this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at nine o'clock. 100 firefighters tackle a huge moorland blaze near bolton. a major incident is declared after two fires merge into one. it isa it is a dangerous area at the moment. in terms of public safety, the advice would be to simply stay off anywhere around the moorland of winter hill. people who rent their homes could get more security under new government plans for a minimum three year tenancy. coming up — new protection for people buying trips from holiday booking websites come into force today. a new eu wide directive means websites such as expedia, ebookers and on the beach can be held financially responsible for any problems. it's thought ten million holidays will benefit. seven in ten council leaders in england believe income tax should be raised to fund the crisis in funding in adult social care. out with the old in with the new at the world cup —

as two of the greatest players of their generation bow out, of their generation bow out. and we'll be taking a look at the sunday morning editions of the papers — including the sunday times‘ coverage of the brexit divisions in theresa may's cabinet. this morning's reviewers are david wooding, the political editior of the sun on sunday and the author and journalist lainy malkani. a major incident has been declared after the merging of two moorland fires, described as ‘rapidly developing and aggressive‘. authorities say fires on winter hill and scout road near bolton have combined as a result of increasing wind speed. 150 firefighters are at the scene

of the blaze that‘s covering five square miles. james waterhouse reports. when a tinder dry landscape combines with strong winds, pockets of north—west england continued to be blanketed in smoke and ash. they are fires that just refuse blanketed in smoke and ash. they are fires thatjust refuse to be beaten. the blaze at winter hill started on thursday near a major tv transmitter. three days on, more than 100 firefighters are still tackling it. it continues to remain a major incident and we are still actively firefighting across a number of areas. wind conditions have changed throughout, this is the third day now where we have been firefighting on winter hill amid these extremely testing conditions for firefighters. crews try to stop the burning embers by hand, and by

helicopter. trenches have been built to protect some local buildings. people are being told to stay away and keep doors and windows closed. a 22—year—old man from bolton has been arrested on suspicion of arson, at the same time 100 soldiers are helping crews fight a separate fire on saddleworth moor 100 miles away, they will be there until at least tomorrow. experts say that rain is what is really needed. none is forecast for days. james waterhouse, bbc news. stong winds on winter hill in lancashire were fanning the flames yesterday. our news correspondent dave guest sent this update. the wind is still quite strong today. the sun is out so they will be working in hot, windy conditions ona be working in hot, windy conditions on a tinder dry landscape. that is what has caused the problem here. we 110w what has caused the problem here. we now have something like five square miles of moorland and went a whole ablaze. two fires merged together yesterday, so firefighters have

called this a major incident. the got support from across the country, i have seen five engines from humberside and nottinghamshire.100 firefighters have gone out onto the moors this morning. a lot of this work is heavy and hard work, trying to beat out the flames. the difficulty here is the same difficulty here is the same difficulty they have had on saddleworth moor. they try and get the fire out, they think they have got it out but it continues to smoulder underground in the peat and can pop up elsewhere. although at the moment it is mainly smoke that we are seeing, the moment it is mainly smoke that we are seeing, very soon you the moment it is mainly smoke that we are seeing, very soon you will see pockets of flame popping up here and there. the only real way all of these fires will ever be completely out is if we have a strong downpour of rain and at the moment none of thatis of rain and at the moment none of that is in prospect. now it is down to brute force and fire crews getting as much effort onto the moors as possible to bring this fire under control as quickly as they can. people who rent their homes could be given more security under government

proposals to introduce a minimum tenancy term of three years. figures show that eight out of ten tenants currently have contracts of six or 12 months and ministers say longer agreements would allow them to put down more roots in their communities. let‘s get more with our political correspondent tom barton. interesting proposals, in some ways, is this the conservatives trying to move on to labour party territory? to an extent, yes, labour put this in their manifesto last year, the idea of having a minimum tenancy agreement of three years. at the moment, if you rent a house or a flat, you are probably on what is called an assured short hold tenancy, 12 month guarantee. then it moves tenancy, 12 month guarantee. then it m oves o nto tenancy, 12 month guarantee. then it moves onto a rolling contract month by month. that is for eight out of ten tenants. if the landlord asks someone ten tenants. if the landlord asks someone to move out their home with

one month of notice, the government are today proposing to extend the minimum contract for three years. james brokenshire will be on the andrew marr show this morning talking about this, and he says that the average tenancy tends to last four years. to have people on the average tenancy feeling pretty uncertain about their future and unable to put down roots and contribute to the community, that is not really work but labour say this is the conservatives moving onto their territory but also say that their territory but also say that their proposals go further. they are talking not just about their proposals go further. they are talking notjust about having minimum tenancies but also rent caps which make it much more difficult for landlords to put up the rent and use that as a way of getting people to move out of their properties rather than simply affecting them. and what about reaction from landlords to these proposals? this is not going to be something which is not going to be something which is going to go through without any sort of a fight. it is looking kind

of inevitable, that both parties are signed up to the idea of three—year minimum term. but landlords do have some concerns. the primary one is really around not knowing who is moving into your property at the start of a tenancy. if somebody is moving in, if they are going to be there for three years, you do not know if they will be a good tenant or pay their rent, and look after the property, or if they will trash the property, or if they will trash the place and not pay their rent when it is due. i think there is a lot of concern among landlords that this could mean that they find themselves either lumbered with te na nts themselves either lumbered with tenants and unable to do anything about them, or it could mean that they end up screening tenants, and those people on lower incomes who may be less sure about their ability to pay, they may end up not getting property. although you may end up with a three—year minimum term, they wa nt with a three—year minimum term, they want the government, say landlords,

to look in detail at how you can resolve disputes within the three—year period. at the moment, this core process is not terribly smooth. it will make all of that much, much smoother. tom banton, thank you. millions of people who book their holidays online will be protected under new eu rules which come into force today. until now, trips booked via websites like expedia and on the beach did not have the same protection as traditional package holidays from travel agents. our business correspondent joe lynam has more. expedia, lastminute.com, ebookers and on the beach are popular websites for booking holidays, but they are intermediaries. it means if things go wrong, they are not directly responsible. that ends today. more and more people are buying their holidays online but they don‘t get the same protection as they would have got from a traditional travel agent, so thanks to these changes today, anybody who buys a holiday and, for instance, there‘s an ash cloud

or a hotel isn‘t up to standard or the airline goes bust, they will be protected, thanks to these new directives. 83% booked a holiday online last year. most of that was through booking sites. but only half of those holidays were financially protected if the hotel, airline or car rental company failed. that will change. but if you book each component part of your holiday separately, you won‘t get the new protections, as that‘s not considered a package holiday. when we book our holidays, we usually go online and just look for certain companies, making sure it's, like, atol protected. there‘s a lot of websites where you get really good deals for holidays, i know we‘ve been looking into, but ijust feel a bit cautious going forward with that because the deals are so good that we do not know if we‘re gonna get, like, say, protection. when i'm sort of looking at protection for a holiday, i don't — i don't really think that much about it. ijust usually, you know, find a kind of cheap insurance deal. the new protections, which are eu—wide, only apply

to holidays bought from today. so if you‘ve purchased already online and haven‘t travelled yet, you won‘t be covered. in that respect, travel insurance is always recommended. joe lynam, bbc news. seven out of ten council leaders in england believe income tax needs to be raised to fund adult social care. that‘s according to research by the local government association, which says more money is needed now. the department of health and social care says it will publish its proposals in the autumn. 0ur reporter simonjones has more. with an ageing population and a squeeze on council budgets, the strains on care services can no longer be ignored — that‘s the message from the local government association, which supports local authorities, ahead of its annual conference next week. although councils in england have been able to increase council tax in recent years to help meet the cost, many say it‘s not enough. it‘s the overwhelming concern of council leaders across the country that the crisis in the funding for social care is becoming more and more acute.

the nhs will fall over unless councils get extra money to help people keep in their own homes. all chant: no nhs cuts! this weekend, thousands of people marched through central london to protest at what they say is the underfunding of the health service. the prime minister has pledged billions more for the nhs in england but councils are asking — what about social care? a survey of council leaders and cabinet members suggests 96% believe there is a major national funding problem in adult social care. 89% think national taxation must be part of the solution. 70% say increases to income tax should be considered. just over half of english councils, which provide adult social care, responded to the local government association survey. here at the department of health and social care, they say they recognise the social care system is under pressure and they are committed to introducing reforms to ensure it‘s sustainable for the future. in the autumn, a consultation document will be published

with proposals for debate. but the local government association says bold and radical political decisions are needed now. simon jones, bbc news. the rail operator, govia thameslink, could lose its franchises unless it rapidly improves services in the south east of england. hundreds of thousands of passengers have faced weeks of cancellations and delays following the introduction of new timetables in may. a government source said the process of removing franchises could start within weeks. thameslink has refused to comment but apologised for the disruption. mexicans go to the polls today to elect a new president, congress and thousands of other representatives. but the campaign has seen some of the worst political violence in the country for decades. in one state, the entire local police force was arrested after a candidate for mayor was murdered.

0ur correspondent will grant reports. until very recently, 0campo was a town without a police force. still hanging over the streets is the image of a dead candidate, fernando angeles, murdered in his home amid the bloodiest election campaign in modern mexican history. shortly after his killing the entire force — all 28 officers — were arrested by state police. "it was all a mistake," insists 0fficer garcia. "we are clean policeman. if we weren‘t, we would still be injail." just 2a hours ago, these officers were under arrest for the alleged involvement in the murder of a political candidate. now they are back on the streets patrolling their town and protesting their innocence. the charges, which still haven‘t been dropped, were for dereliction of duty over the killing. the mayor is adamant his police did nothing wrong. translation: no, no, no. in this case, the local police are not responsible for protecting the candidates.

that has to be requested by their political parties directly through other institutions of the state. it is hard to know exactly what happened here in michoacan, one of the most dangerous states in mexico, such are the murky links between drug cartels and state institutions. the crime rate alone has many voters wanting change in this election. but so does the economy. 0campo depends on the surrounding forests for ecotourism and logging. at this wood mill, the workers say they find it hard to make ends meet and have had enough. translation: it is really time for a change. we want things to improve. we need so much in the country to be different. we need a new start in both the economy and the security situation. the frontrunner going into this vote, andres manuel lopez obrador, is in the lead largely because he has been

saying the same thing. he has built a campaign around promises to tackle corruption, root and branch. having been runner—up twice before, this time he needs those who have promised him their votes to deliver. the headlines on bbc news... 100 firefighters tackle a huge moorland blaze near bolton. a major incident is declared after two fires merge into one. people who rent their homes could get more security under new government plans for a minimum three year tenancy. millions of people who book their holidays online will be protected under new eu rules which come into force today. until now, trips booked via websites such as expedia did not have the same protection as traditional holidays through travel agents. the search for 12 young boys

and their football coach, trapped in a flooded cave in thailand, has entered a second week. thai navy seal divers are closing in on an area where the boys are hoped to be, with a new pump raising hopes that more water can be drawn out. our phillippines correspondent howard johnson reports. thanks to this pump, water levels inside the cave have started to fall and that has allowed thai navy seal divers to push further into the cave complex towards where the boys are thought to be. they are looking for an area called the thai beach and they are now one kilometre away from they are now one kilometre away from the area. the water is also clear, which means that it is from existing supplies of water inside the cave and not from mountain run—off, which isa and not from mountain run—off, which is a good sign because it means the levels are falling. what we are seeing here is part of a new super jet pump being delivered. it is

hoped that when it is fully operational, even more water will be pumped out the cave complexes of the right of me here. villages downstrea m right of me here. villages downstream have been warned that when it is fully operational, their paddy fields could be flooded. what we are also seeing here is search and rescue teams laying down gravel on the mud. we have seen in the last few days that conditions underfoot have become slippery. the mud here gets everywhere, so this will definitely help search and rescue teams. in myanmar, authorities have told the bbc they ve started to welcome back some of the 700,000 rohingya muslims driven from their homes by a military crackdown last year. but there are doubts overjust how many people have actually returned and grave fears for the safety of any rohingya who do travel back. the un says what happened in northern rakhine state was a text—book example of ethnic cleansing. journalists are normally banned from the area , but our myanmar correspondent nick beake managed to get there and sent this special report. ? on the scrap of land

between two countries, a people who have lost everything. the rohingya living in fear, limbo and in desperate need of a home. this is no man‘s land between myanmar, from where they fled rape and murder, and bangladesh, where they see no future. we are crying. nobody want to live this... please help us to go back to our homeland, to put more pressure on the myanmar government. the government here in myanmar that insists it wants to bring home these rohingya families as quickly as possible. but they are deeply sceptical. they believe they are the people that no country wants. they escaped from this lush landscape.

we have managed tojoin a government trip to rakhine state, billed as a chance to see peace and stability. but there is a dark history here because all along the route, we glimpse remnants of rohingha muslim villages, burned to the ground last year. they torched their own homes, is the burmese army‘s explanation. for a moment, we lose our minders. this is part of the trip they did not want us to see, but we have managed to stop here. this used to be a rohingha village. the people are long gone. if you look around, you can see evidence of fire here and all along this stretch of the countryside, you find spots like this. they are trying to usher us away again. why can we not going here? why can we not go inside? this is very dangerous. something... what happened, we don‘t know. please don‘t come in there. it is time to move on.

myanmar claims it is working hard to bring back any rohingha who want to return. so, we are taken to a reception centre — fully staffed, but no one to register. then we are invited to meet these men. unprompted, they produce newly—issued id cards. we are told they are among 138 returning rohingha who have already been processed. but it soon appears they have never actually been to bangladesh. next, a village — the only place where the military has admitted its soldiers killed rohingha civilians in the latest violence. the families still here are ethnic rakhine — buddhists. their hatred of their former muslim neighbours is clear. this woman says she would be petrified if they returned. we tracked down the village administrator. how would you describe the rohingha people in three words? he only needs one.

terrorists? the un says this corner of myanmar is not ready to receive the stranded rohingha, that they wouldn‘t be safe. and so, for now, they remain homeless, helpless, as the world watches on. nick beake, bbc news, rakhine state, myanmar. tens of thousands of people have joined nationwide protests across the us against president trump‘s immigration policies. more than 600 events were planned, with major demonstrations in washington dc, new york and other cities. the marchers demanded that migrant children are reunited with their parents after being forcibly separated at the us border. 2000 children are still being held in detention centres. a privately developed rocket has exploded and crashed

to the ground just seconds after lift—off in japan. hundreds of people were watching in shock as it fell from the sky in flames at a test site on the island of hokkaido. it was unmanned and there were no injuries reported. the rocket was developed by a company which is hoping to provide affordable commercial space flights. it was japan‘s second attempt at sending a private rocket into space. as you can see, it has gone up in flames. two british sailors take to the high seas today to attempt to solo sail 30,000 miles around the world non stop. the golden globe race sees 18 competitors recreate the extraordinary expedition which made sir robin knox—johnson famous for exactly 50 years ago. he will start the race in les sables, france. that is exactly where the author and

yachtsman chris eakin joins us from now. how does all this compare to half a century ago? exactly, what is different about this, this is the race pontoon and 17 of the boats have left to go out to seek ready for the start. what is different about this is not the modern yacht race that you get, this is a wee creation. the boats are very similar to 50 years ago. there is no digital technology, digital music is not allowed. it is a return to the corinthian spirit, if you like, to try to get to a low cost of racing. sir robin knox—johnson is here, he has just sir robin knox—johnson is here, he hasjust gone sir robin knox—johnson is here, he has just gone out to sea on sue hayley, the boat he did this on 50

yea rs hayley, the boat he did this on 50 years ago. he will be at the start line firing the start canon. it is an extraordinary throwback to history and yet, with the commercial spirit to it as well, boats are desperate to win. it is quite extraordinary how they recreated that event 50 years ago. and i suppose it shows how technology has improved. this is, as you say, a really interesting example of trying to do it as it was done half a century ago? it is, and to give you an idea of how challenging, francesco here is the 18th skipper. he has not been able to leave. would you mind stepping ashore quickly? an absolute gentleman, like most of them! you were a little late, leaving one week late, like 50 years ago when a couple of people were late too. what has been like

watching the people you have become friends with and your fellow competitors leaving while you are here because you are not quite there version mark it has been tough, it was nice to have them here. we have an exchanging ideas. for now, i would be so low. solitary here, preparing the boat and trying to make it. one big difference to 50 yea rs make it. one big difference to 50 years ago is that there was no start line there. they went over a five—month period. you are only leaving one week late. are you conscious of the history, is it a modern race or a trip down memory lane? it is a modern race. i agree with all of the choices that they have made. of course, the difference in the start line means having a

more concentrated sure. you have an event and you can carry the event on ina event and you can carry the event on in a different way. also, it brings me back to those days, you know, my mate... he was late. he was one of the original 950 years ago but they all the original 950 years ago but they a ll start the original 950 years ago but they all start on different days. it is a big recreation. francesco, thanks mac i know you have a lot to do. the italian who left very late 50 years ago and then dropped out, it‘s a real throwback. this goes on for 8-10 real throwback. this goes on for 8—10 months. it is a slow watch but the public can follow it on the website. back to the studio. studio: chris, thank you. chris eakin there. it‘s more than a0 years since the first performance on stage of a play called the elephant man — about the appalling treatment of a man with a serious

physical disfigurement. but while the theme of the play was arguably ahead of its time, the casting was not. joseph merrick, the lead character, has never been played by a disabled person — until now. amanda parr reports. step in and see! stand up, you bloody donkey, up! up! rollup, rollup, to see the elephant man. the star of victorian freak shows. a figure of keen interest to the medical community. and in this production, an iconic disabled role reclaimed. it‘s a strident step beyond whatjamie beddard calls the lazy and offensive casting of the past. the only elephant man i‘ve seen was done by non—disabled actors, which i don‘t think is acceptable. me being disabled, me being an actor, me doing the elephant man,

i really hope makes it a bit more authentic and a bit more meaningful. i need to do a good job to do itjustice. jamie says working with drama school graduates like this will normalise inclusion and exciting approaches to casting. not having that slightly strange feeling that you're approaching subject matter that you don't have a right to talk about, nowjamie's here, we can explore that and that's a huge experience for so many people out there and it's nice to put it onto a big stage like bristol old vic and it's amazing to be doing this at this stage of our careers. i don‘t know. i think what we‘re doing is, if you open up theatre to everyone, the possibilities are kind

of infinite and i think it‘s time that we saw more people represented on stage from everywhere, i guess. and, you know, that‘s where things are going. i kind of feel that we‘re on a roll and it‘s really nice to be part of that, actually. stink, stink, stink. the show includes integrated captioning and sign language, audio description, touch tours, relaxed performances and better wheelchair positions in the auditorium. in bristol old vic‘s year of change, it‘s a ground—breaking project with a clear mission. to embrace the fact that differences enrich — both in this show and the world beyond. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello again, today‘s weather is going to be very similar to what you

had yesterday. for most of the uk, more hot sunshine on the cards but a change in south—west england with a few thunderstorms. they will push northwards, they could reach southern parts of wales. if they do move then they will be in parts of pembrokeshire. some dry, hot and sunny weather, temperatures in the low 30s. some spots of rain likely for a time low 30s. some spots of rain likely fora time in low 30s. some spots of rain likely for a time in the western isles. looking at the picture overnight, those temperatures will be slow to fall away. more humidity in england and wales, at 11 o‘clock these will be the temperatures you are trying to fall asleep in. an uncomfortable night sleep ahead, 23 degrees in cardiff and london. this conference will work across scotland, it will not back the temperatures a little bit but it will be warm for this time of year,