this is bbc news — i'm martin stanford. our top stories: as the amazon burns, brazil's president authorises the armed forces to fight the fires. but is it too little, too late? low humidity and strong wind adds to the challenge as sometimes the fire can spread as fast 30 or a0 kilometres an hour. turmoil on global stock markets as donald trump slaps further tariffs on chinese imports. acknowledging scotland's ties to the slave trade. glasgow university promises to pay caribbean countries millions in reparations. and — the cost of tackling climate change. how green technologies are threatening arctic traditions.

hello and welcome to bbc news. brazil's president, jair bolsonaro, has ordered the military to help fight the devastating fires in the amazon rainforest. the announcement comes after european leaders threatened to scrap a major trade deal with south american nations unless brazil took action. the fires are scattered widely across the amazon, most notably in the north of brazil. president trump said he spoke by telephone to president bolsonaro, offering american help. conservationists say bolsonaro has encouraged farmers to log the land. the flames in the amazon continue to rage, thousands of fires, almost impossible to control. this is the world's biggest rainforest and carbon store, home to 20 million people.

we travelled to one area on the fringe of the rainforest, where the flames have devoured huge areas. firefighters in the state of rodonia, one of the most affected affected by the amazon fires, have been working here for the past two weeks, trying to put out the flames, but resources are an issue here, as it's a vast area with few people on the ground, and low humidity and strong winds add to the challenge, as sometimes the fire can spread as fast as 30 or a0 km/h. the fires here threaten many homes. one man told us his wife had fled while he tries to protect the land. translation: it's a dangerous situation, we have lots of crops here, and everything is burning. the trees, i had to move the animals so they don't burn too. farmers and loggers are widely blamed for starting the fires, as the amazon is relentlessly

cleared for cultivation. brazil's controversial right—wing president, jair bolsonaro, has championed the exploitation of the rainforest. now, though, brazil is facing international pressure. european leaders are calling it a global emergency. brazil's president has accused them of a colonial mindset and charities working to save the rainforest of interference. translation: those countries that send money here, they are not doing it for charity. i hope everyone can understand that. they are doing it because they have a vested interest. they want to interfere with our sovereignty. they are looking for riches under the soil. it's the amazon's indigenous people who are suffering the most. some have been attacked and killed as loggers and farmers try to push them off the land. translation: with each passing day, we see the destruction, deforestation, invasion, logging. we are sad because the forest

is dying at every moment. we feel the climate changing, and the world needs the forest, we need it, and our children need it. as the amazon burns, the world is now paying attention. brazil's president says he may send in the army to help tackle the flames. camilla veras mota, bbc news, in the amazon. thousands of people have joined protests outside brazilian embassies across europe — demanding that president bolsonaro takes immediate action to deal with the fires. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james robbins, considers the impact the brazilian leader's policies have had on the amazon. the amazon rainforest is huge, not only in sheer geographic size but also in its importance for sustaining life on earth. it covers around 2.1 million square miles, about half the size of europe. it is home to 3 million species of plants and animals and has billions of trees that absorb c02

and slow global warming. but it is under severe threat. on average, an area the size of a football pitch is cleared every minute. president bolsonaro is blamed for actively encouraging the destruction of the rainforest. why? president bolsonaro won last year's election partly by promising radical change in the amazon. 0pening it up forfarming, diluting environmental laws and reducing fines for those who break them. it was a green light and notjust for the poor — established farmers say it is right to clear the forest. but president bolsonaro's approach has been condemned by emmanuel macron of france. he is preparing to welcome leaders of other wealthy countries in the g7 to biarritz.

he says the fires must be top of their weekend summit agenda. the president has tweeted, our house is burning, literally. the amazon, the lungs which produce 20% of our planet's oxygen, is on fire. it is an international crisis. but what, if anything, can the leaders actually do? france is threatening to block a major eu trade deal, negotiated with a group of south american countries including brazil, if president bolsonaro does not change his stance on climate change, but that would hit trade between both continents. and germany, although supporting the concern, does not necessarily support such a drastic remedy. fires are not just burning in brazil. other countries are affected including venezuela, bolivia and colombia. the loss of trees and habitat is greatest in brazil and that is where the global focus will remain.

the trade war between the us and china has taken yet another twist — within the last hour, donald trump has further increased tariffs on chinese goods. using his twitter platform to make the announcement the us president said that 25% tariffs he had announced before on 250 billion dollars in chinese goods will increase to 30% — from the first of october. earlier, us markets tumbled with the dowjones closing down more than 600 points. the president's comments are part of an ongoing tussle with beijing. china imposed additional tariffs on us imports worth about $75 billion — in retaliation to the us decision to increase tariffs on chinese goods. our business correspondent michelle fleury is in new york with the latest. donald trump vowed to respond to china's tariffs and he made good on that threat. the president raised ta riffs that threat. the president raised tariffs on that threat. the president raised ta riffs on $250 that threat. the president raised tariffs on $250 billion of goods to 30% he and he also raised tariffs to

1596 30% he and he also raised tariffs to 15% on another $300 billion worth of chinese goods. the announcement came one hour after the us markets closed after another rocky trading session. the dowjones finish down 600 points the s&p 500 which tracks the 500 list public companies in america ended 2.6% lower. us markets began the trading day lower after the news from beijing to wall street bounced back after the comments from jerome powell raising the prospects of a rate cut. but the momentum shifted again and the markets slide accelerated after mr trump said that american companies should immediately start looking for an alternative to china including, he said, bringing companies home. it should be said that the us president has no power to order us companies to do anything. nonetheless his comments sent a chill through the

markets. he also launched an extraordinary new attack on the federal chair asking who is the bigger enemy? the chinese leader or jerome powell? donald trump has been pressuring the federal bank to do more to stimulate the economy. effect however was to rattle investors, worried about the deepening trade conflict with china and the damage it is doing to the global economy. i asked the bbc‘s chris buckler in washington whether or not mr trump can indeed order us companies to close their operations in china. ina in a series of furious tweets he attacked china and appeared to heighten the trade war and he ordered, that is the word he used, ordered, that is the word he used, ordered american companies with interests in china to look elsewhere to base their operations. and what sparked this is the plan of china to impose up to 10% tariffs on $75 billion worth of american goods. that is the latest strike in a bitter trade battle

between the countries. the us had already announced plans to impose 10% tariffs on some $300 billion of chinese imports by the middle of december. and president trump hasjust announced that in response to china's decision he will increase that to 15%. all of these imports have a danger of threatening both countries' economies. but it was notjust china in the firing line today, it was also the head of the federal bank, the central bank of america. president trump has been pushing for them to cut interest rates to fuel spending, but he did not get that pledge today from the chairman of the fed. in response, there was another extremely angry tweet. in it, president trump said he had only one question, who was the bigger enemy of america — jerome powell, the head of the central bank, or china president xijinping? it is no surprise that this on president trump's mind as there is no bigger threat to a president seeking re—election.

let's get some of the day's other news. health officials in the united states have reported the death of a patient who developed a severe respiratory illness after smoking e—cigarettes. the cause of death is yet to be confirmed, but the officials say it could be america's first recorded case of someone dying from vaping. the authorities say almost 200 cases of severe lung illness associated with vaping have been reported across 22 states so far. prosecutors in paris have opened a preliminary investigation into jeffrey epstein, looking into whether or not he committed sex crimes in france or against french citizens. he was found dead in his jail cell in new york earlier this month. 0fficial jail cell in new york earlier this month. official said they were at king on information from a number of sources. liberal us supreme courtjustice ruth bader ginsburg has been treated for cancer. the 86—year—old is believed to have responded well to the treatment

a spokeswoman said. ginsburg, who joined the court in 1993, underwent surgery in december causing her to miss oral arguments for the first time in her lengthy career. 0ver over the last week, thousands of syrian families have fled a government offensive in the last opposition stronghold of idlib. rebels have been pushed out of a strategic town and hundreds of civilians have been killed after a ceasefire crumbled several months ago. with more on the situation in idlib and the people trapped there here is oui’ and the people trapped there here is our correspondent. for this young boy, it is probably an adventure. but for his parents, it is a nightmare. after eight years of fighting, syrians are still running for their lives. this, the latest

exodus in a brutal conflict that has forced half the country from their homes. there is no humanity says this man. it is doomsday. and this is what they are fleeing. syrian and russian jets pounding targets is what they are fleeing. syrian and russianjets pounding targets in is what they are fleeing. syrian and russian jets pounding targets in the last opposition stronghold of idlib. for months, the syrian army, supported by russia and iran have been fighting rebels. many of them hard—line been fighting rebels. many of them ha rd—line islamist ‘s like been fighting rebels. many of them hard—line islamist ‘s like the man shown in this propaganda video. the rebels have been pushed out of a string of towns and villages once full of life and now deserted. but it is the million children who are caught in the middle. this family are packing whatever they can fit in their trunk. bed mattresses, a

washing machine. from a home they may never return to. are committed and his family are setting up in an olive grove. he has nine children including a two—month—old daughter. translation: i don't know what will happen in syria. why are all the other countries keeping silent? none of them are happy with the killing of them are happy with the killing of them are happy with the killing of the syrian people. we seek help from god only. for a committed and his young family, this may not be their last stop. with the syrian government is advancing, there are fears of a bloodbath. kelly

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a russian fanfare for the launch of the world's first floating nuclear reactor. is the first african—american to win the nomination of a political party and it is 45 years to the day that martin luther king declared, i have a dream. as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliarlight a dream. as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliar light will appear in the south—eastern sky. an orange glowing disc that is brighter than anything save for the moon, our neighbouring planet, mars. there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor is the world's newest nation. it will take months and billions of dollars to repair what katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest the great clock has been of duty and 117 years

so clock has been of duty and 117 years so it was with great satisfaction the clockmakerjohn vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again. bongs. this is bbc news — the latest headlines: brazil's president has ordered the military to help fight devastating fires in the amazon, amid mounting international pressure. president trump has ordered american firms to find alternatives to trading with china, as the trade war escalates. russia is to launch the world's first floating nuclear power station in the arctic, in spite of the concerns of environmentalists.the 21 thousand tonne vessel has left —— 2i,000—tonne vessel has left murmansk on a 3—week voyage to the chukotka region in russia's far east. sarah rainsford reports from moscow. the giant floating powerstation got

a sendoff from murmansk as it had 3000 miles across the artic to provide energy for a remote mining town. it will replace an ageing coal—fired power plant there and a nuclear station in a move rusher insists is economically —— ecological —— sound and safe. the director says the main advantage of floating plant is to deliver energy precisely where it is needed, however isolated. 0fficials call this clean energy, reducing greenhouse gases. at the environmental group greenpeace says the ship is a floating chernobyl, arguing putting a nuclear plant at sea is risky, that it is vulnerable to storms and colliding with icebergs and dealing with accidents in such remote spots would be a major challenge. concerns over nuclear energy in russia are especially high these days after a deadly explosion during a recent missile test. that accident caused

radiation levels to spike locally. and the secrecy surrounding it is only fuelled suspicion. 0fficials point out the two reactors on this new power plant are the same as those on its nuclear icebreakers. they plan to produce more of the floating stations for export. sarah rainsford reporting from moscow. glasgow university is to raise and spend £20 million to atone for the money it benefited from during the slave trade. it's thought to be the first institution in the uk to put such a programme in place. the money will be used for a research centre which glasgow will manage in partnership with the university of the west indies, to raise awareness of the history of slavery. from glasgow, lorna gordon reports. the university of glasgow was the first civic institution in scotland to petition against slavery. in centuries past, the cloisters here echoed with the voices of prominent abolitionists and academics who challenged the trade in humans.

half but there is a less well—known side to its history. we can see he donated £1000 to the university of glasgow. a search of the institution's archives revealed significant support from those who made their wealth off the back of slaves. we don't think the university of glasgow ever owned any slave people or estates. but what has come to light is the university profited or benefited significantly from the mortifications, benefited mortification the bequests, the gifts from those associated with the slave economies. from north associated with sleep economies from north associated with those benefits now worth perhaps as much as £200 million. my ancestors, we waited over 200 years for this. in a ceremony about recognition and regret, a pledge to help raise millions to research the impact of slavery. much of this work will be based in the caribbean. the concept of research and run has become the norm in british universities.

this is an instance where a university has said, "we have research, we are going to stand our ground "and we are going participate in dealing with the consequences, "adverse and negative, but we can get over them." and where glasgow university goes, the city looks to follow. the reminders of glasgow's links to the historic slave trade surround you here. the buildings, even the names of the streets. now the city council is putting in place, its own plans to look at its slave economy past. but it's the world of academia that has often been at the forefront of arguments over how we remember our history. and while other british universities are now starting to research their involvement with the slave trade, some think acting on that is a step too far. it suggests that people who are alive today either bare some historical responsibility for what their ancestors did in the past, i mean truly barbaric and criminal acts. but to suggest that people alive

today are somehow responsible for the sins of their ancestors, i think is a step too far. from scotland's macca, there was a poem to mark today's occasion. here's a redress that's long been owed. here's a first step on the road. a first step away from gestures towards making amends. lorna gordon, bbc news, glasgow. few places have experienced the effects of climate change as vividly as the arctic. in finnmark, at the northernmost tip of norway, the warmer temperatures pose a challenge for indigenous sami reindeer herders. but one solution to mine copper for a shift to electric vehicles and wind turbines may make things even worse, as our correspondent james cook has been finding out. are sami chief at the top of the work —— world. nils herds reindeer

like his ancestors before him but now his chief and his daughter are worried about the future, a copper mine which they say will disrupt their animals and damage the environment. transmack this is life changing. if this mind becomes reality, that makes the chance of survival impossible, both economically and mentally. at my age, we can manage somehow economically and mentally. at my age, we can manage somehow but the young, they are in a dark, dark time. but exploration is already under way. the norwegian government has approved the mine and the minister in charge says the need for copper outweighs the disruption it will bring. it's true that the arctic is beautiful but for us, for norwegians, it's also a place where we actually live and if the world doesn't have more copper, we won't be able to build more windmills, we might be able to have a huge shift

to electrical cars, for example, that we need. the government says marine life you will be protected by strict environmental standards. this is only a half size. for the fishermen in the fjord where the mind's fishermen in the fjord where the minds the brie will be dumped, those assurances do not hold water. if they start mining, we cannot eat the crab, if we can catch it but i think all the crab will die in this area. there was a mine here once before but that was many years ago and it to divided opinion. this time, the boss argues that his company will revitalise an area that's been struggling economically. we estimate that the mining itself, with people working every day outside, subcontractor and us, will be about 150 employees and then it

will be additional employees in the society, teachers, kindergarten, at cetera. for the sami reindeer herders, that does not like sound like a future full of promise. it's like a future full of promise. it's like they are just taking more and more land. it is mining, its power its wind power. we are so attached to lands in nature and when you just cut that contact, what's left? the fight for this land and this fjord may be a taste of what's to come for all the buzz. as the world realises that shifting to new technology to tackle climate change does come with a cost. scientists and conservationists in kenya so they

have successfully harvested two eggs from the only surviving northern white rhinos to save them from extinction. the eggs will be mobilised using frozen sperm collected in the last mail of the species which died last year. we can bring you some good pictures now of the red arrows joining their us counterparts in a historic flight down new york's hudson river and around the statue of liberty. hundreds of thousands of people lined the river to watch the flypast on thursday. it was the first time the combination ofjets had been brought together in such a way. the red arrows are on an 11—week tour of north america. and a reminder of our main story. the brazilian president has authorised the armed forces to tackle a record number of buyers in the amazon rainforest. it comes after intense pressure from european leaders who threatened to scrap a major trade deal with the main south american block because of his views

on the environment. that's about it. you can reach me on twitter. thank you for watching. i'm @martinstanford. hello there. on friday, the temperature reached 28 celsius in whole but it could be a record—breaking bank holiday weekend. we got a lot of heat and sunshine to come this weekend but there is the risk still of one or two showers because not only are we drawing in the heat from the near continent around that area of high pressure, we are also increasing the community. and we've still got low pressure sitting towards the north—west of the uk and this weather front is hanging around too. for a while it will be quite breezy in the north—west corner of the uk but away from here it looks like we'll have clear skies and those temperatures will dip away to 11— 14 degrees. we've still got more cloud for the north—west of scotland and northern ireland on saturday and

maybe a few showers to come. the highlands and islands, and fermanagh and tyrone but lots of sunshine across other parts of scotland and across other parts of scotland and across england and wales and that heat will build very quickly in the light winds and strong sunshine so warming up light winds and strong sunshine so warming up across light winds and strong sunshine so warming up across the eastern parts of northern ireland, the central belt of scotland, highest temperatures for england and wales widely the high 20s picking 30 or so in the south—east of england. very warm for the ashes day three at headingley. 27 degrees or so in the afternoon in the blue skies and light winds and it'll be lovely and to the day for many parts of the country. a fine evening to come. showers in the north—western across northern ireland, probably tending to fade away overnight. some of the cloud will drift its way into western parts of england and wales, mind you. probably not producing any showers and temperatures again, 11-14. showers and temperatures again, 11—14. there is a risk of one or two showers popping up cloud, the west wales and south—west of england and northern ireland but it's a lower

risk and you can see elsewhere that should be a lot of sunshine, light winds and that heat building further north into scotland with the sunshine in the northwest as well but again, the higher temperatures probably in the midlands, eastern england, 30 or 31 around the london area. on monday, while we've got the risk of a shower, that too is reduced. still a lot of uncertainty about monday. that could be 12 showers around but on the whole it looks like it's going to be dry and sunny. not quite as warm perhaps across western scotland and northern ireland, western fringes of england and wales but the heat is still there towards the east and south—east and again, we could be close to 30 degrees. some uncertainty then through monday and into the beginning of next week. the threat of showers coming up on the south produced. this weatherfront is going to bring rain into scotland and northern ireland slowly but surely, still largely dry and warm in the south—east.

government is advancing, there are fears of a bloodbath. with this is bbc news, the headlines: brazil's presidentjair bolsanoro has ordered the military to help fight the devastating fires in the amazon rainforest. several european leaders have said they are prepared to scrap a huge trade agreement with south america unless brazil takes action to curb the forest fires. president trump has announced further increases to trade tariffs against china. in a series of angry tweets, he said a planned 25% tax on billions of dollars of chinese goods would be increased to 30% from october. the move comes after beijing unveiled new duties on us goods. russia has launched the world's first floating nuclear power station in the arctic, in spite of concerns of environmentalists. it's now on a voyage to russia's far east. it's intended to supply power to oil rigs and spent fuel will be stored on board.