this is bbc news. the headlines at eight: boris johnson faces growing criticism of his comments about muslim women who wear the burqa. when you demonise and dehumanise a minority who happen to be women, muslim women of colour, i have a problem with this. more than three million british gas customers are facing a rise in prices for the second time this year. 100 years on — remembering the battle of amiens. a ceremony is held to commemorate the campaign which helped bring about the end of the first world war. australia's most populous state is declared to be entirely in drought. a dry winter has caused a crisis forfarmers, ruining their crops and leaving their livestock in danger. and we'll be finding out why celebrities on social media are ruining the lives of ugly dogs who are looking for a home. the former attorney general,

dominic grieve, has increased the pressure on borisjohnson by threatening to leave the conservative party if the former foreign secretary ever became leader. a number of senior conservatives including theresa may, and ruth davidson, the leader of the conservatives in scotland, have called on mrjohnson to apologise for a newspaper article in which he said women who wore the face veil looked like letterboxes and bank robbers. here's our political correspondent, ben wright. boris johnson remains unapologetic for saying muslim women who wear niqabs look like letterboxes and bank robbers. he doesn't want a ban on face veils, but said in his telegraph newspaper

column they look ridiculous. while his comments have ignited a political row about their wisdom and motivation, one woman who chooses to wear the niqab said mrjohnson should have been more careful. the problem is the language that he used. i absolutely have no problem with anyone disagreeing with my choice to wear it and criticising it. i don't have a problem with that. but when you demonise and dehumanise a minority who happened to be women, muslim women of colour, i have a problem with this. mps are away from westminster, but their criticism of boris johnson has been growing, with demands for an apology by the prime minister and other senior tories. what boris might want to do now is consider whether some of the language that he used was inappropriate and, if he chooses to apologise, i have no doubt that will be welcomed. but i don't think we should take from this incident that people are prohibited from discussing this subject. sources close to borisjohnson insist he is simply speaking up for liberal values and he has allies in his party.

i think there are a lot of people who are out there to make controversy, truthfully, and to read into things that aren't there. i don't think he was out to make any personal attacks, he was just giving his view. a politician saying, "oh, this is boris". oh well, that's ok then? he can say what he likes. this guy's a buffoon. the phone—ins are hot for this, but just 5% of the population are muslim, and most muslim women in the uk are not veiled. like most mps, borisjohnson is away on holiday and not around to take part in the argument he has started or deal directly with calls to apologise. perhaps that is what he intended. but people here in his uxbridge constituency are certainly talking about the issue and him. ijust think he is saying what a lot of us are actually saying. i think it's intimidating to be completely covered up. i don't think he should upset a large community at all and i think they are quite out of order comments actually. he says he's arguing that they should not have a ban of any sort like they do in denmark. so why does he make the comments?

it's not necessary. i think he's right. yeah, so do i. we don't know who's behind them masks. exactly. it could be a man, it could be anyone. he says it like it is. i've always liked him. really, so he increases his standing in your eyes by saying things like this? yeah. and that's the suspicion of many tories, that the ever—ambitious borisjohnson is choosing to talk about an issue that resonate well with the grassroots of the tory party. but today, a senior conservative said he would quit if mrjohnson got the top job. i've no idea if it enhances his leadership ambition but one thing is quite clear, if he became leader of the party ifor one would not be in it. you would leave? without the slightest doubt. why? because i don't regard him as a fit and proper person to lead a political party. so borisjohnson, the frontman of brexit, continues to divide. let's speak to our correspondent jessica parker at westminster. jessica, quite a row and now ruth

davidson weighing into it. yes, the scottish conservative leader speaking at an event tonight said she thinks that borisjohnson‘s comments were gratuitously offensive and underperform and she is the latest to say that he should apologise. we have had a number of senior people in the conservative party including the prime minister and the conservative party chair saying that borisjohnson should apologise but it appears at the moment he has no intention of doing so. moment he has no intention of doing so. he is in fact on holiday, not around to deal with this row that has been created but we have heard what he has said in his daily telegraph article, it has provoked strong reactions including from dominic grieve, the former attorney general, saying he would leave the party if boris johnson general, saying he would leave the party if borisjohnson was the leader of it and eating a conservative peer said last night he thinks the whip should be withdrawn

—— senior conservative. it doesn't seem at the moment that he is likely to. as we had another report, some of his constituents think it is perfectly acceptable to make these comments and some of borisjohnson‘s allies suspect the whole thing is being whipped up by his political opponents. we always get this division now in politics that it can work its way back to brexit and although there are exceptions, there has been some dividing lines between those who backed remain and perhaps concern about borisjohnson and the way they think he carried out the referendum, they see it as irresponsible behaviour because it is not so much necessarily what he said in terms of the debate but some people have a real problem with the language that he used. however, as you say, boris johnson language that he used. however, as you say, borisjohnson certainly does have his back. ben bradley, mp for mansfield, said perhaps there is to some extent people making a bit

ofa mountain to some extent people making a bit of a mountain out of a mole hill on this issue because it is convenient for them to do so but one thing eve ryo ne for them to do so but one thing everyone can agree on, borisjohnson certainly knows how to spark a debate and cause a bit of controversy. jessica, thank you for joining us from westminster. let's speak now to heena khaled. heena is a co—founder of avow, or advancing voices of muslim women against islamophobia, and shejoins me now from westminster. thanks forjoining us. what do you make of what boris johnson thanks forjoining us. what do you make of what borisjohnson has been saying and writing? it is really discriminate in —— it is really dehumanising and it is the language thatis dehumanising and it is the language that is someone who is part of the tory party and it creates islamophobia in the tory party. many members like boris johnson. islamophobia in the tory party. many members like borisjohnson. although he is not calling for a ban, the language she is using is legitimising anti—muslim sentiment

is already in a hostile environment where muslim women who were the headscarf are already at risk of facing assault, not just headscarf are already at risk of facing assault, notjust verbal or physical but also sexual as the result of islamophobia. what he's doing is these things. —— he is normalising these things. he does not think it should be banned make it is in denmark and france, he is not dictating what women should wear. he is dictating became golf clothes women should read —— he is dictating the kind of clothes women should wear. if you're talking about oppression of women, how is it different telling them what they

should wear? it is equally oppressive, the fact we're debating time and time again what muslim women are wearing, the amount of times people have pushed for the face veil ban to be debated in parliament. the debate never goes for every year. muslim people in the uk are part of the fabric of this society, we are a multicultural society, we are a multicultural society, they are contributors, and this is dehumanising. it is insulting, you are making it ok. this is the same language that is used by people on the street when they hurl abuse at muslim women. these muslim women are fully integrated and they need that space to integrate yet you're making it more difficult because after these comments and after our debate, we're having this huge sensational debate. you say they are fully integrated but you understand one of the other points which borisjohnson was making in his article which is, for example, if a constituent came to see him to talk about an issue that

he, like jack straw who was a labour mp, would ask a woman if they had a face covered to remove that saw that they could have a proper interaction, he was saying he felt under those circumstances and perhaps other circumstances, it would be legitimate to ask a woman to re m ove would be legitimate to ask a woman to remove a face covering.|j would be legitimate to ask a woman to remove a face covering. i have heard this is a mini times and i tell you what it is, if i was in the street i wouldn't feel comfortable talking to a woman wearing a face veil because it feels intimidating. firstly, we are trying to sort out what is comfortable to us. those muslim women who are a minority, a small number of women who read the face veil, they are saying it is not about you, we cannot provide you comfort, it is about the comfort we desire, and that is not an april playing field. if these muslim women do remove their veil when they go to court or past border control, they

know when they should take the veil off and that is allowed, but this is a spiritual experience and if they wa nt to a spiritual experience and if they want to cover their faces, it's about the fear that we cannot see someone about the fear that we cannot see someone who is watching us. do you not understand why some people do feel like that because they may not be used to seeing women who addressed in that way and make feel uncomfortable? the comments came to come from people who do not interact with these women and there is nothing stopping them. if you want to talk to someone, there is nothing stopping you. you can have a conversation with these women. those women themselves know that they have two every day make 101% effort to be had, to be seen, to accommodate people's comfort, they know that because they cover their faces, i have friends who were the face veil, i don't, but if people want to wear it, it is their right. they know that they have to work extra hard so that they have to work extra hard so that people feel comfortable in

their presence. what you think this row is going to do for the standing of the conservative party in muslim communities? i think the chairman of the conservative muslim board has already said this is not a party policy. the conservative party chairman has said borisjohnson should apologise. you like but i don't think an apology alone is enough. this is not the first time. we are still dealing with the fact the conservative party refused to have an inquiry into its islamophobia problem. mps like bob blackman, there is evidence on conservative party members who have engaged in islamophobia. even if it isa engaged in islamophobia. even if it is a social media, the amount of pressure we are putting in the labour party when it comes to anti—semitism, i think we should also pleased the lens on the conservative party and i am so glad for theresa may that she made a comment that it is not anyone's job

to dictate what women should wear, there is also a misogyny problem. thank you so much. thank you. british gas is increasing prices for millions of customers, for the second time this year. the firm's standard variable tariff will go up by 3.8%, raising the annual bill for a typical dual—fuel customer by £44. the change comes into effect in october, and centrica, which owns british gas, is blaming the price rise on higher costs in the wholesale market. our business correspondent, emma simpson reports. when it's this hot there is no need to worry about heating your home but today a sting in the airfor 3.5 million british gas customers like robert chapman in lincolnshire. he's on a standard variable tariff and has been for decades. and his bill is going up for a second time this year. we seem to just get a hike year after year, not once a year, twice, three times a year. my biggest gripe is the blase stock answer of saying, yes, we are sorry it will hurt people,

but they will go on with it. the bills started going up in may. there was an increase of 5.5% for gas and electricity customers on standard variable tariffs. the average bill up by £60. on octoberfirst, as autumn kicks in there will be another hike of 4%, add them together and you get an overall increase of £104 in less than six months. british gas certainly isn't the only energy supplier that's been putting up bills. standard variable tariffs are almost always the most expensive deal, and millions of households are still on them. british gas says it has to raise prices again, because what it pays for energy has been going up. injanuary, they could have bought next year's supply of gas

for about 1.5p per unit. nowadays, it's costing about 2p per unit and it's gone up by a third. i can imagine why they feel they need to put the price up. just yesterday, the energy regulator ofgem said these rising wholesale costs meant that the cap it sets for customers on prepayment meters would have to go up. meaning price rises for millions of vulnerable customers, too. we're really disappointed that british gas have put another price increase on their standard variable tariffs, affecting millions of consumers. we are worried that they used ofgem's announcement yesterday tojustify their own price increase today and what we really wanted to get across to consumers is that if you are on a standard variable tariff, you could save hundreds of pounds if you just switch. british gas has already lost more than 300,000 customer accounts in the first half of this year. the energy market is changing fast. with a government price gap due

by the end with a government price cap due by the end of the year. emma simpson, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: borisjohnson faces growing criticism of his comments about muslim women who wear the burka. more than three million british gas customers are facing a rise in prices for the second time this year. the duke of cambridge and the prime minister have attended commemorations in northern france to mark the centenary of the battle of amiens — the beginning of the end of world war one. four fax adam peaty‘s dominance in the pool continues — the british swimmer won his third gold medal of the european championships with victory in the final of the 50 metres breastroke. having already taken gold

in the 100 metres breastroke and in the mixed four by 100 metre medley, it was gold again, winning in a new championship record time, to take his tally to ii eurpopean titles. it this event in which he was beaten at the commonwealth games, his first defeat in four years. he can add to his to tally in the relay tomorrow. breasts down, get a massage, absorbent but not too much. i'm going to enjoy this after i finish —— absorb this. my emotional level has to return to neutral. three golds, it's good. it's the seventh day of the multi—sport european championships in berlin and scotland. the diving is taking place in edinburgh and there was another medalfor great britain in the mixed three metre diving event in edinburgh. grace reid and ross haslam took silver. they were beaten to gold by lou massenburg and tina punzel of germany. it is of course a new look european championships, seven sports all running alongside

each other, and that includes golf which started today at gleneagles. it's a team matchplay format and the new british open champion georgia hall who is 22, is paired with with the four—time major winner and legend of the game dame laura davies, who is 5a. they won their first group match five and four against spain. the pair clearly pleased to see golf included in these championships. chelsea have agreed to sell their belgian goalkeeper thibaut courtois to real madrid. the deal is subject to the player agreeing personal terms and passing a medical with the european champions. courtois missed training with the blues this week as he looked to push through a move away, he helped his belgian side reach the semi finals of the world cup. meanwhile chelsea look set to break the world record fee for a goalkeeper. 23—year—old spaniard kepa arriza—balega, has bought himself out of his athletic bilbao contract ahead of a potential £71 million move.

and after the drama of the first test which england, what a time to make your debut, surrey batsman 0llie pope comes in for the second game of the series. and it's a game which has got people talking. test cricket may have been dropping off the radar slightly but england captainjoe root thinks their victory at edgbaston has caught the attention again. i think there has been a lot of noise and negativity around test cricket and i don't think much has actually changed. whenever you play here in england, the crowds are a lwa ys here in england, the crowds are always fantastic. it generally sounds out —— sells out really well and we have been involved in some brilliant test matches. this was a great example of that last week and with two very good sides, who are going to get a few more games that will be very enthralling. and finally in the last few minutes, super league side wigan warriors have announced that the wales rugby

union defence coach shaun edwards is to be their new coach, joining the club after next year's rugby world cup injapan. edwards will see out his contract with the wru and will continue to work with warren gatland though to next year. edwards did apply for the head job at harlequins and have also been touted as a possible replacement for paul gustard at england that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in sportsday at 10.30. a nine—year—old girl has died after suffering a head injury at a rock slide in north yorkshire. police we re slide in north yorkshire. police were called at 4:15pm this afternoon. 0ur correspondent is in newcastle. what more can you tell us? it's very upsetting news from north yorkshire this morning because

what we understand from local people in that small village is that this was a family visiting on holiday with their nine—year—old daughter who was hit by these falling rocks and received that fatal head injury. we are also hearing from local people that this was a very serious rock fall which probably explains the emergency response, the fire and rescue service, ambulance, air ambulance, coast guard, rnli, rushing to that small village this evening. we had also hearing that the area of seaton garth has signs warning them as the public about falling rocks so it is known to be potentially dangerous but what we have from north yorkshire police this evening, what they're confirming, is that tragically, this nine—year—old girl, who was on holiday at staithes, has died after

this rock fall in seaton garth area today. a man has appeared in court via videolink, charged with murdering the midwife, samantha eastwood, in staffordshire. micheal stirling, who's the brother—in—law of her former fiance, spoke only to confirm his name. he'll return to court for a plea hearing in october. the body of ms eastwood was found eight days after she went missing. 3,000 people have attended commemorations at amiens cathedral in north eastern france, marking the centenary of the battle, that turned the tide of the first world war. the battle of amiens lasted just four days, but it was one of the most successful for the allies, of the whole conflict. theresa may, and the duke of cambridge were among those who paid tribute to the fallen, and hundreds of descendants of the troops that took, part were also there.

this is a landscape where the course of a terrible conflict was changed. in amiens cathedral, music and personal accounts combined to tell that story. the attack at amiens was a total surprise — at dawn a huge allied bombardment systemically destroyed german guns. the smoke barely clearing before 500 tanks led men from six countries in an advance which took some of them eight miles into enemy territory. amiens was symbolic of the entente cordiale... a battle whose significance was underlined by the duke of cambridge. today, we return to learn more about the experience of those involved during the historic summer of 1918. to honour the fallen of all nations. the amiens attacks were planned to the last detail as the clock

ticked down, commanders penned their final messages. every man will carry on to the utmost of his powers until his goal is won. to those who fall, i say will you not die, but step into immortality. by lunchtime on the first day, men could hardly believe the contrast with the chaos of previous offensives. the americans swept everything before them and the german resistance collapsed. the sun broke through, we began to see the countryside that we hadn't seen for quite some time. it was unscarred. all sorts of cultivated land. we began to feel, byjove, the war's coming to an end. at least 30,000 german lives were lost, thousands more surrendered, convincing commanders that that the time had come to consider a ceasefire. age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. today's ceremony remembered the fallen, but also served to highlight a crucial moment in a long and costly conflict. breaking news, we havejust heard from the united states that they are to impose sanctions on russia over the attack on the skripals in britain. the united states said it had determined the russian government had used an air of agent against a former russian agent and his daughter, the skripals, in britain, and would soon impose

sanctions against moscow. the statement says it determined is under the chemical and biological weapons control and warfare elimination act of 1991. it said these sanctions would take effect on or around august 22. more on that when we get it. jurors have been shown footage from the camera a policewoman was wearing, when she attended the fight outside a nightclub where england cricketer ben stokes was arrested. stokes is one of three men accused of being involved in a violent confrontation in bristol last september. all three deny a charge of affray. 0ur correspondentjon kay was at the court and sent us this update. mark speer was the first member of police staff on the scene that night in september last year. he was off duty but described what he saw as a scuffle and he went to intervene. he describes the man in a green

t—shirt, seemingly ben stokes, that's what he was wearing, as the main aggressor. he said another man was trying to get away from the man ina green was trying to get away from the man in a green t—shirt but the man in a green t—shirt was the main aggressor. but the jury has been shown a range of video angles, of cctv, of body camera footage as well that was gathered by another police officer who arrested ben stokes that night. she described him as com pletely night. she described him as completely compliant, as calm in which she asked him what had been going on and ben stokes was involved, he said he had been trying to help out because his two—day friends were being insulted —— his two gay friends. a statement given to police at the time was read to thejury is to police at the time was read to the jury is afternoon —— this afternoon, in which ben stokes said

men were giving nasty remarks to a 93v men were giving nasty remarks to a gay couple and he stepped in to stop it. he claimed the men had bottles in their hand and so he acted in self—defence. he said he was afraid. ben stokes, 27, ryan hale, ryan ali, all deny the charge and it will be back here as the trial continues at bristol crown court tomorrow. just before we go to the weather, let's show you some images from the international space station. german astronaut alexander gerst took this pictures showing the devastating impact of weeks of record temperatures on the planet. on twitter he says: "after several weeks of night flying, i was able to take the first day pictures of central europe and germany. the sight is shocking. everything that should be green is parched and brown." now it's time for a look at the weather with helen. hello there.

for many, it's been a more bearable day, particularly in the south and east. of course, we had the fresher weather further north and west yesterday. and the rest of the week, it will remain a little cooler, a little bit more bearable, with some rain in the forecast. not guaranteed for all, because it is in the form of showers, but those showers will continue to push into western parts of scotland and northern ireland overnight. they will tend to peter out elsewhere ahead of what looks like a cloudier spell of weather coming back into the south and east. so, the humidity is still quite high here, but it will be much fresher overnight further north and further west, where we'll see the lion's share of the sunshine as we start thursday morning. however, we are keeping a close eye on what is happening across east anglia and the south—east tomorrow, because it could turn out to be the pretty wet if this comes off. that rain moving its way north and eastwards. but elsewhere, there will be good spells of sunshine, showers always sharpest further north and west, and a very pleasant 19 to 21 celsius, which is actually around about average for the time of year. so, it is a little unsettled looking, but still

quite warm in the sun. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: boris johnson faces growing criticism of his comments about muslim women who wear the burqa. more than three million british gas customers are facing a rise in prices for the second time this year. the duke of cambridge and the prime minister have attended commemorations in northern france to mark the centenary of the battle of amiens — the beginning of the end of world war i. the united states says it's determined that the russian government had used a nerve agent in the attack against a former russian agent and his daughter in britain and would soon impose sanctions against moscow. water shortages in australia are worsening, with the entire state of new south wales being declared in drought. a 9—year—old girl has died after suffering a serious head injury following a rock slide at seaton garth in staithes in north yorkshire.

the pound fell today to its lowest level against the dollar in almost a year. investors are concerned that the uk will leave the european union, without a deal, in eight months‘ time. sterling is also down against the euro, the yen and the swiss franc. earlier i spoke to our economics correspondent andy verity, and asked him whether this fall was all about the uncertainties caused by brexit. that's part of the reason. you've got for example liam fox on the weekend saying he thought it was 60% likely that we would leave the european union without any trade deal. the bank of england governor mark carney saying there is the uncomfortable prospect of a no—deal brexit. the reason that is concern is if there is no trade deal in place it could hamper economic growth so it is left worthwhile

holding pounds. the other reason is that the dollar is strengthening, ironically, the dollar gains when it has a trade war with china because the thinking is that the united states will win that trade war. and it will reduce dependence on chinese imports. but looking at what has happened to the pound in the last year, you can see that it reached its peak here on this chart, in april. you could get about $1.43 for your pan. since then it has sunk, it is just above your pan. since then it has sunk, it isjust above 1.28 your pan. since then it has sunk, it is just above 1.28 net. your pan. since then it has sunk, it isjust above 1.28 net. if your pan. since then it has sunk, it is just above 1.28 net. if you your pan. since then it has sunk, it isjust above 1.28 net. if you buy your travel money you will get about 10% less than you would a few months ago. these are the best rates. so, the take away from that is maybe you should have got your travel money four months ago! but you can cancel yourself you would have got even poorer results a few months after the brexit referendum. so not a

great deal if you're going to europe on your holiday but quite good for british exporters? potentially it could have a stimulative effect. the pound got down to $1.20 injanuary 2017 and since then it has been growing partly the because economic news has been better than expected. that also means our exports are not as competitive so the new weakness in the pound does have an upside. the entire state of new south wales, which produces about a quarter of australia's agricultural output, is experiencing drought, and it's one of the worst dry spells in many years, in parts of the country. in the last month, officials say less than ten millimetres of rain have been recorded in some areas. phil mercer reports now from sydney. australia is a land well used to nature's extremes. it's the world's driest inhabited continent, but the resilience of its farming communities is being severely tested. official figures show that australia's most populous state, new south wales, is now entirely in drought. two years ago, there were floods on gary sunderland's farm

near the town of condobolin. how quickly things can change. now, it's just the opposite story. the land has gone dry. no feed. stock are dying. some farmers have been carting up to 100,000 litres of water to their livestock since january. this video, taken earlier this year, shows cattle swarming around a water tanker. farmers in the small towns across new south wales are helping each other out with donations. many here say it's the worst they've ever known. all the climate gurus, who know all about the weather, still don't know when it's going to break. they've got no idea. we just... we're blind. you know, we'vejust got to plan and hope and pray that it rains. government aid will ease the financial burdens and the prime minister is promising more help. i do understand these water challenges.

clearly, we will work with state and local governments to ensure that water is provided. the fear is that a dry spring will be followed by another hot and punishing summer for australia's farmers. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. meanwhile in spain, 2,500 people have had to leave their homes because of rapidly spreading wildfires. in the valencia region on spain's east coast, more than 600 firefighters and 25 aircraft are battling the flames in searing temperatures. more than 2,700 hectares have burned since the fire broke out on monday. emergency services say they believe the fire was caused by lightning. meanwhile, a fire that prompted evacuation orders in two california communities is burning thousands of acres in the cleveland national forest for a third day. officials say flames have burned more than five miles,

and the blaze is estimated to be only 5% contained. they've called for voluntary evacuations in several surrounding areas. the cause of the fire is under investigation. the democratic unionist mp ian paisley is facing the first ever parliamentary recall petition, under rules introduced in 2015 to allow voters to oust politicians. ian paisley is currently suspended by parliament for failing to declare two family holidays which were paid for by the sri lankan government. if 10% of his constituents in north antrim sign the petition, which opened this morning, it will trigger a by—election. emma vardy has the latest. recall petitions across the constituency opened up at 9am this morning. they will be open for people to sign for the next six weeks. this is a first for uk politics.

it was brought about by ian paisley‘s failure to declare the luxury holidays that he went on paid for by the sri lankan government. he then went on to lobby the then prime minister david cameron on behalf of sri lanka. when this came to light last year, the parliamentary standards committee ruled that he was guilty of serious misconduct. over the next six weeks if 10% of the electorate in north antrim sign those recall petitions, it will force ian paisley to stand down and there will be a by—election. as you might expect, the dup's main rival sinn fein will be campaigning against him. they began their bid this morning, urging people to sign. the report concluded that he was involved in serious misconduct. and the people of north antrim have six weeks to sign this position.

i know the contact that i have had with people over the last couple of weeks, want to do something. this is an issue government. this isn't a issue of nationalism versus... this is an issue about trust in your politician that they will do their job in public office with integrity. there are some 75,000 registered to vote in north antrim, so the northern ireland electoral office says the number that would need to be reached to trigger a by—election, that 10%, is 7543 signatures. but however this plays out, mps have already voted to suspend mr paisley for 30 sitting days of parliament. so if he does retain his seat, he will still be suspended up to november, and may miss some key votes during this time. so that is the longest nmp has been suspended

for over 70 years, just a mark of how seriously this misconduct is being taken. new research suggests social media and celebrities may be driving the popularity of certain dog breeds, leaving "unfashionable" ones at risk of being abandoned. the survey from dogsblog.com and direct line shows that trends also affect the amount of time a dog has to wait to be rehomed. a little earlier i discussed why dogs are falling victim to social media trends with wendy miles, from the rescue centre all dogs matter, and her staffordshire bull terrier billy. wendy started by debunking some myths about the breed. they are lovely family dogs, staffordshi re they are lovely family dogs, staffordshire bull terrier is. they have had a bad rap for a long time. do you think social media is to blame for the fact that dogs like billy sometimes struggle to find a home? i do. i think billy sometimes struggle to find a home? i do. ithink paris billy sometimes struggle to find a home? i do. i think paris hilton was the first celebrity to sort of spark

of the desire for designer handbag dogs. and also tv shows. i mean, we see more and more huskies and muller notes come in because the kids all my want one because of game of thrones. so people are choosing her dog in the hope that it will give them an attractive instagram account? absolutely, give them some kudos or whatever. well, of course malamutes and huskies do not have a great bond with humans, their recall is rubbish so you can never let them off the lead. people wonder why they go stir crazy! there is a fundamental problem here, if people are getting dogs to improve their social media profile without perhaps realising quite how much commitment

and work is involved in keeping a dog. absolutely, the effort it ta kes, dog. absolutely, the effort it takes, and they are getting dogs, they know nothing about the background of the dogs come often these designer dogs are badly bred, they come with a myriad of health problems, and these people who have spent — dick pound, £700 buying these dogs when they don't want them any more, they don't take them to shelters, they sell them on, and the dog gets moved from pillar to post, and the issue just grows and grows. it seems that the trends do change because staffordshire bull terrier is work right in vogue at one stage. they were, they are wonderful family dogs. they were known for decades as the nanny dogs because they are so good with children. then they sort of became status dogs for young boys

who put spikes on them and called them adolf and encouraged them to be fighters. and they are not really. they are very soft people orientated dogs. and do you generally find people who are coming into some of the shelters looking for dogs that are going to fit the right image? 0h, are going to fit the right image? oh, yes. i think that's true. i mean, people come with the most unrealistic expectations of what owning a dog is like, or they get big dogs living in tiny flats, they go off and get... jack russell terriers very popular, they are often in the rescue shelters because people buy them to have as lapdogs but they have huge personality and need lots of exercise but also it is about educating people to get dogs for the lifestyle rather than just for the lifestyle rather than just for the lifestyle rather than just for the look or the fact they are

going to look good on instagram. could more be done to make sure that people who get a dog or perhaps even better, when they are considering getting a dog, really take account of the wider issues of the commitments required to ensure a dog is kept properly? absolutely. i mean, rescues do that. people tend to think you get a rescue dog and you don't know what you're getting. but in fact, rescue dogs are stowe strongly assessed for how they are with people and other dogs, and how they are with food and toys and children, and whether they need gardens or space and exercise, that if you get a dog from a rescue, they are going to make the best possible match, but you go on to buy them off the internet, and you don't know what you're getting. when you are fed up with them, people do... billy! and people do get fed up with

them quickly, then theyjust sort of pass them on, sell them on. adding billy has had enough of this interview! i think he has. he likes the stardom! billy here with wendy a little earlier. the headlines on bbc news: the united states has a nice it will impose sanctions on russia for the nerve agent attack in salisbury. —— has announced. boris johnson faces growing criticism of his comments about muslim women who wear the burqa. a nine—year—old girl has died after suffering a head injury at seaton garth in staithes in north yorkshire. more women candidates than ever will contest us governorships and house seats in november's mid—term elections. after tuesday's primaries across four states, there are now 11 female nominees for governor and at least 173 so far for the house.

the results have been hailed as a continuing success story by activists for women in politics. i'm joined from newjersey by debbie walsh, from the centre for american women and politics. thank you very much indeed for joining us. thanks for having me. what lies behind this trend was alone well, we have seen this, not just a recognisable of women but we have just been blowing through the records for women as candidates. we started seeing it back in 2017. records for women as candidates. we started seeing it back in 20mm continues today in 2018. we think in large part this has to do with the election of donald trump and a can of awakening among women that if they want to see elected officials who look like them, sound like them, ca re who look like them, sound like them, care about the issues they care about, they in fact cannot wait for somebody else to run, they can't wait for somebody else to be the

candidate, they have to be the candidates themselves. and are these candidates themselves. and are these candidates across both parties? this search is largely on the democratic side. we are seeing an increase, and we anticipate seeing a record number of republicans running for the house but overwhelmingly this increase is due to democratic candidacies of women across the country. i will also point out that women and men are running at higher levels this cycle tha n are running at higher levels this cycle than they have in the past. and even though there is much talk about these ragged numbers, and it is true, there are records, women still make up only about 24% of the candidates for the us house. how do you think this is going to affect those crucial midterm elections? well, i think if there is a blue wave, if we see recognisers of

democrats getting elected, it will benefit these women candidates. this is, as! benefit these women candidates. this is, as i say, because this is largely among democrats, if it's a good yearfor largely among democrats, if it's a good year for democrats, it will be a good yearfor women. but it is also important to remember that for almost 250 years, women have been underrepresented in american politics, and one election cycle is not going to turn around the lack of political parity for women in our country. extraordinary in a way that donald trump is encouraging a trend of more women coming into politics at the highest level. i'm not sure that's what he intended! but i think a couple of things happened with his election. 0ne, a couple of things happened with his election. one, i a couple of things happened with his election. 0ne, ithink a couple of things happened with his election. one, i think women saw that somebody who might not have held elected office before can run and can win had the highest level. i also think that he became a

motivator because with his election, i think women became very aware that some of the issues they care about, some of the issues they care about, some of the lussey concerns that they have, might be injeopardy in this new administration. —— policy concerns. i think they believed that they couldn't afford to sit on the sidelines, they couldn't wait for somebody else to do politics, they needed to be engaged and involved. i think we've seen an increase not just in women candidacies since the election of donald trump, but we have seen a marked increase in advocacy and activism among women. i think we've seen women as leaders within what has been called the resista nce within what has been called the resistance movement around the country, we've seen more women as political donors so far are stepping up political donors so far are stepping up and not just political donors so far are stepping up and notjust running, but also giving and supporting other candidates, women and men. so there

has been an increased level of political engagement on the part of women, as a result of this election, and it has been sustained over these almost two years now because of the policy initiatives and actions, some of the rhetoric coming out of the white house. and i think the matter to movement has fuelled 0liver. debbie walsh, we will have to live there. —— and the me too movement. lets get some more on our breaking news. the united states will impose sanctions on russia after finding that it used the nerve agent against a former russian double agent, sergei skripal and his daughter yulia in the uk in march. let's get more now

from our correspondent in washington, gary 0'donoghue. what has happened is that congress have asked the administration to determine back in march after the poisoning of sergei skripal and his daughter in salisbury, asked the white house to determine whether or not russia had breached international law by using the chemical agent novichok, we believe they used it during that poisoning. what has happened is that the state department has now decided that international law was breached by the russians in doing that. that triggers automatic sanctions under us law, and in particular the first wave will include things like sensitive electronic components. what we understand is that there will be a sort of blanket ban effectively on those which up until mile have been case—by—case. but it also triggers a three—month period

where us law demands that russia ta kes where us law demands that russia takes certain steps to assure people it will not do the same again, but also potentially even open up some of its sites to inspections by the un. that seems very, very unlikely, but if those steps are not met under us law, that would trigger another wave of sanctions later ron in the year. so what's happened here is that effectively, the us domestic law has kicked in, and has led the administration to automatically impose a whole bunch of new sanctions on the russians. the russians of course have denied any involvement in this. this is clearly going to lead to a pretty serious rift between russia and the united states. yes, it is, and of course, it is something... it is difficult to sort of put your finger of where exactly relations are, because if you remember, back in helsinki, the

president seemed pretty close to the russian leader vladimir putin then. was very unwilling to criticise anything he had done during that conversation, a very —— very publicly blamed the americans, blamed his own side essentially for problems with the relationship. but this will put some pressure, i think, on that, and particularly these extra sort of steps that will be required of russia under us law, that will be something that the russians will not be able to stomach, i'm sure, and in a sense you will see a deterioration i'm sure in russians and certainly any talk of a summit, it makes that much more unlikely even in the new year. it's clearly many months since this attack was carried out. it seems that the united states has been effectively carrying out its own investigation, its own analysis to

reach this conclusion that the russians were behind it. yes, i mean, if you remember back in march when it took place, the american administration did expel 60 diplomats from here, 48 diplomats from the washington embassy, another dozen or so from the un. the language was pretty strong. but there is this mechanism whereby congress can ask the administration to make a formal determination under this law that goes back to 1991, the chemical and biological warfare hacked. the administration was given two months to do that. that deadline came and went in may. republicans have been putting pressure on the white house to say whether or not they have reached a conclusion. this is the result of that. they have used this legislation in the past, notably back in 2013 with the syrian government when they used chemical

weapons, and more recently when america said that north korea had carried out that assassination of one of the relatives of kim jong—un in kuala lumpur. so this would be the third time this particular piece of legislation has been invoked. and it is automatic in the sense that certain things kick in as a result, and that means they will happen whether or not the administration likes it or not. and donald trump, usually pretty swift to rush to his twitter account, any word yet from the president? no, silence at the moment. the state department, interestingly, has taken the lead on this. they were conducting a background briefing before i can to speak to you. we will have some detail perhaps in the next hour or so on detail perhaps in the next hour or so on the process and the of things that will be affected by this. but at the moment, the white house is pretty silent and leaving it to

those in the state department to ta ke those in the state department to take the lead. gary, many thanks for the latest from washington. now let's catch up with the old port. —— the all—importa nt weather. two bridges have been several degrees down on yesterday. we said goodbye to the very hottest air, that still around as you can see close by, what we have introduced an atla ntic close by, what we have introduced an atlantic influence. that westerly breeze has cooled things off. it has been very pleasant in the sunshine. we have had quite a bit of cloud and some showers but not a great deal of rain. what we will see for the rest of this evening and overnight is just showers, in fact for the next few days. the showers will mostly pester the north and west of scotla nd pester the north and west of scotland and northern ireland. elsewhere, clear skies with temperatures dipping away, quite a co mforta ble temperatures dipping away, quite a comfortable night. although the cloud tends to thicken in the south

later. some might and patchy rain in southern coatings —— counties of england. that is the story tomorrow. for most, another day of sunnis bells and showers. the morning sta rts bells and showers. the morning starts off with plenty of sunshine in the cloud will bubble up in the showers will come in on the south—westerly breeze. but it could turn really quite wet across east anglia and the south east later, which will be welcome rain but will make for a rather miserable day, particularly if you have the time off and you are planning outdoor activities. there could be some heavy rain around, even a little bit thundery so we will keep a close eye on that. a few showers to the west. but generally speaking, that westerly breeze bringing showers elsewhere, but high pressure not to far away. we will be dominated by low pressure particularly to the north as we go towards the weekend. friday look drier but there will be some big showers around, particularly central and northern parts of england, scotland and

northern ireland. the further south and west, the future as there will be, and temperatures, as we've seen today, around average for the time of year. a pleasant weekend. the high—pressure ridge comes in, could be quite warm and sunny, not as hot as it has been. but the north and west looked dominated by wind and at times some quite heavy rain. some much needed rain but not great at the weekend. keeping the temperatures a little low. further south, it looks like it'll be fine, dry warm again. hello, i'm karin giannoni, this is 0utside source. the united states says it will impose sanctions on russia in response to the nerve agent attack on a russian former spy and his daughter in the uk. a key vote on abortion in argentina divides the nation. the senate is deciding whether to legalise terminations in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. it will take years to truly achieve

a legal abortion safe and free. we're not going to stop. we have a lot of patience. in the us, an election result in ohio could be an alarm bell for donald trump's republican party. we'll be live in washington to discuss its significance. political turmoil in zimbabwe continues, as the leader of the opposition party still refuses to accept defeat in last week's election.