bellamy a. and esprit struggles to contain wildfires we will report from one of the worst affected areas near athens. if you were here with me you would be able to smell the ash around me. the smell of child ground. —— shard ground. —— charred. we start with the conflict in the middle east. presidentjoe biden has said a ceasefire deal in gaza could dissuade iran from launching attacks on israel. talks are due to take place on thursday, although it appears the us secretary of state antony blinken has decided not to travel to the region for now. western leaders have been trying to cool tensions after the assassination of the hamas leader ismail haniyeh in tehran. iran blamed israel for the death, but israel has neither confirmed nor denied

any involvement. there's little sign of the conflict easing, however. the israeli military says it has killed around a hundred hamas fighters in and around rafah in the past few days. if things weren't tense already there has been widespread condemnation by the visit of israel's national security minister to the compound around the al—aqsa mosque in jerusalem. he was accompanied by several hundred supporters to the perimeter. there is a ban on carrying out religious activities. the us, perhaps israel's closest ally, said it was unacceptable. here is what president biden had to say when asked about the reporter about the likelihood iran would or would not carry out an attack on israel. would not carry out an attack on israel-— on israel. we will see what happens- _ on israel. we will see what happens- i— on israel. we will see what happens. i am _ on israel. we will see what happens. i am not- on israel. we will see what happens. i am not giving . on israel. we will see what i happens. i am not giving up. reporter: we have the understanding that iran could

inaudible an action if a ceasefire deal was possible. that — ceasefire deal was possible. that is — ceasefire deal was possible. that is my expectation. we will see. thanks. _ that is my expectation. we will see. thanks. our _ that is my expectation. we will see. thanks. our north - that is my expectation. we will| see. thanks. our north america correspondent david ellis told us more about the efforts to stop iran retaliating. this would have _ stop iran retaliating. this would have been - stop iran retaliating. this would have been antonyl would have been antony blinken's ninth visit to the region since the seventh of october last year stop it is worth pointing out there would be no official announcement of his intention to make this journey, although it had leaked out through media sources hear the secretary of state was planning at least some trip that would have seen him depart from washington here in the next few hours. that trip has now been postponed. apparently over the growing uncertainty in the region, not least of course the region, not least of course the possibility of some sort of retaliatory strike by iran following the assassination of

a leading member of hamas in tehran quite recently. and of course the uncertainty surrounding the ceasefire talks which hamas has now withdrawn from, citing the israelis shifting position as far as those talks are concerned. we heard there from president biden and he made the point as well today that were there to be a ceasefire agreement reached in regard to the situation in gaza, that could prevent some sort of retaliatory strike by iran and indeed prevent the conflict in the region from spreading, so president biden is someone who has a lot resting on all this. he has also made plain he regards a ceasefire in gaza as central to his political legacy, if you like, with less than six months of this term as

president remaining. in than six months of this term as president remaining.— president remaining. in india thousands — president remaining. in india thousands of _ president remaining. in india thousands of doctors - president remaining. in india thousands of doctors have i president remaining. in india . thousands of doctors have taken to the streets in a strike over workplace safety prompted by the alleged rape and killing of a young female doctor in a hospital in west bengal. thousands of medical appointments have been put on hold and the unrest could spread nationwide. chanting: we want... justice! out on the streets after launching an indefinite strike — doctors protesting in response to the alleged rape and murder of one of their colleagues, a 31—year—old trainee doctor at a hospital in the city of kolkata in west bengal. they are angry and want action. translation: ourfirst demand is that there should be a judicial inquiry. the culprits should be arrested. there has been one arrest, but we don't have any further updates. and whether there were any others involved along with him. the demonstrations are spreading. they demand justice and better workplace security. many say they don't feel safe doing theirjobs.

translation: whether it is this | hospital or any other hospital, | you will see the same scenario, that of an unsafe environment. we do our duties despite the unsafe environment. so far, police have arrested one person. i visited three big government hospitals in delhi and spoke to a dozen female doctors and nurses during the night shift. all of them said that hospitals were an unsafe space to work, especially at night. they complained that anybody could walk into the hospital without any security checks, and patients and their families sometimes turn violent. opposition leaders have demanded an independent investigation into the incident. across india, queues are growing, with some now calling for a total nationwide shutdown until their concerns are addressed. umang poddar, bbc news, delhi. and a doctor is an oncologist and president of the american association of physicians of indian origin. he association of physicians of indian origin.— indian origin. he told me attacks on _ indian origin. he told me attacks on doctors - indian origin. he told me attacks on doctors in - indian origin. he told me | attacks on doctors in india indian origin. he told me - attacks on doctors in india are not a recent development. my

heartfelt not a recent development. i’i heartfelt condolences not a recent development. ii heartfelt condolences to the victims' family. it is unfortunate it happened and is are being put at risk of physical violence and harassment from patients, families and the public because of the nature of theirjob, they also have to work at night time and such incidents can stem from dissatisfaction with medical outcomes, delayed services or perceived negligence. some of the women doctors also face harassment from their male colleagues and there are so many reasons for these things and this is very unfortunate, which can actually impact the mental health of women doctors as well as professional building of women doctors in india and these are not new things, this is not a new phenomenon. however, there has been no still in greece in recent years. —— noticeable.

factors contributing to this rise include heightened expectations, inaudible infrastructure with increase in cost and pricing frustrations among patients and their families and there is more media coverage now which is bringing more of these incidents to light. it bringing more of these incidents to light.- bringing more of these incidents to light. it is not 'ust incidents to light. it is not just doctors _ incidents to light. it is not just doctors feeling - incidents to light. it is not just doctors feeling the i just doctors feeling the pressure of this. is this more reflective of a society in india where violence against women is a major issue? it is women is a ma'or issue? it is an issue that women is a major issue? it is an issue that has _ women is a major issue? it is an issue that has been - women is a major issue? it is an issue that has been a - women is a major issue? it 3 an issue that has been a make for a long time, though it is getting better, but still it is an issue, but still even doctors are at higher risk because of the nature of their job, they have to attend calls during my time and the hospitals may not be providing enough security measures and that puts them at risk. and that puts them at risk. and what do authorities - that puts them at risk. and what do authorities need to do to keep their doctors safe in the short—term also the long—term? india will want to have people moving into the

health industry.— health industry. that is very important- _ health industry. that is very important. hospitals - health industry. that is very important. hospitals need l health industry. that is very| important. hospitals need to implement robust security measures and increase surveillance, cameras and security personnel and controlling access to sensitive areas. inaudible if somebody gets sick, so many people visit that place, but silence make access to people who are only this who are to be a make is very important and establishing clear protocols for handling violent incidents and ensuring all staff are trained to manage that situations and also they should offer training for doctors and hospital staff and conflict resolution and communication skills to handle these types of situations more effectively and there should be public awareness and education of the people actually to improve respectful interactions with healthcare professionals

and from the government side, i think they have to have strict legislation, not only having legislation, not only having legislation but also enforcing diet and punishing the people who are doing such violent things and crimes and this is very, very important from the government standpoint and people have to really pay attention to this and it is a problem because these are all healthcare professionals risking their lives to see patients and people have to be more responsible. lie patients and people have to be more responsible. us president joe biden says _ more responsible. us president joe biden says ukraine's - joe biden says ukraine's surprise cross—border incursion into russia provide a real dilemma for vladimir putin and they are his first remark since his lightning strike a week ago and the white house says it had no advance notice of the operation. kate thwaites now claims to control more than 70 communities in the kursk region of russia, an area around 1000 square kilometres and this map shows how rapid the advance has beenin shows how rapid the advance has been in the last seven days

with ukraine claiming to have taken more territory in a week than russia has all the year. james waterhouse is in the front line promise of sumy bordering kursk and sent this report. ukrainian soldiers in western—made vehicles, driving into russia, a potentially seminal sight which few saw coming. the russian guards were quickly overwhelmed. it has been a while since this border crossing was used in peacetime, and the ukrainians have not stopped here. the central square of sudzha. a ukrainian armoured vehicle drives through a russian town. it's a military inversion which has restored momentum and morale to kyiv�*s war effort. and instead of directing events in ukraine, moscow's reacting to surprises at home. more of its kursk region is falling in the most dramatic of battlefield changes. "we've just been to this russian supermarket,

"and the selection isn't very good," remarks this soldier. slava ukraini! russia is struggling to contain this weighty offensive, but it is trying. across the border in ukraine's sumy region, evidence ukraine is deploying some of its best troops for a goal that is still unclear. military equipment is branded with a triangle, the symbol of this operation. ukraine is committing to this gamble, but success might not come here with the capturing of territory across the border. it may well come elsewhere, where russian forces might be forced to redeploy. if this gamble doesn't come off, the consequences for ukraine's war effort could be catastrophic. for the border villages habitually hit by russian glide bombs, there is no fear of what moscow's response might be.

translation: i want them to take it and do this. - translation: russia attacked first, not us. j now our guys responded, showed what we're capable of. if we had permission to do this earlier, we would have captured russia a long time ago. in the city of sumy, evacuees give their details to be rehoused. as with across the border, tens of thousands have been moved after an increase in air strikes. ukraine has benefited from secrecy, but its civilians less so. in a choreographed briefing you would usually see in moscow, the head of the armed forces, oleksandr syrskyi, tells president zelensky they are still advancing. translation: first, - i thank our guys and girls. also, i ask you not to forget to develop our important next steps.

what ukraine does next will be crucial, especially with the moment of surprise now behind it. james waterhouse, bbc news, sumy region. a bit of sport news now. more than 30,000 people have filled botswa na's national stadium to welcome home the sprinter letsile tebogo, who won the country's first ever olympic gold medal at the paris games. tebogo was also part of the botswana team that won silver in the men's four by 4 x 100 metres relay. all the athletes who represented the country at the games were taken round the stadium in an open top bus as spectators including the president mokgweetsi masisi cheered and waved flags. around the world and across the uk, this is bdc news. —— bbc

news. you are alive with bbc news. the huge wildfires in greece that have been threatening the

capital of athens have been brought under control. at least one person has died while dozens have been injured and thousands have had to leave their homes. but the authorities remain on high alert for potential flareups amid soaring temperatures. our correspondent is in greece and she sent us this update from one of the worst affected suburbs of athens. if you were here with me, you'd be able to smell the ash around me, the smell of charred ground. and there's still this dry heat here in athens. which is why you can see some of the smoke right there behind me. and just to give you a sense of how close we are to homes there, right there behind me. now, this is a northern suburb of athens. that's how close the fires have come this year. and we've passed through the area, seen homes that have been devastated by the flames, cars that have been completely consumed. now, as you can see, the winds have dissipated. the fire service have told us

that the next 2a hours are crucial in determining what will happen in the next few days. so far, we know that these flames have already taken a life. one 63—year—old woman — her body was found another northern suburb of athens. people have been injured, mostly through smoke inhalation. animals have been burnt. and on top of all of that, more than 100,000 acres of land have been consumed by the flames, and yet the fire service is poured a lot of resources into this. more than 700 firefighters have been fighting the flames this week. 199 fire engines, 35 aircrafts. and yet they've still asked for more help from european nations who are once again answering that call with planes, helicopters and firefighters. it's also been a huge effort from the greek community as well. we've seen these human chains of people mixing with firefighters, volunteer firefighters, as well as residents who are simply trying to save their homes because that's another challenge that these firefighters have and will continue to have.

should these fires have these resurgences throughout the week, it's that people are refusing to leave their homes. they're refusing to leave their livelihoods, refusing to see all these things go up in flames. but of course, for many of the people, some who are here, it's already too late. voters in the tiny pacific nation of kiribati will go to the polls today with the president looking to can get a third term in office. they live on a series of scattered islands in a remote part of the pacific ocean. the country maintains good relationships with regional heavyweights new zealand and australia although

the president has forged links with china in recent years with diplomatic ties from taiwan to beijing in 2018. let's speak with blakejohnson, a senior analyst at the australian strategic policy institute. later, thank you forjoining me to talk about this today. we have your take on why the president has leaned or is looking more towards china in recent years?— looking more towards china in recent years? across the region china is seeking _ recent years? across the region china is seeking to _ recent years? across the region china is seeking to expand - china is seeking to expand relationships with pacific island countries and a lot of different leaders in the pacific are trying to see what opportunities there are four development in the countries. many of these countries are small and they face large climate and environment for threats so they need access to a range of partners to keep building on their development and that includes china. 50 and that includes china. so what sort _ and that includes china. so what sort of collaborations have we seen that kiribati is had with china?— had with china? there is a little bit — had with china? there is a little bit of _ had with china? there is a little bit of mystery - had with china? there is a little bit of mystery as - had with china? there is a

little bit of mystery as to l little bit of mystery as to what is really going on within kiribati in the moment in terms of chinese assistance but one thing that has been of concern this year has been chinese police presence in kiribati with boots on the ground conducting activities and assisting the training of the kiribati police. not quite sure of the details of the agreement behind that. it is kind of hidden and we're not really sure how that going to expand in the future if the president is re—elected did. pm? in the future if the president is re-elected did.— in the future if the president is re-elected did. any idea why it is so secretive? _ is re-elected did. any idea why it is so secretive? ugly - is re-elected did. any idea why it is so secretive? ugly across l it is so secretive? ugly across the region _ it is so secretive? ugly across the region these _ it is so secretive? ugly across the region these sorts - it is so secretive? ugly across the region these sorts of - the region these sorts of security agreements are not very public when it comes to china. —— typically. other countries try to be publicly transparent but this is typical behaviour for china where we are not seeing a lot of transparency around the agreements so it is a mystery as to what could happen next. in recent elections we've seen

in the pacific, in tuvalu for instance when china was an influence. what should we know about the diplomatic fight? recently penny wong said that we were in a state of permanent contest in the pacific referring to the ongoing competition between china and the west in terms of influencing the region. it is not necessarily something that pacific island countries have asked for all that they want but it is something that now each country has to find a way to navigate the competition and, as i said earlier, try to extract what development opportunities they can. in some countries this plays out more openly as a battle between pro— chinese and pro—western politicians but it is important to remember that they are first and foremost pro— their own country and its development. the nation as a remote one and you spoke about the economic and environmental challenges that it faces. what are the key priorities now for the population, for the electorate?

when it comes to voters, it really is focusing on what impacts them day—to—day, jobs, climate threat and the cost of living and the lack of economic opportunities. so, really, thoseissues opportunities. so, really, those issues are more important and we have seen the president focusing on those domestic issues in his second term. china starts to feed into those activities as people might start to question whether or not the relationship is truly improving their life or if it is negatively impacting the cost of living and other factors. the geopolitics always comes second to the everyday needs of people.— comes second to the everyday needs of people. thank you very much for your— needs of people. thank you very much for your insight _ needs of people. thank you very much for your insight to - needs of people. thank you very much for your insight to this - much for your insight to this story. blakejohnson from the story. blake johnson from the australian strategic policy institute. looking now at some other stories making headlines. a court in uganda has found a former militia leader guilty of

war crimes and crimes against humanity. he was a commando in the group —— commander known in the group —— commander known in the group —— commander known in the group and accused of kidnapping children and forcing them to take up arms. senior health officials in africa have declared a continental public health emergency every new outbreak of mpox. cases have been reported in 16 countries with more than 15,000 infections and 461 deaths. a disgraced former us congressman, george santos has beenin congressman, george santos has been in court on long island ahead of his trial for corruption. he was indicted and expeued corruption. he was indicted and expelled from the house of representatives last december with a criminal trial due to begin in september. if you have been watching us over the past few days you will have seen us report about the street artist banksy and his latest works appearing on the streets of london. for the latest in the final creation has appeared in the last 2a hours and this time at london zoo. what does it mean and is it, as they say, really out at

all? another day, another banksy. after over a week of animalartworks, he's arrived — where else? at london zoo. this is banksy�*s ninth artwork in as many days, but many are wondering whether this mightjust be the last in this latest collection. the word on the street artist's newest piece is almost entirely positive. i think it's graffiti, and if you think about it, graffiti is the beginning of the degradation of any environment. i think it's phenomenal. it'sjust takes us all away from... it's a mystery, and mystery is something that we never get now. it's pretty appropriate for the zoo, isn't it? i we were hoping to see it before it gets stolen or taken away. after last week's theft in peckham, london zoo's taking no chances with extra security in place. we appreciate the value the broader sense value of this work. and so we're going

to look after it. we will probably put a bit of perspex on top just to protect it from the weather. it's a busy sort of street here as well. medium to longer—term, will certainly take measures to make sure that not only is it protected, but also critically that it's something that can be shared. banksy still makes headlines around the world. his identity irresistible in a social media age. banksy�*s international appeal is because he works with metaphors and symbols that are universal. he's inclusive. it's not overly intellectual. i once heard someone say, banksy�*s the only artist that someone at a gas station in mexico city will know about, and that's just wonderful. that's the job of the artist. not to exclude, but to include. we've seen the goat. we've seen the pelicans. we saw the rhino. i mean, it'sjusta celebration, a great send—off. although the man behind the art remains unknown, the mystery of where the animals escaped from is solved. harry low, bbc news london.

more on this story on our website and typically, banksy has confirmed he is behind the creations at 1300 bst each day however he announced this latest artwork on his instagram page on tuesday morning. thank ou for page on tuesday morning. thank you for your _ page on tuesday morning. thank you for your company. _ hello there. tuesday wasn't as hot or as humid, but still with some sunshine across norfolk and suffolk before we got a few light showers, temperatures reached a very warm 29 degrees. other parts of the uk have cooled down a bit already, and it's still quite mixed through the rest of the week. there'll be some sunshine at times, but we're also going to find some spells of rain, and our weather essentially is going to be coming in from the atlantic. at the moment things have slowed down a bit and this weather front still bringing some rain early in the morning, particularly across the midlands. but a sunny start and a chilly start in scotland.

some sunshine for northern ireland. it will cloud over here in the afternoon and later in the day into western scotland. but more sunshine develops across northern england, wales and the southwest. and even though we've got more cloud, the midlands towards the southeast, that should tend to thin and break up a little bit. we will trigger a few showers in the southeast in the afternoon. it's not going to be as warm here as it was on tuesday, of course, 23 or 2a degrees and elsewhere, those temperatures very similar to what we had on tuesday. so our weather is coming in from the atlantic, and this is the next weather system to bring some wind and rain in from the north west. and it could be quite wet through much of thursday across scotland and northern ireland. this band of rain is only moving slowly into northern england and wales. it's going to be late in the day before we see some sunshine, but through the midlands, towards the southeast it may well be a dry day with more broken cloud we've got a chance for things to warm up again. temperatures could reach as high as 27 degrees, but for scotland and northern ireland, it's likely to be a cooler day on thursday. that rain is slowly

moving its way southwards, and that weather front will eventually take some rain into more southern parts of england. it could hang around for a bit on friday, we're likely to find the rain tending to move away from the southwest, but the southeast it could be a bit more of a struggle. that rain could still be around into the afternoon at least more cloud. we've got sunshine elsewhere once again until you reach the far northwest, with a bit of rain coming in here again as the breeze tends to pick up. so temperatures scotland and northern ireland 19 degrees at best. otherwise our top temperature further south 23 or 2a celsius. i think it's those sort of temperatures that we'll see over the weekend. so not a hot weekend, but it looks like a fairly decent weekend. most places will be dry with some sunshine. just a few showers, perhaps towards the northwest.

wholesale inflation calls in the united states raising the prospect of an interest rate cut from the federal reserve. and indonesia gears up for independence day celebrations at its new capital city despite setbacks. i'm steve lai. welcome to business today. let's begin in the us where the first of two key inflation reports were released overnight. wholesale prices eased by 0.1%, implying that

inflation has come off its highs, and that the us federal reserve could be closer to lowering the cost of borrowing. economist peterjolly explains why the signs for a rate cut in september are growing. it really does help the case for the fed to cut rates in september. remembering that the chairman set this up after the last meeting. he said if inflation keeps involving, as they hope which means getting better, than they will be in a position to cut rates. he did not commit to that but they would be in a position to cut rates in september and this was a good read. it had a bunch of reeds before that september 18 meeting but this is one and there is another one tonight and a few more later on. consumer price data forjuly is expected to be visible tomorrow what are your expectations? you can almost _ what are your expectations? you can almost pick— what are your expectations? i'm. can almost pick your inflation but they will almost be running between 2.5, 3% depending on your pick. most people wanted

to ease a little further. the headline rate has been