this is bbc world 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 aokm/h. turmoil on global stock markets as donald trump slaps further tarrifs on chinese imports. chinese authorities release simon cheng, the british consulate workerfrom hong kong who went missing two weeks ago. 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 bowed to international pressure and authorised the armed forces to tackle a record number of fires in the amazon forest. in a televised address, he said that wildfires could happen in any country and shouldn't be used as 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 there. 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. translation: those countries that send money here, they are not doing it for charity. i hope everyone can understand that. 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 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.

a few 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. our americas editor, leonardo rocha, watched president bolsonaro's tv address. 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. 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 amazon, especially the president, on thursday and again on friday. the french 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. we will have more on the issues to do with the rain forest a little later in the programme. let's get some of the day's other news. the south korean military says that north korea has fired two short range missiles from its east coast into the sea. japan said the launches were a clear violation of un resolutions and could not be ignored. it's the third time north korea has tested new missile systems in the last month. prosecutors in paris have opened a preliminary investigation into jeffrey epstein. police will look in to whether the disgraced financier committed sex crimes in france or against french citizens. epstein, who had a flat in paris, was found dead in his prison cell in new york earlier this month.

the german carmaker volkswagen says it is recalling nearly 700—thousand vehicles in the united states, over fears that they could roll away if left unattended. volkswagen said the fault was due to an electrical issue — although there've been no injuries as a result of the fault. the trade war between the us and china has taken yet another twist — president trump has further increased tariffs on chinese goods. making the announcement on twitter, the us president said that the 25% tariffs he'd announced before will increase to 30% from i october. earlier, wall street tumbled with the dowjones closing down more than 600 points.

the president's comments are part of an ongoing tussle with beijing. our washington correspondent chris buckler says that as well as increasing tariffs, the president told american firms to look at alternatives to trading with china. in a series of furious tweets he attacked china, appeared to heighten the trade war, and he ordered, and 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 by american businesses and households 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 the economy is weighing on president trump's mind as there is no bigger threat to a president seeking re—election. 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 our 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. president trump has ordered american firms to find alternatives to trading with china, as the trade war escalates. let's have more on our main story — jair bolsonaro's gave a tv address on the amazon fires. luiza lima, public politics officer for greenpeace, brazil, says the president

hasn't gone far enough, in his plans for tackling the flames. bolsonaro made an announcement on national tv, but he didn't make any concrete or present any concrete measure to combat deforestation in brazil. he has mentioned the plan to send operations to the state that would like it to be done. but this is definitely not what we expected from the president, especially in the end of this week in which the amazon destruction caused by his government has been so widely denounced worldwide. the brazilian president has said that he believes the reason behind the fires is above average temperatures and dry weather. is he right? well, since

bolsonaro took office he has been dismantling the country's environmental policy. he has made several statements that only encouraged criminal practice against the environment and bring harm to the environment and bring harm to the country. the numbers of forest fires increased by ia5% this year, when compared to the same period last year. so it is hard for us to say that it is just caused by a dry season, like it's definitely caused by his anti— environment policy. there has obviously been a big reaction internationally, we have heard from the eu about some eu countries not wanting to sign a free trade deal, the g7 will be talking about it, but the president said there are fires everywhere and it should not lead to international sanctions. do you think the international community should use some form of sanction? well, the

fires that are in the arm is on our damaging the reputation of brazil internationally, that is for sure —— amazon. even our business leaders are ata amazon. even our business leaders are at a meeting that the environmental policy from bolsonaro can bring environmental damages, we regret that we have come to this situation, as who is going to suffer the most is the brazilian population. like we are facing an economic crisis, very big, here in brazil. we have huge hate of deployment happening. so we are really sorry. nevertheless, in a statement that says there is international pressure that can be a colonialist imprint all this is the one that it is blaming that it is causing damage to brazil's image,

those who are denouncing the environmental problems caused by his administration. just briefly, those fires are still burning in the amazon. what needs to happen immediately to put those fires out? immediately he needs to present a plan and put it in action. he didn't do it so far. it is just saying that he loves the amazon. this is not enough. luiza lima there, from greenpeace, in brazil. a british consulate worker in hong kong who was detained by the chinese authorities has been released full simon cheng went missing on august 8th during a business trip trip to mainland china. the bbc‘s stephen mcdonelljoins us now from hong kong. what more do we know about the release of simon cheng? well, 15 days ago, here at calhoun west train

station, simon cheng, who is an investment officer at the british consulate was attempting to re—enter hong kong. it wasjust consulate was attempting to re—enter hong kong. it was just about to cross the border. inside this train station, technically, it is mainland china. —— kowloon. when you cross over the border, when you get out of the train, you walk into this building, then you are back in hong kong. he never made it though, back to hong kong, he has been held for 15 days. according to the shenzhen police, he has now been released. they say he admitted his guilt, but they didn't say what it is he has been guilty of. and his family has also posted on social media that simon cheng is back with them, he wa nts to simon cheng is back with them, he wants to rest, and he will be

speaking to the media at some point in the future. now, interestingly, the british consulate, his employer, has not had independent verification of his relief. so that is as much as we know at the moment. of course, this has been the source of yet more tension between britain and china over hong kong. this followed ageing telling london to keep its nose out of hong kong affairs, saying what happens now in the former british colony with this crisis is nothing to do with london —— beijing. non—aboriginal‘s business. and the detention of an employee has increased tensions —— not england's business. will we see more protests today? there are more protests playing today. up until now, this

weekend, those actions we have seen have been peaceful. last night there was a human chain, people holding hands, there was an accountants' protests, christian protest, all in favour of democracy. the same really for last weekend ‘s. in the pro—democracy camp there has been a push to keep things peaceful. but we have had no indication from the government here it is prepared to adhere to any of the demands of the protest movement. so there are still fears that at some point it could turn violent again if those in the more radical count, today, for example, straight from the approved foods, head to police stations, and attacked them with bricks and the like. we will see what happens. steven mcdonnell in hong kong. thank you very much that update. russia is to launch the world's first floating nuclear power station in the arctic, in spite of the concerns of environmentalists. the 21,000 tonne vessel has left murmansk on a three week voyage to the chukotka 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 arctic 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 sami reindeer herders. but one solution 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 power lines, 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. don't forget, all of the top stories

on our website. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @regedahmadbbc. see you soon. 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—111. 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: brazil's president, jair 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. a worker at britain's consulate in hong kong who was detained by the chinese authorities has been released. simon cheng went missing on august the eighth during a business trip to mainland china. a statement on his facebook page says that he will not be talking to the media at present.

artificial intelligence is transforming many sectors