this is the briefing — i'm ben bland. our top story: shock and sorrow in greece after wildfires take more than seventy lives and hundreds of homes. voting in pakistan's general election gets underway — but has the army already won? and the singer—songwriter demi lovato is recovering in hospital after a suspected drug overdose. cloudy skies for ryanair — as the company faces yet more industrial action in europe. we'll assess the impact on travellers and the company. and as the president of the european commision, jean—claude juncker, flies to washington to meet donald trump, we'll look at the tensions that could tip us into a full on transatlantic trade war. a warm welcome to the programme,

briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation — san francisco considers banning on—site workplace cafeterias, saying they harm local restau ra nts a nd cafes. is it a good idea to support small local businesses? or would you be furious at not having a canteen in your workplace? tell us what you think. just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. as greece begins three days of national mourning, there are fears more people may be found to have died following the worst wildfires in a decade. at least 7a people are already known to have been killed as flames fanned by strong winds and high temperatures sweep through an area east of the capital athens. andrew plant reports. searching among the ashes, rescue

teams walking among the still smouldering ruins of this seaside resort. so far we have found 30 bodies which were dead or burned and we have located, we are trying to locate another four which are so far missing. those who managed to escape from here are now returning to homes destroyed by fire. i am a rack. a lifetime ‘s work, a lifetime of memories go to waste. it's totally heartbreaking, everything is gone. the flames swept through here after dark. burning everything in their path. many tried to flee by car. the road, surrounded by flames, covered

by clouds of smoke. this driver escaped. others were killed in their cars, overcome as they tried to leave. it is thought many of those who died lost their way as they try to find the shelter of the sea. 26 people found dead in a single group, the adults embracing and protecting the adults embracing and protecting the children. those who made it, many of them shellshocked and injured, faced a long wait for help. translation: we stayed seven hours in the sea and then we were saved by inflata ble in the sea and then we were saved by inflatable boats and the coastguard finally brought us back to the land. seen from above, this coastal village resembles a warzone, its buildings destroyed, the trees here blackened and burned. greece has called for international help to dampen down its scorched ground. the country's worst forest fires more

than a decade have left its people ina than a decade have left its people in a state of collective shock and national mourning. it could yet turn to anger with suggestions the fires may have been started deliberately. the survivors here are now looking for answers. pakistan has deployed hundreds of thousands of troops across the country to secure polling stations, which opened just over an hour ago for the general election. it's only the third since the end of military rule. over 100 million people are eligible to cast their ballot. what other choices? —— what are the choices? well, i'm afraid we seem to

have a bit of a problem with our connection to secunder. we will try and connect with him a little later. in the meantime, you can read some of his analysis on that election whenever you would like to, go to the website. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: 11 members of the thai football team who were rescued from a deep cave in northern thailand will be ordained shortly in a buddhist ceremony on wednesday. the boys have had their heads shaved ahead of the ceremony and their 9—day retreat at a monastery. the gesture is believed to cleanse them spiritually and is also an act of remembrance for the thai navy diver who died preparing their escape route. the french president, emmanuel macron, has said that he alone is responsible for the scandal surrounding his top security aide. alexander benalla was filmed assaulting a protester during may day demonstrations. he was fired last week after the video was made public, but it later emerged that president macron knew about the attack when it happened.

here in the uk, five men are to appear in court on wednesday following an acid attack on a 3—year—old child at a department store in the city of worcester. the five are all charged with conspiracy to commit grevious bodily harm. the incident on saturday left the child with serious burns to his arm and face, although he has now been discharged from hospital. it's emerged that the dam that collapsed in laos had developed a fault the day before the accident. at least 20 people died in floods when the dam burst. according to the south korean firm helping build the hydro—power station, workers had tried unsuccessfully to repair the damage. a spokesman said authorities had been told and did evacuate the area in attapeu province before the dam burst. but for many, there just wasn't enough time. at least a hundred people

are still missing. 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. for now, the world of the survivors is 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 builtdam 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. the singer—songwriter demi lovato is awake and with her family after being admitted to hospital with a suspected drug overdose. the 25—year—old has been open about her struggles with substance abuse over the years. here's jane frances—kelly. demi lovato was in the midst of a us

tour when she was reportedly taken tour when she was reportedly taken to hospital after being found unconscious at home, according to us media reports. it's thought she was given medicine or an overdose at the scene. the singer is awake and believed to be in a stable condition. the former child star has spoken very openly about her previous abuse of drugs and alcohol but there were concerns she had relapsed in recent weeks. only last month, she released a song called sober in which she sings about her struggles. marmite, i'm so sorry i'm not sober any more. fans and celebrities have been offering messages of support, including ariana grande and lily allen. host ellen to generous tweeted: despite the singer ‘s problems, she

is one of the world's biggest selling artists and has been widely raised —— widely praised the raising awareness about mental illness. her family have released a statement thanking everyone to their loves, perth and support. american news channel cnn has broadcast what it says is an audio tape of donald trump talking to his former lawyer, michael cohen. they appear to discuss buying the rights to a playboy model's story that she had an affair with the president years earlier. let's speak to the bbc‘s peter bowes who joins us live from los angeles. what do we learn from the tape? what does it tell us? well, this was a recording that was made in september of 2016, just two months before the presidential election that donald trump went on to win in just a few weeks after the parent company of the national enquirer

agreed to buy the story of the former playboy model about her alleged affair with donald trump yea rs alleged affair with donald trump years earlier that he denies took place so during this conversation between mr cullen and mr trump, the government of the subject of financing and mrtrump government of the subject of financing and mr trump can be heard saying on the tape, what financing? he says, we will have to pay. he says no, that seems to be the heart of the marcus fysh the tape is concerned. pulling apart those words, to see exactly what the meaning was. one implication being a payment by cheque would be more traceable as opposed to a cash payment. has there been any response oi’ payment. has there been any response or reaction to this from the white

house or indeed president trump's own personal lawyer? yes, there has. from rudy giuliani, this is no payment was ever made. he says the precise words during this conversation show that no crime was committed, that there is no evidence in this conversation of any wrongdoing. thank you very much. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the artworks banned by facebook. belgian museums to mind a rethink on the social network's nudity policy. ok, coming down the ladder now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30—year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now, a decade later, it's been painstakingly rebuilt, and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity, and an increase in malfunctioning sperm, unable to swim properly. thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime, as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. you're watching the briefing.

our headlines: voting has begun in pakistan's general election after a campaign that has been marred by deadly attacks and accusations of military interference. 7a people are known to have been killed in wildfires near the greek capital, athens. almost 200 others have been injured. it's been nearly four months since protests broke out along israel's border with the gaza strip. since they began, dozens of palestinians have been shot dead by israeli soldiers. thousands more have been wounded. but behind the dramatic scenes, health workers are worried about something much more long term — the deteriorating mental health of gaza's nearly 2 million people. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. on the busy streets of gaza, a man sets fire to himself. the flames are

doused, the man is bundled into a taxi. he makes it to hospital but died two days later. what drove this musical newly married man to take his own life? the baby, sleeping in his own life? the baby, sleeping in his grandmother's arms, is his own son born two days after he died. translation: nobody knows why he did it but the boy asked himself, what kind of life are we living? why think of the same question. every palestinian asks himself the same question. committing suicide is a terrible scene in islam, and yet, he chose to do it out in the street in front of dozens of the ball. he was clearly desperate, and so it seems a more and more people here. gaza's boiling border has been in and out of the news since march, but un staff have been worried about gaza's young men from aunts. it has become

a trend, if i can say that, because we started to receive more cases, mainly among the teenagers, with the sad thoughts, acts and sometimes succeeding. it is notjust suicide. domestic abuse is another alarming sign. at the un clinic, local women are discussing stress management. with unemployed depressed husband and angry, rest of children, women are under strain. translation: when a person gets depressed, lots of bad things come to mind, but you have to be strong for the family and other has to be an example to her children. teach them how to be happy. even if they are miserable. if she is not that example, life will lose its meaning. gaza has been crumbling for decades. war, economic isolation and poverty

have taken their toll. the water is undrinkable. electricity is on the three hours a day. people talk about resilience. that doesn't mean that you don't suffer and anybody who lives under these conditions, you have erosion of coping skills at the individual level. the youngest need help to. save the children, which i’u ns help to. save the children, which runs the centre, says 95% of gaza's children experience psychological distress. they are terrified of explosions, plagued by nightmares. yet another palestinian generation exposed to the corrosive consequences of a conflict a p pa re ntly consequences of a conflict apparently without end. facebook executive are to meet with officials from the flemish tourist board to try to resolve a row over nudity on the social media network. some museums and art galleries have complained about what they see as censorship of the work of some of the finest artists in history. the bbc‘s tim allman explains.

the descent from the cross by the 17th—century flemish master peter paul rubens, a work of visceral power and artistic genius. but for facebook, it was a little too much. the image was banned, apparently because christ was only wearing a loincloth. translation: social media is used to share things. they think this is indecent. they don't understand this. facebook blocks all posts that we used to promote rubens, images where nudity is seen. so upset was the flemish tourist board, they wrote an open letter to facebook chief executive mark zuckerberg. translation: art is art. if there is nudity, it doesn't really matter. art is something different than a picture of a naked body. facebook insist they only ban adverts that contain what is described

as sexually oriented content, including artistic or educational nudity, and they are happy to discuss the matter with the museums. if a compromise can be reached, then perhaps the work of rubens and other flemish masters will be revealed in all their glory. tim allman, bbc news. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. and let's start with a very significant meeting taking place on the sidelines of the so—called brics summit of emerging economies in south africa. india's prime minister modi will hold informal talks with china's president, xijinping. the european court ofjustice will decide whether the four—fingered chocolate bar kit kat can be trade—marked. makers nestle say it's unique and should be protected from kit kat copycats. easy for you to say. and president trump hosts

the european commission's president, jean—claude juncker, with relations strained after the us imposed import tariffs on eu steel and aluminum. now, it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello. coming up in your wednesday sport briefing: the tour de france closes in on sunday's finish in paris as stage 17 heads out shortly, manchesetr city and liverpool get set to face off in a preseason friendly and dominic thiem returns to the tennis court after picking up an injury at wimbledon. stage 17 of the tour de france will get underway shortly and team sky's geraint thomas is still the man to catch in the leader's yellowjersey. he can expect plenty of attacks at his lead, though, in the short 65km stage from bagneres—de—luchon to saint—lary—soulan. he maintained his 1 minute and 39 second advantage over team—mate and a—time champion chris froome on tuesday. now, it may only be preseason, but two of english football's biggest sides will lock horns

in america on wednesday evening. premier league champions manchester city are taking on champions league finalists liverpool in new jersey. city, under pep guardiola, dominated english football last season, but he thinks this year will be much tougher. we are not going to rake any record in the premier league. it is impossible —— rake any record. —— break. we are here with 15 players. we have 16 players all up. milan are also in the united states for their preseason tour. they take on manchester united next with plenty of speculation surrounding the future of defender leonardo bonnucci, who looks to be heading back to juventus just a year after signing for the rossoneri. coachjennaro gattuso says the matter is out of his hands. in case you missed it, world number 8 dominic thiem

made his competitive return to tennis at the german open on tuesday after retiring from the first round of wimbledon with an injury. the austrian made his first grand slam final appearance at the french open and he looked fully recovered in the first round at hamburg. he comfortably beat 19—year—old corentin moutet in straight sets, 6—4, 6—2. he'll face australian john millman later on wednesday. there was disappointment for the home crowd, though. the highest ranked german in the draw, phillip kohlschreiber, was beaten in three sets by georgian qualifier nikoloz basilashvili. and tokyo, currently experiencing blistering heat, celebrated exactly two years to go until the 2020 olympics on tuesday with a ceremony in the japanese capital. mascots and organisers celebrated the milestone, while 731 paper lanterns with written messages from speakers, athletes and children were displayed at the ceremony. tokyo 2020 officials also said that the swimming and rowing venues will be ready in time despite already being two months behind schedule.

finally, have you ever wondered what it's like to fly? well, these pictures give you a pretty good idea. this is what skydiver mike swansons posted on his instagram page. it might look like a clip from a video game, but it's footage of a dive in switzerland. the american holds multiple us national and world championship titles in skydiving. quite incredible, isn't it? you can get all the latest sports news at our website. that's bbc.com/sport. but from me and the rest of the team, that is your wednesday sport briefing. as we mentioned, voting is getting started in pakistan for the election there. let's take you to the scene. we can show you a polling station in

islamabad. almost 106 million people are registered to vote, the members of the lower house in parliament and for provincial assemblies. there have been incidents of violence that have been incidents of violence that have marred the campaign during the build up to polling day. that was earlier this month, and attack during a campaign rally. there have also been accusations of the military trying to give an unfair advantage to imran khan. the former cricketer emerged as the front—runner. one of the most prominent politicians sharif was imprisoned on corruption conviction, corruption charges and is not able to stand in the election, but voting 110w to stand in the election, but voting now beginning. that is the scene live in islamabad. stay with me on bbc news.

i'll be back with the business briefing in just a few moments. see you then. tuesday brought more hot weather with that topped average of 31 celsius. we had a lot more cloud around thanks to some weak weather fronts and also some light on patchy rain. if it is rain you are wanting, fear not. this area of low pressure will gradually make inroads towards the end of the week to bring some of us some the end of the week to bring some of us some significant rainfall. wednesday, a very warm note across southern and eastern areas, a little fresher further north. wednesday

will be different to tuesday. a lot more sunshine around. in the afternoon, temperatures rise again, the odd shower developing in east anglia. a few showers for the west. notice the orange colour is a bit more widespread across the north and the west. the low 20s across scotland, northern ireland, need to upper 20s for england and wales. 31 in the south—east. thursday, it would be the peak of the heat across the south—east. there will be a warm one ready much across the board. a few showers perhaps developing in the afternoon. more of a breeze developing at that area of low pressure further northern ireland and western scotland. we could see one oi’ and western scotland. we could see one or two spots in the south—east, reaching 33 to 35 celsius. friday, it is the area of low pressure i was talking about. it will graduate julie —— gradually head east.

northern ireland, western scotland, they had a bit you can see a line of showers and thunderstorms, summer which could be heavy moving through the midlands into northern east of england. could contain hail, and the risk of some travel disruptions. another very warm day in the south—east that hides of 31 celsius. during friday night, that band of rain and heavy showers and thunderstorms continues to work its way eastwards into the north sea. could be the legacy of some showers further west and feel a little fresher as well. that is the theme as we head into the new week. it will feel fresher and cool across the board. a few showers developing particularly on sunday. this is the business briefing. i'm ben bland. flying into trouble. ryanair faces strikes around europe over pay and conditions. rebuilding zimbabwe: how lithium could help rescue the economy. and on the markets — asian stocks made modest gains, after a batch of generally solid us earnings and news of china's stimulus plans helped drive markets up.