which is why it looks this sort of dusky red. at the same time our solar system neighbour, mars, will reach the nearest point to earth possible in its own journey around the sun. where they are at their nearest point to each other, it is known as a close approach of mars. the minimum distance is 54.6 million kilometres. but that does significantly improve our view of the red planet. so, clouds permitting, there could be a celestial show tonight, with a bright red planet in the same sky as a blood red moon. victoria gill, bbc news. time for a look at the weather... here's tomasz shafernaker. any sense of change the way? there is change on the way but it will not happen until tonight and into tomorrow. today we have extreme heat gci’oss tomorrow. today we have extreme heat across east anglia and the south—east, but the big story in the weather is the weekend and it will

turn fresher, breezy, and we will get much—needed rainfall. change is under way as promised. the satellite image, the low pressure bringing the change. a lot of cloud. ahead of it, the winds are still blowing in from the winds are still blowing in from the south, the hot continent. it means gci’oss the south, the hot continent. it means across the south—eastern corner and east anglia, temperatures could get into the mid—30s, but this isa could get into the mid—30s, but this is a small part of the country. it is a small part of the country. it is less hot for many. look at the reds and oranges, still warm across much of england and into scotland. mid to high 20s. the eastern portion could seek high temperatures up to 34 could seek high temperatures up to 3a degrees. london a little over 30, and out to the west, the cloud is increasing and we see a change. there could be some storms, pretty violent, hard to predict, which means for ‘s son, skies will be

overcast and that will impact the lunar eclipse but many should catch a glimpse of it this evening between 9pm and 10:15pm. this is the forecast this evening and overnight. storms across eastern areas and in a short space of time, rainfall, hail, gusty winds. early on saturday, still pretty warm. fresher air racing in as we have promised, straight off the atlantic. no longer seeing the southerly wind and we will have sunny spells and showers, more typical of our climate. and temperatures a lot lower. 23 in london. we have not seen temperatures like this for some time and even a cool 16 there. a mixed day for many. anybody camping in the south—west, it will be blustery. we

have not seen low—pressures making their presence in weeks. rain in the west country. and across the hills of wales. gusts of wind almost 50 mph around the coast. towards the east and south—east i think that is where we will see the least rainfall but many should catch a few drops of rain. back to you. that's all from the bbc news at one. on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. good afternoon. i'm azi farni with your latest sports news. so far, so good for welsh rider geraint thomas, as he leads the tour de france. there's two days of racing to go before the final ceremonial stage in paris. he began stage 19 in lourdes this morning with a lead

of one minute and 59 seconds over tom dumoulin, and he'll have the support of the man who's third in the overall standings. defending champion chris froome will be riding today to help thomas, and team sky, defend the yellowjersey on one of the toughest stages in the race. this is what the riders are contending with. stage 19 is a tough mountainous stage, in the pyrenees in the south west of france. 125 miles from lourdes, to laruns, that's the equivalent of riding from cardiff to birmingham, but just look at the mountains in the way. the first peaks there are nearly twice the height of the shard in london then they've got 3 major peaks to ride over, which are much higher than ben nevis in scotland. they have gone over the first one

here. in fact, the highest peak, in the middle, is nearly double the scottish mountain. . a lot of riding for them to do today. now onto formula 1. red bull's daniel riccardo was fastest in first practice ahead of sunday's f1 hungarian grand prix. but onlyjust — ferrari's sebastian vettel was 700th‘s of a second behind him as he looks to close the gap on lewis hamilton at the top of the drivers' standings. hamilton struggled round the dusty and twisty track and finished down in fifth. but it was ricciardo who set the pace on a track that should suit the red bulls. queens park rangers have been fined almost £112 million and won't be able to make any transfers in the january window after a football league arbitration panel dismissed their claims that football's financial fair play rules are unlawful. the championship club's case relates to breaking spending limits on their way to winning promotion to the premier league in 2014. it's believed the efl will let them settle the fine over 10 years. wolves' goalkeeper carl

ikeme has announced his retirement from football. the 32—year—old's decision came following advice from with medical experts following his year—long battle with leukaemia. ikeme announced last month he's in complete remission. he made more than 200 appearances for wolves afterjoining the club as a 14—year—old. the long awaited world boxing super series super—middleweight final between george groves and callum smith will take place in saudi arabia on the 28th of september. just a warning — there is some flash photography coming up. the fight was due to be held injune but it was delayed after groves suffered a shoulder injury in his victory over chris eubankjr back in february. he'll defend his wba world title against the unbeaten smith at the king abdullah sports city in jeddah. and that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you. a very good at afternoon.

you are still watching bbc news. we are going to turn it to the latest business news now. good afternoon. the technology meltdown at tsb earlier this year has cost the bank almost £180 million that's the reason it made a loss in the first half of the year. in april, almost two million customers lost access to online banking services after the bungled introduction of a new it system. tsb says only 37% of more than 130,000 complaints have been resolved so far. twitter‘s latest results record profits but falling user numbers. and the shares have plummeted down 17%. it's the number of peoplke who use twitter that investors really it's the number of people who use twitter that investors really care about more than profits, and on a monthly basis they fell by1 million on the previous quarter to 335 million. as people use cash less

and less and use digital payments more and more, a new independent review has been set up to look at what it means for all us consumers. the access to cash review will examine how we will be affected by things like online banking, co nta ctless cards, fewer cash machines and so on. the review is funded by link, the uk's biggest network of cash machines, but is independent from it. more on the tsb story. it has pushed the bank into the red for the first time this year. it proved one of the biggest it problems in uk banking history. it is clear there is going to be more cost to come. we have not resolved the complaints yet. i think they will also have quite substantial fines. i think the

customer service substantial fines. i think the customer service failure is the biggest issue here. it meltdowns happen but the way the bank handles it from a customer service point of view was too little, too late. it treated customers with disrespect and even contempt. i would suggest much bigger action is needed to resolve that. let's have a quick look at the markets... they are not there, they have disappeared. there is not a very much we can say about that. we will catch up with them. the footsie was up just a bit this morning. ftse 100 the footsie was up just a bit this morning. ftse100 was up. we are looking bleak. the weather has perfected even them. everyone is worn out with the heat. thank you very much. and update and we hope, later on. let's talk more about the travel

disruption as people try to get away during the summer. that is because of the heat. eurotunnel has cancelled thousands of day trip tickets, with passengers facing delays yesterday when a large number ofair delays yesterday when a large number of air conditioning units field on board changed. john grant and his family waited in the queue at folkestone for six and a half hours yesterday. they were trying to get to the south of france. my colleague spoke to him earlier and asked, well, what that experience had been made. we arrived at about 1030 in the morning on friday. we got into the morning on friday. we got into the access point for the channel tunnel, where you check in. it took 50 minutes to get through there. basically, we were stuck in a queue for two hours before we get into the car park of the main terminal. there we re car park of the main terminal. there were clearly issues. we had no updates from the staff. the staff we re updates from the staff. the staff were doing what they could do but we

had three children in the car. 0ne, two and five and it was extremely hot, uncomfortable, no services available. in total we spent approximately five hours just waiting in queues. there was nowhere to go, no refreshments, no updates. we had to garner updates from people away from the area to see what was happening. did you have any water with you, any snacks? three children underfive, iam with you, any snacks? three children underfive, i am sure they with you, any snacks? three children under five, i am sure they were demanding some snacks. it is very true. we set off from manchester at fourin true. we set off from manchester at four in the morning and we were going to the south of france. we we re going to the south of france. we were set up for a 20 hourjourney but we were not expecting to spend this six or seven hours just sitting at folkestone. we were lucky, we had at folkestone. we were lucky, we had a lot of snacks. we did share with other people around us, actually. i note eurotunnel said it was to do with the air—conditioning of the trains. the new summer was coming. i

put petrol in my land rover. i must have used one fifth of a tankjust sitting there, which is not good for money 01’ sitting there, which is not good for money or the environment. you said the staff who were there were trying to do their best, but in terms of the flow of information, was any useful information in terms of how long you were going to be at a standstill before you could get moving? no, unfortunately. it was the most frustrating parts. zero information came forward. i did approach members of staff. were courteous, they were brilliant from what their situation was. they did not have information, ifeel. we know the transport for the trucks was going through, we know the eurotunnel for london was going through. it was just hours that is not. i am a regular channel tunnel user. it is always warm and heart. i do not think keeping people on the motorway in 35 celsius, snp do not

get it. the staff were good but u nfortu nately get it. the staff were good but unfortunately the get it. the staff were good but u nfortu nately the system get it. the staff were good but unfortunately the system field. —— i do not get it. there was a lot of people who were suffering more than us. people who were suffering more than us. the british red cross was there, it was a sad state of affairs, really. you are dreading the return journey? we're not looking forward to that. we are out for some time. we decided to take a detour. we are on the west side of france on the german border. we're coming back at the end of august and i hope it has cooled down, or number two, they have more trains with air conditioning. we have been out in the winter and it has failed because it was too cold. we now have trains that do not work in the heat and do not work in the cold. it is not looking good for the future, is it? john grant speaking to my colleague earlier. sounding upbeat despite

those very, very long waits for the eurotunnel. we will keep you up—to—date with the travel disruption wherever you are. a full weather forecast coming up just before 2pm. the search for victims of greece's deadly wildfires is continuing today. there have already been at least 83 people confirmed dead. a full police investigation is under way as authorities say they have serious indications the blaze was the result of arson. also a debate has now erupted over who should be held to account over the response to the disaster. james reynolds reports. the criticism has come from the people here. that is the media criticism, it took too long for the

authorities to rescue them. but the other argument is this, who was responsible for the bad design of mati, that made the death toll worse? buildings were able to be built on because to, blocking access to the safety of the ocean. holmes, some were built in an unlicensed way over the decades. homes were built right next to one and other and were flammable. there are no easy a nswe i’s. flammable. there are no easy answers. the government blamed residence yesterday but residents said there was no coherent town planning. the building happened in the 60s and the 70s, when it was legal under the military government. that is according to one... it appears much of the western hemisphere has been dealing with extreme temperatures this week. it has also been happening in california. now it's california's turn with temperatures of 37 degrees and

blazes leaving at least one person dead and hundreds fleeing their homes. rebecca hartmann reports. high temperatures, erratic winds and low humidity are fuelling wild fires in california as firefighters struggle to control blazes on both ends of the state. the governor for california has declared states of emergency in two counties, shasta county in the north and riverside in the south. in northern california, the out—of—control wildfire is threatening the city of reading. the blaze has killed at least one person and has tripled in size over the past few days. residents have been ordered to evacuate as soon as possible. further south, a suspect was arrested on wednesday and accused of starting a fire that has now grown to 75,000 acres, causing the evacuation of thousands of homes. there are around 75 major wildfires burning in the us in what is an unusually active fire season. california has been sweltering under record temperatures in recent weeks and forecasts show little sign of relief. rebecca hartman, bbc news.

on monday zimbabwe will hold a general election — and for the first time in 38 years former president robert mugabe will not be standing. emmerson mnangagwa, mugabe s former deputy, is the ruling party zanu pf party. shingai nyoka is in harare as the country prepares to head to the polls. she spoke to my colleague. you talk about the opinion polls and these va ry about the opinion polls and these vary widely about who is going to win the selections. some say emmerson mnangagwa will win with 73% of the vote. 0thers emmerson mnangagwa will win with 73% of the vote. others say it is a

closely contested race and neither of the candidates will achieve a majority to avoid a run—off. both are new to the election. they are contesting for the first time and contesting for the first time and contesting against 21 other candidates. it is believed that might split the vote and give neither the vote. they are offering similar promises. emmerson mnangagwa is saying he wants to re—engage with the international community to brings a bad way back into the international fold —— to brings a bad way back into the internationalfold —— to bring zimbabwe back into the international full. 0n the other hand, the other candidate is saying zimbabwe needs a younger leader and emmerson mnangagwa has failed in his 37 years in government. he is promising what he calls a real transformation, overhauling the economy, overhauling infrastructure. it is clear this is an economy that has stagnated, with high unemployment. the hospitals had

run out of medicine occasionally. zimbabweans are looking for somebody who will turn this economy around and provide the jobs they desperately need. and whoever winds this election, it has been a campaign marred in violence, hasn't it? particularly in the rural areas. well, this has probably been one of the most free elections that i certainly have witnessed. i have covered collections year for the last 18 years or so and that is an admission that has been made from observers, there is generally freedom of movement, political parties have been able to campaign quite freely in some of the stronghold where there was violence. there is concern about what they call a soft violence, intimidation. it is subtle, beneath the surface. they say voters are being coerced to attend rallies, they are being bribed with food aid. the party has

denied there is any soft intimidation or that it is forcing anybody to attend the rally is that there are concerns of the impact of this soft intimidation, monday. reporting on the zimbabwean general election due on monday. thousands of people have protested in cities across poland against the government's latest moves to reform thejudicial process. president duda signed into law a new measure making it easier for the government to appoint a new head of the supreme court. andrew plant reports. protesters gathered outside poland's presidential palace, rallying here against a series of changes to laws that many feel could damage the country's democracy. translation: i protested on this street in the 1980s

when poland had martial law. i've fought for democracy and free courts. today, everything is crumbling right before our eyes. hours earlier, president andrzej duda signed into law a highly controversial measure which would effectively allow the government to choose the head of the supreme court and replacejudges. necessary, it says, to tackle corruption. but many believe it threatens not only the country's independent courts, but it's democracy as a whole. translation: we are not just here for ourselves, but also to show the rest of the world that poland is a country where democracy is important. the new law is one of a string of proposed reforms proving deeply unpopular. the european union has questioned the changes, saying they could undermine the independence of poland's judiciary — and so be in breach of the country's obligations under eu law. poland has until early

august to respond, many of its people are already making their feelings clear. andrew plant, bbc news. it is eight minutes till 2pm. have you thought about quitting social media ? scroll free september is a new campaign urging children to give up social media for 30 days to try and improve mental health. my colleague has been talking to ed from the royal society for public health. it is an issue we have been looking at since last year when we put our report when we asked 2000 people who we re report when we asked 2000 people who were aged between 16 and 24 about the impact they thought the various social media platforms were having on them. there are a lot of positives, it helps people

themselves, supported and connected only make do otherwise. the net impact from most people was a negative one. people are feeling inadequate about their bodies and self—esteem, many were experiencing cyber bullying or the feeling of being left out, and it was having an impact on sleep. this is notjust the young people's issue. we would like people of all ages to sign up. it is all ages. you said they are about the fear of missing out. that is going to be a challenge, isn't it? to stop people scrolling through their social media for one month. it? to stop people scrolling through their social media for one monthm is and that to elect it describes why this is important, because of the addictive nature of some social media platforms can have. we are offering different options. if you're feeling brave, give it up for 30 days. if that is too tough, give it up at social events, in the

bedroom, in the evening, and ticket out of the problematic situations and reconnect with people in life. so, scroll free september light, if you like. for people of a certain age group, they have always grown up with social media. it has always just been there. i guess it is encouraging a certain generation of people to think about different ways of engaging with the world and engaging with people around them. yes, so the idea is not saying, give it upfor yes, so the idea is not saying, give it up for ever. we do not expect people to do that, it is not realistic or desirable either. what we can do is look back at the experience and think, 0k, what are the things i missed and did not mince? what are the things i should be cutting out, account i am following that are making me feel bad, or the times that are not helping me in making me feel bad and build that positive relationship going forward. you are going to be

doing a lot of publicity in the run up doing a lot of publicity in the run up to september, i guess? yes, we are encouraging people to go on the website to sign up. if people do that, we can give people hints and tips of how they can get through the month and tell us at the end, how did you do? was there a positive impact on your mental well—being? when we have pulled in advance, almost have told us it will have a positive impact on their sleep, relationships and mental well—being. ed they are telling us about scroll free september. just until we turned to the weather. just to tell you some news that has come through from warwickshire police. the police force saying that emergency services who have been looking for a 17—year—old boy who disappeared after getting into difficulty in a quarry lake, have

recovered a body. warwickshire police just telling us recovered a body. warwickshire policejust telling us in recovered a body. warwickshire police just telling us in the last couple of moments, the police have been looking for a 17—year—old and they have recovered a body. a teenager had got into difficulty in a quarry lake. that is all the details that have come from the police at the moment. more from that after 2pm. very sad news from warwickshire police. there is also some information coming through out of moscow. vladimir putin saying he is ready for a meeting with donald trump. you will remember that donald trump. you will remember that donald trump invited vladimir putin to washington. there was quite a reaction to that. there was a delay put on it. perhaps vladimir putin would not go until next year. vladimir putin says he is ready for a meeting with donald trump. perhaps more to come from that out of moscow

as well. as promised, here are the weather prospects. for some of us, another sweltering hot afternoon out there. after today, it is all change. the winds are going to work out, it will turn fresher and a dramatic drop in the temperatures, particularly across the south—east of the uk. this is the south—east of the uk. this is the weather system that is responsible for the change. you can see cloud streaming in from ireland they are. ahead of the weather system, the winds are coming in from the continent. the can see out of france, where they are getting the high 30s, we could still hit the mid—30s in east anglia today. we will see further thunderstorms pricking out. there have been storms and the last 24 hours and could be further once. flash flooding, hail

and gusty winds. we have got the lunar eclipse, of course. the best time to view it will be from 9pm until quarter past ten. as i say, these showers are hard to predict. some areas will be overcast this evening, with rain, other places will have clearer skies. saturday morning early hours, the weather front waves through and it means the gates to the fresher air will be open. it will be relatively warm. temperatures in the high teens in the south. the temperatures will not rise a great deal through saturday because those fresh atlantic winds will be in place, bringing showers and gusty conditions around the coast, particularly in the west and south, too. best temperatures on saturday, 23 or 24 celsius. for many of us, it will feel in the teens. 16

or 17 celsius. this weather system here could bring very wet weather to the hills of wales, the west country and very gusty winds, up to 50 mph. we are talking about a massive change to our weather. there will be sunshine in between, not a complete wash—out. you will notice those temperatures are a lot, lot lower than that. hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at 2: feeling the heat more extreme weather for parts of the uk and a chance of record—breaking temperatures. there's relief of sorts in store for some as the met office warns of the arrival of storms and heavy rain. travel chaos as roads and rails struggle at the start of one of the busiest weekends of the summer holidays. the custody battle over two young children living in a rural town in china unaware that their british father is dead after being murdered by their chinese mother.

we will go anywhere to fly them and see them. the brother has said, no, you cannot see them. yes, so far so good for geraint thomas as he leads the