this is bbc news, i'm shuan ley. the headlines at three. wildfires rage across northern california — five people are dead, hundreds of buildings have been destroyed. thousands have fled their homes. homes were exploding. cars were exploding. i have a wife and kids and i said i'd better facetime my wife just in case. i didn't let her know why i was doing it but i wanted to see her face one more time. trolls, people who abuse others online and who try to intimidate election candidates and campaigners, could be barred from public office, the government says. tourists are ushered to safety as a powerful earthquake hits the indonesian island of lombok — at least 14 people have died and more than a hundred are injured. qatar denies claims it ran a secret campaign to sabotage other countries‘ bids for the 2022 world cup. also this hour — on the brink of taking cycling's greatest prize.

geraint thomas will ride into paris shortly all—but assured the tour de france crown. and at three thirty click goes to hollywood and visits a virtual reality film studio. fire fighters are tackling more than 100 separate fires along the west coast of north america, from canada down to the us state of new mexico. in california, 40,000 people in a single town have been forced to abandon their homes. the wildfires are known to have killed five people — two of them children — but many remain unaccounted for. caroline davies reports. with the force to pull trees from the earth and overturn cars, gale force winds have turned this californian wildfire

into what survivors called a tornado of flame. it's torn through forests and buildings, forcing nearly 40,000 to flee their homes and offices in just one town, including one local tv station. we are going to leave the station because it is now unsafe to be here. from the air and on the ground, firefighters are trying to control the blaze in and around the city of redding, but stopping it has been difficult and dangerous. the winds were so strong, the fire jumped the sacramento river. to fight fire in rugged country, we're used to doing that, but when it blows into a whole community or a city, it is a whole different element. this is the devastation it leaves behind. many who left don't know if their homes are still standing. some chose not to leave at all. homes were exploding. cars were exploding. i have a wife and kids and i said i'd better facetime my wife just in case.

i didn't let her know why i was doing it but i wanted to see her face one more time. five people have died in the fires so far including an elderly woman and her two great grandchildren aged just four and five. the fire moved so quickly it is difficult to know who escaped and who didn't. at least 12 people are reported to be missing. this is just one of 130 wildfires burning across north america, and as the dry weather continues, so too does the danger. caroline davies, bbc news. 0ur north america correspondent james cook has been following the fires from redding, california. he sent us this. this fire continues to burn. it swept into the city and jumped across the sacramento river and leave severe destruction behind it

in other communities along the way, including an old gold mining town there has been tragedy as well. we know two young children and their great—grandmother were among people who died. two firefighters were killed. 0ne who died. two firefighters were killed. one of those was a bulldozer operator who was 81 years old. now the firefighters‘ attention is out here, further west and south of reading now and the fire is moving in this direction and it is a very large blaze still. it is one of perhaps seven or so major fires now burning here in california and some 90 that i burning across the western united states and as far across as colorado and new mexico. there have been fires in canada, perhaps a0 major fires been fires in canada, perhaps a0 majorfires in been fires in canada, perhaps a0 major fires in canada, been fires in canada, perhaps a0 majorfires in canada, and wake up in alaska. perhaps 0regon

majorfires in canada, and wake up in alaska. perhaps oregon has been the hardest hit, it has the highest number of significant blazes at the moment. what extraordinary about this is how an extraordinary it is becoming. year after year now in the united states and further afield in north america we are seeing significant large blazes and scientists say there are a number of reasons for that. percival, scientists say there are a number of reasons forthat. percival, human activity building out into the wild lands, a century of suppressing the fires, allowing trees to grow more densely, so when there is a buyer it is more devastating. but also natural weather patterns, there has been a drought in california for yea rs, been a drought in california for years, and of course climate change, which many scientists say has had an effect. the government is looking at making political adverts online more transparent so people know who is behind them. it also wants to crack down on online abuse against political candidates in elections. it follows the publication of a report into the extent of "fake news" on social media and its impact on the democratic process. here‘s our political

correspondent susana mendonca. what‘s real and what isn‘t? in the digital world it can be difficult to pick out what‘s fake news. revelations that people‘s personal data was being harvested by a company called cambridge analytica to influence the us elections through social media outlets like facebook has raised questions about the impact on democracy. a committee of mps is calling for the rules to be made clearer, amid concerns about foreign meddling in british elections. this is something you see, the palm of your hand, every time you pick up your smartphone and go onto your facebook app, so it‘s much more intrusive than before. but secondly, it‘s not always clear who is advertising to you. the reasons the russians could abuse facebook to run ads to target people in elections was because you didn‘t know that was who was doing it. the report looks into the kinds of adverts sent to users during the eu referendum. it calls for the creation of a register which allows everyone to see the messages that have been targeted at others, and makes it clear where adverts have come from.

but does fake news change the way you vote? there‘s little evidence to show that it definitely has an impact because that‘s a difficult thing to measure but it certainly has the potential to influence both how someone votes, in terms of their views and which side they support, but also whether they turn out to vote which are crucial elements in an electoral contest. facebook has been sending its own adverts out to tell users what it‘s been doing to combat fake news. it told the bbc it‘s working on ways to authenticate and label political adverts in the uk. meanwhile the government has announced plans to make social media a safer place for election campaigning. this is putting people off going into public service and putting voters off from taking part in politics. what we‘re doing is a couple of measures which we hope will really help to get voters to be well—informed about digital campaigning, but also to be able to be protected from intimidating behaviour during elections. labour said the government needs to wake up to the new challenges

we face, to make sure that future campaigns and elections can‘t be abused or manipulated. susana mendonca, bbc news. at least 1a people have died and dozens have been injured after a 6.a 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. the tremour was felt in bali, 60 miles away. 0ur correspondent katharine da costa reports. buildings and lives shaken to the core. this was the scene dozens woke up to in northern lombok. the distress clear to hear. the jolt was felt 60 miles away on the holiday island of bali. many buildings have been damaged. it‘s thought at least a0 people are injured.

many are still being treated after being hit by falling debris. a malaysian tourist who was 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‘s called the ring of fire, the line of quakes and volcanic eruptions that circle virtually the entire pacific rim. the region is on constant 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 13 people are known to have lost their lives. authorities believe that number could rise. a mountain guide who was leading a trek on lombok when the earthquake struck captured the aftermath on camera.

the footage shows the group of climbers trying to get down mount rijani as quickly possible as clouds of dust rise from nearby landslides. after suffering an unprecidented heatwave which killed at least 300 people, japan has now been battered by a powerful storm moving across the country. the storm has injured at least twenty—one people, disrupted flights, road and rail transport, and cut power to thousands of homes. residents in the south of the country have been warned to evacuate their homes, with up to 200 millimeters of rainfall forecast over the next twenty four hours. 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. 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. qatar‘s succesful world cup bidding team has flatly denied that it ran a covert "black ops" public relations campaign to discredit rivals for the 2022 football finals. it follows allegations made by the sunday times that the qataris employed a pr agency and former cia operatives to try and undermine bids by the us and australia in breach of fifa rules. our sports news correspondent richard conway reports. qatar! it was a moment that stunned the sport and the watching world. ever since that day in 2010, the qatari world cup has been embroiled in controversy, and today the sunday times has further allegations of wrongdoing. the paper claims to have seen leaked documents that show the qatari bid team employed a us pr team

and ex—cia agents to smear its rivals, mainly the united states and australia. some of the alleged aspects of the smear campaign include a group of american pe teachers being recruited to ask their us congressmen to oppose an american world cup on the grounds that the money would be better used on high—school sports. grassroots protests were organised at rugby games across australia, opposing the country‘s bid. journalists, bloggers and high profile figures were recruited in each country to hype up negative aspects of their respective bids. there are now calls for fifa, football‘s world governing body, to hold an independent inquiry. if the qatari bid team were involved in a campaign like that, then that means they would have broken the rules of the bidding process, so it‘s a really serious matter. i think it requires proper investigation and fifa to be involved in investigating that as well. in a statement, qatar‘s supreme committee for delivery and legacy said it rejects each and every allegation put forward. fifa says a thorough investigation

into corruption claims was conducted in 201a, with michael garcia, a us attorney, clearing qatar of any wrongdoing. qatar is locked in a fierce political feud with neighbouring countries saudi arabia and the united arab emirates. these claims will therefore be seized upon by its critics as further reason to strip them of the tournament, despite the fact there appears little appetite from fifa to act. richard conway, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... wildfires in northern california kill five people, destroy hundreds of buildings and cause thousands to flee their homes. 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 1a people, injures hundreds and damages thousands of homes. and in sport world cycling history

is about to be made. in the next few minutes geraint thomas will begin the final ceremonial stage of the tour de france and be crowned champion. lewis hamilton is in the lead at the hungarian grand prix. a win would see him at the top of the drivers table. sebastian vettel is third. adil rashid is expected to be chosen for england, despite signing a deal only to play white ball cricket for his county. it was a video that went viral and a punishment that was widely condemned. when footage emerged of palestinian teenager ahed tamimi slapping and kicking an israeli soldier in the occupied west bank she was later imprisoned. she was 16 at the time. a short time ago she was welcomed

back to the west bank by a crowd of family and wellwishers. tom bateman reports. ahed tamimi was reunited with her family after nearly eight months in israeli jails. she was released along with her mother nariman, after a case which drew fresh attention to israel‘s military occupation of the west bank, now into its 52nd year. translation: from the house of the martyr, i say resistance is continuing. until the occupation is removed. aged 16, in a video that was live streamed on facebook by herfamily, she slapped and kicked an israeli soldier outside her home. she demanded the troops get out. she was said to have been angry, having just learned her teenage cousin was seriously wounded in clashes with israeli soldiers. her home village of nabi saleh

is the scene of regular palestinian protests. there was unrest at the time after the us decision to recognise jerusalem as israel‘s capital. in march, she was tried in an israeli military court where she agreed to a guilty plea to assault and incitement while other charges were dropped. the case drew worldwide attention. human rights groups criticised israel‘s system of military trial for palestinian children. many israelis, though, saw restraint in their soldiers‘ actions, they accused the tamimi family, frequent activists, of exploiting their daughter by live streaming her actions. they say the more serious point was that she called for large demonstrations, and she said president trump must bear responsibility for any palestinian violence or attacks. but to palestinians, ahed tamimi has become a symbol of resistance against occupation. a 16—year—old girl who defended her home against soldiers, they say.

her actions have sparked intense debate. she says she has paid a heavy price. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. a labour mp who‘s facing suspension after angrily criticising the leadership‘s stance on anti—semitism has said he‘s worried the party is becoming much more extreme. ian austin told bbc news he was upset by the decision not to adopt the standard definition of anti—semitism in its entirety in labour‘s new code of conduct. but he denied screaming abuse at a colleague. speaking on bbc radio a‘s the world this weekend, he went on to say that he was "ashamed" of the labour party. i said that i thought the labour party‘s failure to adopt the... i said i thought the nec‘s decision was a disgrace. look, am i upset about anti—semitism? yes, iam.

i‘m upset about that and i‘m upset as well about the leadership‘s failure. i think the refusal, really, you know, to deal with this properly. i grew up listening to my dad tell me how he‘d escaped from the holocaust, and how his mum and sisters were murdered in treblinka and that led to me joining the labour party as a teenager, determined to fight racism and the first thing i did when i became an mp 13 years ago was to organise and lead a campaign to drive out the bnp here in dudley, and i‘m really shocked, you know, that a party that has a proud tradition throughout its entire existence of fighting racism has ended up causing such huge offence and distress to thejewish community in britain and i think this could never have happened before. i‘m appalled it has happened, i‘m ashamed of the labour party. i really am. and i think, if i‘m honest, i think we‘re becoming a different political party. this could never have happened in the past. let‘s get more on this with our political correspondent, susana mendonca. ian austin began his career working for gordon brown as an adviser and became labour mp

for gordon brown as an adviser and became labourmp in for gordon brown as an adviser and became labour mp in dudley north. but he has been not exactly on good terms with jeremy but he has been not exactly on good terms withjeremy corbyn but he has been not exactly on good terms with jeremy corbyn for some time, but this is clearly a personal issue. he has been a critic of jeremy corbyn and the labour leadership for some time, that is no secret. but ian austin has a family history with regards to anti—semitism because his own grandmother, and his aunts, also died in the holocaust. he was brought up by refugees from the holocaust, so he has a personal interest in this issue. he said that the row that has led to this disciplinary action was as a result of him being unhappy with labour‘s sta nce of him being unhappy with labour‘s stance on anti—semitism because labour took on a new code of conduct which has upset several labour mps and many within the jewish community. severaljewish and many within the jewish community. several jewish newspapers criticised it a couple of weeks ago. margaret hodge had a stand—up row with jeremy corbyn margaret hodge had a stand—up row withjeremy corbyn on exactly this issue. exactly. margaret hodge is

another who is being investigated and we understand now ian austin is also being investigated. labour said the investigation is not about anti—semitism, it is about aggressive behaviour. but the aggressive behaviour. but the aggressive behaviour. but the aggressive behaviour referred to, ian austin denies any of that actually happened. ian austin denies any of that actually happenedlj ian austin denies any of that actually happened. i was involved in actually happened. i was involved in a heated conversation about the labour party nec's failure to adopt the standard definition on anti—semitism. did i scream abuse at anybody? no, idid anti—semitism. did i scream abuse at anybody? no, i did not. anti—semitism. did i scream abuse at anybody? no, idid not. it anti—semitism. did i scream abuse at anybody? no, i did not. it was a heated discussion, i accept that, but i did not scream abuse at anybody. he said the discussion he was talking about there was with the party chairman, somebody loyal to jeremy corbyn. it is one person‘s word against another, we are not sure what happened, but the fact ian

austin is being investigated i suppose adds fuel to those labour mps who are concerned that the focus needs to be an disciplining those who are guilty of anti—semitism within the party rather than having agoat within the party rather than having a go at those who are criticising the party‘s position on it. we heard from the shadow justice the party‘s position on it. we heard from the shadowjustice secretary and he told us hejust wants from the shadowjustice secretary and he told us he just wants them to get on with it, they need to be disciplining those who are committing anti—semitism within the party. that has been of concern to the party‘s jewish party. that has been of concern to the party‘sjewish community party. that has been of concern to the party‘s jewish community and party. that has been of concern to the party‘sjewish community and it is something the party has struggled to move on from. thank you very much. in the tour de france, geraint thomas is on the brink of becoming the first welshman and the third british cyclist to win the event. he takes a lead of one minute and 51 seconds into the final day of the race. tradition dictates that the overall leader is never challenged during the final stage, in which riders compete in a sprint finish on the champs elysees.

let‘s speak to our wales correspondent, tomos morgan, who‘s in cardiff. i should imagine they are preparing for a big celebration. it is absolutely heaving here in cardiff‘s cycle cafe in the centre of town. geraint thomas is possibly one of wales greatest ever achievements. quite a wales greatest ever achievements. quitea claim wales greatest ever achievements. quite a claim that would be. alongside me i have got his first coach, debbie. we have been talking about this already. but it was not clear when you coach tim that he was going to go on to such big things. no, he was like the other children oi'i no, he was like the other children on the track, enjoyed himself, lots of fun, and he stuck at the spot with determination and it got him where he is today. was itjust down to ha rd where he is today. was itjust down to hard work and dedication? he has w011 to hard work and dedication? he has won two 0lympic golds, three world

championships, already he has had a great career. he has always been very focused, he enjoyed cycling and was really into it and knew everything about it. and that passion i guess and commitment has got him where he is today. standing alongside you is alan black. you are already following in his footsteps, you were already in team gb‘s academy at 16 years old. does it give you inspiration somebody like geraint thomas from cardiff has gone on and it pushes you to do the same thing? 10096. it shows me that it is possible. it is different for women cycling, but it is getting there and there are more races for us to do as well. hopefully by the time i am professional i will be able to win the tour de france as well. that is your name? hopefully. i suppose

looking back over the years, is it easier now that cycling has involved to spot people like geraint thomas thanit to spot people like geraint thomas than it was then? yes, the system is more developed and the programme is in place now for young riders to move into gb teams. 20 years ago there were not as many kids cycling, so there were not as many kids cycling, so it is probably harder now because the talent pool is bigger and there are more people to compete against. i hope you both enjoy today. it is going to be a big celebration. it is already packed as it is and what people are coming down, so i‘m not sure that we will get a seat by the time the race comes to an end. we will get the reaction when he finally crosses the finish line the tour de france winner. and outside of this environment where you are where there are friends and supporters and enthusiasts of the tour de france, what has been the

broader reaction in wales to having a welshman in the yellowjersey?” think it is fair to say the main spores in wales are rugby and football was brought on the map after 2016 after wales did so well getting to the semifinals in the euros, but cycling was not on the same level. by picking now the whole country has got behind what has been an outstanding victory for geraint thomas. as i mentioned earlier, when you look on facebook and twitter and social media, people are already putting that question out there, is this possibly one of the greatest welsh sporting achievements of all time? this guy is already a double 0lympic time? this guy is already a double olympic gold medallist and three times world championship winner and he is 32 years old. quite incredible and everyone is getting behind him after an incredible three weeks. and everyone is getting behind him after an incredible three weeksm certainly has been. thank you very much. thank you very much.

the former president of zimbabwe robert mugabe has given his first news conference since being deposed last year. his intervention comes a day before the country goes to the polls to elect a new parliament and president. 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, and said since his forced removal from office the people of zimbabwe had not been free. they have not been free since that day. when tanks rolled through and across the country. when there was a takeover, by the army.

robert mugabe, the former president in zimbabwe. robert mugabe, the former president in zimbabwe. i‘ve been speaking to our correspondent in zimbabwe, nomsa maseko who was following mr mugabe‘s news conference. he spoke like a very bitter man, who is also resentful of the party that he founded, which is the ruling zanu—pf party, saying that since he was deposed from power, the country has become unconstitutional, has become undemocratic, and that zimbabweans feel threatened and that they are scared. he also urged people to go out and vote tomorrow in the elections but more importantly, this is the party, zanu—pf,

that he founded and said that he would not be voting for zanu—pf at all and sounded like he was endorsing the movement for democratic change‘s candidate nelson chamisa. so this is a bit of a kick in the teeth, really, for for the current president mnangagwa. the man who effectively forced him out of office, and one of his oldest political allies. the two men were cheek byjowl for the best part of a0 years? that is correct, it even went as far as saying that emmerson mnangagwa, the current president, is a good worker but he was not always an honest person. so he went far to say that he does not believe in zanu—pf and their politics, but a lot of people then went to argue, and say when robert mugabe took over in 1980, he first started out as a freedom fighter but then became a tyrant, which is what he denied in one

of the questions when he was asked, saying that during his rule, zimbabwe was democratic and the country was actually in the right direction. let‘s ta ke let‘s take a look at the weather prospects with lucy martin. today not feeling a great deal like the weather we have become accustomed to this summer. cool, wet and windy for many. the rain has been courtesy of these two areas of low pressure. this one is pushing its way north and east and bringing wet and windy conditions. 0vernight the rain will finally clear the north east, still a fairly brisk north—westerly wind. clear spells and showery outbreaks of rain pushing into the early hours. warm

in the south, not going below 18 degrees, a bit cooler in the north. tomorrow is a day of sunny spells and showers. perhaps a bit more prolonged spells of rain in the south—east at first, but it will brighten up. the odd rumble of thunder cannot be ruled out. temperature is a bit warmer than today, a maximum of 25 celsius.