welcome to bbc news — i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: as the amazon burns, brazil's president blames dry weather and above—average temperatures. he's authorised federal troops to fight the fires. 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. one of a million children caught in the syrian conflict. we'll hear from the families trying to escape airstrikes in idlib. and — the cost of tackling climate change. how green technologies

are threatening arctic traditions. 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. in a televised address the brazilian president pushed back, saying the fires shouldn't be an excuse for international sanctions. the fires are scattered widely across the amazon, most notably in the north of brazil. they're the most intense in the region for almost a decade — as camilla mota reports from the amazon. 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 rondonia, one of the most 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 cashew 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. 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 advance. 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. our 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 co2 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. opening 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. a couple of hours ago president bolsonaro, speaking on brazilian tv, blamed the fires on dry weather and above average temperatures. translation: all the countries have expressed solidarity with brazil. they have offered to help tackle

the wildfires but have also offered to take brazil's position to the g7 meeting. wildfires can happen anywhere and they should not be used as a pretext for international sanctions. i'm joined by the world service americas editor leonardo rocha. his tone has been quite combative up to this point. has there been a change? president bolsonaro still has a feisty style and his address on national television was very strong and he defended his position. but he opened his statement by saying how much he loved the amazon. asa saying how much he loved the amazon. as a military man and former army captain, he spent time there and he would defend the forest. that is a change of tone because, as we heard

during the campaign he was talking about developing, opening up the indigenous reserves for logging and mining and there has been a change of tone there in his speech about the environment. how worried has he been about the statements we have heard from the eu, for example, saying it may not sign this huge trade deal and the g7 wants to talk about the fires. i think everyone was taken by surprise in brazil including people who have been trying to protect the arm is on especially the president on thursday and again on friday. the french president was very strong in his state m e nts president was very strong in his statements and the threat of sanctions against brazil, of banning, for example, beef imports, much of which is produced in the amazon on, that created a lot of problems for president bolsonaro in his constituency, the people who produce soy and beef and he was

really under threat and under pressure to do something about it hence the decision to deploy the armed forces in the amazon. thank you very much for taking us through that. we will have more on the issues to do with the rain forest fires a little later in the programme including more of a look of what bolsonaro had to say. 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 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. the usjustice department says that financierjeffrey epstein was removed from suicide watch after being examined by a psychologist.

he was awaiting trial on sex—trafficking charges when he was found dead in his cell. an autopsy report concluded that he hanged himself. for the past week, thousands of syrian families have been fleeing a government offensive in the last opposition stronghold of idlib. the syrian army, backed by russia and iran have pushed rebels out of a strategic town. hundreds of civilians have been killed after a ceasefire in the area crumbled several months ago. with more on the situation in idlib and the people still trapped there, here's martin patience. 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 russianjets 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 islamists 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. ahmad 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? all of them are happy with the killing of the syrian people. we seek help from god only. for ahmad and his young family, this may not be their last stop. with the syrian government advancing, there are fears of a bloodbath. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a russian fanfare for the launch of the world's first floating nuclear reactor.

he's the first african—american to win the presidential nomination of a major party and he accepts exactly 45 years to the day that martin luther king declared, "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliar light will appear in the south—eastern sky. an orange glowing disc that's brighter than anything, save the moon — our neighbouring planet, mars. horn toots there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as 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 off duty in 117 years so it was with great satisfaction that clockmakerjohn vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again.

big ben 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. let's get more on our top story, the fires in the amazon. nigel sizer is chief project officer at the rainforest alliance. he has worked in the amazon for the past 30 years. he joins us now from new york. thank you for your time. first of all, all scenarios spoke a few hours ago. —— bolsonaro spoke a few hours ago. —— bolsonaro spoke a few hours ago. he said the fires were due to above average temperatures and dry weather. is that the case? no, that is not the case. the fires we are

seeing in brazil at the moment are significantly greater than we have seen significantly greater than we have seenin significantly greater than we have seen in recent years. and we are only halfway through the dry season. so this is the time of year when farmers set these fires, but the numbers have been shocking. we expect when there is further analysis, as we go through the next few months, we will see the situation is really quite serious. just briefly, before we move on to the solution, what do you put the fires down to, then? if they are not because of high temperatures? well, i think we should really welcome the statement that the president of brazil made tonight. it was a very significant change from what he has been saying up until now. he seems to now be taking the situation very seriously. he is clearly hearing the message, not only from world leaders but actually from, i think, hundreds of millions of people on social media, including tens of millions of people in brazil. he gave a green light for this to unfold. he

encouraged farmers and others to invade and illegally clear land. it has been a message consistently in his campaign, and since he was elected. i think this crisis was com pletely elected. i think this crisis was completely avoidable. he is now on the back foot, but he is saying we are going to get serious about dealing with it and we have to welcomed out. as you say, some change in tone from the brazilian president. he is sending in the army. is that going to help, or is it too late? well, it is very hard to put out these fires once they are burning. they are in remote locations. there isn't even necessarily water nearby that can be used to douse them. once they reach a certain scale it is almost impossible to fight them. you see the difficulty a country like the us has, dealing with forest fires in california. what is really needed here is a return to the policies of previous administrations. this president has defunded the agencies

in purcell but were enforcing the law, but were helping to prevent these kinds of fires. —— agencies in brazil. it is prevention which is key to deal with these kinds of crises. he needs to welcome again a partnership with ngos, with environmental groups, with the business community, with international partners, which he has been turning away over recent days. and work together to address this challenge. as brazil has done, very successfully in the past. nigel, thank you so much for your time and analysis. thank you. the trade war between the us and china has taken yet another twist. within the last few hours, donald trump has further increased tariffs on chinese goods. on twitter the us president announced that $250 billion in chinese goods currently attracting 25% tariffs would now be taxed at 30%, from the ist 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 earlier imposed additional tariffs on us imports worth about $75 billion.

let's go live to our north america correspondent, david willis. david, it just goes david, itjust goes on and on with this china trade dispute. but donald trump is really react in quite variously? well, i think the reason for that is that there is nothing which focuses the mind of a president seeking re—election than the state of the american economy. there has been word in the last few days but the us economy might be facing some sort of slowdown in the run—up to next year's november election. to somebody like president trump, who wastes no opportunity in telling anybody who will listen just how good the economy here is, that is the equivalent of a red rag to a bull. so he has been attempting to portray those economic soothsayers,

if you like, as fake news. imagine, then, how he felt waking up today to hear that the chinese were slapping ta riffs hear that the chinese were slapping tariffs on $75 billion worth of american imports in a tit—for—tat move. now, the president responded by saying that the us does not need china, in fact, by saying that the us does not need china, infact, it by saying that the us does not need china, in fact, it would be better off, as he put it, without them. he said he was ordering american companies who do business in china to look for an alternative. on top of all that, we had the man who leads the equivalent of america's central banks, the federal reserve, a man named jerome powell, a man who has been very reluctant to embrace donald trump's enthusiasm for cutting interest rates, saying today that trade tensions were hitting the global economy, but giving no indication, once again, but he plans to cut interest rates. that prompted the president to go off the deep end again. who is our bigger enemy,

jerome powell president xi, he tweeted. the markets then fell, 600 points plus, as far as the dowjones was concerned. and then, once the markets were closed, the president announced those further tariffs, an additional 5% on billions of dollars worth of chinese imports. basically, the taxes on some chinese imports will be at 30% from the start of october. david, i am sure this is not the last we will hear of all of this. david willis, our north america correspondence, thank you very much. —— correspondent. russia is to launch the world's first floating nuclear power station in the arctic, in spite of the concerns of environmentalists. thre 2i,000—tonne vessel has left murmansk on a three week voyage to the chukota region in russia's far east. sarah rainsford reports from moscow. fanfare. the giant floating power station got a send—off from murmansk as it heads

over 3,000 miles east across the artic to provide energy to a remote mining town. the akademik lomonosov will replace a coal—fired power plant and an ageing nuclear station in a move russia insists is both ecologically sound and safe. the station's director, dmitry alekseenko, says the main advantage of the floating plant is to deliver energy precisely where it's needed, however isolated. officials also call this clean energy, reducing greenhouse gases. but the environmental group greenpeace has dubbed the lomonosov a floating chernobyl, arguing putting a nuclear plant at sea is risky, that it's 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 all the official secrecy surrounding it has only fuelled fear and suspicion.

russian officials point out, though, that the two reactors on this new power plant are like those already in use on its nuclear icebreakers. they plan to produce more of the floating stations for exports. sarah rainsford reporting from moscow. 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 saami reindeer herders. but one solution — to mine copperfor a shift to electric vehicles and wind turbines — may make things even worse, as our correspondent james cook has been finding out. a sami chief at the top of the world. nils mathis sara herds reindeer like his ancestors before him but now the chief and his daughter are worried about the future, a copper mine which they say will disrupt their animals and damage the environment. translation: this is life-changing.

if this mine becomes reality, that makes the chance of survival impossible, both 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 won't be able to have a huge shift to electrical cars, for example, that we need. the government says marine life here will be protected by strict environmental standards. this is only a half size and they grow up to be... but for the fishermen in the fjords where the mine's debris 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 too 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 at site, subcontractor and us, will be about 150 employees and then there will be additional employees in the society, teachers, kindergarten, at cetera. but for the sami reindeer herders, that does not like sound like a future full of promise. it's like they are just taking more and more land. it's mining, it's powerlines, it's wind power. we are so attached to lands and 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 of us, as the world realises that shifting to new technology to tackle climate change does come with a cost. james cook, bbc news, finnmark in norway. you can reach me on twitter. before we go, a reminder of our top story. as all‘s president, how bolsonaro, has ordered the military to help fight the devastating fires in the amazon rainforest. —— jair bolsonaro. 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. of course, you can get much more on that on our website. hello there. on friday, the temperature reached 28 celsius in hull but it could be a record—breaking bank holiday weekend. we've 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 humidity. 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'll be quite breezy in the north—west corner of the uk but away from here, it looks like we'll have clearer skies and those temperatures will dip away to 11—14 degrees. now, we've still got more cloud for the north—west of scotland and northern ireland on saturday and maybe a few showers to come for the highlands and islands, as well as fermanagh and tyrone but away from here, lots of sunshine 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

across the eastern parts of northern ireland, the central belt of scotland, highest temperatures for england and wales widely the high 20s, peaking at 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 end to the day for many parts of the country. a fine evening to come. the showers in the north—west and 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. there is the risk of one or two showers popping off from this cloud, for west wales and south—west of england and northern ireland but it's a lower risk and you can see elsewhere there should be a lot of sunshine again, light winds, that heat building further north into scotland with the sunshine in the north—west 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. there could be one or two 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 from the south reduced. this weather front is going to bring rain into scotland and northern ireland slowly but surely, but still largely dry and warm in the south—east.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the brazilian president has ordered the military to help fight the devastating fires in the amazon ra i nfo rest. devastating fires in the amazon ra i nforest. several devastating fires in the amazon rainforest. several european leaders have said they are prepared to scrub a huge trade agreement with south america unless brazil takes action to curb the fires. president trump has announced further increases to trade tariffs against china. in a series of angry tweets he said a planned tariff on goods would be increased to 30% from october. this move comes after beijing unveiled new duties on us goods. russia has launched the world ‘s first floating nuclear power station in the arctic. it is now on a voyage to the far east of russia, power to oil rigs and spent fuel will be stored on board.