elephants now have a new home — 1800 square kilometres of pristine forest. local people have been hired to protect and manage the park and local communities are being educated about the benefits of local wildlife. it's hoped they can be convinced that these majestic animals are worth more alive. tesla has unveiled its first electric truck with its chief executive elon musk boasting it will "blow your mind clear out of your skull". but the firm is already struggling to meet demand for existing models. from the launch in los angeles, dave lee reports. by bringing some of its trademark speed and style to trucking, tesla thinks it can unseat diesel as king of the road. this thing looks like

it's not moving... ..is a diesel truck. elon musk has promised it will be able to travel up to 500 miles on a single charge, and when dragging the heaviest trailer allowed on american roads, it will still accelerate to 60 mph in just 20 seconds. he wouldn't say how much the vehicle will cost but argued that when fuel and maintenance are factored in, it will be cheaper and more efficient than diesel — claims that were met with considerable scepticism by some. it's really a very much economics—driven type of industry and diesel has proven to be unmatched in that combination of features, of being very fuel—efficient, very reliable and durable. tesla isn't the first to unveil an electric lorry. here is an effort from us truck builder cummins, although its range is only 100 miles. ever one for theattrics,

mr musk also had a secret — in the back of one of the trailers, a surprise new roadster capable of doing 0—60 in less than two seconds. what was your first impression? no way. it's just nuts. it's stupid cool. like, it's just stupid awesome. but there is a cloud hanging over tesla that has investors worried. right now, it's unable to build cars quickly enough to meet pre—orders of its more affordable model 3, a car unveiled in 2016. elon musk said he was going through production hell and was even camping on the roof of his battery factory in order to save time getting there each day. the astronomical value of tesla relies very much on the cult of elon musk — a strong belief that he is on course to change the world. but he is running out of time to start producing results. do children these days spend too much time indoors,

glued to the tv or playing computer games? and are parents sometimes too protective to let them outside to enjoy a taste of freedom and fun? dougal shaw reports now on one scheme that thinks it has the answer. a street in toronto canada with children doing what they do best. playing together and having fun. they are able to play on the roads here because cars are banished every week forfour here because cars are banished every week for four hours at a time. this street is one of seven that has finished a six—month pilot scheme. it is all about getting kids outside playing again and it was a natural pa rt playing again and it was a natural part of my childhood but it is a big piece of childhood oozing from the modern day. often known as street play, it is an idea gaining traction around the world. his canadian scheme through its inspiration from the streets of the uk. streets like this one in bristol. this street plays together like this for two hours every tuesday. it is really

good because we think of in the street. i have. and according to the organiser i met, it isn'tjust the children who benefit. certainly i didn't know any of the neighbours on the opposite side of the streets are we really have come together as a community, the children have build relationships and are getting loads of play, they look forward to it every week. scientist who has studied the scheme think it could also have health benefits are children. you can get an extra ten minutes of moderate to vigorous physical exercise just from the closure of the street for a short period of time which can make a real difference as to whether they can make the government guidelines on physical activity. more and more streets following this and a lot is down to a simple change in paperwork. in the past you had to fill separate application form for the council for every street play event but now you fill out one form so event but now you fill out one form so street supply just wants to hold regular sessions. report street apply. the change is down to this

woman who introduced street play sessions to her bristol street. our children were not getting outside enough, they were not physically enough, they were not physically enough, and we saw that we have this great space immediately outside the front door but they couldn't use it. more than a0 local authorities across the uk are now supporting the street playscheme she championed and street playscheme she championed and street playscheme she championed and street play seems to have an appeal that crosses national boundaries. a military dog who helped save the lives of british and afghan troops has received the animal equivalent of the victoria cross. mali was seriously wounded in 2012 when he entered a building in kabul under fire to sniff out explosives and insurgents. 0ur reporter chi chi izundu has the story. this is mali, the 8—year—old belgian mellonwah who's been awarded the dickin medal — the highest honour for an army animal. in 2012, he was helping british troops in afghanistan when they came under attack. while searching for insurgents, mali came under direct fire

as he sniffed out explosives and searched for a safe exit. his special forces handler during the operation is anonymous for security reasons. from operations that we had been on previously, he had really sort of shown his mettle and built a reputation amongst all of the guys. by the time we launched onto this operation, we really felt that we had a guardian angel among us. the mission lasted 7.5 hours. mali's contribution to its success is undeniable. the amount of noise, the dust, the smoke, you know, he must have had really overloaded senses. he received blast injuries from two grenades that were thrown down the stairs on him. he received multiple injuries to his face, body, and his hips, but again, still carried on after that. the military uses around 500 dogs in a variety of roles, from sniffing out explosives to hunting down insurgents. mali's made a full recovery.

as for the medal, he'll get a miniature version to wear around his collar, so that in his newjob — teaching other dogs and their handlers about their roles in the military — he can pass on his heroic skills. chi chi izundu, bbc news. scientists and engineers have been working on the development of human—like robots for years, but the machines have always had a rather embarrassing problem — they fall over a lot. that is until now. this is the one of the latest creations of american engineering firm boston dynamics. the team behind the atlas robot hope that it'll eventually be agile enough to carry out search and rescue missions. as you can see, it's already capable of pulling off stunts that many human gymnasts would be proud of. also me! this is bbc news. hello.

colder air is in and is staying for the weekend before mild air makes a fight—back next week. for friday, it was sunshine and showers and the cold air in scotland across southern and eastern parts of england. hardly a cloud in the sky. here is a view from the isle of wight. flipping things around, though, for the start of the weekend — it's actually scotland who will have the best of the sunshine. there will be a brisk wind, with isobars close together. an area of cloud and patchy rain extending across wales and south—west england and other parts of england and wales through the day. there will be a patchy frost to start the morning for saturday — not as widespread as friday morning, and then sunshine becomes more limited for many of us through the day. not the case though in scotland. there will be blustery showers in the far north, the northern isles, wintry on hills to relatively lower levels in places, but plenty of sunshine in scotland. mainly dry in northern ireland, but a fair amount of cloud around. a band of showers working south across northern england early

in the day but then the sun comes out for the afternoon. early sunshine east anglia, the south—east of england with a touch of frost, but not lasting too long. already got cloud across wales and into south—west england and that's going to extend eastwards during the day, taking some occasional outbreaks of rain. never amounting to too much but making for a dull, damp afternoon for some here. you can see the sunshine across northern england, but especially into scotland, but remember that brisk wind in the far north with the blustery showers. technically milder for some in wales and south—west england. then again, it won't feel that way with the cloud and any rain. but for most of us, it'll be single—figure temperatures once again. now, for the rugby, well, we're expecting some rain in cardiff, maybe a bit of patchy rain in twickenham, clear and cold going into the evening at murrayfield and also a dry evening for the ireland game in dublin. looking at things going through saturday evening and saturday night, some wet weather affecting wales and southern england overnight, becoming confined to the far south—west of england. elsewhere, clearing skies and the temperatures dip and the frost will be more widespread going

into sunday morning. temperatures lower than this away from towns and city centres. so some of us will be at or below freezing, but with some sunshine to follow on sunday across much of scotland, northern england and the east of england. clouding over in the midlands, cloud for south—west england. for wales, northern ireland — not as chilly here but here, we have cloud and some outbreaks of rain. most of that light, most of us in single figures, so it will be another cold—feeling day. going sunday night and into monday, we take cloud and outbreaks of rain northwards, but into colder air, particularly with scotland and the risk of snow, perhaps notjust on hills on monday, so keep checking the forecast throughout the weekend. we will keep you updated. this is bbc news, the headlines. state media in zimbabwe has confirmed that eight out of ten regional branches of the governing zanu—pf have passed a vote of no confidence in president robert mugabe, following a military takeover on wednesday. they also want his wife grace, who was apparently planning to succeed him, to quit the party. the lebanese prime minister, saad hariri, has left saudi arabia for france on his private plane

to meet president macron. he's been in the kingdom since tendering his resignation two weeks ago. an international effort is continuing in the south atlantic to try to find an argentinian submarine. the sanjuan has now been out of radio contact for three days. a nasa research plane has joined in the search. the missing vessel has forty—four crew on board. let's have brief look now at some of the front pages of the morning pages. we start with the financial times which reports that the london stock