and you can keep up to date with the challenge of tackling the fires, on the bbc website. you'll also find a feature on the local artists who are raising awareness of what's causing the wildfires — that's all at bbc.com/news. let's get some of the day's other news. president trump says he wants a new nuclear pact to be signed by both russia and china. mr trump said he had spoken to the two countries about the idea, and that they were both "very, very excited". his comments came after the us withdrew from a key nuclear treaty with russia, raising fears of a new arms race. welcome to bbc news. the man co—ordinating official i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: efforts to tackle the spread of ebola in the democratic republic of congo says only about half vast swathes of arctic siberia are ablaze after intense summer of cases are currently being identified. temperatures and high winds — jean—jacques muyembe warned that the current outbreak could continue for two or three years. we have a special report. the head of brazil's national space research institute says he will be sacked, after a public row with president jair bolsonaro over

the scale of deforestation in the amazon. ricardo galvao likened the president to a teenage boy, after the government rejected russian evidence over the increasing tree we have a special report. militaryjets are providing backup loss in the amazon. russian militaryjets are providing backup to firefighters battling the blazers which have been burning in some cases for weeks. buyers are john mcmanus reports. common at this time of year. and record breaking summer temperatures and strong winds have made this year particularly bad. at 525 million square kilometres, keeping track of the health of the amazon rainforest is huge our moscow correspondent undertaking. and best done from steve rosenberg has travelled to the remote irkutsk region of siberia and he sent this report. space —— 5.5. scientists say... for weeks now, siberia has been smouldering. vast swathes of forest shrouded in smoke and many ravaged by fire. wildfires are common here, but not on this scale. in siberia, an area the size brazil's national space research is of belgium is burning. the kremlin has sent in the army, that you give is an annual record of military planes doing what they can deforestation and it is this data to extinguish the blaze. that has led to a presidential row. institute recorded an 88% increase deforestation in june, compared institute recorded an 88% increase deforestation injune, compared with the same month last year. president bolsonaro, who is keen to exploit the amazon's resources, replied by saying the space agency was wearing the fires are sparked by hot weather and dry thunderstorms. brazil's reputation, a war of words they're mainly in remote areas,

but could the effects be more widespread? then ensued. mr bolsonaro alleged then ensued. mr bolsonaro alleged the data was not truthful. translation: if these figures were there's concern that carbon true, the amazon would have been emissions from here may be melting ice in the arctic and speeding devastated three times over during the past 20 years. we have to combat this. he compared the presents up global warming. suspicions to a joke by a so black carbon is black, 14—year—old boy, but he has now lost small particles, which falls down hisjob —— on ice and turns them 14—year—old boy, but he has now lost from the white to black, his job —— president. so the ice cannot reflect sun radiation and sun starts to heat you are watching bbc news. the ice in the arctic and it melts faster. the british prime minister says and as if fire wasn't bad enough, everything possible is being done there have been floods too. to ensure the safety of homes in this town, injune, a dam burst, and businesses in whaley bridge, following torrential rain, which are threatened 23 people died. by a damaged dam. now, the town has flooded again. borisjohnson said it looked "scary", and said from forest fires, to flooding, there was still a substantial so far this has been a summer risk the dam could fail. some residents who've had of hell for people in siberia. to leave their homes have been given and it's because of wild fires and the floods that a state just 15 minutes to collect some belongings. judith moritz reports of emergency has been declared in large parts of this region. victor's house is uninhabitable, but they make people tough in siberia. from whaley bridge. in an emergency, a comforting hand — reassurance for those in disbelief "russians are ready for any at being displaced. challenge," victor tells me, a whole community affected,

"we'll get by." with little time picking up the pieces to think, just an urgency to get after a natural disaster. to safety as quickly as possible. for russia, it's becoming second nature. 00:03:04,978 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 steve rosenberg, bbc news, siberia. this is the danger they are running from. the dam which has protected their town for nearly 200 years tonight dangerously close to collapsing. whaley bridge now looks like a ghost town. people asked to leave their homes and businesses and get out of the area. i finished my shift at two o'clock, drove back down to whaley bridge to go home, and the police stopped me and said, "you can't go into the village." isaid, "well, i'm a resident, i need to get in to get home." and he said, "no." i said, "well, my partner is at home with the dog," and he said, "ring him and tell him to get out." precautions, really, you can't risk it, can you? if something happens to the dam then we're

all getting wet. here is the reason. intense rain yesterday caused a torrent of water to overflow the dam. damage was caused to its concrete panels, and today fears grew that the whole structure may not hold. sandbags have been put along the top of the reservoir to try to stop it overflowing again. the pumps are just in the village now and are going up the hill to be installed to start reducing the flow, but there are also diversions at the top to avoid further water going into the reservoir, and as you know, there is a severe weather warning this evening, so we're all working flat out to ensure that we can try to avert any crisis. the emergency services have set up a command centre in nearby chapel—en—le—frith, and accommodation has been offered to thousands of people who are preparing to spend the night away from home. evacuating whaley bridge, they have done an absolutely

superbjob. we have got about 85% of the people out already. 0bviously one or two people who do not want to leave or who are refusing to leave. but we know where they are if there's a problem. there is relief that everyone has been contacted and given the chance to get away, but anxiety too, as the rain continues to fall, and the realisation that a local beauty spot suddenly poses a real mortal danger. so, what can be done to try to stop an entire town from flooding? the authorities say that 400 tonnes of stone, gravel and sand are being used, to shore up the dam and stop more water from entering the reservoir. so far, 10 high volume water pumps have also been installed. then, once the situation has stabilised, engineers will set about repairing the dam. 0ur science editor david shukman explains how.

these are nervous times in the struggle to save the dam. 0ur helicopter spotted the scene yesterday, a sudden order to leave. we are witnessing a test of strength between the weight of water in the reservoir and the condition of the dam. in a crisis, triggered by an extraordinary amount of rain. this sight of the torrent of water overflowing the dam two days ago reveals the incredible forces involved. far beyond what the victorian engineers had built this place can ever have imagined. designed and constructed in the 19th century to store water for local canals, the dam is pretty simple, made with clay, surrounded by mud. but if there is torrential rain, some of the water is deliberately allowed to escape over the top to relieve pressure.

but the flow on wednesday was so powerful it threatened a dam that had been built to older and very different standards. the construction of these old dams are such that it was done in the horse and cart era and the soil would have been placed in position, but not compacted like they are these days. so old dams, when you look at them, you have to imagine how they were constructed and the standards to which they were designed. as engineers battle to keep the dam intact, there is something they really need to know. how much damage has erosion done to the dam? the structure could be much weaker internally than it looks. so a key task is reducing the water level to minimise pressure. more pumps are being deployed but all this takes time. so what repairs are possible? well, rock can add strength, as we've seen, but longer term the whole place may have to be drained and maybe even rebuilt. 12 years ago in yorkshire, a frantic effort to save another dam. it nearly collapsed.

an inquiry back then called for tougher inspections amid fears about the safety of the oldest dams. with this video, researchers investigated how dams can actually break. there are real risks, particularly as temperatures rise. warmer air can hold more moisture, so rainfall is set to become more intense. last month may have been the hottest on record and the latest emergency is a reminder of challenges ahead. david shukman, bbc news. the liberal democrats have won the brecon by—election, gaining the seat from the conservatives. it was the first electoral test for boris johnson, just days after becoming prime minister. the result now leaves him with a working majority in parliament ofjust one — even with the support of the democratic unionist party. the lib dem's jane dodds overturned a majority of over eight thousand to beat the conservative candidate chris davies by 1,425 votes. mr davies stood again, after being unseated by a petition following his conviction

for a false expenses claim. here's our political correspondent alex forsyth. cheering. that's the sound of success. a buoyant lib dem leader and the party's newest mp fresh from a victory that makes life even harder for the government. here we stand bursting borisjohnson‘s bubble in the first week of his premiership. theirs was a campaign focused on the risk of a no—deal brexit. 0ther pro—eu parties, plaid cymru and the greens, stood aside to give them the best chance of winning. this, the first major test of a remain alliance,

and it might not be the last. in most constituencies across the country, it is going to be the liberal democrats that are the strongest party of remain, but we recognise the value and cooperating in working with others for that wider national goal to protect our country's future. after a long night, the lib dems might have been celebrating, but the tory candidate was quiet after the result was announced. do you think it was the right decision to run? he'd already been unseated by his constituents over a false expenses claim. for the government, it means their majority in westminster is down to just one, making it harder to get parliament on side but no sign of a new approach. more than 50% of the vote was secured by pro—brexit parties. you know, we need to make sure we work hard to deliver a deal, but i think what the people of britain really don't want is any more limbo. labour's leader acknowledged his pa rty‘s distant fourth place was disappointing. a lot of voters were determined to get rid of the conservative and that is what they voted for.

so we were squeezed but it is a place we have not held for a very long time. this constituency voted almost the same way as the country in the referendum three years ago. the result here shows that borisjohnson‘s do or die brexit policy leaves the conservatives open to attack from remain parties, particularly when they work together, but the fact the tories did far better than the brexit party here is, for some, proof that the new prime minister's uncompromising stance on the eu is attracting support. at this children's farm near the brecon beacons, the owner says no deal must remain an option. hopefully, he can do a deal based on that strong bargaining position but you can't give all your cards away and hope to come out with fair results for britain for the long—term future for britain. you think he has taken the right approach at the moment with that line? 100%. for many here, brexit has become the defining issue in elections. i'll vote for them with

borisjohnson but i didn't vote for them before because i didn't like who was there before. well, to be honest, brexit, especially a no—deal brexit, frightens me. i would vote for a party which was trying to prevent us from leaving europe. so, party loyalty could be giving way to brexit allegiances, as the issue continues to dominate public votes. alex forsyth, bbc news, brecon. more than 50,000 people are facing disruption to their travel plans, after the collapse of two package holiday firms. super break and laterooms.com are both in administration. our personal finance correspondent simon gompertz reports. yes, it's the holidays, and a terrible time for a holiday provider to go under. super break has 400 people overseas and 53,000 bookings, many of those within the uk. then there are customers who have booked hotels via laterooms.com. because

the payment goes straight to the hotel, they should be ok. stories have been emerging on social media of people who think their breaks may be ruined, including winter bookings in iceland, for instance. we researched thoroughly before we paid out the money, and there was no hint at that time just a month ago that there was any financial difficulties at all. super break was drumming up business close to its end. "never too late to visit manchester", it said. ina too late to visit manchester", it said. in a statement after its failure, it added: this is a massive worry for thousands of people who might have booked tickets to shows in london's west end or entries to a theme park along with the hotel rooms to put the family up for the night, and the concerns are, well, the hassle factor, trying to sort it all out,

whether they will be allowed in, and whether they will be allowed in, and whether they will lose their money. there is some reassurance. the deep holes aquarium said it would on entry vouchers from affected families, saying it wasn't their fault. the owners of legoland and alton towers said they are charged 50% of the gate price. but the travel body apta says many should be able to get their money back later. rail tickets, plus a theatre ticket, for example, that is a package holiday which will be protected by apta. if you've got a package holiday which involves a flight, that will be protected by apta. so if you've got what we call accommodation only, so for example hotel booking on its own, typically not be protected. apta advises that those on a break, having to pay again for the hotel, should get receipts. and if it is a package they will be reimbursed after making a claim. this is bbc news, the headlines: vast swathes of arctic siberia are ablaze after intense summer temperatures and high winds. we have a special report.

president trump's pick to become the next director of national intelligence withdraws his name from consideration. well, a little earlier i was joined by our washington correspondent chris buckler and asked him why congressmanjohn ratcliffe withdrew so soon from running to become the next us director of national intelligence. the big question is whether or not john ratcliffe did actually have the background and experience to do the job, and whether he was necessarily the right man for it. that comes down to the position itself, the director of national intelligence sometimes is put in a position where he can clash with the president, and certainly that was true with dan coats, who previously held the position before he stepped down. as far as mr trump was concerned, dan coats did not back the president on issues like russia and north korea, there were times that the director of national intelligence contradicted the president and perhaps adjusted a hard—line approach than that of the white house. john ratcliffe on the other hand

was seen by many as being a trump loyalist, and actually he had really come to the president attention in recent weeks because of his grilling of the former special counsel robert mueller during that congressional hearing in which he was quite aggressive against mr mueller and mr trump felt he had done a good job essentially of protecting the president. that led some people to be a little uncomfortable, combined with the fact that some people felt he had patted his cv and suggested he has more experience as far as counterterrorism was concerned, finally led him to say he was not going to go ahead with this because of some criticism that was emerging in the press. president trump seems to have advised him that rather than facing the scrutiny, it would be betterfor him to walk away, so now the president is looking for somebody else to take that crucial role. donald trump talked about him being treated unfairly by the media, but then also praised the media has been pa rt then also praised the media has been part of the vetting process? yeah, i think praise is probably too strong a word for donald trump, talking about the media, and i am not sure if it had the power you are

suggesting. certainly he said that as far as he was concerned he would select a name and then the media would give their take on it, and that he regarded them as being part of the vetting process. i suspect people inside congress will object to that idea, because it is their job to take a look and really that the credentials of people, and they certainly do not want the white house suddenly throwing out names and expecting the press to be in a position where they decide whether oi’ position where they decide whether or not they are good enough to do thejob. certainly there or not they are good enough to do the job. certainly there were members of the republican party, inside both the senate and the house of representatives, who was starting to question whether or notjohn ratcliffe was the man for this job. of course, it is going to be a very big job. there were those concerns about russia interfering in the 2016 election, with 2020 coming forward, dan coats, who was the director of national intelligence, warned that he believed they would the electoral interference once again. and this is a job where you need to stand up

against the president quite a lot. at times, dan coats was not on the same page as donald trump, on issues like russian interference and north korea, and at times that did frustrate president from himself. jubilant crowds in puerto rico have been celebrating the formal resignation of the island's governor, ricardo rossello. he agreed to stand down in the face of mass protests over vulgar text messages he shared with his advisers. mr rossello said he would be replaced by pedro pierluisi. laura rexach — is podcast host for wkaq based in sanjuan. she has also taken part in the protests. i asked her if people are satisfied with the change in governor. no, sadly, not at all. as we speak there are riots forming and ijust saw police putting on their riot gear as i was searching for a quiet street. do you think that protestors perhaps ought to give the new governor, pedro pierluisi, a chance perhaps to deal with some of their broader concerns?

no, honestly, not at all. he appointed himself governor in a completely unconstitutional way. he was sworn in today in secrecy in a private residence. completely ignoring the proper steps that the constitution calls for where the senate is supposed to confirm his naming first is secretary of state and now as governor. he says that he will not go to hearings that were called for on monday, that he will go directly to the senate on wednesday where he will give them the opportunity to either ratify or deny his claim as governor. so it sounds like these protests are not over then, that people will continue to be on the streets. that's correct. people are upset. we have not been able to choose a governor and the options that have been given to the people

are all persons that have dubious ties to the government. there are broader issues here, especially since a hurricane maria hit puerto rico. can you give us an idea of what some of those issues are? well, we have federal funds that have yet to be dispersed. to give you an idea, the now acting governor, his son was the secretary of... it's not... in english you would say consumer affairs during the time that hurricane maria hit. and it was completely a political favour. people are really upset because they know he is there not by his own effort. what needs to change in puerto rico to move the situation on, especially as the territory struggles to rebuild after the hurricane?

i think a really big issue, and it is similar in the us, people need to take a step back from bipartisanship. here political parties are based on what their desire for the island's clinical status to be, there is the pro—statehood party, the pro—commonwealth party, and the independence party. the pro—statehood and the pro—commonwealth parties have led a number of votes and the independence party only gets 1—3% of the vote. right now the governor that left was pro statehood. they refused to even consider anyone that was outside of their party. so they reallyjust created a political gridlock where none of the opponents they were looking at were really viable. whatever happened today the protests were going to continue. laura rexach in sanjuan.

before we go, police in the us state of washington i used to stopping motorists. but they got the shock of their lives when they saw this. you canjust their lives when they saw this. you can just see the plane, a their lives when they saw this. you canjust see the plane, a pilot coming towards them. it was actually a plane making an emergency landing, ca ptu red a plane making an emergency landing, captured on the officer's — cam. the policeman quickly put on his emergency lights and diverted traffic away from the plane, which made a smooth landing. luckily nobody was hurt. very lucky. let's get the weather. friday saw a respite from the rain for many parts, although the severe flood warning remains in force at whaley bridge dam. and we do have more rain in the forecast later in the weekend, and into the new week. however the day should start for many dry, bright, a little bit of mist and fog inland now the nights are getting

longer, and it could be murky for a time near the east coast before the sunshine gets to work and melts that cloud away. but notice as we go through the day there is a chance of some showers for northern ireland, primarily, but there could be the odd heavy, thundery one across the hills of scotland, and perhaps the odd shower across northern england, north wales, but largely dry and fine in the south and east, it is worth stressing that many places will stay dry with spells of strong sunshine through the day today. so there is reallyjust an outside risk of an interruption from a shower to edgbaston — nevertheless, that risk is real. for most of the time it should be dry and fine. but as time goes by through the coming evening, this low pressure advances on further east, there is an increasing risk we will start to pick up thicker cloud, drizzly rain and then, by the time we are heading towards morning, some heavy rain coming into northern ireland. ahead of that we are pulling

in a southerly wind, so that will increase the temperature and humidity, so it will be warmer, if anything, through the coming night, temperatures 15 degrees in the central belt of scotland. with that extra humidity comes the risk of some more significant rain on sunday. bands of slow—moving, heavy and thundery showers are forecast for scotland, for northern ireland for a time, northern england, north wales, really anywhere from the midlands and lincolnshire northwards, but again, southern and eastern areas, largely fine and warm, warmer still, 26—27 on sunday. but given the risk of further heavy downpours in those areas already affected by flooding, the met office have issued that warning ahead of time. and actually it looks more unsettled then again in the next week, almost as if the weather is repeating its pattern, low pressure comes in and become slow—moving, and throws further spells of rain at us. we start that way on monday, that clears up the way, some respite, heavy showers follow back into northern ireland, it will feel fresher on monday with that humid air clearing for a while, picking up more of a south—westerly wind for the start of the new week. but again come tuesday,

it looks as if they will be some rather large and heavy showers around with some hail and thunder in there as well. so it is one of those we need to keep our eye on, as ever there is more on the website.

this is bbc news. the headlines: russia's arctic north and far east are being ravaged by huge wildfires, with up to four million hectares ablaze, and vast areas engulfed by smoke. fires are common at this time of year, but record—breaking summer temperatures and strong winds have made this year particularly bad. us president donald trump has said his choice for the new director of national security, john ratcliffe, has withdrawn from consideration — just five days after he was nominated for the role. critics said that mr ratcliffe lacked the expertise and experience to take on the role.

crowds in puerto rico are celebrating the formal resignation of the island's governor, ricardo rossello. he agreed to stand down as governor in the face of mass protests over vulgar text messages he shared with his advisers.