this is bbc news. the headlines at eight o'clock. long delays on flights, ferries and cross—channel trains as the recent extreme weather continues to cause problems eurotunnel says it's now operating a "full service" on the folkestone—calais route — but has stopped selling tickets until next week two firefighters die and tens of thousands flee their homes in northern california, as wildfires sweep across the state. we didn't realise how much my home means to me. and a community. the main candidates in zimbabwe's presidential election have addressed huge crowds in harare, on the last day of campaigning before the country's historic vote. also coming up — british victory at the tour de france. wales‘ geraint thomas is set to win as he maintains his lead on the penultimate day of the race and australian sailor wendy tuck has become the first female skipper

to win the clipper round the world yacht race. parts of the uk have had almost a month's rainfall in just a few hours, as thunderstorms replace the long summer heatwave. lightning strikes have added to the misery for thousands of travellers, with cancelled flights and trains. among the worst affected have been passengers at stansted airport and those using eurotunnel as simon jones reports. the holiday getaway from hell. the queues grew and grew at stansted airport as flights were cancelled. blamed on the thunderstorms that meant planes could not fly safely. ryanair, the main operator at stansted, has apologised to customers. it is incredible how unaccountable they are.

there is no one here to deal with it. the queues are neverending and people are supposed to wait. it is ridiculous. we were on board the plane for six hours and then they say, "it's delayed. the flight is delayed." then we come back here. another queue for ten hours. the storms that swept in forcing middlesbrough‘s friendly against sunderland to be abandoned, and heralding the end of the heatwave, are supposed to put a stop to this, too, the chaos at the channel tunnel. for three days, trains had been unable to run at full capacity because it was too hot, the air conditioning could not cope. the queue of cars trying to get into eurotunnel tells the story. some are having to wait six and a half hours to get on a train. the company is advising people not to travel

unless it is absolutely necessary. those with holidays booked have little choice. lightning strikes have also taken out some rail services, as have strikes of a different kind — this time by members of the rmt union on south western railway and eurostar. even just getting around became difficult in northern ireland. parts of belfast saw a whole month's rainfall in just one afternoon. and i spoke to simonjones who gave us this update on the eurotunnel delays. the delays are still continuing to night. it is very busy down there at the terminal. the company was due to deal with 10,000 cars today, many packed with holiday—makers. 0ne deal with 10,000 cars today, many packed with holiday—makers. one is slight bit of good news is that the delay to get into check—in has gone down to about 30 minutes so the queues are easing on the road into the terminal. 0nce queues are easing on the road into the terminal. once you get to the terminal, delays are still around three hours and that is likely to continue for the rest of the day.

eurotunnel say that tonight they will run extra trains to try to shift the backlog. that is going to be the key thing. they want to get rid of the backlog so they can start afresh tomorrow. if they don't manage to do that overnight then it could be another day of problems ahead. and eurotunnel say they are not selling any new tickets until next week. no, they are not telling any tickets until monday so they can get rid of the backlog here and focus on being able to do that. standing on the cliffs here today, it is much cooler than yesterday and very windy. that is leaving some people to ask how can the company still be blaming the hot weather for the problem. they say, although it is cooler, because they had to take out carriages over the last three days, it's taken some time to reset those carriages and get them back into service. some people are

questioning whether the company is spending enough on infrastructure. the trains they use are around 25 yea rs old the trains they use are around 25 years old but the company doesn't accept this because they are due to lax 50 years in total and they are blaming the unprecedented weather. the last time we had weather like this in 1976, eurotunnel didn't even exist. four men have been charged with attempted murder and weapons offences, following a shooting in leytonstone's lascelles close on thursday night involving police. no—one was hurt in the exchange. the men were found in possession of a shotgun, an axe and a zombie knife and will appear in court on monday. the government has said it'll tackle the spread of fake news — as a new report warns democracy is under threat. the digital, culture, media and sport committee wants companies such as facebook to be made liable for featuring " harmful and misleading" material. its committee's report is due to be

published tomorrow — but a copy was leaked early by dominic cummings, the director of the official brexit campaign group vote leave, who published it on his own blog. tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in northern california as a huge wildfire continues to burn out of control. two people have been killed and hundreds of buildings have been destroyed. firefighters are battling to control the blaze that's been likened to a tornado of fire. courtney bembridge reports. firefighters say they are battling a fire tornado. gale force winds uprooting trees and fanning the flames. fuelled by high temperatures and large pockets of dry vegetation. the fire has destroyed 500 homes in california, and threatened thousands more. oh, my goodness. that's some kind of structure

com pletely that's some kind of structure completely on fire there. the blaze has been burning for six days. so far it has scorched more than 118,000 acres of land, an area larger than the city of san francisco. further south, another fire rages, this one deliberately lit, forcing thousands to flee their homes. i didn't realise how much my home means to me. and the community. while many seek shelter in evacuation centres, others have been able to return to where homes once stood. we came around the corner and saw this and it was pretty... heartbreaking. we knew if a fire came up it was going to take it. well, it took it. it has taken ten years for it to happen but, yes, it's sad. it is the worst start to the fire season that california has seen in a decade. we have had the drought issue

for years now in california. the wildfire aspect has intensified over the years so we've experienced more and more damaging wildfires, fires that start rapidly. it is like throwing gas in these fires. they spread so fast. in december, california's governor said devastating wildfires fuelled by climate change have become the new normal and that large fires could happen every year. almost 3500 firefighters are battling to control the carr fire, working through the night to try to contain the blaze, but authorities warn many homes more may be lost. the chief constable of england's second largest police force says budget cuts mean the current level of policing in the west midlands is not sustainable. dave thompson has apologised to people who feel they've received a poor service from his officers — whose numbers have fallen by around

a quarter since 2010. mr thompson says he's having to prioritise which crimes to investigate. sima kotecha reports. a taxi driver doing hisjob, and then attacked. one of the guys came and smashed the windscreen wipers, threw more bricks, and one of the guys, i did not even see from where he came, he threw a pile of bricks on me. and first it hit me, i was like that, in this position, so it hit me on my elbow, and then on this side, then ijust lie down and i saw them running. he says he was repeatedly targeted in a matter of minutes. his arm and waist were severely bruised. but he claims the police response was nil, leaving him feeling afraid and deflated. i don't feel safe. they're not scared of the police because they feel they will not get caught. that is what they told you to your face. west midlands police admits at times it's struggling to cope and that it simply cannot investigate

every crime because of a lack of resources. sometimes that service that we provide in those peak times does not meet what the public expect, i get that. sometimes that service will be a poor service. sometimes, actually, the service is what we can and say we will offer. and sometimes that might not always be what the public want to see. the head of the country's second—largest force goes even further and says sorry. demand on the service is going up because actually local authorities and other services have been reduced. some more vulnerable people are coming to the police and we are absolutely at a point where that is not a sustainable position for policing any more and i'm sorry about that, but that is the reality where policing is now. west midlands police has experienced the biggest budget cut of any other force in the country. it has 2,000 fewer police officers today than it had in 2010 and over the next few years, it expects to lose hundreds more. new figures show the number of front line police officers in england

and wales has reduced by 20,000 over the last eight years. the government says this force will get millions of extra cash over the next year and that it expects the police to investigate every crime thoroughly, but according to the officer who leads the force, that's simply not possible. sima kotecha, bbc news, in the west midlands. large crowds of supporters of the two main candidates in zimbabwe's election have gathered in the capital harare, on the last day of campaigning before monday's presidential elections — the first since robert mugabe was ousted last november. mr mugabe's successor and former close colleague, emmerson mnangagwa is hoping to legitimise his rule.

a short while ago i asked our zimbabwe correspondent nomsa maseko — who is in harare — what people in the country are hoping for from the upcoming election. taking the country forward it means that creating jobs, it means that sorting out the mess of the economy in the country, and also learning back into international investors and reaching out to neighbouring countries here in south africa, in southern africa went in search forjobs also come back home to rebuild their own country. and is this a close contest or is it the case that the man who ousted mugabe, is the likely victor? in this case polls in this country have been known to be notoriously unreliable, but i can tell you that this is a very different election in that the former president is not even

on the ballot paper, and the name of the late former prime minister also not on the ballot paper, but people are hoping that this election will bring about change in the fact that also is is the first time in 16 years that international observers have been allowed into this country to monitor these elections. is there a sense that zimbabwe is moving out from under the shadow of the long years of mugabe's rule? that's exactly what they're hoping for on the streets that's what they have told me and they're hoping that whoever wins the election on monday will definitely take the country into that direction, and they're also hoping that the piece that we have seen here on the streets and in other parts of this country prevails. pope francis has accepted the resignation of a us cardinal after the catholic church found that allegations the cardinal had sexually abused a teenager

were "credible and substantiated". 88—year—old theodore mccarrick is facing a vatican trial, and has already been barred from carrying out any ministry. john mcmanus reports. and to speak with civility and prayed together... theodore mccarrick is one of the best—known cardinals in the catholic church. as of now, he is no longer a cardinal. he submitted his resignation to the pope after allegations that he sexually abused a teenage boy nearly 15 years ago. he denies the allegations but last month the archdiocese says that they were credible and substantiated. too much time has elapsed for a criminal prosecution but the former archbishop of washington will now face a church trial. in a statement,

pope francis ordered theodore mccarrick who had already finished his duties to secluded himself in a life of prayer and penances until the accusations are examined. the scandal is doubly embarrassing because he was involved in drafting guidelines on sexual abuse following former scandals. anyone involved will never work in the united states, that is clear. other unsubstantiated allegations have also emerged including that he co—lost former seminarians into sharing his bed. there were also three allegations of sexual misconduct with adults two of which we re misconduct with adults two of which were settled financially. many catholics have called for a formal investigation into the us church

similarto investigation into the us church similar to the one that took place in chile following allegations that senior us clerics knew about theodore mccarrick for many years. the headlines on bbc news... long delays on flights, ferries and cross—channel trains due to the recent extreme weather — eurotunnel says it's now operating a full service but some delays remain two firefighters die and tens of thousands flee their homes in northern california, as wildfires sweep across the state britain's geraint thomas is set to win the tour de france after maintaining his lead on the penultimate day of the race sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh. history has been made at the tour de france where geraint thomas has all but taken the title. the welshman came home in third place after saturday's time trial. he now has a

one minute 51 seconds lead as the race heads to paris for the largely ceremonialfinal race heads to paris for the largely ceremonial final stage around the streets of the french capital. it's incredible just to be sat here with this jersey. it's incredible just to be sat here with thisjersey. it's insane. a big thanks to chris froome who committed to me and was really happy to see me do so well and we are good friends andi do so well and we are good friends and i really appreciate having probably the best stage race rider ever riding for me. it's just so surreal. it's going to take while to sink in, i think. i won't celebrate to much to night. the shops —— shamsi the final stages one of the hardest.

i need to concentrate. lewis hamilton has taken the 77 pole position of its career after qualifying was run in the wet giving the cds the chance to upset the form book after ferrari had appeared set for pole position in the drive. he came home first beating valtteri bottas while sebastian vettel could only manage fourth place behind kimi raikkonen. hamilton leads vettel by 17 points in the championship standings. couldn't have expected this. ferrari has been quickest all weekend and we were just trying to be as close to them as possible and then the heavens opened and it was fairgame. then the heavens opened and it was fair game. each time you go around, each corner, i was up and down. it was an emotional roller—coaster. each corner, i was up and down. it was an emotional roller-coaster. the iaaf will continue to and russia

from the sport until at least december after state sponsored systematic doping was uncovered. whilst the iaaf has conceded the russians have make significant progress the ban will continue until the council meets again. vicki harland has won the edmonton leg of the well try as when series. it was an imperious performance as she led out of the water and on the bike before breaking clear of a number of athletes on the run. a tree of british athletes followed her. jonny brownlee finished fifth in the men's race. i wasn't sure how that was going to play out. we had a big group bringing together. i've been running well but as she is such a class competitor and the other girls as well. i sensed she had

disappeared from my shoulder with about 700 to go. i couldn't look back then. south africa have been knocked out of the women's hockey world cup despite an impressive draw against argentina. the south africans were clinging to their campaign but the scores were level by argentina who finished second in the pool c and head to the play—off. germany beat spain to secure top spotin germany beat spain to secure top spot in the pool. argentina take second place in the group and they face spain in a play—off for the quarterfinals. finally, sir michael stoute has a record—breaking sixth king george win. he had his first win back in 1981. he claimed second

place in the race, as well. that's all the sport. more in the next hour. local authorities injapan have issued evacuation orders, as a powerful typhoon is due to make landfall. they've given warnings of heavy rain, landslides and strong winds. the storm is expected to hit the western region, where flooding killed more than two—hundred people earlier this month. more than a hundred flights have also been cancelled. militants have attacked a government—run training centre for midwives in eastern afghanistan. a suicide bomber targeted the compounds entrance in the city ofjalalabad. gunmen then stormed the building. two guards and a driver were killed. the former president of catalonia and separatist leader carles puigdemont has returned to belgium after spain dropped a european—wide warrant for his arrest. mr puigdemont is still facing rebellion charges after attempting to create an independent republic of catalonia. anna holligan reports from brussels. triumphant and defiant.

carles puigdemont crossed a european border, spoke freely to a roomful of attentive reporters in brussels, and these feats alone were enough to allow the new leader of the catalans to proclaim this a day of defeat for the spanish state. today is the day of defeat for the spanish state. in germany, as in belgium before the spanish state has lost many european backers. more defeats will come if they continue to press their case. while that may have scored a victory in this round of thejudicial battle, carles puigdemont still cannot return home without risking arrest. and so the separatist leader vowed to continue his political campaign for autonomy in exile. myjourney will not end until all political prisoners are released.

the exiles can return and the catalan people will have their rights to self—determination without the threat of violence. and later, a small crowd of supporters gathered at the place he will, for now, call home. from his residence in waterloo carles puigdemont will frame his peaceful fight for catalan independence in the context of common european values. it's a position he hopes will win the support of the european union which has so far, to his frustration, remained mostly silent. now after 40,0000 miles at sea, history has been made in the clipper around the world yacht race, because for the first time, a female skipper, wendy tuck, has led her team of amateur sailors to victory. thousands turned out to watch the teams sail into liverpool after nearly a year at sea.

trying to get people to come together is the hardest part. you can teach anyone to sail but it is making the team come together that is the hardest part. it had been an 11 month journey across 40,000 nautical miles. 11 yachts, each with around 20 crew tackling everything the elements could throw at them. all but the skippers are not professionals including a teacher and a nurse. for them it was a life changing experience. my main aim from this was to come away a better

person. it was an ideal way to step out of my normal day—to—day life. an extreme way of doing it but i managed to achieve that. around the world yacht race will be staged again next year. these competitors say it has been a feat of stamina that will never forget. peter harris, bbc news, liverpool. what's the perfect way to celebrate your 80th birthday? how about a trip around the world on a private plane? that's exactly what one couple from sandbatch have decided to do, but they won't be travelling on a luxuryjet. jim jones will be flying the small two seater aircraft himself, and his wife dot will be navigating. mark edwardson has been to see them before they set off. jim has been a pilot for more than 50 years...

and he understands the importance of checking and rechecking. dot is navigating. it's a fallback, in case something goes wrong and the electronics aren't working. their odyssey will start at liverpool airport. it'll head across europe, to turkey. central asia and china will follow. from russia, it's a hop to alaska, canada and the united states, before heading back to liverpool. all flying of this type, it's described as hours of boredom, punctuated by seconds of sheer terror. that's a good description. jim and dot have been daredevils most of their lives. they're accomplished dirt bikers. jim — a former champion — only gave up last year. i cartwheeled a bike at about 65 on rock and i thought, time to take up darts or bingo. and my son said, well, what are you going to do? i thought, i'll fly around the world. and that's when... that was a couple of years ago, when i decided i would do this flight. jim and dot have got previous. they've already been on a round—the—world trip. however, that one took

them seven years — in a minibus and on motorbikes. this one, a mere 40 days. well, the motivation really is the fact that we're old, but we just don't want to sit at home and watch telly. we'll have some arguments, we'll have some discussions and we'll have a few laughs, but most importantly, we want to enjoy ourselves. jim and dot want to raise a quarter of a million pounds for the alzheimer's society, in memory of a close relative who suffered dementia. flight sponsors will have their names displayed on the fusiliage. ideally, we'd love a company to come along and say, well, can we have the whole plane? that would be wonderful. but realistically, people are just making small donations and, as they say, every little helps. they said, wouldn't it be lovely if you said, i'll fly around the world at 100? no. it's out of the question. well, if you do it, i promise you i'll come with you. 0k. is that a deal? yeah, i'll take you up on that. because i'll be 70.

preparations are well under way forjim and dot‘s world tour. smooth bureaucracy and a strong tailwind is what they need now. mark edwardson, bbc news. the cast for the next star wars film has been revealed with a mixture of veteran stars and new faces set to appear. the late actress carrie fisher will also feature, using previously unseen footage. fisher, who played princess leia in the film series, died suddenly in 2016. veterans mark hamill, who plays luke skywalker, and anthony daniels who plays c3p0, have also been confirmed. now we know mary berry is a culinary queen, but it seems she has another talent. the former bake 0ff judgejoined rick astley at camp bestival on the drums. it's not clear how the tv chef ended up on stage, but the singer of hits including

never gonna give you up, tweeted he'd "bumped into" her earlier in the day. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. after the heat of recent weeks, the weather much closer to what it should be at this time of the year. pleasa ntly warm should be at this time of the year. pleasantly warm in the sun but much fresher when the cloud has come through and some very dusty weather for some of us. flooding in northern ireland. it's due to a shift in the jet stream position which works its way southwards across the uk. under this, we're going to see another area of low pressure to night. the big story tomorrow as well as further rain will be the wind. the wind is strengthening in scotland, severe gales by the end of the night. rain pushing into wales and

western parts of england. temperatures shouldn't drop away too much. it will be a wet one for england and wales. two areas of low pressure linked to unseasonably strong winds. 50 mph across parts of southern britain. some heavy rain in the morning, as well. drier and brighter conditions in east anglia for a time. a wet start in northern england. for northern ireland, a better day, much drier. a lot of dry weather across scotland away from the hebrides and the north—west highlands where we could see winds gust to 50 miles an hour. turning cloud into southern and eastern scotland. england and wales, the rain turnsa scotland. england and wales, the rain turns a bit more showery with brighter skies in between. the best of