tonight at ten. south africa's ruling anc party prepares to pick a new leader, who's expected to become president. the reign ofjacob zuma, tainted by scandal draws to a close, at a special meeting of party activists in johannesburg. this conference isn't just about the future of a liberation movement, of a physical party, it is about the future of this country. as the anc loses support across south africa, what can the new leader do to reverse the decline? also on tonight's programme... thousands of homes and businesses in gloucestershire have been without water after a mains pipe bursts. retailers tempt shoppers in the run up to christmas with big discounts, to keep the tills ringing... and australia take control of the third ashes test, with a double century from their captain steve smith. good evening.

south africa's president, jacob zuma, says the future of the governing anc party is under threat. at a conference to choose a new leader, he said voters believed it was arrogant and soft on corruption. mr zuma himself has faced allegations of fraud and racketeering. his successor is widely expected to become the next president in 2019. our africa editor, fergal keane, reports from johannesburg. not since the anc came to power 23 years ago has so much depended on the votes of its party members. an organisation that held together through more than eight decades of white rule is now bitterly divided. they sing the same song but support very different visions. this conference isn't

just about the future of a liberation movement, a political party. it's about the future of this country. will the anc elect a new leader who has promised to sweep away corruption? the anc has always been good at shows of unity, like the clasped hands of the two contenders, dr dlamini—zuma and the man targeting corruption, cyril ramaphosa, both vying for delegates‘ votes. who would you like to see as your next president? nkosaza na dlamini—zuma. nkosazana dlamini—zuma, she's going to be the president. definitely? yeah, definitely. you'll see, you'll see. you can see, look at the numbers. who do you think will be the next leader? cyril ramaphosa with be the president, no doubt. the mandate is for cyril ramaphosa to be the next president of the african national congress and to be the next president the republic of south africa. dr dlamini—zuma is a senior politician in her own right

but is also the ex—wife of jacob zuma. cyril ramaphosa could prove his nemesis if he makes good on his anti—corruption rhetoric. the president's allies have sought to portray ramaphosa as the puppet of greedy white business, hence this swipe in his speech. we need to find ways of protecting the anc from corporate greed and ensure that the decisions we take are informed by the policies of the anc and are not dictated by... are not dictated to by business interests. africa's oldest liberation movement is fraying, even in the face of poignant pleas for unity. whoever is elected leader tomorrow will inherit a party in crisis. fergal keane, bbc news, johannesburg. water supplies to thousands of homes

and businesses in gloucestershire have onlyjust been restored, after two days. it follows a mains pipe burst in tewkesbury, that left many having to rely on bottled water, as jon donnison reports. water, water everywhere. nor any drop to drink. a ruptured pipe has left these fields flooded and in tewkesbury, thousands of people without water for a second day. many businesses have been forced to close. severn trent has already had to hand out 300,000 litres of bottled water. i'm surprised that severn trent have not got it all back together again within 2a hours. i had to drive nearly ten miles here. itjust can't be helped. it is one of those things. david luckett runs an emergency committee set up to deal with water problems in the nearby village of twining. he says more remote areas have

been the worst affected. i feel that the villages have been left almost to their own devices to a certain extent. we have had no forward delivery of any supplies. by late afternoon, severn trent water said that supply had returned to some areas, but not all. i can't say at this moment how long it will take to get back to normal, but i can assure all of our customers that we are working as hard as we can to get the network back to normal and to restore the water supplies. this evening, severn trent said that the majority of people in tewkesbury now have their supply back, but for a second night, some will go to bed wondering if they will wake up with water. jon donnison, bbc news. new evacuation orders have been issued in california as huge wildfires continue to cause havoc. fresh winds are driving flames deeper into santa barbara's eastern neighbourhoods, towards the pacific coast. the blaze is the third—largest in california, since reliable records began, and now covers almost 400 square miles. a draft resolution is being

circulated at the un security council which would declare that any unilateral decision on the status ofjerusalem would have no legal effect. the measure from egypt comes after president trump's announcement that the united states recognises jerusalem as the capital of israel. retailers are expected to make big discounts in the final week before christmas to convince shoppers to keep spending throughout the festive period. there's fear among some on the high street that, with rising inflation and stagnant wages, consumers may be more willing to spend big in the period after black friday in late november rather than in the run up to december 25th. our business correspondent, joe lynam, reports. what could be more christmassy than the salvation army warming our hearts and the hustle and bustle of shoppers hunting for bargains? but with money tight

and competition intense, some big retailers are starting to offer big discounts, well ahead of the boxing day sales. will it work? i do believe that retailers are trying to get the money in before christmas rather than after. quite a few of the shops that have got reduced prices and bargains and obviously, if you were going to wait to the sales, but i think, from looking around, they have started early. i come to leeds every saturday and stuff that i looked at last week is on sale this week. the consultants pwc have found evidence of pre—christmas discounting that is expected to intensify next week. promotional levels are stacking up, both online and off—line, so in the run—up to christmas, if you have not done your shopping yet, we are expecting a lot more promotions, particularly online in the final week before christmas. the bad weather earlier this week may have kept some shoppers at home, but experts feel that they will be back in bigger numbers. retail spending was surprisingly up by 1.1% last month. i say surprising, because average prices in the shops were rising faster than wages. 0rdinarily, consumers

rein in their spending, but they haven't, yet. and retailers want every penny of that spare money. and to do that, they are slashing some prices, but in doing so, they are merely bringing forward the discounts that they would have offered in the winter sales. thank you. it is all part of the annual face—off between retailers and consumers. joe lynam, bbc news. the scientist and broadcaster, professor heinz wolff, perhaps best known for presenting the bbc science programme, the great egg race, has died. he was 89. richard galpin looks back at his life. hello, and welcome to the murky depths of the great egg race. relishing his role as the eccentric scientist, heinz wolff became a television star in the 1970s and ‘80s. in my book, you've already got full marks for eccentricity and having

made a five foot bridge to bridge an eight foot gap. his programme the great egg race, testing the scientific and inventive skills of teams to solve a problem he had set them. always the performer, he'd later show them how he had done it. it's all right! now, this is the most critical poin, probably here. he also knew how to make science fun for children, as professor ian sutherland, a close friend and colleague at brunel university, remembers only too well. one time i remember him saying, "kids, you shouldn't bite your nails, because if you do, you may accidentally bite off your finger." and what he'd done, he'd stuck with superglue a frankfurter sausage on his hand, and he bit it off, and they all went, "ah!" it was really amazing, he would really capture

the imagination of children. as a distinguished, pioneering academic, professor wolff invented important medical devices, including a machine for counting patients‘ blood cells. and he was scientific director of the juno programme, sending helen sharman, the first british astronaut, into space in 1991. the technical innovations, the big programmes like thejuno missions to space, they were important, but i think just everyday human interactions, giving people advice, enthusing them about science and technology, he felt those who were equally important, i think. the man who arrived in britain as a refugee from nazi germany at the start of world war ii leaves an enduring scientific legacy. professor heinz wolff,

who's died at the age of 89. with all the sport, here's lizzie greenwood hughes at the bbc sport centre. thanks very much. good evening. england's cricketers have been told by their coaches they need to show "guts and determination" to keep their ashes hopes alive. australia already have one hand on the famous urn and now lead the crucial third test in perth by 146 runs after a punishing day three at the waca. 0ur correspondent, andy swiss, reports. for two australians, a day to remember, for 11 englishmen want to forget. but if this is when their ashes dream finally ended, it was at the end of batting brilliance. first steve smith resuming on 92 he soon reached his century, as it turned out, he had barely started. at the

other end, a flicker of english oak, moeen ali removing shaun marsh, little would be no would be their only wicket of the entire day. enter mitchell marsh you set about showing his sibling precisely how it done. perfection from marsh. australia were ruthless, inglot‘s bowling more to this. flailed to all corners, for dual route it was hard to watch and the aggression of marsh reaped its reward, first test hundred to the delight of his fans and his family. and as the runs kept coming, so did the milestones. smith completed his double century, the world number one batsman with another masterclass as australia piled on the misery. smith is still there on 229, marsh on 181 on a day when england's bowling limitations we re when england's bowling limitations were painfully exposed. we don't have that extra pace. and we haven't got perhaps the highest quality of

magical spin, we have got what we have got and we have had to work exceptionally hard today. england have seen some dark days in the series but none quite as grim as theirs. they will now need something very special in they are to save this match and save their ashes hopes. andy swiss, bbc news, perth. there were eight games in the premier league today. match of the day follows the news, so if you don't want to know what happened, please avert your attention. manchester city's lead at the top of the table is now 1a points after they stunned tottenham 4—1 at home. kevin de bruyne was man of the match as city extended their winning streak to 16 games. elsewhere there were wins for arsenal, who moved back into the top four. champions chelsea beat southampton. crystal palace moved to safety with a big win at leicester. huddersfield put four past watford, their first away goals since the opening day of the season. and west ham's resurgence continued at the expense of stoke, who are nowjust a point above the drop zone. aberdeen are up to second in the scottish premiership,

closing the gap on leaders celtic to just two points. gary mackay—steven scored a hat—trick in their 4—1 victory over hibs, who hadn't lost at home since march. elsewhere there were wins for dundee, hamilton, kilmarnock and stjohnstone, who won at ibrox for the first time since 1971. it's an important weekend in rugby union's european champions cup as teams jostle for the quarter—final places. bath are on their way to qualifying automatically, avenging last week's late defeat to holders toulon by beating them 26—21 at the rec to top their pool. scarlets are back in contention with victory over benetton in italy, but exeter will struggle to go through after leinster did the double, and glasgow can't progress. the world's fastest swimmer, adam peaty, won his first major short—course medal today — then gave it away! racing in a 25 metre pool, britain's olympic champion took the 100 metres breaststroke gold at the european championships, then delighted the copenhagen crowds by handing his medal to a young fan. that's it, but as always there's plenty more on the bbc sport website, including the build up

to february's winter olympics where british cross—country skier, andrew musgrave, took his first medal at a world cup event. back to you clive. it'sjoe and katya! cheering and applause. soap starjoe mcfadden lifted the glitterball trophy, along with his dancing partner katya jones. joe had a near perfect score from the judges all night, beating fellow finalists debbie mcgee, alexandra burke and gemma atkinson. at 42, he's the oldest winner in the show‘s history. that's it. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. but from me and the rest of the team, have a very good night. hello, this is bbc news with me, nicholas 0wen, the time is 10:20pm. police investigating the deaths of a 75—year—old canadian billionaire and his wife say

the circumstances appear suspicious. barry sherman, who founded a major pharmaceutical company, was found dead with his wife honey at their mansion in toronto. reports say there was no sign of forced entry. angus crawford reports. one of toronto's richest suburbs, a house for sale. in the basement, a discovery — two bodies, a man and a woman. barry sherman and his wife honey, one of the richest couples in the country. police cannot yet say what happened. the circumstances of their death lead us to believe that there may be suspicious circumstances. it is an investigative tool. until we know exactly how they died, we treat it as suspicious. barry sherman, who was 75, is thought to be worth more than £2 billion. he made his money in pharmaceuticals, setting up apotex in the 1970s, and building it into one of the biggest drugs companies in the world. stepping down as chief executive in 2012,

he dedicated himself to charity work. today, canadian premierjustin trudeau said that he and his wife sent their condolences to the shermans' family and friends and everyone touched by their vision and spirit. this woman, an employee, still could not believe the news. people looked up to him. people are in shock, crying. they are genuinely heartbroken. for now, the investigation continues into two deaths which leave the community in shock and a family in mourning. angus crawford, bbc news. a leading supporter of brexit has warned the uk cannot become a colony of the eu during the expected two—year transition period

after britain's withdrawal in march 2019. jacob rees—mogg made the comments after eu leaders yesterday agreed to move to the next phase of brexit discussions in the new year. they suggested the uk would need to shadow single market regulations and remain under the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice during any transition phase. jacob rees—mogg said he would be very surprised if such transition arrangements were agreed to by the government. the prime minister has consistently said that she is in favour of an implementation, which means that we are leaving in march 2019 and the consequences of leaving are implemented. but we cannot be a colony of the eu for two years from 2019—21, accepting new laws that are made without any say—so of the british people, parliament or government. that is not leaving the european union, that is being a vassal state of the european union, and i would be very surprised if that were government policy. the chancellor, phillip hammond,

rejected accusations that he was appeasing brussels. speaking while in china on a trade mission, he said it was important that any deal maintained the status quo. we will no longer be members of the european union. we will not technically or legally be in the customs union or in the single market. but we are committed, as a result of the agreement that we made this week, to creating an environment which will effectively replicate the current status quo so that businesses can carry on trading with their commercial partners across the european union as they do now. borders will operate as they do now, and financial services, businesses will be able to carry on conducting their business across borders as they do now. austria is poised to become the only

western european country with a far right party in government. the conservative people's party has struck a coalition deal with the anti immigration freedom party. the leaders of the two parties met the austrian president, who has given his approvalfor the austrian president, who has given his approval for the deal. the austrian president, who has given his approvalfor the deal. the head of the people's party, sebastian kurz, 31, will be the youngest national leader in the world. the bbc‘s correspondent in vienna, bethany bell, says austria's new government will take a tougher stance on immigration. they are cutting benefits for migrants, they're making it harder for them to receive that. they want to beef up controls on austria's borders to prevent more illegal immigration. and also, he has said that they want to speed up asylum claims and prevent abuse of the asylum system. quite strong words there.

the other thing that was sort of hanging over this, the place they chose to have this press conference was up on a outside vienna, which was where the austrians turned back the ottoman turks back in 1683. where the muslim armies of the ottomans were stopped. he was asked whether the choice of that place was symbolic. he denied that it was, he said it was just a good place to meet. but some people will be wondering if this is part of a sort of anti—muslim rhetoric that the freedom party has stressed a great deal. officials in california says one of the wildfires which have driven tens of thousands of people from their homes now covers nearly 400 square miles. fresh winds are driving smoke and ash into santa barbara towards the pacific coast. the fire is the

third—largest in california since reliable records began and now cover almost 400 square miles. a firefighter has died tackling the flames, north of los angeles. 0ur correspondent james cook sent this report from the town of fillmore. 12 days on, and still it burns. more than 8,000 men and women are now battling this blaze, saving homes one by one. not far from here, the fire claimed the life of 32—year—old cory iverson, a firefighter, a father and a husband. he is survived by his wife ashley, his two—year—old daughter evie. cory and ashley are expecting a second daughter this spring. the fire has destroyed homes, too. more than 700 of them and another 18,000 buildings remain at risk. this is one of five homes in this tiny neighbourhood which was destroyed when the flames swept through here so fast that firefighters had to abandon the area. which ones survived and which were

destroyed was a matter of pure luck. aaron lawson and his family were among the lucky ones. their home was scorched, but it survived, thanks in part to neighbours who lost everything but stayed to fight the fire. the most rewarding thing is seeing them, some of the guys who lost their houses, working with us, side by her side, to keep our houses safe those first few days. all week, they have been racing to contain the fire, and with fierce winds forecast again tonight, that battle is about to intensify. james cook, bbc news, fillmore in california. a rather different picture in this pa rt a rather different picture in this part of the world, let's get the latest on the weather with louise lear. good morning. the first signs of

change can be seen on this radar image, there will be a frost through sheltered eastern areas, where we saw the best of the sunshine during saturday. so a cold and frosty start here, maybe some patchy fog through the midlands and into the south—east, which will linger first thing, temperatures to greet us sitting just below freezing, but the cloud and rain gather out in the north—west, and that is set to pushing through the day on sunday, some of it turning quite heavy across northern ireland into western scotland, eventually pushing into wales and south—west england through the morning. so clouding over across eastern areas, but staying dry until lunchtime, the rain gradually pushing into the south—eastern corner by the middle of the afternoon. pretty much what you start with is not what you're going to finish with. by the afternoon, continuing to see showers across the south—west and wales, poor visibility, coast and hill fog as

well. not as mild in east anglia and the south—east, double digits behind that weather front. there will be some sunshine for northern ireland and scotland after a wet start, just and scotland after a wet start, just a scattering of isolated showers in the far north. as we continue through sunday night into monday, the weather front clears away and just briefly for a time the winds to the north and a swing round to the north—west, allowing the skies to clear and temperatures to fall away, so clear and temperatures to fall away, $03 clear and temperatures to fall away, so a chilly start perhaps first thing on monday, temperatures of around 2—6d. i suspect there will also be a little bit more in the way of sunshine on monday, make the most of sunshine on monday, make the most of it, it is not set to last, because the general trend is for this area of high pressure to build from the south. that will block the weather fronts pushing from the south. that will block the weatherfronts pushing in from from the south. that will block the weather fronts pushing in from the atlantic, but it will also continue to drive in this milder, south—westerly flow. the winds from the south—west tends to bring a lot of cloud at this time of year, poor

visibility close to the coast. so to summarise our week ahead, all change on the weather story, a mild week, at times it will be mainly dry but often quite cloudy.