this is the briefing. the top stories: calls for calm in zimbabwe. there is still no announcement of a winner in the presidential election. the us sanctions two government ministers in turkey over the imprisonment of an american pastor on terrorism charges. 93 large wildfires are currently burning gci’oss wildfires are currently burning across the united states. the governor of california says the culprit is climate change. full speed ahead. tesla surprises markets with record revenues, and a gung ho reduction forecast, paving the way for profits in the next quarter. also in business briefing: to raise or not to raise? that is the question on the minds of those at the bank of england. most predict the bank of england. most predict the cost of borrowing will go up today in the uk for the second time ina today in the uk for the second time in a decade. very warm welcome to the programme,

in this power: we will brief you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport —— hour. also in the programme call in a report from says two thirds of smartphone users confessed they could not live without it, and fewer of us are them to make voice calls. so what do you use youi’s to make voice calls. so what do you use yours for, and do you suffer from smartphone separation anxiety? to get in touch, use this hashtag. so let's get started, and we begin with the international calls for calm in zimbabwe, after soldiers opened fire to disperse opposition

supporters alleging fraud in monday's elections. three people we re monday's elections. three people were in protest at the capital, harare, after the electoral commission said the governing zanu pf had attained a two thirds majority in parliament. on wednesday, the opposition leader chamisa claimed victory. our correspondent sent this report. in the absence of an official result, the crowds believe the claims of their leader, however premature. chanting: chamisa! chamisa! chamisa is the winner! chamisa has got victory in his hands. but over at the results centre, hopes of an announcement faded, as the declaration of parliamentary results dragged on. the delay convinces the opposition that there is a fix, and as the day w0 re that there is a fix, and as the day wore on, foreign observers appealed for a swift declaration. butjust

outside, the riot police had locked the gates against hundreds of protesting opposition supporters. they burned posters of the president and ruling party. we heard shots and tear gas, and and ruling party. we heard shots and teargas, and in and ruling party. we heard shots and tear gas, and in the afternoon descended into chaos. at the other end of the city, police came under attack. a ruling—party office was targeted. gunshots gunfire echoed around the city. there was injury and death. a bbc colleague struggled to help this man as his life ebbed away. shouting close by, a policeman pointed his gun towards the camera. there are soldiers just beyond this group of running people. it has changed dramatically, the atmosphere, in the last 2a hours — really volatile now.

we've had tear gas fired, shots fired. i think we've got to go. we saw a bayonet—wielding soldier strike at a protester. opposition supporters tried to blockade a large swathe of the city centre. at the headquarters of zanu—pf, party officials watched the angry crowd's approach. the president and party leader blamed the opposition. we hold the opposition mdc alliance, and its whole leadership, responsible for this disturbancy of national peace, which was meant to disrupt the electoral process. armoured vehicles on the streets — scenes more reminiscent of a war zone than a nation in the middle of a democratic election, or a city where thousands cheered the armyjust eight months ago.

today, we saw the deployment of military tanks and firing of live ammunition on civilians, for no apparent reason. civilians are allowed to demand the respect of their rights in a lawful manner. any disorder may be dealt with by the police, who are best trained for public order. in a few hours this afternoon, the great hope that there was for this country was battered. it will take a real will for calm on all sides for it to be restored. fergal keane, bbc news, harare. shortly we will be going live to harare, speaking to another news editor based there, for the selection process. that is later in the programme. moving to the united states, it has announced sanctions against two members of the turkish government is holding responsible

for unfairly detaining an american pastor. andrew bru nson for unfairly detaining an american pastor. andrew brunson was arrested in 2016, accused of links to political groups and helping organise a failed coup against the turkish president. donald trump has demanded he be released. our correspondent has more. he has spent 21 months in a turkish prison. this was a week ago, when american pastor andrew brunson was moved to house arrest. his case has caused a war of words between president trump and turkey's president, recep tayyip erdogan, with threats of us sanctions. on wednesday, the white house finally followed through on that threat. the president has been closely following the ongoing situation in turkey involving pastor andrew brunson. we've seen no evidence that pastor brunson has done anything wrong, and we believe he is a victim of unfair and unjust detention by the government of turkey. andrew bru nson lives with his family in turkey, leading a small protestant church in the aegean city of izmir.

his arrest came after a failed attempt to overthrow turkey's president two years ago, accused of links to the groups that led the attempted coup, one of 20 americans arrested in its wake. turkey saw some 50,000 arrests overall. on wednesday, president erdogan says the us should rethink its decision. translation: these remarks against us will not benefit anyone. such a threat against turkey is not fitting for them, and excuse me, but we do not give them credit for using such threatening language. the us sanctions apply to turkey's justice minister and the interior minister too, as leaders, says the us, of turkish government organisations responsible for serious human rights abuses. meanwhile, mr brunson remains under arrest. he denies charges of espionage, but faces up to 35 years in jail if found guilty.

andrew plant, bbc news. lets brief you on other stories in the news today. a ceremony to mark the news today. a ceremony to mark the repatriation from north korea of the repatriation from north korea of the remains of us soldiers killed during the korean war has taken place in hawaii. the us vice president, mike pence, and senior military officers paid their respects. the repatriation process was agreed at the summit injune between president trump and the north korean leader. germany is among north european countries suffering serious crop damage in this summer's heatwave. german crops have wilted under the highest may temperatures since 1881, and exceptionally dry weather in june and july. the weather service has predicted more days of very high temperatures. many vessels on the rhine have been forced to carry lighter loads because of shallow

waters, and shipping on the elbe river has grown to a halt. taxi drivers in spain have called off a strike in protest against riot hailing companies including uber and cabify, but they have threatened to return to the streets if tighter controls are not imposed. the strikes began last week in barcelona and quickly spread to other cities. they are calling on the government to strengthen regulation. now, it has been a very big week for central bank action. late yesterday, the us federal reserve did not change rates but today it is expected that the bank of england will, and they are expected to put them up. economists say we could be looking at rates going from 0.5% to 0.7 type %. —— 0.75%. why would they want to increase rates today? do you know what i think is really worrying the bank of england is this statistic, that for the first time in 30 years

we ask in the uk spending more than we ask in the uk spending more than we are earning —— we are in the uk. we are either borrowing more to give up we are either borrowing more to give up our lifestyles of or raiding savings. and i don't think it is raiding savings because... many people don't have savings. that's right, real wages have not risen for 13 years. that begs the question about whether you want to raise interest rates when wages are not rising, and that is a good question. they have been low as part of the quantitative easing package, and this will not help boost wages, by any means. and that is the real problem, and that is not really for the bank of england to deal with, the bank of england to deal with, the wage side, unfortunately. one word answer. are you addicted to your smartphone? totally addicted to my. we will have more on the bank of england in our business reefing, but now, the governor of california, jerry brown, says climate change is

behind a dangerous and accelerating increase in devastating wildfires. 93 large fires are now burning in the united states, along with more than a0 in canada. in california alone, eight people have died and four are still missing. our correspondent james cook sent this report. this is all that remains of keswick, a little mountain community in northern california. it was evacuated in time, but police say one man did not heed the order. he was found dead amid the ashes. the fires and the battle to stop them rage on. so far this year, nearly five million acres have been scorched in the us, one million acres above the recent average. the governor of california says climate change is a major factor. nature is very powerful, and we are not on the side of nature. we are fighting nature, with the amount of material we are putting in the environment. and that material traps heat, and the heat fosters fires, and the fires keep burning.

the worst blaze swept into the city of redding last thursday, with towering tornadoes of flame leaving death and destruction behind. more than 1,000 homes are in ruins. two young children and their great—grandmother are among the dead, and fire season is farfrom over. we're only at the beginning of august. we've been seeing extreme fire conditions early in the year. these kinds of conditions — you know, in past decades we may have seen a fire like we're seeing now in august or september. we are routinely, now, seeing fires reach 100,000 acres several times in one month, and it's injuly. this state is bracing itself for many more months of misery. this is what happens when the force of a wildfire comes head—to—head with human habitation, and more than a century after the american west was settled, it shows the continuing danger of establishing a community on the edge of the wilderness.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come: there is an eyeful situation in paris. a new booking system causes long queues, a strike on the closure of the tower —— eiffel. the question was whether we wanted to save our people, and japanese as well, and win the war, or whether we wanted to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. the invasion began at 2:00am this morning. mr bush, like most other people, was clearly caught by surprise. and we call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the iraqi forces. 100 years old and still full of vigor, vitality and enjoyment of life.

no other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that she's achieved this landmark anniversary. this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. you are watching the briefing on bbc news. the headlines call in the united states has imposed sanctions on turkey's justest and interior ministers because of the continuing to track the continual detention of an american microscopy there have

been calls for calm in zimbabwe after demonstrations by opposition voters, claiming reeking. we go to harare. what is the mood like their? it is early hours, has there been relative calm overnight? it looks like it has been relatively calm overnight. we had some incidents in the central city. there was a small demonstration, a handful of people marching through the city centre singing and chanting some songs and slogans against the ruling party. apart from that, we had a conference late in the night from the minister of home affairs, calling the conference at around just after 11

p.m.. tell us what they conference at around just after 11 p. m.. tell us what they said conference at around just after 11 p.m.. tell us what they said in a press c0 nfe re nce p.m.. tell us what they said in a press conference because there is tremendous frustration, we still don't know who will be the president of zimbabwe. that is what is causing the frustration and that is what is also behind the explosion we have seen on also behind the explosion we have seen on the streets of harare. what we can expect a crackdown against these protests going by what the minister said last night, he was very clear that anarchy will not be allowed. in harare or anywhere else around the country. they said they must not test our resolve. he was clear about that and said they would be making a mistake if they take our understanding for weakness. he was saying they were thinking that because the government allowed them to campaign wherever they wanted after the elections and to hold

protest whenever they wanted. there was possibly a perception that the government was a week or the ruling party was weak, he said they are mistaking that fully. people looking in from the outside did report on the fact that it was not a weak response to alter the protest. if anything, it was a very heavy—handed military response. yes indeed. i think the government is trying to make a point in the way in which they responded. in the period leading up to the elections, the opposition was allowed to hold protest to make in harare and held rallies wherever they wanted across the country, which was quite new, if you compare it to previous elections. so i think they wanted to make a point yesterday that the elections are over, the country has to move forward and any acts of

violence or anakie and not go to be condoned. thank you for your time. as soon as we get the word from the electoral commission more we will fill you in the. let's move on to sport. at the -- at the —— the women's british open gets under way shortly. multisport european championships also get under way in glasgow and india fightback to take the upper hand england in the first test of their series in birmingham. the best women's golfers in the world a re the best women's golfers in the world are seen as this week for the a2nd women's british open. the event boasts the most international field of the year, with the south korean defending champion starting. the 2018 us open champion and last week's scottish open winner comes

into the event as world number one. the men are also in action on thursday in ohio for the world golf championships. francesco molinari is in the field, as is tiger woods at. is the first and the 800 will play ina pgce is the first and the 800 will play in a pgce event for four years. is the first and the 800 will play in a pgce event for four yearslj went in a pgce event for four years.” went from just hoping to play the two, who now i feel like i can play the tour and i certainly can win again the. —— tour. i have had an opportunity to win a couple of times year. i had a good chance earlier in the year and a week ago i had a great shout out. my game has gotten better and good enough that i feel like i can win again. the multisport european shipping chips get under way on thursday with some of the world ‘s biggest sporting stars in action. the event is split between two cities, berlin holding the athletics while all the other events are in scotland and adam peaty, the

world record holder in the brushstroke, says bringing all sports together is great for the athletes involved. it is almost like athletes involved. it is almost like a mini and pics, but, what gains was the same. it will be great to grace the same. it will be great to grace the stage with the other sports as well, bringing the media attention into one place and brings a team ethos together as well. normally we would go into a race and say it is normally just would go into a race and say it is normallyjust europeans, would go into a race and say it is normally just europeans, but would go into a race and say it is normallyjust europeans, but has more behind it, more of a prestige behind it which obviously —— obviously everybody wants to race for. in case you missed it, after a slow start, india are well on top of their first test at edgbaston. they would cruising on 216— three before a major batting collapse and some inspired bowling saw india finished the day on 283—9. ravi ashwin put india ina the day on 283—9. ravi ashwin put india in a strong position going

into day two, which starts in a few hours time. most of that sport can be frustrating, particularly for a confessional with so much online, at french —— this trench tennis player took frustration to a0 -- whole mother were. it was into a deciding set in their first—round match when he missed a smash to drop serve and his anger got the better of him. one racket smashed on the court, but he wasn't finished there. he then smashed another one back at his feet and went for the hat—trick when baghdatis won the match in three sets. the crowd doing him off the court. —— booing. you can get all of the latest sports news on our website. from me and the rest of the team, that each of those they sport briefing. let's briefly on some of the other

key events that take place today. dominik rupp will be meeting france's europe minister. then in jerusalem, the annual pride and tolerance much will be held after benjamin netanyahu tolerance much will be held after benjamin neta nyahu pledged tolerance much will be held after benjamin netanyahu pledged to pass legislation supporting surrogacy for 93v legislation supporting surrogacy for gay fathers and then voted against it. finally, in new york, united nations security council will be meeting behind closed doors to discuss chemical weapons used in serial. —— syria. if you happen to be visiting the eiffel tower on thursday, you may be in for a disappointment. the tourist attraction has been closed by industrial action. workers are unhappy about a new booking system that has produced what some call monstrous queues. tim allman has the story. the eiffel tower is iconic, a symbol of france, and millions come to visit every year. but this is the welcome you'd currently receive. the tower is shut, the staff are on strike.

translation: i've waited 28 years to come and it's closed. it's unfair for the tourists who have come from so far. i've come from venezuela to see the eiffel tower. it's unfairfor visitors, you know? we may or may not come again because we spend so much money. so it's not nice on the part of... for whatever reason they have this strike for, but it's an injustice to visitors. and this is the reason staff say they walked out — a huge queue snaking around the base of the tower. a new system's been introduced where people can pre—book a ticket online and choose a specific timeslot to go up the tower. separate lifts have been set aside for different users, and those who turn up on the day may have to wait several hours to get in. translation: we're asking to adapt measures to allow access

from the two pillars to pre—sale holders with two separate queues, with priority access to clients holding an online ticket. this would avoid having disproportionate lines between one lift and the other. the company that runs the tower says the summer months are always busy, and waiting times have not increased. but, unless an agreement is reached, visitors to paris may face either a long queue or no entry at all. tim allman, bbc news. i will be back with the business briefing in just a few moments. we are talking about all sorts of stories. looking at this one. the number of mobile calls dropping for the first time, looking at a decade of digital dependence and what it means for us. have read online. many

of you have been in touch. i asked if you suffer from smartphone separation anxiety. rio says our user to contact my family and friends, surf the net, others say they use it for twitter, text thing, photos, google. the worst thing is when it cannot be located at home and then i panic. thomas says our userfor work, e—mail, and then i panic. thomas says our user for work, e—mail, calls, and then i panic. thomas says our userforwork, e—mail, calls, text, flicking to show should media and playing games. i broke out in this morning realising iforgot my phone on the dresser. it was a really hard day and yes i suffered from separation anxiety. keep your comments coming in. see you in and for the business stories. —— see you ina minute. hello there. over the last few days we have seen

temperatures getting up into the middle 20s celsius, but over the next few days some spots will get up into the 30s. increasingly warm and humid for the day ahead. some spells of sunshine, but not for everyone because as you can see from the satellite, we have got a pipeline of cloud ploughing its way in from the atlantic. some very warm, moist, muggy air drifting its way in from the south—west. we start thursday morning on a cloudy, murky night for many western and northern areas. the odd spot of drizzle, missed and hill fog around coast and hills. best of the sunshine starting off across south—east scotland and the further east you look. start off with cloud, hopeful it will break up and we see more on the way of sunshine developing, the best of that in shelter to the north—east high ground. north—east scotland seeing a friend out of sunshine, 2a in aberdeen but one in glasgow with extra cloud. thicker cloud across northern ireland bringing showery rain and as we look across england and wales, good spells of sunshine, misty and murky for coast hills in the west, towards the south—east, 29 or 30 degrees looks likely and we stick with that pretty humid

feel as we go through thursday night. this south—westerly feed of air working across the country. a lot of cloud in the flow across the north—western areas. we have got a weather front across parts of northern england by this stage. it is a cold front trying to sink its way south eastwards, but not making much progress. along the line at the front, a little bit of showery rain but what it will do is introduce some slightly cooler air into north—west areas, whereas down towards the south we will be tapping into increasingly hot air from the near continent. in the sunshine in the south on friday, temperatures likely to climb into the 30s maybe 32, 33 degrees across the south—east. our weatherfront bringing rain at times, northern scotland seeing a mixture, temperatures here back to 21—22 degrees. we stick with that cooler feel across the north—west into the weekend, a fair amount of cloud, some sunshine and a little bit of rain at times, but no means all the time. further east, quite a lot of sunshine, look at the temperatures. high 20s or low 30s as we head on through the weekend. ther amounts of cloud,

this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. full speed ahead! tesla surprises the markets with record revenues and a gung—ho production forecast, paving the way for profits in the next quarter. and the best pilots deserve the best equipment. buckle up for a trip to a school for test pilots. and on the financial markets trade worries are firmly back on the agenda with china and hong kong leading the declines.