welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: celebrations continue into the night in zimbabwe after robert mugabe resigns as president of zimbabwe. i tender my resignation... robert mugabe's surprise resignation was made by letter just as proceedings to impeach him were getting started. we're here right at the moment that they've heard that robert mugabe has resigned from the presidency. and you can hear it from zanu—pf mps, from opposition mps, from members of the public who've come here to witness what's happening. for many people, robert mugabe is the only leader they've ever known — his iron grip on power finally swept aside. this is a new era for our nation.” think the only time

this is a new era for our nationli think the only time i will be able to comprehend what has just think the only time i will be able to comprehend what hasjust happened is whenl to comprehend what hasjust happened is when i wake up in the morning. as almost four decades come to an end, we hear from almost four decades come to an end, we hearfrom his friends almost four decades come to an end, we hear from his friends and enemies. hello. there have been jubilant celebrations on zimbabwe's streets over the resignation of president robert mugabe, ending his 37—year rule. without warning his letter of resignation was read out in parliament, just as impeachment proceedings were getting underway. in it, the world's oldest head of state said his decision to go was voluntary and he had made it to allow a smooth transfer of power. our africa editor fergal keane was in parliament when the news

broke. it is the night of the free, a night like no other in their lives, a great tension has broken, the epoch of fear, of desperation, of robert mugabe, has ended. how rarely does politics translate into something so truly felt? this history in the making. we have never thought that something like this was going to happen in zimbabwe. screams: yes! this is history, you guys. this is what we have been fighting for since independence. one man has been taking us aback, man, and we are very happy that he's done now. and then suddenly we got the news tonight that it was over, that he had retired, that he had resigned, that he was gone and suddenly there was just this euphoria amongst all of us. all of us! cheering the sense of surprise here is deep. because at the day's beginning it did not feel as if robert mugabe was going anywhere. parliamentarians, urged on by the crowds,

gathered to begin the process of impeaching the president. after a week in which he had stubbornly refused to quit, his own mps led the legal process. as mps moved into parliament to prepare for the impeachment vote, the decisive political phase of the operation to remove robert mugabe from power gets under way. will he be gone by the end of the week? i'm not sure. i really can't say. look, the processes of parliament will determine whether or not he will be gone by the end of the week. if it were my choice, i would have wanted him to go yesterday. the mps knew that public patience was wearing thin. the expectations of a nation were focused on them. the crowd have new heroes — the general who arrested robert mugabe, and emerson mnangagwa, the political brain behind the coup and president—in—waiting. by mid—afternoon the mps and senators had moved to a hotel to accommodate the specialjoint session of parliament.

they were watched by the public in what felt like a rare moment of true democracy here. "people are suffering," this mp said. and then the moment. a letter was handed to the speaker. he read it first himself and then to the world. a letter from the president... he was muffled but the words were momentous. ..notice of resignation. cheering and applause many who a week ago would have cheered robert mugabe now exalted in his fall.

and we are here right at the moment that they heard that robert mugabe has resigned from the presidency. you can hear it, cheering from zanu—pf mps, from opposition mps and from members of the public who have come here to witness what's happening. they did not expect it. they thought this would be a potentially elongated process of impeachment but it has not happened. he has gone, it is over. a week ago most foreign journalists were banned here. today mps were eager to speak with me. this is a huge moment for your country, what do you feel? absolutely, this is a revelation. a revelation that the people, if they speak their mind, if they speak their hearts out, change will come. can you tell us what you feel? i am feeling very happy. i'm happy because there is no spilling of blood in zimbabwe. people of zimbabwe are so understanding, they love peace. celebrations spilled

into the streets. they cheered emmerson mnangagwa and mocked robert mugabe. wherever they were met, soldiers were fated. we moved back up through the city, into the rapidly gathering crowds. we have just come from parliament and already on the streets the partying has started. for many people here, they've known nothing but the age of mugabe. and now it is sinking in, it's over. but in theirjoy zimbabweans also know that they must be vigilant. i think people are gonig to rejoice tonight, and then after that we really have to be about the serious business of building our country.

we cannot make the mistake of having the same kind of leaders in place to build our country, we cannot afford that. remember the longer road to this moment — the people who endured white minority rule, and then saw their independence become tyranny, found themselves suddenly free. fergal keane, bbc news, harare. after nearly four decades in power, robert mugabe is the only leader many zimbabweans have known. our zimbabwe correspondent, shingai nyoke, has been talking to some of the people celebrating in harare. street parties are going on throughout the night as zimbabweans say that they have been reborn. on every street, in every bar, the celebrations continue, relishing the national flag in a renewed sense of patriotism. i witnessed first hand, celebrations at independence, in 1980, there was such an overwhelming sense of hope. now, for the first time in 37 years, i have seen the same glimmer of hope

in the eyes of zimbabweans. i visited this bar to see what changes this generation, known as "born frees", as they were born after 1980, want from a future without robert mugabe? can you imagine, for all the years i have existed on this planet, i have only known one president so for me it is certainly a different thing and it's the best — i will run with it, i will run with emmerson mnangagwa, i do not care. it's ironic that emmerson mnangagwa, one of the symbols of zanu—pf repression, is now seen as the face of that new hope. ijust hope that, as the new president of zimbabwe, he is aware that, unlike mugabe, he's leading a people that has found its voice and if, at any time in his presidency he comes short, we now have both

the courage and the will to put the executive to check. because that is what this whole upheaval has been about, that the president must answer to the people. for many years zimbabweans have felt an unspoken shame as the economy crashed and millions of africa's most literate workforce — young and old — fled the country for menialjobs in foreign lands. i can actually start building a career, i can start investing. i know, by that time i'm 40, maybe i can even own property. so for me it means i finally have a future. i can actually start building towards something and not just surviving. we the youth, we are the future of zimbabwe. without us there would not be any zimbabwe. 0n the streets of harare, i saw a pride that has been long absent and heard many say that tonight zimbabweans have shown africa how to effect peaceful change. shingai nyoka, bbc news, harare. we speak to professor

horace campbell, currently the kwame nkrumah chair at the institute of african studies, university of ghana. he joins us from accra. it is wonderful to see people happy like this, but it was hardly a people's revolution. it was eight power move by numbers of zanon pf and the army. you worry they are exchanging one tyrant for another? -- zanu-pf. exchanging one tyrant for another? —— zanu—pf. power struggle between powerbrokers, power struggle in the army that could not have been completed without the involvement of the people. and that was the crucial question, that the people of zimbabwe were those that made the decisive intervention, by demonstrating on the streets. that decisive intervention comes after many years of sacrifices by the people of zimbabwe. and yes, there

should be major worries about the replacement and the military, and those worries will depend on what the people said: if there is continued vigilance and dismantling of the institutions that has kept people down for the past 37 years. as you know, it is not hard to find people who say that they are just as scared of emmerson mnangagwa as they we re scared of emmerson mnangagwa as they were of rod mcgarvie. anyone who knows the history of emmerson mnangagwa would know that since the death of the lead up until 1979, every political assassination that went down to rod mcgarvie, that went down to emmerson mnangagwa. backup of the same cloth. they are

misogynistic, homophobic, loot funds from the congo, losing farms, and ripping off the same people. so the question is how the people can continue to organise, to mobilise, for a new dispensation, after this temporary transition period, so that people will see the back of emmerson mnangagwa, just like they have seen the back of robert mugabe. what about the question? whatjazz the back of robert mugabe. what about the question? what jazz you think that the oppressive machinery of zanu—pf could be dismantled and this could become a model for peaceful transition on the african continent? is not a question of jazz. it is a question of how the working people, the vendor is, the students, the traders, the independent trade unionists, continue to maintain their independent, self organisation, and to ban all those institutions. 0ne of the things that must be done in

zimbabwe is that the de facto 1—party zimbabwe is that the de facto 1— party state zimbabwe is that the de facto 1—party state of zanu—pf must be dismantled. zanu—pf should be competing within the political arena ona competing within the political arena on a level playing field with all the other political forces. so it is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of how to corporatise the organisation. the people of zimbabwe, the women who fought for their rights. the farm workers. because of robert mugabe, grace mugabe, emmerson mnangagwa, they own large amounts of farms. robert mugabe said that billions of dollars we re mugabe said that billions of dollars were stolen. how can we bring back that money? how can parliament become more representative and not become more representative and not bea become more representative and not be a rubberstamp? these are questions that not only the workers will be bringing, but the progressive in southern africa, who assisted in this moment, they will

be bringing these questions. thank you so much forjoining us, professor. good to talk to you. thank you so much for having me. and some breaking news, the actor and singer david cassidy has died. he was 67. he had been in intensive ca re he was 67. he had been in intensive care in florida or after organ failure. he rose to fame on the part of factory. david sillitoe looks back at his life. (music playing). it wasjust (music playing). it was just mass his stereo. i could not walk down the street, i could not go anywhere. in1970, a young the street, i could not go anywhere. in 1970, a young call david cassidy became the star of a new tv

programme, the partridge family. he made 96 episode, recorded 15 albums and toured the world. when 50,000 people screaming at the top of their lungs, i love you. it is so overwhelming, man. at one concert in london, a girl died and another 100 we re london, a girl died and another 100 were injured in the history area. in 1974, exhausted and overwhelmed, he retired from show business. he was 24. to be honest with you, i have been to report three and a half yea rs been to report three and a half years and i am really tired. perhaps some time i will come back and do it again but it will not be as the david cassidy as we know him today. david cassidy as we know him today. david cassidy‘s parents were at this. he hardly saw much of them

we re this. he hardly saw much of them were growing up. the height of the happily family life of keith partridge, the real david cassidy hangout with alice cooper and yearned to move on from his teen idol image. by the time he returned to the pop charts in the 1980s, there had been many ups and downs. struggle with money, drinks. but also great successes. he continued to tour and then, aged 66, he made an appearance on television to talk about his health. you have been diagnosed with dementia. about his health. you have been diagnosed with dementialj about his health. you have been diagnosed with dementia. i have. david cassidy, actor, singer, but above all, even 40 years on, fall a

certain generation, he will always be their teen idol. more on zimbabwe a little later in the programme. stay with us. you can find much more on our website. benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election, and 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: crowds in zimbabwe celebrate after robert mugabe resigns as the country's president. the ruling zanu—pf party says the sacked vice president, emmerson mnangagwa, will soon be sworn in, as the country's new leader. the 1980 independence struggle won robert mugabe the status of a hero

in the eyes of some. but during his long years in power, he presided over decades of political repression and economic chaos. 0ur africa correspondent andrew harding looks at his downfall. at every roadblock in every corner of this long—tormented country, you can feel the influence and the damage wrought by robert mugabe, and the fear. today, we went deep into zimba bwe's countryside. 0k, there it is on the left. mugabe's mansion. it is almost feudal, more like a family business than a country. i'm andrew. i'm dennis. we wanted to come in and take a look. they wouldn't let us go in to admire the chandeliers, so we went to visit the neighbours. it was smashed down by police, you say? yes. to be poor in zimbabwe is to be powerless.

robert mugabe's wife, grace mugabe, recently decided she wanted this land, so she sent the police in to destroy dozens of homes. they came here and started demolishing my house. they said you must go away with this process being taken by the first lady. grace mugabe? yes. if she came here, what would you say? i would tear her to pieces, because she has destroyed my life for the past 16 years. tear her to pieces? yes. so how did it all go so wrong? i, robert gabriel mugabe... 37 years ago, robert mugabe was a hero, the man who liberated zimbabwe. but he soon proved to be a brutal, vengeful leader. and, after he had unleashed his supporters on the country's white farmers, the economy collapsed. mugabe rigged elections and terrorised his opponents,

to stay in power, and all but a few suffered. this was me shopping in a country ravaged by hyperinflation. to give you a sense of this country's spiralling economic catastrophe, i've come to a supermarket on the edge of harare. we're using hidden cameras, for our protection. the first thing you see are empty shelves, that should be stacked with bread, but the bakeries have stopped working. robert mugabe shrugged it off, but he was older and weaker than he knew. in the end, his fatal mistake was almost a cliche — to pick his wife as his successor, a woman who no—one trusted or liked. the man poised to take over here is emmerson mnangagwa, for decades robert mugabe's right—hand man, his brutal enforcer. the worry is that zimbabwe is busy exchanging one tyrant for another. then again, this has been an earthquake of a week.

the fear has lifted. the genie of freedom may be out of the bottle. this is a big moment. we are so excited that finally we are taking over the country. 37 years of disappointment, 37 years of falsehoods, and 37 years of dictatorship. all of this is coming to an end, and we must have a fresh beginning. tonight, robert mugabe leaves behind a country warped by years of stubborn, unnecessary cruelty. but he is gone, and zimbabwe is celebrating. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: nearly a week after an argentine navy submarine disappeared in the southern atlantic, officials are worried about oxygen levels inside. forty—four people are on board the ‘sanjuan', which went missing last wednesday after reporting an electric breakdown. better weather is helping the search effort, which has now been narrowed down to a much smaller area.

the us is imposing new sanctions on north korea. the us treasury says they will target north korean shipping operations, and several chinese firms trading with pyongyang, with the aim of stopping funds for the country's nuclear and ballistic missiles programme. a federal grand jury in the us has indicted an uzbek immigrant on 22 terrorism and murder charges over last month's truck attack in new york. sayfullo saipov, who's 29, is accused of killing 8 cyclists and pedestrians in lower manhattan. the lebanese prime minister, saad hariri, has arrived back in beirut for the first time since he shocked the country by announcing his resignation, more than two weeks ago. he's been in saudi arabia, leading to speculation he was being held against his will. sarah corker has more. his sudden resignation plunged lebanon into a political crisis. now saad hariri is back in beirut, greeted by the security forces and facing many questions. he had spent

two weeks and we hope it for trips to other places. he remained tightlipped. translation: god willing, we have the independence holiday in lebanon. a holiday for all of unease and god willing by political situation, as i said in paris, will be decided in lebanon andi paris, will be decided in lebanon and i am not talking about politics here. this situation began in the saudi capital 2.5 weeks ago after talks with the saudi, he announced he was quitting, saying he feared assassination. a key saudi arabia rival iran and he accused of meddling into a fares. believed to be held against his will in saudi arabia something that was denied. lebanese president had this warning for arab states. translation: my

first message to the arab brothers, dealing with lebanon requires a lot of wisdom and rationalism and the alternative to that is pushing it towards the fire. amid the uncertainty, posters of saad hariri have appeared across beirut. this one says, we are all sad. he is expected to attend independence celebrations later today. a reminder of the breaking news, david cassidy has died in florida. he was admitted in hospital with organ failure. thank you for watching. hello there. we have heavy rain, gales,

even some snow, all in the forecast for the next few days. the coldest air is still waiting in the wings. we have several areas of low pressure all pushing up from the south—west, bringing these weather fronts, and in turn bringing rain. so, having seen the rain ease off overnight, it's going to be turning wetter by the morning. mild to the south, some colder air perhaps beginning to arrive in the north of the uk. let's head into the morning, for the rush hour, and for much of southern england, it well may be dry. midlands, east anglia too. windy by the morning, a very mild side to the day, too. then we're back into the rain across wales, especially wet to the north—west of wales. some rain for the north of england, the north—west in particular. and this rain in ireland could become heavy and begin to arrive in the south—west and south of scotland. then we've got a slice of drier weather before we're back into something a bit wetter in the far north of scotland. this main area of rain could be as much as 100mm of rain falling by the end of the day over

the hills, south—west scotland, cumbria, and north—west wales. and ahead of that, across much of england and wales, it will be windy. strong to perhaps gale—force winds, very mild air, especially if you get the sunshine in the south—east and east anglia. could be some rain and cold air across the north of scotland. this rain still around in the evening, with strong winds. some squally rain sweeping eastwards across england and wales. poor day in the rain, and cold air across scotland. squally rain sweeping east. then in the cold air, we start to see some snow falling overnight in scotland, particularly northern parts of scotland. further south, much milder, but still windy. the winds do ease down on thursday, and that snow continues for a while, even to some lower levels in northern scotland, too, before easing down through the day. we're seeing some bands of showers pushing their way southwards, but there'll still be some sunshine in between. still pretty mild, actually, across the south and south—east, 13 or 14 degrees. much colder, though, not just for scotland, but also for northern ireland and the north of england, too. now, heading into friday, a lot of uncertainty about the position of this

area of low pressure. this is probably the last of those low—pressure centres moving up from the south—west. the rain more likely across southern england for a while on friday. and this could be the last of the milder air, if you like, because colder air that's in the north and north—west will come sweeping its way southwards just in time for the weekend. now, you may well be dry for much of the weekend. there'll be some sunshine, too. but we are going to find some showers, particularly in the north—west of the uk, and those showers notjust of rain, but possibly of hail, sleet, and snow. this is bbc news. the headlines: crowds have been celebrating in zimbabwe following the surprise resignation of president robert mugabe. the news sparked wild celebrations with thousands of people pouring onto the streets in the capital harare. robert mugabe has been in power for 37 years since zimbabwe became independent in 1980. his surprise announcement came in a letter read out by the speaker of parliament shortly after impeachment proceedings to remove him began.

in the letter he said the decision was voluntary and he had made it to allow a smooth transfer of power. officials from the governing zanu—pf party say mr mugabe's vice—president, emmerson mnangagwa will be sworn in as president within 48 hours. zimbabwe's opposition leader, morgan tsvangirai, said it was now necessary to craft a framework for free and fair elections. now on bbc news, tuesday in parliament.