this is bbc news, i'm ben brown, the headlines at midday. wildfires rage in northern california — killing five people, destroying hundreds of buildings, and causing thousands to flee their homes. we weren't told we were in danger. this was like you see in the movies with tornadoes. one minute it's fine, the next minute everybody‘s screaming. trolls who go online to intimidate election candidates and campaigners could be barred from public office under new government proposals. a powerful earthquake on an indonesian tourist island kills at least 1a people, injures over a hundred, and damages thousands of homes. qatar has denied claims it ran a secret campaign to sabotage other countries‘ bids for the 2022 world cup. also this hour, a change to the rules on blue badge parking permits. from next year, they will be made available to people in england with non—physical disabilities like autism and mental health problems. and at 12:30, click goes

to hollywood and visits a virtual—reality film studio. five people have died and tens of thousands of people have fled their homes as huge wildfires continue to rage across the us state of california. firefighters say they are struggling to contain about 130 separate blazes. the governor of california has requested federal aid and declared a state of emergency in three more counties. almost 40,000 people have already left their homes in the city of redding. those remaining have been urged to leave immediately. thousands of firefighters are dealing with what have been described as tornados of fire.

at least 500 buildings have been destroyed so far, with thousands of homes still under threat. lebo diseko reports. they call them tornadoes of flames, spinning whorls of fire powered by gale—force winds so powerful they suck in cars, trees, homes, people — anything in their path. in its wake, families are left devastated. ed bledsoe was looking for his great—grandchildren, james and emily, aged four and five, along with his wife, melody. they have since been found dead. residents say they should have been given more warning to evacuate. we weren't told we were in danger. this was like you see in movies with tornadoes. one minute it's fine, the next minute, everybody‘s screaming. firefighters have battled to contain the blaze since it began on monday, apparently after a car malfunctioned. it has since destroyed an area

larger than the city of san francisco, and tens of thousands of people have had to leave their homes. firefighters say it's unlike anything they have seen before. every single person that i have talked to so far has made the mention that, "i don't know why it is doing what it's doing." "it's burning differently." "it's burning more aggressive than it has in years past." and i know we say that every year, but it's unprecedented. in california alone, more than 9000 firefighters are battling seven big blazes. but it seems that nature may be against them. more hot, dry weather is forecast for the coming days, which could well make the fire even worse. lebo diseko, bbc news. 0nline trolls who intimidate election candidates or campaigners could be barred from public office. the government's considering the move after a report found social media abuse was rife in last year's general election. extreme intimidation cases are already punishable

with a jail sentence. dr claire hardaker, an expert in online aggression, deception and manipulation from lancaster university, told me trolling is having a major impact on democracy in the uk and the rest of the world. in politics, in particular, an increasing problem. we are seeing a lot of prominent figures, particularly from certain demographics, for instance, women, ethnic minorities, religious groups, they are receiving a huge amount of abuse, and it's particularly intimidating that you go online, cultivate a persona, you create this identity, and people spend enormous amounts of time attacking it, trying to drag it down, find any detail they can use about you to destroy and damage your reputation. would proposals to stop online trolls holding public office, do you think that would deter them or most of them? i am not sure how effective it would be.

for those who are attempting to become a public personality by themselves, using trolling as a method to get into that, it might deter them, but for the average person, say you have an individual feeling disenfranchised with the political system, they feel like their benefits have been cut, housing is inadequate, job prospects not very good, those kinds of people using trolling as a method to get their message across, it is not appropriate, but they may feel it is their only way, they have no interest in standing for public office. the individuals who may want to stand for public office, they may use methods that do not cross the threshold into trolling. those who do not wish to stand for public office, this will not affect them. one of the effects of the trolling is it puts people off going into politics in the first place, especially women, when there is pretty vile abuse out there online.

absolutely. research has shown for a while that if you are a woman online and have any kind of platform, for instance, mary beard, they have tried to effectively put their head above the parapet, put forward any kind of position, whether it is a position lots of people agree with, they've become a target almost immediately for abuse and there is a qualitative difference in the abuse. a man may express a position, and the individuals will attract the position, a woman may espouse the very same position, and the threats will be rape, death threats, it attacks the person, very intimidating, especially if you can imagine you walk down the street the next day, you do not know if some of the people who sent the message walking right past you, pretty scary world. you think it had quite a large role in the last election,

and if it isn't tackled, it could grow and grow on social media? i think it played its role, not just uk, worldwide, a global effect of trolls very broadly defined now, in the us election, an awful lot about the trump campaign being supported by russian trolls, problems in china with certain types of trolling, this is having a major impact on how democracy is played out, alongside fake news, quite closely intertwined with trolling. democracy is effectively being eroded by the very loud few voices, very strident, tearing down people who might have forward—thinking ideas, ideas the trolls do not agree with, bringing to an end debates on topics that are really important. at least 14 people have died and dozens have been injured after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck a popular tourist destination in central indonesia.

residents and tourists poured onto the streets and into open fields to escape damaged buildings on the island of lombok with the tremor felt up to 60 miles away in the bustling holiday island of bali. 0ur correspondent katharine da costa has this. buildings and lives shaken to the core. this was the scene dozens woke up to in northern lombok. the distress clear to hear. the quake, measuring 6.4 on the richter scale, was quickly followed by more than 60 smaller earthquakes. the jolt was felt 60 miles away on the holiday island of bali. many buildings have been damaged. it is thought at least 40 people are injured, many are still being treated after being hit by falling debris. a malaysian tourist on a hiking trip is reportedly among those killed. the epicentre of the earthquake

struck 30 miles north—east of the city of mataram in the north of the island. indonesia is prone to earthquakes. it lies on what is called the ring of fire, the line of quakes and volcanic eruptions that circle virtually the entire pacific rim. the region is on alert for tremors that might trigger tsunamis. this time no alert was issued. the country's disaster agency says the main focus now is evacuation and rescue. at least ten people are known to have lost their lives. authorities believe that number could rise. the bbc‘s vinayak gaikwad was just off the coast of lombok?at the time of the earthquake and is now on the neighbouring island of bali. how powerful was this earthquake?m

was very powerful, i have never seen an earthquake like this, because it was 6:47am, everyone was sleeping, and we didn't understand what happened. suddenly, everything was shaking, shaking really hard, so we came out of the room, many people actually came out of the room, but just ina actually came out of the room, but just in a couple of seconds we understood it was an earthquake. the horrifying thing was the water in the pool had turned like a sea, there were waves in the swimming pool there were waves in the swimming pool, so we ran out of the hotel to safe ground. the locals were really worried, because lombok, orthe islands where i was, the structures are made of bamboo and would, so they were really worried that these structures, all the houses, might fall down. but fortunately nothing happened of that sort. tourists like me, also, they were worried because

the only mode of transport from the islands to the mainland of lombok is by boat, the fast boat, speedboats, but after the earthquake many fear that there would be tsunami. but the locals are sure that there will not be tsunami, they had checked with the local administration. the fishermen on the island they also said, looking at the sea, he sea is very cool and calm, so no tsunami would turn up, and that was the only time we could not think much and we had to trust them. so everyone trusted them, the best part was the locals were really very calm and supportive, because the tourists we re supportive, because the tourists were panicking a bit. it was a major earthquake, and aftershocks also happened after ten minutes or so. the aftershocks lasted for 15 seconds, and that was a big—time, actually. so the locals are sure the tourists, they calmed them down, they said... 0rlov us who were

travelling to lombok, they should that we reached lombok really well. when i reached lombok, the person who i've come to pick me up, he said that his village, which was where i landed in lombok, that was affected, the houses have all broken, the rooms had fallen down, so the devastation was there, but we did not know it was really early in the day, so we did not know what was the magnitude of it. we only got to know when i really came to the lombok international airport, after three hours, when we got good internet, then we could understand what has actually happened. fortunately, the lombok international airport was functioning well, all the flights we re functioning well, all the flights were on time, so there was nothing panicky at that moment. we were seeing some pictures of casualties being treated out in the open under tents, there seem to have been a

large number of casualties. absolutely, there were casualties, because nobody had expected that this earthquake could cause such a kind of devastation. the locals also said that we are prone to earthquakes, but we have not seen an earthquakes, but we have not seen an earthquake like this in the recent past. so they were also saying that we we re past. so they were also saying that we were not prepared. the local administration rushed to the spots where the devastation had happened, the casualties were reported, actually, but still it was something that nobody had really thought of, and sold the response was a bit low and sold the response was a bit low and late, that was the feeling which the locals told me. 0k, thank you very much for being with us. a five—year—old british boy has drowned at a resort in portugal's algarve region according to police, the five—year—old had been playing with his two siblings in a swimming pool at the resort

near silves on saturday. the foreign office has said officials are providing support for the family. that follows news this morning that a six—year—old girl has died after getting into difficulty in the sea in margate. kent police say they were called to the harbour yesterday afternoon after concerns were raised about a child in the sea. the girl, who was from erith in south east london, was taken to hospital where she later died. blue badge parking permits are to be made available for people in england with "hidden disabilities" such as autism or mental health problems. the department for transport said people with non—physical disabilities would have an equal right to free parking from next year. the current rules do not explicitly exclude hidden disabilities, but councils' interpretations can vary. similar changes have come into effect in scotland and wales. with me now is sarah lambert,

head of policy at the national autistic society. thank you for being with us, why do you think this change is necessary, then? for autistic people and their families, and we have been speaking to them in the lead up to this announcement, it will be transformational, the difference between whether they can go out and access shops, restaurants and services and see their friends and family in the way everyone else, and we spoke to one family who had had a blue badge in the past, but it had been taken away from them, and what that meant was that they just don't go out with their son anymore, because they are so worried about what will happen when they arrive at their destination. sometimes they have anxiety is just about going out? this particular family that we we re out? this particular family that we were talking to, they told us that if they have to park quite far away from where they were going, the journey on foot through busy, crowded streets could cause considerable anxiety and result in

him running out into the road, which is obviously very dangerous. for some autistic people, they do have less sense of danger, so it can be dangerous to take them out. if you do not know where he will park, it means you stay at home. are many people are we talking about, quite a big increase? so the government, i think, is looking at around 5—6% increase, and that will include autistic people, people with dementia and mental health problems, but within those groups just having autism in itself will not mean you automatically qualify for a blue badge, there will be strict criteria to make sure that it is those people who can benefit the most from it, and some autistic people say, i don't need a blue badge, i can get out and about, i don't need that. but there are a group of people who can really benefit, so we are delighted the government has made this change. i know sometimes in the past blue badge holders have been accosted by people, frankly, saying, why are you parking there? why have

you got a blue badge? if you don't have an obvious disability, could there be problems with members of there be problems with members of the public saying, why on earth have you got a blue badge? we do have concerns about that, at the national autistic society, we are trying to do lots every day to raise awareness of autism amongst the general public, it is one of the most important thing is that autistic people and family say they won't us to do, and as a result of our campaigning, there has been an increase in understanding among the general public of some of the difficulties that autistic people face, so we need to step up that effort even further to make sure that autistic people and their families can feel welcome when they are out and about in the community. but you think this is overdue? long overdue, the rules have changed at various points in the past, it has become quite confusing. so we have been campaigning for years to make it much more clear that autistic people and their families can access a blue badge. when will this come

into effect? there does need to be a regulation change, so the regulation that underpins this dates back to the 1970s, which is why it is so long overdue, our understanding of disability was substantially different then, so there will be regulations before parliament, we would urge the government to do that as quickly as possible. like you so much for coming in. —— thank you so much. the headlines on bbc news. wildfires in northern california kill five people, destroy hundreds of buildings and cause thousands to flee their homes. and under new government proposals, trolls who go online to intimidate election candidates and campaigners, could be barred from public office. and a powerful earthquake on an indonesian tourist island kills at least 14 people, injures over a hundred and damages thousands of homes. sport and, for a full round—up good afternoon.

team sky's team sir dave brailsford has told the bbc this morning that geraint thomas' impending tour de france win was planned back in december, and that their idea was to have him peakjust in time for the race. it worked — he'll become the third briton in six years to win the most prestigious grand tour. 0ur reporter, jo currie, is near the finish line in paris. jo, when can we expect the riders to arrive on the champs elysees? well, we are about five hours before the riders reach paris, 5pm uk time will be the time that they get here, roughly. as race leader, geraint thomas will lead the procession down the champs—elysees here in paris. tradition says that as it is the final day, it is not a proper stage of the tour de france, nobody attacked the yellow jersey, of the tour de france, nobody attacked the yellowjersey, so in

previous years we have seen winners such as bradley wiggins and chris froome link arms with their team—mates, have a glass of champagne along the way, wave to the crowds, joke around a little bit. it is something we will expect to see this afternoon when geraint thomas comes down to claim his maiden tour de france title. but before all that, in a couple of hours' time, we have something called the caravan which comes through first, a procession of official tour de france vehicles, or branded up, cars, vans, trucks, people hanging out the windows, off the back of the tracks, throwing freebies to people lining the route. they are not queueing up yet on the champs—elysees, but by the time the ca rava n champs—elysees, but by the time the caravan comes through, this place will be absolutely packed, it should be rocking. it is the end of the tour, three and a half weeks of racing, what kind of reception will tea m racing, what kind of reception will team sky get after all these allegations of doping, all the rumours circulating around the team

— they will not be universally popular winners, are they? that is probably a fair way to sum it up, right from the start, all of the tea m right from the start, all of the team sky riders have come up against quite a hostile french crowd, from day one they have been booed, all the way along the route, chris froome has been spat at, the cars have had eggs thrown at it, all because they cannot shake of these doping rumours that have dogged them for the last couple of years, despite nothing being proven and chris froome, the defending champion, had been facing an anti—doping case after returning a test which showed more the allowed level of salbutamol, and asthma drug, and that was after last year's race in spain which he went on to win. the case was dropped before the start of the tour de france, but there has been a mystery action all there has been a mystery action all the way along the route, and there will be a mixture of cheers and boos when they get here at 5pm. jo, thank

you so much for bringing us up to date. after yesterday's deluge, it looks to be hot and sunny in budapest this afternoon for the hungarian grand prix and that may not help lewis hamilton. the world champion will start on pole for the race after excelling in the wet conditions at the hungaroring. teammate valtteri bottas will be alongside him, with the ferraris on the second row. the race starts just after two o'clock. manchester united bossjose mourinho admits he wouldn't have paid to watch his side in their preseason 4—1 defeat to liverpool. the world cup means many of his first choice players are still on holiday and he wasn't too impressed by those he picked if i was them, i wouldn't come. i wouldn't come, i wouldn't spend my money to see these teams. i wouldn't spend my money. for example, i was watching something on the television today, was chelsea against inter. the people in nice decided the beach was better than this, and they went to the beach, they didn't go to that game, the stadium was empty.

you can see all the other results from the pre—season friendlies on the bbc sport website, but that is all the sport for now, more in the next hour. the former president of zimbabwe robert mugabe has given his first news conference since being deposed last year. mr mugabe said that he had planned to stand down at his party's congress in december anyway. he denied that he planned to hand the leadership to his wife, grace. he said, since his forced removal from office, the people of zimbabwe had not been free. his intervention comes a day before the country goes to the polls to elect a new parliament and president. we can speak to bbc world's sophie ikenye, who's in harare. what else has he been saying? because we haven't heard from mr mugabe pretty much since he was pushed out of power. indeed, we

haven't heard from mr mugabe in many months, since he was pushed out from power, and this was quite an unprecedented press conference. he chose to do this on the eve of the elections, which are supposed to be taking place tomorrow. he was accompanied at the press conference by his wife, and his daughter, leaning back in his seat, you know, his wife urging him to sit upright oi’ his wife urging him to sit upright or speak his wife urging him to sit upright orspeak up as his wife urging him to sit upright or speak up as he addressed the press c0 nfe re nce . or speak up as he addressed the press conference. it was quite long, andi press conference. it was quite long, and i understand it is still going on, but from what we gathered, we mentioned the main points earlier, he had planned to resign in december atan he had planned to resign in december at an extraordinary summit, ways said he was hoping to open up the space for other people within the zanu—pf party. he also said he actually had a preferred candidate, actually had a preferred candidate, a former defence minister during the regime, and one of the most

important points he made was that he will not support those who supported him, saying he would only support from the 22 candidates, we have 23 in the elections, but then he also spoke to zimbabweans in this press conference saying that they should choose freely, they should choose freely, and the results of the elections that are free should be acknowledged and recognised. elections that are free should be acknowledged and recognisedlj suppose acknowledged and recognised.” suppose that is the question — will these elections be free unfair? that is the key question for zimbabwe, what is your impression? we have been speaking to a lot of people, including the electoral commission, which says they are ready, they put everything in place to make sure that the election is free and fair. the police also have said that they will make sure they are in all hotspots to make sure that the process goes well. the big question, really, is whether the military will

interfere or not. it is interesting to note that mr mugabe himself said that the election commission should make sure that the army does not appear in the electoral process, and that the people should vote as freely as they want, choose whichever candidates they want, but the military should not interfere at all with the electoral process. he spent a lot of time, really, talking about what happened before that solves takeover —— soft takeover, and he also questioned whether it was really necessary for the two to happen as it did, was it really necessary , happen as it did, was it really necessary, that is one of the big questions that he kept asking, was there no other way for things to have changed within zimbabwe? and he also hoped that these elections will bring the country to constitutionality, as he putted. he is still talking, sophie, still chatting away, at least an hour or

so, i think, chatting away, at least an hour or so, ithink, he is chatting away, at least an hour or so, i think, he is well known for his long news conferences, but where is he these days, is he with his wife, grace, still? yes, he is, today at the press conference he was accompanied by his wife, and it is interesting to see, because he came in adorning sunglasses, looking a little bit more subdued, so to speak, speaking slower than the robert mugabe we know. the wife would say lean forward, you know, speak a little louder. there were long pauses in between the press conference, and it was kind of a different robert mugabe, one who has a p pa re ntly different robert mugabe, one who has apparently been seen what is going on in the country, and taking it in. and of course now everybody is ready to see whether the words today after this press conference will make any change, because after all, this press conference will make any change, because afterall, it this press conference will make any change, because after all, it is the eve of the elections here in zimbabwe. good to talk to you,

sophie ikenye from bbc world in harare. qatar has been accused of running a secret campaign to undermine rival countries during the bidding process which led to it being awarded the world cup in 2022. the sunday times claims pr firms and former cia agents were used to generate fake propaganda — in breach of rules drawn up by football's governing body, fifa. qatar says it rejects each and every allegation. the chair of digital, culture, media and sport committee, damian collins, has called for a full investigation into the allegations. well, these are really serious allegations, a whistle—blower has said he was involved in a kind of black—ops communications campaign seeking to undermine support in other countries bidding against qatar to host the world cup, to undermine support for their bids. that is a breach of fifa's rules, very specifically, and if the qatari bid team were involved in a campaign like that, it means they have broken the rules of the bidding process. it is a really serious matter that requires a proper investigation and fifa to be involved

in investigating that as well. i think fifa need to make clear that there will be sanctions applied if the rules were broken in the bidding process. obviously, the most severe sanction is taking the world cup away from qatar if they feel they are in breach of the terms of the bidding process, but i think fifa have to have a proper investigation into this now. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. a wet and blustery day for much of the country, strong winds, particularly for southern and western coasts, more rain to come pushing north east, becoming more showery this afternoon a cool feel wherever you are. a drier day for northern ireland, the showers and rain will ease

off this evening and overnight, but another spell of rain arriving in south—west and south—east england later in the night. cool night for scotland and northern ireland. some rain first thing tomorrow morning, parts of south—east england, clearing and then generally a day of sunny spells and showers, showers more frequent further north and west, better sunshine further south and east with the highest temperatures.