this is news coming to you live from zimbabweans are voting in the first elections to take place since the removal of former president robert mugabe last year long lines of voters have formed outside polling stations and zimbabwe's elections will cross over to the some probably in capital for the latest in this landmark but also coming up. eight people have died in places across california and forecasters are warning of yet more hot and dry conditions after an unusually early start the state's fire season. is

a monument to one of the darkest chapters in spanish history and the final resting place of the man who ruled the country with an iron fist for decades now spain socialist government wants to dig up francisco franco from his grave p.w. reports on a controversy dividing the country. well i'm terry marchant good to have you with us people in zimbabwe are boating in lens market elections today it's the first time in nearly four decades that the name robert mugabe is absent from the ballot paper the authoritarian former president resigned after pressure from the military last year there are long lines at polling places as zimbabweans turn out in large numbers to vote a tight race is expected between the two presidential front runners they are mugabe's successor. president emerson in god with the center p.f.

party scene voting here and opposition leader nelson chamisa a lawyer and pastor after casting their votes both candidates expressed hope for a democratic and peaceful election. there's no doubt that if they're not programmed to run a genuine and not to bust the guy i think one victory sets in for the people that people have spoken the people are speaking and it's clear that the vote is a vote for victory for freedom of what for democracy at work for a new zimbabwe i mean to be. really was basically to what to do is. i moved out and the presence of the. digital presence would have been. this landmark election comes just months after a long time leader robert mugabe was hell stood by the army mugabe resurfaced on

the eve of the election he declared he would vote for all position leader nelson chamisa rather than his former party zanu p.f. but he did encourage them to accept the election result regardless of which party emerges victorious. let's go live now to d.w. seder increase through standing by in the zimbabwean capital harare this is a historic day for zimbabweans what's happening where you are right now. well as you can see behind me it's not that busy anymore as it used to be a few hours ago because most people apparently already voted so many came out as early as four am to start queuing so they would be able to cast their votes in the early morning but just thirty minutes ago with the place where we are right now robert mugabe came to cast his vote here the former president who's been running the country for thirty seven years and he came here with a huge crowd of supporters who will bring him here they were cheering for him he

walked into the to the room where he could cast as a vote took him almost ten minutes to do this do so and then he walked out again and what was interesting people were not only celebrating him the people who were coming with him but they were also shouting songs and a chance for the opposition party for the major opposition party you remember we had surprisingly calls yesterday for his supporters to rather vote for them and not vote for the governing party of the very party that he found it. robert mugabe used to rule zimbabwe with an iron fist adrian now he's out of power in the ordinary voter himself you just described him voting remind us what elections looked like when robert mugabe was still in power. well the way elections under mugabe you always won them and they were always cases a very serious vote intimidations we're talking about violence here people were forced to vote for the governing party the opposition had no chance to campaign freely we've created before they were attacked specially in the rural areas this is

the first time that those things are not happening i just talked to one young lady who came and she was very happy she said this is an historic day for our country because for the first time i'm coming here and i'm not afraid of any intimidation. now i understand the opposition are claiming attempts were being made to interfere with today's vote what more can you tell us about the. well we just got the reports that that the opposition candidate said that there were attempts to frustrate his voters especially in those areas that are struggles off the opposition has been very clear and what he means and what we heard so far from election observers there is no reports coming in of any serious cases but we can't say anything we can conclude about that right now because the elections are still ongoing and we have to wait for more information coming in the specially also from the rural areas those are the ones where we have been seeing serious issues in the past we're also hearing everything that the zimbabwe electoral commission is saying that two candidates might have by late at the law by campaigning after the cost of

all time. which candidates could they be could they could that they be the main candidates and what could that mean for these elections. those are very likely the main candidates and i'll tell you what happened yesterday ex-president mugabe came out to make a statement to the press and yesterday was the day when none of the parties was actually allowed to go out and campaign anymore but after mugabe made his statements and doors in the opposition party both of them reacted to the opposition candidate said well he's free to do so but i will not let him be part of any party or party politics while the president. said well if you're going out now and you're voting for the opposition you basically vote for mugabe and these things of course might have affected some of the voters who were not decided yet and this is exactly what the electoral commission is criticizing adrian thanks. chris there in harare.

to the u.s. to our emergency services are battling wildfires in northern california that have killed eight people and destroyed thousands of acres of land tinder dry conditions and very hot temperatures have calls almost twenty wildfires to ignite one of the worst affected regions is the area around the breading city in shasta county police there have confirmed the pirates killed two young children and their great grandmother. neighborhoods reduced to ash and rubble the smell of char still hanging in the air some families in this northern california community had only fifteen minutes to flee. the wind just took off and i don't remember exactly what they called it it's almost like a tornado with fire in it and it came over the hill and. it wiped out our house and wiped out our next door neighbor's home. firefighters

and emergency personnel have been working around the clock to alert residents before the wildfires reached them in shostak county some thirty eight thousand people have been evacuated so far. but with firefighters struggling to contain the fast moving flames the local fire department cautions that it could be a while before people can return home we understand how how that feels a lot of us are evacuated as well we want to get you back in and help this community come back together so just know and be patient with us that we are clearing areas and making it safe for you to go home as fast as we can. as officials hope for the best weather forecasters warn it could get even worse the dangerous ongoing heat wave promises more hot and dry conditions that could further feed the flames. well now some other stories making headlines around the world today malaysia's government says it cannot determine with any certainty why flight m h three seventy mysteriously disappeared its official report says the pilot and

first officer were well rested and showed no evidence of anxiety or stress the malaysia airlines plane carrying two hundred thirty nine people disappeared over the indian ocean in two thousand and fourteen some wreckage has been located but where the plane came down is still unclear. india has effectively stripped citizenship from four million people in the eastern state of. official say they will be given another chance to produce documents proving their citizenship but if they cannot they could face deportation india claims it wants to root out illegal migrants from neighboring bangladesh but critics say the list is an excuse to target muslim population. the party of cambodian prime minister hun sen says it has won a landslide victory in disputed elections it claims to have won all the seats in parliament official results will be out next month but rights groups are already

calling the election a sham after the main opposition party was back when sent is the world's longest serving prime minister. a spanish dictator francisco franco died four decades ago but his final resting place is still the subject of heated debate in spain his remains were kept in a giant muzzle liam north of madrid known as the valley of the fallen but the site doesn't just pay homage to the former fascist leader it also serves as the tomb of nearly forty thirty four thousand people fire fighters who died in one thousand nine hundred thirty s. on both sides of the spanish civil war now spain's new socialist government wants to exuma general franco's body out of respect of those who died fighting his dictatorship no one knows when this will happen the pistols are not yet announced a date all reports are norman street will travel to the site near madrid to meet spaniards and faber and against franco's in turn he sent us this report.

thousands of come to the valley of the fallen to protest the new government's decision day here to honor the dictators memory they chant long live spain and franco franco. some of carrying the flag of spain into franco and giving fascist salutes other similar restraint they fear the digging up franco might reopen old wounds. the new government is bringing on brands to our society instead of solving real problems the problems facing people who are out of work or retired and just stirring up the dust. we're in the twenty first century all of these things should be forgotten. the ship's doctor for sylvia navarro cannot forget for her a visit to the family of the fallen reawakens painful memories the remains of more

than thirty thousand people killed in the spanish civil war buried here in mass graves one of them and so great uncle. but i mean we need our. say on this whenever i come here i can't sleep the night before. the truth there as i find it very upsetting. navarro's uncle lies in an unmarked grave while franco is buried in a prominent term inside the monuments church but spain socialist government plans to exude franco's remains that's a positive first step sylvia says. in court for now frank or maureen orth i mean the removing franco is important for our democratic culture. that for me it would also be important to remove our relatives from here. that after all the history and the origin of this monument is anything but democratic. then look at the. don't touch the valley says the t.

shirt the large protests once franco and the others to remain at what's known as the valley of the fallen and a valid franco supporter she's all denies in protests against his explanation. now the one moment before no one has ever built such an enormous monument that also almost the enemy has for me the dead opponents are worth more than one where would you ever find more reconciliation than that. if. the social anthropology just francisco for and is served on a commission that explored ways for spain to confront its painful past he backs the plan to move franco's remains. what i mean is this but if this is one of the most important monuments of totalitarian architecture in europe that's exactly how it should be presented it's essential of a spanish society and will strengthen our democracy in. the market it's unacceptable that a dictator is on it in

a percentage that was financed with public money you know what we call. the relatives of the victims like sylvia navarro franco's removal can't come soon enough only this can give spain a fresh start she says and she believes spain will only find peace when families can reclaim their loved ones remains. a bit of sports news twin tips kite boards fins a both hands to allow the riders to do spectacular tricks and race in two directions the world championships in this discipline went down to the wire in italy at the weekend home favorites sophia thomas on the who had been pitching playing catch up since day one c. is the title of a nerve racking final race when the women's event at germany's florian gruber continued to dominate the men's competition winning his third consecutive title in southern italy. you're watching news still to come

a sham election keeps cambodian prime minister hun sen in power but that means new worries for the economy as punitive sanctions loom. that story plus trade talks between the e.u. commission president and us present donald trump that within the next. step. for you on facebook and twitter to date and such. climate change. least. pollution. isn't.