of athens, reports say more than 100 buildings have been damaged. )wembley bans �*tay—gating'. extra checks introduced at the taylor swift's london shows after her austria concerts were cancelled because of a terror plot. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. as ukraine's incursion into russia enters its second week, the governor of the russian border region of belgorod has declared a state of emergency saying ukrainian shelling had made the situation there extremely difficult. president biden says ukraine's surprise offensive has created a real dilemma for president putin. ukraine's president zelensky says his country controls more than 70 communities in the kursk

region of western russia, an area of about 1000 square kilometres. this map shows just how rapid the advance has been in the past seven days, with ukraine claiming to have taken more territory in a week, than russia has all year. russia says it has destroyed more than 100 ukrainian drones and four missiles fired at its border regions during the night. here's the governor of russia's border region of belgorod declaring that state of emergency. translation: the situation in our belgorod region - continues to remain extremely difficult and tense. daily shelling from the armed forces of ukraine destroyed houses, wounded and dead civilians. therefore, we are making a decision from today throughout the belgorod region to protect the population and provide additional measures of support to victims by declaring an emergency at the regional level, followed by an appeal

to the government commission to declare an emergency at the federal level. with me is our correspondent will vernon who spent several years in moscow. let's look at this from both sides, first from the ukrainian perspective, what do we know about what advances they are making, how they are achieving it, and why? the ukrainians they are achieving it, and why? tue: ukrainians say they are achieving it, and why? tte: ukrainians say they have seized 1000 square kilometres, over 70 towns and villages, russia is saying that they have stopped the ukrainian advance and the ukrainians will be kicked out of the area. their own military bloggers disagree with what the russian ministry of defence has said, saying two more villages have been taken by the ukrainians in the last 2a hours, that is quite small. but it shows the ukrainians are still advancing, but it shows the ukrainians are stilladvancing, by but it shows the ukrainians are

still advancing, by all appearances it seems they are making progress. russians are making trenches and fortifications further up in the kursk region, perhaps suggesting they are expecting further advance. then again, there were supposed to be trenches and fortifications on the border in the kursk region costing $170 million to build and the ukrainians seem to sweep those out of the way relatively easily. i think russia is worried about this, ukraine is advancing, perhaps not with the same speed we saw in the first few days in that lightning attack that no one expected, no teeth and apparently the americans. when ukraine managed to seize more territory than russia has done in ukraine since the beginning of the year. ukraine since the beginning of the ear. ., , , ukraine since the beginning of the ear. ., ,, i.” year. you spent years in moscow, 'ust how year. you spent years in moscow, just how will — year. you spent years in moscow, just how will this _ year. you spent years in moscow, just how will this be _ year. you spent years in moscow, just how will this be being -

just how will this be being processed, what will vladimir putin, as far as you can tell, what kind of calculations will he? people inside and outside thinking the size of a show why they can't just expel this attack. show why they can't 'ust expel this attack. ~ ., , show why they can't 'ust expel this attack. ~.,, , , ., , , attack. most russians will be shocked by — attack. most russians will be shocked by this. _ attack. most russians will be shocked by this. this - attack. most russians will be shocked by this. this is - attack. most russians will be shocked by this. this is the l attack. most russians will be i shocked by this. this is the first successful invasion, really. it is an invasion, isn't it, of russian territory since the second world war. why has russia not managed to boot the ukrainians out? it is a huge front line, a huge country. and it was a shock surprise lightning offensive by the ukrainians. i also think that after 2.5 years of war, russia has clearly been depleted both in equipment and men. we saw, didn't we, last year how sometimes russia can be cut on the back foot

and can't perhaps activate all its military and security resources as quickly as they like. when we saw in march by the need to in moscow, then the kremlin and the defence ministry seemed powerless to stop the band of mercenaries. we have seen before her russia there was to adapt. the breakin: russia there was to adapt. the breaking news _ russia there was to adapt. the breaking news in the last hour or so. thailand's court removes

prime minister srettha thavisin thailand's constitutional court has dismissed the prime minister, srettha thavisin. he's been in office for less than a year. the court in bangkok ruled that he'd violated the constitution by appointing a minister who'd served time injail for contempt of court. the ruling threatens to destablise thailand's governing coalition and create further political uncertainty. last week, the same court dissolved the main opposition move forward party and banned its former leaderfrom politics for ten years. the now former prime minister is speaking in bangkok now. we will bring you the details of that. let's speak to our south east asia correspondentjonathan head who's in bangkok. talk us through the events of the last hour or so. a bit of a shock, nobody was too surprised when they dissolve happened last week, expected, threat to the

establishment who the court nearly always represents in its verdict. the prime minister of a conservative coalition government that formed starc it won the most seats in the election, a lot of the hardline conservatives and the coalition associated with previous military governments. aside from the reformist move forward, all the parties agreed to come together and have a proper civilian government that can bring stability to thailand. the court has put all that into the air. it is not quite clear how it managed to rule this way and why. a lawyer appointed to the office with a past criminal conviction. technically speaking you could say that is a region where a prime minister can be seen to violate the ethical code but the politics there are not famed for

ethics, heroin smuggling to australia previously. uncertainties over taiwan, affecting economic confidence because the government had plans to try to revive the economy, struggling to do that, now they have to go back to parliament, cobble together another government, prime minister, it all looks like perpetual political uncertainty and instability in thailand. given that, we arejust keeping instability in thailand. given that, we are just keeping an eye so you know as well, we have the live pictures of the statement being given by the now former perimeter. what kind of reaction are expecting from him and others across thailand, even regional countries and neighbours as well? t even regional countries and neighbours as well?- even regional countries and neighbours as well? i think it will wor all neighbours as well? i think it will worry all of— neighbours as well? i think it will worry all of thailand's _ neighbours as well? i think it will worry all of thailand's partners i neighbours as well? i think it will i worry all of thailand's partners and neighbours that this country can't get into a stable political track.

0ur peoples, military coups, street protest going back more than 15 years, everybody who thought the grand bargain we saw politically to get a fully elected government interplay, get thee on the previous military government that finally settle things, it is clear it is not settled. lots of the problem has to do with the political patron, the former prime minister coming back after a decade in exile after what was assumed to be a bargain, thaksin shinawatra. it still seems he differences with his conservative opponent. there are probably other shenanigans going on as well, we don't know exactly what sort of pressures there were on the court, nobody in thailand will be under any illusion, this will be seen as a political verdict and once again

thailand's constitutional court, multiple parties dissolved, the court looks like one of the most powerful institutions in the country along with the military and monarchy, it seems the judges in the court can will governments to come and go rather than elections.- and go rather than elections. thank ou, and go rather than elections. thank you. jonathan _ and go rather than elections. thank you, jonathan head, _ and go rather than elections. thank you, jonathan head, we _ and go rather than elections. thank you, jonathan head, we will- and go rather than elections. thank you, jonathan head, we will be - and go rather than elections. thank you, jonathan head, we will be back in thailand. diplomats are urgently working towards a peace deal in the middle east, while hoping to avoid a wider regional conflict. the us government has stepped up efforts to persuade israel and hamas to reach a ceasefire in gaza. president biden said such a deal could deter iran from launching attacks on israel. the iranian government has dismissed calls from the uk and other western countries to refrain from retaliation against israel for the killing of hamas leader ismail haniyeh in tehran last month. israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement

in his death. during a meeting of the united nations security council, which was punctuated by accusations, the us ambassador said the temperature in the middle east must be turned down. while in washington, $20 billion dollars�* worth of arms sales to israel was approved. meanwhile, the fighting in gaza continues, with israel claiming to have killed about 100 hamas fighters in rafah, in southern gaza in recent days. palestinian medics say 19 people were killed in israeli air strikes on tuesday. among them were four—day—old twins — killed while their father was at a local government office registering their births. their mother and grandmother were also killed. 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson reports from jerusalem. for four days, mohammed abu al-qumsan was a father. this day will haunt him forever. the day he left his newborn twins, ayssel and asser, at home with their mother, while he went to collect their birth certificates, and returned to find them killed in a strike on their building in deir al balah.

today, he prepared to bury them. a new parent, comforted like a child. "i didn't even have time to celebrate them," he said. gaza's health ministry says 115 infants, including ayssel and asser, have been born and killed during this war. we asked the israeli army why the twins' family home was bombed and are waiting for a response. fighting has continued across the gaza strip, with both israel and hamas under fresh pressure to agree a ceasefire deal to calm spiralling regional threats. today, hamas released this video which it said showed rockets being launched from gaza towards tel aviv. israel's army said one had crossed into israeli territory and fallen into the sea. in the southern city of khan younis, displaced residents,

not long returned, fled artillery and air strikes again. "who will breast—feed this baby?" one resident cried over the ruins of a building. "all her family were killed, even her mother." reem abu hayyah, three months old, was pulled from the rubble, bruised and battered, the only survivor of an air strike that her grandmother says killed her parents and eight siblings, along with ten other people. translation: they are the terrorists, the ones| that kill children. they are supported by america. out of 20 people, this one is the only one left. the focus on gaza now is shrinking as the threat of regional conflict grows. but each child left

without a family, each father left without his children, is adding to the long shadow of this war. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

this is bbc news. here in the uk, the latest figures on price increases have just been released, showing an uptick. however, the silver lining is that the increase is slightly smaller than expected. the consumer price inflation rate forjuly has come in at 2.2% — up from the 2% bank of england target seen in may and june and that is below the forecasted 2.3%. let's speak to our business correspondent marc ashdown. this is not a big surprise,

predicted, back in october 2020 this is not a big surprise, predicted, back in 0ctober202011%, we are not back into that territory now, the consensus was for the price rises to go up at 2.3% injuly, it has been rising at 2.2%, lower than we thought. couple of big factors, the huge energy bills, the cost of gas and electricity and food in the supermarkets, as those figures work their way through and prices come down, inflation starts to ease. the bank of england once 2% inflation, this is the first time in a couple of months above target. going up in a gentle little trend towards the end of the year. downward pressures, things like the energy bills continue to cause upward pressure, also the national minimum wage going up, going to the bosses and asking for pay rises. 0n the flip side, food inflation was running a 19%, it

is now below the target at 1.5%, good news for the weekly shop. the big question, what impact on interest rates, the big lever to tame inflation the bankers. core inflation you strip out other factors is starting to come down now and hold steady. the monetary policy committee meets to talk about cutting rates for the first time in a long time, the help as they will do that in september again. a bit of a coin toss, looking for more dated to decide what to do, more likely to be in november. next to greece and you have probably seen the images of those huge wildfires that had been threatening the capital athens. the good news is authorities now say they have been brought under control. at least one person has died, while dozens have been injured, and thousands of others have had

to leave their homes. greek media are reporting that more than 100 buildings have been damaged around the capital. officials have also said that less than 10% of the burnt areas were forests. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri is in a suburb of athens. she gave me this update. let's speak to our correspondent azadeh moshiri, who's in a suburb of athens. stays about assessing the damage, you can see some of it about me, if you look behind you will notice that there is a collapsed basketball hoop, this was a basketball court before the fires came here and over here are stands where rows of children would come to watch friends play, a staff member told me about 500 children used to come here every day. if you look at the pictures, the photos of what this used to look like beforehand, you can see the scale of the damage. the rooftop was the very first thing that caught fire.

i have seen helicopters fly over, dousing the land with water. there is this concern there could still be flare ups. what the government is particularly focused on is how to help communities like this, these people who have lost businesses like this, rebuild, 4.7 million euros has been allocated to that effort. we know nearly 650 people were offered temporary housing since sunday. no matter how much help they receive, it will be a long time before businesses like this can get up and running again. talk us through the background, azadeh, a part of the world used to very hot conditions at certain times of year, what has been the trend over the years?

wild fires are not uncommon to greece, last year they hit the islands as well, i was here last year, hundreds of tourists fleeing from hotel rooms in rhodes. six years ago, there was a devastating summer where more than 100 people were killed in a seaside town of mati where the fire consumed homes, cars, people killed as they swam to safety. not uncommon. but the temperatures, the hottestjuly on record, what scientists say is that these sorts of conditions, the dry heat, winds, these are what are contributing to these wildfires and global warming, climate change, could be contributing to the severity and frequency of these fires. if you speak to people in greece,

residents themselves, they say these temperatures, the way they have to live their summers, they say it is not normal. thank you, azadeh moshiri. the former england cricket captain, turned tv presenter, freddie flintoff has opened up about his life since he was injured in a high speed crash whilst filming an episode of the bbc top gear show in 2022. for his new series, �*freddie flintoff�*s field of dreams on tour�* he's returned to his hometown of preston to take his cricket team to india — a trip he'd planned before his accident. 0ur sports correspondent patrick gearey has this report. i promised you a trip to india. um, i'm wondering if you still want to go. freddie flintoff has been on many a cricket tour before, but none quite like this. representing england, but we're representing something far bigger than that — representing preston. a team of lancastrian youngsters who, until a couple of years ago, mostly didn't know the rules of cricket, heading to india, where the sport is woven into everyday life. catch!

this is the second series of freddie flintoff�*s field of dreams. are you all right? miss me? where the great ex—cricketer turns ambassador, coach and mentor. using the sport he loves as a force to try and improve the lives of young people from his home town of preston. i want to be involved. i think it brings the best out in you. yeah. production began not long after the first series aired in 2022, but soon everything would have to stop. in the last few minutes, _ it's been announced that the former england cricketer freddie flintoff has been taken to hospital - after being injured in an accident. exactly what happened in that accident while filming for top gear at dunsfold park in surrey has never been publicly spoken about. but the programme showed us for the first time the effect it had on flintoff. genuinely should not be here after what happened. it's going to be a long road back. i've only just started. got to look on the positive — i'm still here, i've got another chance. i've got to go at it. i'm seeing that as how it is — a second go. he would reach a settlement

with the bbc, which hasn't broadcast top gear since. for months, we saw and heard nothing from freddie flintoff until he appeared in cardiff last september among the england cricket coaching staff. but travelling abroad to film field of dreams on tour would be a huge step. last night's programme showed us how big a challenge it was. i think about it all the time and i think about going and how good it will be. i rewind and thinking, well, i don't want to leave the house, either. get on a plane and got to be away for two and a half weeks. yeah. some of these lads have had a tough life. you've got to try and put it into perspective. yeah. — and i feel guilty i can't do that. i don't want to sit here and feel sorry for myself. and i don't want sympathy. but it's going from being here for seven months, really, and then going to india. which is like the extreme. for 2.5 weeks. everywhere i go, at the minute, i've got a full facemask and glasses on. i can't do that. i struggle with anxiety. you know, i have nightmares,

i have flashbacks. it's been so hard to cope with. but i'm thinking if i don't do something, i'm never going to go. i've got to get on with it. in some ways, like, the lads might help you out. i'm a bit nervous about that, as well. you know, seeing them for the first time, being in front of them. flintoff, as he has so often, rose to the challenge and, injanuary, he reunited with his team... oh, my god, it's you. you all right, lad? ..to make good on his offer of the tour of a lifetime. whatever�*s happened this last year for me, one thing i've been very aware of and desperately wanting to do is take you. i've heard they love you over in india. notjust india, sean! are you feeling 100% now? not really. i don't know if i will again, to be honest. i'm better than i was. i don't know what completely better is. you know what i mean? i am what i am now. i'm different to what i was. that's something i'll probably have to deal with for the rest of my life. so, better? no, different.

and that was freddie flintoff ending that report by patrick gearey. stay with us here on bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. it's been quite a cloudy start to the day and a dank one across southern areas. a lot of low cloud, some rain and drizzle, and as we go through the next few days, you will notice it will be cooler than it has been. there will be rain at times but equally sunshine, but it is looking dry with sunny spells for most as we head into this weekend. what we have at the moment is still quite a bit of cloud around, still some patchy rain, breaking up in places and temperatures rise that

could spark a few showers. south—west england, wales, northern england and scotland, a lot of dry weather and a fair bit of sunshine. 0ut towards the west, the cloud will continue to build and the wind will strengthen. temperatures 15—211, possibly a bit higher in the south if the cloud remains broken for longer. into this evening, still some residual cloud, some clear skies, but we have persistent rain coming in across scotland and also northern ireland. that will get into north—west england by the end of the night. it will be a milder night in the north compared to last night and slightly cooler in the south compared to last night. we start tomorrow with that weather front bringing the persistent rain through scotland, northern ireland, northern england and eventually into wales. you can see from the isobars it will also be quite a blustery day, and the rain will continue to advanced very slowly southwards and cloud building ahead of it. hanging on to the sunshine for the longest in the south—eastern corner. behind the brain, we see blustery showers but bright and sunny spells across parts of scotland and northern ireland too.

temperatures down in the north, 15—18, but as we push further south, 20—26 will be the order of the day. eventually, that rain makes it into southern england, it can take its time to clear the channel and the far south—east, but to the north of that, there will be a lot of dry weather again, some sunshine around, at worst bright spells, and out towards the north and west, again blustery showers. temperatures 14—25 north to south. as we head into the weekend, a lot of dry weather around, a fair bit of sunshine, temperatures about where we would expect them at this stage, but we could get some showery rain in the north—west on sunday.

this is bbc news. the headlines... police say the number of violent attacks against women and girls on railways has increased by more than 50% in two years. the inflation rate has risen for the first time this year to 2.2% in the year tojuly, breaching the bank of england's target. the wreck of a ship that sank more than 200 years ago in one of the uk's worst maritime disasters has been granted special protection by the government.

welcome to the heroes torah. wembley bans �*tay—gating'. extra checks introduced at the taylor swift's london shows after her austria concerts were cancelled because of a terror plot. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. the number of violent attacks against women and girls on britain's railways has increased by more than 50% in two years, according to the british transport police. its survey found that more than a third of women have been subjected to sexual harassment or sexual offences while commuting by train or tube. 0ur correspondent nick eardley has this report. doors beep put your bags on the floor. this is the moment when edgarjunior was arrested by british transport police last year. the 50—year—old had sexually assaulted a woman on a train. he admitted it and was sentenced to 20 months in prison. but new figures show that this is far from an isolated case. british transport police figures show an average of 31 reports a day

involving violent crimes against women or girls.