this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00: wildfires sweep across coastal towns near athens leaving more than 70 dead in greece's worst fire disaster in more than a decade. in memory of those who perished, we are declaring three days of national mourning but we should not let that memory hurt us, we should use it to create solidarity. a million public sector workers are set to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly a decade, following a government announcement. labour says it's a pr stunt. under scrutiny for paying thousands into the private bank account of an african politician, aaron banks, who donated millions of pounds to the brexit campaign. also coming up, shale gas company cuadrilla gets government approval to begin fracking at a site in lancashire the announcement was met with protests outside the site near blackpool despite government assurances that health and safety

measures have been met. and ina and in a ceremony at banks, the thai schoolboys rescued from the game —— from the cave are ordained as buddhist monks and the british divers who helped rescue them are given a hero ‘s ceremony at downing street. and at 11:30, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers broadcaster lynn faulds wood and the deputy editor of the express, michael booker. good evening. it's greece's worst fire disaster in a decade. more than 70 people have died, as flames fanned by strong winds and high temperatures swept through an area east of the capital athens.

the wildfires forced residents and tourists to rush to beaches and into the sea to avoid the heat. hundreds had to be rescued by local fishermen but others were trapped as the flames devoured forests and destroyed seaside towns. the worst hit area was the tourist resort of mati, where 26 people, some children, who tried to outrun the flames, were found dead, all huddled together. 0ur correspondent mark lowen reports from mati. like a vision of hell, mile upon mile smothered, suffocated by flames. as one was put out, another roared, 47 simultaneous fires ripped through the greek hills. they fled for their lives, hundreds ran into the sea, rescued by the coastguard. but for dozens more,

it was too late, killed by the worst wildfires greece has seen in over a decade. as morning fell, the mountains still burned, 60 miles an hour winds fanning the flames. and even as some were extinguished, the acrid smoke billowed, choking those caught in its grip. it was as if a wall of fire surrounded anyone who tried to confront it, feeding on the vegetation, spewing out thick plumes. for hours, it was futile to battle it. with the trail of destruction, an almost apocalyptic street in the seaside town of mati near athens looked like a bomb had hit. many died in their cars, asphyxiated, or burnt alive.

we found this man badly burnt and searching for clues in the spot where he last saw his wife, poppy. i took my baby and ran towards the sea. but my wife, i don't know what happened. i think she burned herself here. from the skies, man fought nature. cyprus and spain helped with equipment and firefighters. this peaceful holiday resort has been virtually destroyed, many were here at the height of the tourism season, like this man, as the flames consumed his car. he and his family ran to the sea. we went directly on the sea, up to here, to save ourselves. and the fire was still coming, because... it burnt everything. it was coming more and more and we sank into the deep, just to save us.

as the flames came crashing down the hill, devouring everything in their wake, one of the most tragic incident happened just over here. some 25 people ran towards the sea to try to take refuge, but they were too late, and they were trapped, and when their bodies were discovered, the remains of the parents were found hugging the children. the greek prime minister, visibly shaken, announced three days of national mourning. there are no words to describe the feelings of all of us at this hour. the country is living in untold tragedy. dozens of human lives have been lost. for the rescuers, the fear of discovering more bodies as dozens reported missing. the flames may have faded but beneath the ash, what nightmares are hidden mr mark the picturesque has turned to horror.

greece is blessed by its climate, its coast, its lush forests. tonight, it feels cursed. a heatwave that's caused the deaths of a least 65 people injapan, has been declared a natural disaster by the country's weather agency. more than 22,000 people have been admitted to hospital with heat stroke, nearly half of them elderly. japan recorded its highest ever temperature yesterday of 41 degrees. people are being advised to drink plenty of water, and use their air conditioning, something a lot of older poeple are reluctant to do. after a pay cap and a succession of wage freezes, more than a million public sector workers, are to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly 10 years. teachers will see their salaries increase by up to 3.5 per cent. for military personnel, it's up to 2.9 per cent. for police officers, 2 per cent. and junior doctors will see their pay rise by up to 3 per cent.

but labour says the increases will come at the cost of other services, because they're being funded by other government departments, when it should be the treasury picking up the bill. 0ur education editor branwenjeffreys has more. the calls to lift the pay cap have been getting louder. the public sector tired of adecade of austerity. growing problems recruiting and keeping staff. nowhere more so than in schools. we're going to design posters about how to keep safe in the sun. not enough teachers starting training, too many leaving after a few years, so head teachers have been pressing hard for today's pay rise. there is something very serious happening now. our ability to be able to recruit and the right quality of people to work in our schools is going to be hampered unless we continue with a competitive package for teachers.

but it is only younger teachers that will get the full pay rise. classroom teachers are getting the biggest slice of these government—backed increases. but these are pay rises for some but not all public sector workers. even so it could be just enough to help stave off the threat of industrial action that is looming for this autumn. it was announced as mps leave for their holidays. what we are announcing today, mr speaker, amounts to the biggest pay rise in almost ten years for around 1 million public sector workers across britain, including teachers, armed forces personnel, prison officers, police, doctors and dentists. it follows an earlier pay deal for many nhs staff. all this to be paid for out of further government savings. but not everyone is happy. the union for rank—and—file police said it was insulting. £2.50 more a week for those starting

on the beat and fears across the public sector that local budgets will pick up some of the bill. it is about the morale of our officers, about their own well—being across the country. therefore i am very disappointed for them. they work exceptionally hard. there is no extra money for pay, whether in wales or england. this will come out of existing government spending. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. the man who donated millions of pounds to the pro—brexit campaign is under scrutiny for paying thousands of pounds to a leading politician in the small african kingdom of lesotho. aaron banks has mining interests there and in neighbouring south africa. in a bbc interview mr banks admitted paying money into the personal account of a lesothan government minister, but denied the payment amounted to a bribe. manveen rana reports. lesotho may be one of the poorest

countries in the world, but the lure of diamonds has drawn many to the kingdom in the sky, including the businessman and brexit donor arron banks. but when we found his diamond operation, the machines were silent. and the site was deserted. everything here will be done and labelled by the end of august. the operation is winding up, after three years in which they only found six small diamonds. getting a licence to mine in lesotho isn't easy. the more friends you've got within the government, the more likely it is that you will succeed in a permit application. what do they expect? you've got to grease some palms. arron banks has certainly invested in making friends in government. not only was he a political donor to the basotho national party, he also transferred £65,000

to a personal bank account for the party leader. 16,000 of that was paid just weeks before banks received a permit to hunt for diamonds. well, mr arron banks and myself as the leader of the party agreed this is the system that we have. you see, lesotho is overwhelmed with corruption. do you think that there is a danger that if it goes into a separate, private account, that can look corrupt in its own way? no, no. no. in 2014, during a military coup, arron banks not only paid mr maseribani's rent whilst he was in exile for two years, but the prime minister of lesotho, tom thabene, told me that he had also been funded by arron banks in south africa. did he help you personally? i think we were good friends. while you were in exile, did he help? he did.

what sort of help did he give? well, i think we needed to buy food. seriously, and we needed to buy some soap to wash. we showed our interviews to a leading corruption investigator in south africa who has the authority to file a criminal case with the national prosecutor. we will be carrying out further investigations of our own, what we call forensic investigations, and then i will be opening a criminal docket. a docket is evidence sent to the national prosecuting authority in south africa, setting out the case for corruption charges. arron banks has been informed of the investigation, and when i spoke to him yesterday, he denied that he had funded the prime minister but he did not deny his relationship with the government minister, thesele maseribane. did he ever ask you for money? yes. did you pay money? yes. do you think that was appropriate? yes. is that not a classic case of corruption? no, it's not corrpution at all.

you are putting money into a personal account for mr maseribane. yes. he was a government minister. he was the minister for women's equality. i don't see how you link the two. this isn't going into a charity account, it is not going into his party's account. you're putting money into a personal account for him. yep. often in his south african account, too. did that not seem suspicious? no. following our investigation, arron banks, one of the biggest political donors in british history, is now under scrutiny for his funding of politicians in a tiny mountain kingdom half a world away. manveen rana, bbc news. the man posioned by novichok last month said he found the substance in a glass bottle believing it to be perfume, which he then gave to his partner as a present. charlie rowley said the bottle was in an "expensive looking" box. he told itv news that he gave it to dawn sturgess as a gift, who then sprayed it on her wrists. she died a week later after being poisoned by the nerve agent. mr rowley was eventually

discharged from hospital. the pop singer demi lovato is in a los angeles hospital after a suspected drug overdose, according to us media. the los angeles police department reportedly responded to a medical emergency in the hollywood hills, where lovato lives. tmz said the 25—year—old, who has struggled for years with substance abuse, was treated at the scene with an anti—overdose medication. the government has decided that fracking in lancashire can go ahead. the committee has been given permission for the process at preston new road. supporters say that there will be economic benefits. critics fear that the fracking will cause environmental damage. no matter what they do, they can't stop us. under arrest and risking jail, they broke this order. they

blocked this site and were forcibly removed. 0thers chose placards to make their point and deny there is anger here that fracking has the green light. i have been processing a tremendous amount of grief and rage. this is something i personally feel strongly about. at the end of the day we are still here and we will always be here. today the government rubberstamped the application to frack here for the first time for horizontal shale gas fracking in mainland britain. the operating company expects to begin extracting gas by september. with this hydraulic fraction consent we've been through a complicated and tough regulatory process to assessed this and to do this to world—class standard. it is the most watched, analysed and monitored gas site in the world and it can certainly be done safely. fracking involves drilling down and then horizontally

before injecting, water, sand and chemicals into higher water shale rocks to release the gas trapped inside. to supporters it is a valuable resource. in seven years it has taken to make this decision renewable energy has gone from one tenth of the electricity supply in this country to one third so renewable energy is the future that we need. gas industry bosses called today's decision and momentous achievement. 0ther today's decision and momentous achievement. other sites may follow. here and elsewhere, the activists say they won't give up. wildfires sweep across coastal towns near athens, leaving nearly 70 dead in the worst fire disaster increase in more than a decade. a million public sector workers are set to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly a decade, following a government announcement. labour says it's a pr stunt. under scrutiny for paying thousands

into the private bank account of an african politician, arron banks, who donated billions of pounds to the brexit campaign. at least 20 people have died and more than 100 are missing in laos, in south east asia, after a dam collapsed spilling large volumes of water downstream. heavy rain in recent days is thought to have contributed to the disaster. six villages in the attapeu province in the south of the country were swamped by a flash flood. 0ur south east asia correspondent, nick beake, reports. the torrent of water that crashed through this countryside offered little chance of survival. in time, the full, grim picture will be revealed. now, the world of the survivors turned upside down. they cling to safety on the roof of their homes. children and elderly carried towards dry land,

the few possessions people had time to salvage hauled through the muddy floodwater. families who have lived in this corner of laos for generations are now homeless. forced out by the destruction unleashed by a newly built dam on their doorstep. its developers say torrential rain in recent days caused a fracture which they try to fix. they sent out an evacuation warning, but it was too late for many. international aid agencies are racing towards the six villages most affected. but their path is damaged, obstructed, and in some places submerged. local teams have been able to give out some supplies, but they desperately need more food, water, clothes and medicine. with more than 6500 people without shelter, it is a daunting challenge. the laos government had embarked on a ambitious dam—building

scheme in recent years, to become the battery of asia, but it has failed badly here, and it has cost so many lives. mps have voted to suspend ian paisley mps have voted to suspend ian paisleer after his failure to declare yutu family holidays paid for by the sri lankan government. —— declare at two family holidays. it will reduce the government's working majority. the british divers who helped rescue 12 boys from a flooded cave in thailand have been thanked by theresa may at downing street. the boys themselves have been preparing to spend time in a buddhist monastery, to thank those who freed them. chi chi izundu's report contains flash photography. it's just one of a series of ceremonies of thanks the rescued thai boys will now participate in. in thailand, 11 have become novice buddhists.

as is customary, the boys have had their head shaved. for nine days, a thai lucky number, they will meditate, pray and clean their temple as well as pay tribute to the diver who lost their life trying to save theirs. how many of you? 13? the coach and 12 boys spent two weeks trapped in the cave network before a constipated mission to free them was launched. this afternoon at downing street, the british rescuers were honoured at the reception by the prime minister. rick was counting. i asked how many there were. we were very pleased but i think we were both aware that there is a big difference being alive inside of a cave and being alive outside the cave and that is why it took a week or so to make that happen. they are great heroes. john said they are not heroes, but i think every one is a hero. selflessly courageous. superbly, professionally confident. in australia, medals for the divers who described their cave diving

hobby as odd. this doctor, the last man out of the cave, his job was to sedate the boys, something he says was the scariest part of the rescue. it was an experiment, in a way. i have never done it in the back of a cave on malnourished, skinny, dehydrated thai kids before. that for me was the most frightening part of the week. reluctant heroes they may be, these boys will forever be grateful. chi chi izundu, bbc news. how good are you at remembering people? if you think you have something of a knack for never forgetting a face, you may have met your match in andy pope. his extraordinary facial recognition skills have been honoured with a chief constable's award. andy is a police community support officer, and his rare talent comes in rather handy. emma thomas put him to the test. this is pcso andy pope. in the last six years,

1,300 suspected criminals have been arrested after he's recognised their faces. apparently i've got a look, according to my colleagues, when i see somebody. it's like a sniffer dog, i kind of zone out and try and remember where i have seen that face. pcso pope's talent has now been recognised itself by a policing award. but can he recognise this person? andy, we really do need to speak to this lady as a matter of urgency. let's see if he can find me. andy pope is one ofjust 20 people in the world who have passed a scientific test to join the association of super recognisers. he has a record of spotting offenders wanted for crimes committed even years ago. but today, he tookjust seconds to find me. emma. hello. nice to meet you. i finally found you. so how does he do it? there might be something distinctive on a certain face or whether it's just

the whole face itself. when i was tested down in greenwich, they basically said that i sort of do it holistically, so i break the face down. subconsciously i don't realise i'm doing that but that's apparently how i do it. perhaps the biggest fan of andy's talent is his boss. oh, it is remarkable. i'm always at him. "bring andy in, i need him to have a look at this cctv. bring andy in, i need a look at this still." and actually, do you know what? he has recognised that many offenders, so not only are we catching and taking them off the street, really important to me, we're giving justice to the victims. and for me, that is really, really important. so if you are out there, watch it, because we're coming for you. and if there is anyone who can, andy can. emma thomas, bbc midlands today, birmingham. they are the gospel choir who stole our hearts at harry and megan's wedding at st george's chapel in windsor earlier this year. the kingdom choir, who are based in battersea, performed a version of stand by me that earned them plaudits and praise

around the world. ever since offers from music labels have been pouring in, and today it was announced they've signed a new record deal. wendy hurrell reports. when the night has come. and the moon is the only light we see. the kingdom choir, whose average audience was around 200, until, that is, may the 19th, this year. # just as long as you stand... # stand by me. all of sudden... laughter 2 billion people. i mean, iwould have never thought it. # so, darling,

darling. # stand by me. so live has changed a little bit, i guess. yeah, imean, the changed a little bit, i guess. yeah, i mean, the responses, you know, just the recognition down the road, for example. people saying thank you, and how they were. there are no words, no words, yeah. karen gibson had to come up with a few today as they revealed their latest news. they have been here in hyde park all morning singing in the sunshine for the breakfast shows off some of the big broadcasters to announce that they have a record deal with sony. yes, i can't believe it, as you utter the words, i am wow, really, me? it is surreal, you know? they are back here at kensington palace are back here at kensington palace are few days after getting the call while she was on a bus in battersea that she got a call from william and

meghan. the couple were beautiful, down to earth, friendly, encouraging and very, very much in love. # if the sky, that we live upon, should tumble and fall. they will be in the studio soon, recording the album due for release in november. a record deal is one thing, but to bring a message of love and peace and joy and hope, that's what we want to do, yeah. i think the world needs it. # stand by me. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers broadcaster lynn faulds wood and the deputy editor of the express, michael booker. that's coming up after the headlines in a few minutes. now it's time for the weather with ben rich. significant changes on the way?

hello. there is some rain in this weather forecast and, boy, hello. there is some rain in this weatherforecastand, boy, do hello. there is some rain in this weather forecast and, boy, do we need it? so summerhouse being exceptionally dry across many parts of the country. this particular weather station in suffolk hasn't recorded any rate at all since the very beginning ofjune and these are the latest rainfall statistics from the latest rainfall statistics from the met office forjuly. where you see the dark brown colours on the map, that indicates rainfall less than 20% of the average. but i mentioned there is some rain in the forecast. where is it at the moment? a lot of it is here in the atlantic, tight up in an area of low pressure, cloud on the satellite picture. that will approach our shores over the next few days but before it does we will continue to draw this hot air up will continue to draw this hot air up from the south, particularly into southern and eastern portions of the uk. another muggy start in the

south—east on wednesday morning. through the day lot of sunshine to be had. small chance of a show in the south—east. more cloud in the north—west. 22 degrees in belfast. perhaps 32 in parts of the south—east. and then we look to thursday and again a lot of sunshine to be had. but some changes out west. this frontal system approach in northern ireland. rain here late in the day. the wind strengthening in north—western areas. whereas to the south—east, remember the hot air wafting up from the south, 33 degrees in london, but somewhere we could get to 35 degrees. now, remember the swell of cloud i showed you, the area of low pressure, on friday that will drift to the north—west of the uk. frontal systems coming from the west, some rain is moving into western scotland, the fringes of england and wales but at the same time we look late we will bring thunderstorms from the south, quite hit and miss. if you catch one of these it will really fill up the rain gauges. a

lot of rain in a short space of time. perhaps enough to cause some disruption. if you have travel plans late on friday it is worth keeping tuned to the forecast. however, watch how the systems sweep to the east on saturday. and that will allow us to bring in some fresh air. we tap into the green and blue colours in the atlantic. that fresh air racing across the country. today morning. still be some sunshine around and main left behind. just the odd shower here and there. but the odd shower here and there. but the temperature is 19— 26 degrees. i think that will feel very pleasant. and a lot of fine weather on sunday as well. similar temperatures. we bring low pressure from the south—west. uncertainty about the timing on this. those temperatures again, 19— 26 degrees. that area of low pressure, the first one, or drift across north—western parts of the country. so some rain to come. then high pressure is not far away into next week. but it still looks

like frontal systems and areas of low pressure moving to the north—west of the uk. so most likely to see rain here. it remains to be seen to see rain here. it remains to be seen exactly what the pressure pattern will look like by the end of next week. if high pressure builds strongly across the continent and we have low pressure to the north—west, the fresh atlantic air will work into north—western areas. southern parts will see a resurgence of heat. so next week, fresher at first, some rain mostly in the north—west, but then the chance that it could turn hot again down in the south. that's all for now. goodbye.