this is bbc news i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: pope francis accepts the resignation of a prominent us cardinal, following allegations of historic sexual abuse. thousands of firefighters battle to control a huge wildfire in californa. at least five people have died. final campaign rallies in zimbabwe ahead of the first election since robert mugabe was ousted as president. after nearly a0 years under the brutal and corrupt ruling party, this sees a surge of hope. hello, and welcome to bbc world news.

tens of thousands of people have fled from raging wildfires pope francis has accepted the resignation of a prominent us cardinal. the catholic church found allegations that fyodor mccarrick had sexually abused a teenager were credible and substantiated. —— theodore mccarrick. the 88—year—old is facing a vatican trial, and has already been barred from carrying out any ministry. he becomes the first man to leave the college of cardinals in almost a century. john mcmanus reports. and to speak with civility and pray together... theodore mccarrick was one of the best—known clerics in the us 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 50 years ago. he denies the allegations but last month the archdiocese said that they were

credible and substantiated. due to the statute of limitations, 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 seclude himself in a life of prayer and penance until after his trial. the scandal is doubly embarrassing because he was involved in drafting guidelines on sexual abuse following former scandals. anyone with this problem will never work in the united states, that is clear. 0ther unsubstantiated allegations have also emerged including that he coerced former seminarians into sharing his bed. two dioceses in newjersey said they had received allegations of sexual misconduct

with adults, two of which were settled financially. there were also three allegations of sexual misconduct with adults, two of which were settled financially. many catholics have called for a formal 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. earlier i spoke to terence mckiernan, the founder and president of bishopaccountability. org in boston about how significant this is. theodore mccarrick has been at the top of the hierarchy here for decades. and he has also served as an ambassador for the vatican in difficult situations all over the world. so this is certainly a major figure. how surprised are you buy this resignation and that suspension from public ministry? how unprecedented is that? very surprised. this really has never happened before. very occasionally,

a cardinal will be asked to put down his red hat. but certainly never in sexual abuse situations like this. we are very surprised by the speed at which the vatican has acted and that they have really... i wouldn't say prejudged the situation, but they have certainly made an assessment even in advance of the karmichael hunt that was mentioned in your statement today. —— canonical trial. with that in mind, what does that say about how the vatican is try to handle the sex abuse allegations? i think the vatican's recent devastating experience in chile has convinced pope francis that this is truly a problem. many people would think, why did it take so long for him to be convinced? why did it take so long for him to be convinced ? but why did it take so long for him to be convinced? but i think he is convinced now, and he sees the theodore mccarrick disaster as something that could really do permanent harm to the church. it is clear he wants to act on the.

five people have died after a huge wildfire swept through northern california. among them, two children. almost a0,000 people have already left their homes in the city of redding. officials say gale—force winds are sucking up the flames, creating "fire tornados," which are uprooting trees and overturning cars. more than three—thousand firefighters are on the scene. our correspondent james cook reports from los angeles. even by the wild standards of rural california this fire is exceptional, driven by galeforce winds it was so intense it created tornadoes of flame, uprooting trees and hurling cars aside. that is a home i believe, some kind of structure. 0n fire right now. nearly a0,000 people were forced to flee. fire on both sides of the road and houses coming down. houses that were already down.

hundreds of homes have been destroyed including some built during the gold rush of the 19th century, two firefighters were killed. and this man was searching for his family. i want god to help me out. i just can't see how i can go without them. somebody has to know where they're at. the news was not good. two children and their great—grandmother have now been found dead. across the us and canada 30 major wildfires are now burning, from alaska to texas. oregon has been particularly hard hit, and in california more than 9,000 firefighters are battling seven big blazes. one has closed yosemite national park in a damaging blow to tourism. we have had the drought issue now for years in california and the wildfire has intensified over the years so we have experienced more and damaging wildfires and more fires that ignite rapidly, it is like throwing gas in these type of fires.

scientists say human activity, natural weather patterns and man—made climate change are to blame. the immediate forecast is worrying, more hot, dry and dangerous weather is on the way. james cook, bbc news, los angeles. in the final day of campaigning in zimbabwe's presidential elections, both the main candidates have been holding rallies, drawing huge crowds. the vote on monday will be the first in almost four decades without robert mugabe on the ballot. he was forced to step down last november, after nearly a0 years in power. 0ur africa editor fergal keane reports now from the zimbabwean capital, harare. this is freedom square in harare and today in their massed tens of thousands it belonged to the opposition. out of the dust their leader arrived, greeted by raw and unchoreographed enthusiasm. from early mistakes he has gained stature.

bye bye zanu—pf, bye—bye. bye—bye mnangagwa. nelson chamisa is 35 years the president'sjunior, and promising a decisive break with the past. after nearly a0 years of often brutal and corrupt ruling parties, this should be the time that the opposition wins. there is a surge of hope here. this is our year, we are winning this election. it has been the most momentous campaign since independence in 1980. with the ruling party now position itself as the guarantor of stability and economic progress. zanu—pf presided over killing, torture and economic disaster, but still expects to win. "we will build our new zimbabwe on unity, peace, love and harmony", the president told his final rally.

the ruling party has the money, the backing of state media and immense powers of patronage, people here simply can't conceive of losing this election. on monday he will be the absolute winner over his rivals. so much hope, but for such different outcomes. fergal keane, bbc news, harare. let's get some of the day's other news. thousands have rallied in cities across russia to protest against plans to raise the pension age. the proposal, going through parliament, would see a gradual increase from 55 to 63 for women, and 60 to 65 for men. almost 3 million people have signed a protest petition. the taliban has reportedly held its first direct talks

with a us official, discussing future peace negotiations and an end to america's longest war. according to a senior taliban official, the group met alice wells, america's top diplomat for south asia, in an attempt to bring an end to the 17—year conflict. it comes as militants attacked a government—run training centre for midwives in eastern afghanistan. a suicide bomber targeted the compounds entrance in the city of jalala bad, close to the border with pakistan. gunmen are then said to have stormed the building. 0fficial say three civilians have been killed and eight others injured. local authorities in japan local authorities injapan have issued evacuation orders, as a powerful type and is due to make landfall. they have issued a warning of heavy rain, landslides and strong winds. the storm is expected to hit the same western region were flooding killed more than 200 people earlier this month. more than 100

flights have also been cancelled. to sweden, where attitudes have hardened towards except the asylum seekers as public opinion shifts on immigration. but not all swedes welcome the crackdown — some are even hiding asylum seekers in their homes. ayman 0ghanna reports. the best thing to do, to hide him. he didn't have anywhere to go. the option is to get deported or living on the street, so for me, i have an extra room, so why not? he can stay here. now he is part of ourfamily. sweden has been traditionally tolera nt towards sweden has been traditionally tolerant towards migrants. but now stands at a crossroads. in september, the country has a general election, where migration has become the biggest issue. most of the parties want to deport

more people, they want closed borders, they want to make harder policies for migrants. since they don't get residents, they have to go underground and hide. we believe that you cannot return to muffle some. for those who have such a risk, the question is, can you return to other parts of the country, and that is one of the main

reasons why you are not giving a residency permit in southern sweden. we say that you come from a province with a high level of violence, but you can return to other parts of afghanistan and where the level is not that high. how long will you keep him here? as long as i need. as long as he needs. he will always be welcome here. but you can't live hidden all your life. stay with us here on bbc world news. still to come: spain drops its arrest warrant for fugitive catalan separatist leader, carlos puigdemont. he says he'll continue to fight for independence. the us space agency, nasa, has ordered an investigation after confirmation today that astronauts were cleared

to fly while drunk. the last foot patrol in south armagh. once an everyday part of the soldier's lot — the last foot patrol in south armagh. once an everyday part of the soldier's lot — drudgery and danger — now no more after almost four decades. if one is on one's own in a private house, not doing harm to anyone, i don't really see why these people should wander in and say you're doing something wrong. six rare white lion cubs are on the prowl at worcestershire park, and already they've been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they're lovely, yeah. really sweet. yeah, they were cute. this is bbc news. the latest headlines — pope francis accepts the resignation of a prominent us

cardinal following allegations of historic sexual abuse. the two front—runners in zimbabwe's presidential election have staged their final campaign rallies. monday's vote is the first since robert mugabe was ousted as president. well let's stay with that story now — dr kenneth mufuka is a zimbabwean historian who grew up ten miles from the ruins of great zimbabwe, a medieval city in the south—eastern hills of zimbabwe near the town of masvingo. it is now a unesco world heritage site. dr kenneth mufuka tells bbc witness about how its ancient structures have been used as a political tool by generations of ruling elites. this is one of the most remarkable

sites in africa. these are the corridors of power of an agent to consider the —— ancient civilisation. this is great zimbabwe. everybody in power want to control history. the europeans said the africans did not build the ruins. it belonged to someone, the arabs, the queen of sheba, anybody else except the africans. it was the greatest civilisation out of egypt. it carried about 10,000 people. that was quite a large city. it was also a scene of religion and the economy as zimbabwe. it could be traced as far back as 11 hundredths. i was raised about ten miles away from

stock i was obsessed with history so i visited it as a child. there was a tourist, blacks were not allowed there. but we just turned up and if there. but we just turned up and if there were no white visitors, we could go in. the stones are chiselled to be exactly the same size and they are not connected by mortar. we felt in some ways deprived of what belonged to us. that we belonged to a great people. that we belonged to a great people. that we belonged to a great people. that we are oppressed by the colonial regime. when europeans first saw great zimbabwe impey 1890s first saw great zimbabwe impey1890s they could not believe that so imposing structure could have been built by the ancestors of the africans they found zimbabwe were not built by blacks or

whites. it was a mixture of arabs and jews. the europeans, they were going there to civilised reckons who we re going there to civilised reckons who were in darkness. who had no history. so if they accepted that some of these africans have these wonderful civilisations, their reasoning would fall apart. on april 18, 1980, zimbabwe became independent. it was a great moment for us. history became important. they were going to find a new identity by going into the past. all is the first black director of national museums. ——i was the first. i wanted to let ——i was supposed to use my abilities as a writer to

write a new manual for the great zimbabwe to get away from the european idea. it was one of my best times but follows challenges because i had to say that great zimbabwe was built by revolutionaries. i said, no, there is nothing revolutionary. they were just ordinary people building as they were told by the king. they were angry with me and i had to leave zimbabwe. in a hurry because now they were looking to lock me up. i think my life explains why history is very exciting because look at the problems i have gone through because of my writing of history. the former president of catalonia carles puigdemont has returned to belgium after spain dropped a european—wide warrant for his arrest. the separatist leader 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 a day of defeat for the spanish state. in germany, as in belgium before, the spanish state has lost the european battle. more defeats will come if they continue to press their case. while they may have scored a victory in this round of the judicial 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. 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 a0 thousand miles at sea, history has been made in the clipper around

the world yacht race. 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. peter harris reports. for the winners, a moment to savour, and a first too for the round the world yacht race. wendy tuck becoming the first women to skipper the winning crew. the hardest part is getting the team to gel. you might have people who are really competitive, people who aren't and just trying to get them all together, that's the hardest part. you can teach anybody to sail and i had a few people who could sail but that's the easy part. it's making the team come together that's the hardest part. it had been an 11—month journey across a0,000 nautical miles. the 11 yachts, each with around 20 crew, tackled everything the elements could throw at them. all but the skippers are non—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 take a step out of my normal day—to—day life for a year. a pretty extreme way of doing it but i definitely managed to achieve that. the round the world yacht race will be staged again next year. this year's competitors say it has been a feat of spirit and stamina that they will never forget. peter harris, bbc news, liverpool. qatar's successful bid to host the football world cup in 2022, is alleged to have used an american based pr firm, to discredit and undermine rival bids from the us and australia — against fifa's rules. the claims are made in the british sunday times newspaper. it says e—mails show the firm recruited american pe teachers to lobby congressmen,

saying money for the games could be better spent, and in australia students were recruited to protest against its bid at rugby matches. qatar was cleared of any wrongdoing following a fifa investigation, but it's not clear if the e—mails were available at the time. britain's geraint thomas is set to win the tour de france after maintaining his overall lead on the penultimate stage of the race, a 31km time trial. he came third in today's time trial but still has a one minute 51 advantage over his nearest rival. the four time winner, chris froome, will finish the race in third place. a giant panda at the yuen—nan safari park in south west china has been celebrating his fourth birthday with a special cake and young tourists singing happy birthday. zoo keepers prepared, mao zhu a four—layer iced cake, with each layer topped by different food including bamboo, bamboo leaves, apples,

honey and corn—bread. mao zhu and his partner zhen duo moved to the park in 2016. good morning. not only was yesterday oui’ good morning. not only was yesterday our first day below 25 degrees since june the 23rd, it was also for some and a special wet one flooding in northern ireland we saw a month's worth of rainfall in just three hours. there has been a shift in the position of the jetstream. it hours. there has been a shift in the position of thejetstream. it has taken a dive south across the atla ntic taken a dive south across the atlantic and pushed towards the south, circulating in the area of low pressure around the uk and dragging in coolairoff low pressure around the uk and dragging in cool air off the north atlantic. it has two discrete centres, one to the north of scotland, very strong winds, and one to the south of england. again, some strong winds to come. accompanied by

a spell of steady rain. a big story will be the strength of the wind. a0, 50 mph gusts around coasts and heels and persistent rain. the rain isa heels and persistent rain. the rain is a spreading north and east quite smartly through the morning. that being the north of eastern ireland. a dry and bright start with some sunshine for scotland although in the hebrides, some of the strongest of winds. compared to the rest of scotland, it will turn cloudier and went through the day, especially through western and eastern parts. many will have a much better day on saturday. england and wales, the cloud and persistent rain of the morning will ease back to sunshine and showers for the afternoon. some of them on the heavy side. note the temperature is. it will be a first day ina temperature is. it will be a first day in a while where we have seen temperatures lower than the average temperatures lower than the average temperature for this time of year

quite widely. lots of dry weather, clear skies but a few showers to southern and western areas. we dropped at a central figures southern and western areas. we dropped at a centralfigures in parts of rural scotland. start the week not on a cold note but still pushing weather fronts our way. these are not as potent as sunday's. a fairly fragmented area of cloud and rain spilling northwards and eastwards. still breezy but not as windy as on sunday and a bit more sunshine between the afternoon showers. the show is heaviest and most frequent that further north you are. getting back into the mid— 20s for some to put the south and east as they will be again on tuesday. always call up and roosy other further you are on tuesday with a few showers still in the forecast. —— cooler, breezy. summer is not done yet. this is bbc news. the headlines:

pope francis has accepted the resignation of a prominent us cardinal. the catholic church found that allegations theodore mccarrick had sexually abused a teenager were "credible and substantiated". the 88—year—old is the first man to leave the college of cardinals in almost a century. nearly a0,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern california as strong winds fan dozens of wildfires. at least five people are reported to have been killed and 12 are missing. thousands of emergency workers are fighting the fires, which have destroyed more than 500 homes. the two main candidates in zimba bwe's presidential elections have addressed large crowds of supporters in the capital, harare. president emmerson mnangagwa of the zanu—pf party faces a challenge nelson chamisa of the opposition mdc. it's the first presidential poll since robert mugabe was ousted from power in november.