this is bbc news. my name's mike embley with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a massive blast in the lebanese capital beirut leaves almost 80 people dead and thousands injured. the explosion sent shockwaves across the city. translation: i don't know what happened. i was fishing. i heard there was a fire. i turned and started to head home. i heard something explode and then this happened. the lebanese prime minister says a confiscated haul of ammonium nitrate caused the devastating blasts — he promises those responsible would be held accountable. in china, a formerfashion model handcuffed to his bed for so—called reeducation. rare footage of the uighur ethnic minorities held in secretive detention centres we have a special report.

a 2—day curfew is imposed in indian—administered kashmir — ahead of the first anniversary of delhi's decision to revoke the special status of the region. and why the latest issue of british vogue is making history, in front of and behind the camera. hello. a huge blast in the port area of the lebanese capital beirut has killed almost 80 people and injured more than 4000. many people are still missing, believed to be trapped under the rubble. the explosion was so powerful it caused extensive damage to buildings over much of the city and hospitals have been overwhelmed. officials say tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate caused the blast. 0ur middle east editor, jeremy bowen, has been following developments. just to warn you — his report contains distressing images.

explosion. it was a massive explosion. shouting. another view from the bay. and from the streets. what happened 7 oh, my god! oh, my god. it looks as if dozens are dead and several thousand injured. and a country already deep in crisis has been hit by a catastrophe. translation: i don't know what happened. i was fishing. i heard there was a fire. i turned and started to head home. i heard something explode

and then this happened. this was the fire in beirut port. the flashes, they say, were fireworks. then something much bigger ignited. lebanon's interior minister told local media it was ammonium nitrate, which had been stored there since 2014. sirens. it can be used as fertiliser or to make explosives. alarm bell. this is downtown beirut, close to the parliament building. since the end of last year, lebanon has been paralysed by a political and economic crisis, and street demonstrations, before the country was gripped by the pandemic. the damage is spread

across the city. the shock will run much deeper. and this tragedy risks pushing the lebanese further into despair. hassan diab, the prime minister, broadcast to the nation. he told them that those responsible would pay the price. beirut‘s hospitals, already pressed hard by covid—i9, are faced with hundreds of casualties. translation: we were at home. we heard what sounded like fireworks. we thought it was a container in the port that was on fire. a few seconds later, we were flying through the air. lebanon will get international help which, until now, its friends have been reluctant to give because of corruption and incompetence in lebanon's wealthy elite. but public anger, already strong, will demand real change at last,

if lebanon's rulers cannot heal the wounded, fix the damage and punish the guilty. and there is one big question. who allowed the storage of so much deadly explosive for so long in a warehouse so close to the city centre? jeremy bowen, bbc news. 0ur correspondent, carine torbey has been at the american university medical centre in beirut. we are standing at the moment in front of the emergency gate. people are still coming in either to check on their relatives or to check whether their relatives are inside the hospital because they're still a large number of people who are unaccounted for. of course, the hospital, this hospital, like every other hospital in beirut, has been completely overwhelmed. they are working to their utmost capacity and are still unable to deal with the larger number of injured coming to the hospital by the second. of course, every single space

in the hospital has been turned into an emergency unit. as you can see, people are treated in corridors, people are treated even inside offices, not only in the medical rooms of the hospital, because it is impossible to accommodate everyone in the rooms. even the hospitals are categorising people according to the severity of their cases and giving priority to those who are at a very critical condition because this is the only way to deal with this high, very high pressure that they are under at the moment. as you can see, this is like a real emergency inside even in the emergency unit and hospitals. people are here not only because they are injured but also because they are in real shock and panic, and at the moment it is very, very hard to say what is the real scale of what happened this afternoon,

but beirut has been immensely shattered and dropped by this explosion that happened hours ago, and still up until now everyone is looking for questions and everyone is trying to understand what really happened to the capital. we can speak now to vyto babrauskas, founder of fire science and technology inc, who has written an extensive review of ammonium nitrate fertiliser explosions and how they occur. i know you wrote an extensive review, from what you are seeing and hearing here, what do you think happened austin mark it is a question of fire and lack of fire safety consciousness that every single disaster where ammonium nitrate blew up, either in storage or in transport, has one and only one cause and that has been an

uncontrolled fire. from what i can see from the reports, that is precisely what happened in beirut. there was an uncontrolled fire and low and behold, advanced upon a storage of ammonium nitrate and there was a gigantic explosion and that was entirely foreseeable, entirely preventable and there isa entirely preventable and there is a centuries worth of tragic record for anybody who cares to be aware of it, to realise that thatis be aware of it, to realise that that is not how this dangerous material must be treated and stored. if i understand it right, it is generally a fertiliser but it can be used for bombs and was in world war ii, also for the bali bombings in the oklahoma city bombing is also a terrible history of unintentional explosions. what makes it so dangerous and why don't we learn the lessons about storing it? that is a

very good question. i think it is mostly to do with the agricultural industry. in other words they insist that it be classified not as an explosive. in america it is classified as a blasting agent when it is used for fertiliser purposes. but that is wordsmithing. the material can blow up in a disastrous explosion so anybody who uses english in a sensible manner, it is a substance which is an explosive. but because the agricultural industry feels that regulations would be more owner as if there was a forthright admission that this is an explosive substance, it is an explosive substance, it is classified as not an explosive material, even though it is, when it is used for agricultural purposes. if it is used for bomb—making then it is classified as an explosive.

thank you so much for talking to us. more on that story later in the programme. let's round up some of the other main developments. the world health organization has urged russia to follow international guidelines for producing a vaccine for covid—i9. the leadership in moscow has said it will begin vaccinations in october. the russian vaccine is not among the who's list of six that have reached phase three clinical trials, involving more widespread testing on humans. new york city's health commissioner has resigned. dr 0xiris barbot, cited her "deep disappointment" with mayor bill de blasio's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying the health department's incomparable expertise was not used to the degree it could have been. more than 20,000 new yorkers died of the virus, although infection rates are now low. a united nations report has warned that north korea is still developing its nuclear programme despite international sanctions — and may already have reached a key milestone. according to the study, several countries believe

the north already has the ability to mount nuclear warheads on its ballistic missiles. colombia's supreme court has placed former president alvaro uribe under house arrest, over allegations of witness tampering and fraud. he has repeatedly denied such claims but will now stand trial in october. the court reached the decision after concluding there was potential for obstruction ofjustice to take place. the bbc has obtained rare footage from inside china's secretive system of mass incarceration — in the far western region of xianjing. in a self—shot video, a former fashion model — who is from the uighur ethnic group — can be seen handcuffed to a bed. his relatives say he was taken away for what china has called reeducation and that nothing has been heard from him since. up toi million uighurs have been detained in so—called ‘educational training' centres. neither the chinese foreign

ministry nor xinjiang authorities have responded to the bbc‘s requests for comment. john sudworth has this report. a few years ago, merden ghappar was a long way from his home in xinjiang, making good money as a fashion model in southern china. but this is him in february. his camera reveals his filthy clothes, and his left arm handcuffed to a bed. he is now clearly back in xinjiang. beyond the steel mesh on the window, a propaganda announcement drones away in the uighur language. despite the risk that it may bring him further punishment, relatives, including his uncle, who lives in amsterdam, say they have no choice but to release the video he sent them. translation: staying silent won't help him, either. the only thing i can do is to raise public awareness.

it is our only chance to rescue him. the young model had already served 16 months injail, having been convicted of a drugs offence in 2018, although his family say he was innocent. upon completing his sentence, whatever relief he may have felt was short lived. soon afterwards, the police picked him up again and took him back to xinjiang, for, they said, a few days education. we have asked chinese government officials here whether he was suspected of any further offence and, even if he was, why he was handcuffed to a bed. we have received no response. china has built a vast network of highly secure facilities across xinjiang, some of which we were shown as part of its efforts to convince the world that they're schools for combating extremism, not camps. but last year, under intense international criticism, it said they were being closed.

the texts merden ghappar sent, along with his video, clearly suggest otherwise. "50—60 people were locked in a small room," he writes. "all had sacks on their heads and handcuffs and shackles." elsewhere, he could hear the sounds of torture. "one time, i heard a man screaming from morning to evening", he writes. his first—hand description of the police holding cell is very, very vivid. he writes in very, very good chinese. it gives us a lot of detail, and frankly, a lot of horrific detail about the way in which these people are treated. so it is quite a rare source. in the end, it was the virus that allowed him to get word out from this secretive system. with a slightly high temperature, he was moved to this isolation cell as a precaution

and given access to personal belongings, which, unknown to his guards, contained his phone. but as suddenly as they began, the messages stopped. he has not been heard from since. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why the latest issue of british vogue is making history — in front of — and behind the camera. the question was whether we want to save our people and japanese, as well and win the war, or whether we want to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. the invasion began at two o'clock this morning. mr bush, like most other people, was clearly caught by surprise. we call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the iraqi forces. 100 years old and still full

of vigour, vitality and enjoyment of life. no other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that she's achieved this landmark anniversary. this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: almost 80 people have been killed and thousands injured in a huge explosion in the lebanese capital beirut. the lebanese prime minister says a confiscated haul of ammonium nitrate is to blame for the blast. he vowed that those responsible would be held accountable. the authorities in

indian—administered kashmir have imposed a two—day curfew ahead of the first anniversary of delhi's decision to revoke the special status of the region. new razor wire and steel barricades have been placed on key roads of the main city srinagar. thousands of troops have been patrolling in other parts of the region. local leaders have called for the anniversary to be marked as a black day. joining us now from kashmir to tell us more is independentjournalist, aa kash hassan. good to talk to you and thank you for your time. after one year, what would you say is the situation on the ground? right 110w situation on the ground? right now as i am speaking with you there is a curfew on the road, roads are completely deserted. there are paramilitary forces and razor wire has been laid to block any movement. as of now people are not allowed to move out. this has been the

situation for the last year. commune elation lines remain snapped for six months which include connections to internet and landline connections. right 110w and landline connections. right now people are not allowed to move out of their homes because the authorities believe that there may be protests. how are local people coping with all of this? it has been really difficult for the local people, especially if you look at the economic effect of the change new delhi has made because for the last year there has been no business going on. there has been a complete lockdown on the pandemic lockdown which was imposed across the world, more oi’ imposed across the world, more or less, has further crippled

the life. there have been more than half a millionjob losses in the region. we have seen suggestions that there have been $5.1; billion of loss to the local economy. there is helplessness. people are very worried that more than that people are worried about the new laws, the slew of new laws that have been brought in which gives permission to the non— kashmiri, the outsiders, to own property, buy land here. the locals fear that this is an attempt to make change in the only muslim majority in the region which is contested between india and pakistan. with that kind of economic damage, surely the situation cannot go on. is there any sign of it easing at all? it does not seem so because new delhi has been bringing new laws time and again. the recent law has

been brought in. the domicile law where residents certificate are issued to non— residents. entitling them to residency rights and jobs. around 400,000 people have got these certificate in just one people have got these certificate injust one month. these people include bureaucrat, they include army soldiers from the paul and other hindu minority groups. thank you so much for talking to us. virgin australia is set to cut at least 3000 jobs and scrap its budget carrier brand is part of a slimming down of the business. thejob part of a slimming down of the business. the job losses part of a slimming down of the business. thejob losses make up business. thejob losses make up about one third of the workforce and another 6000 staff are to be retained. virgin atlantic earlier filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in new york, virgin australia took a similar step in april. airlines across the

world a re in april. airlines across the world are hammered by the drop in air travel world are hammered by the drop in airtravel during world are hammered by the drop in air travel during the pandemic. for the first time in its history the cover of british vogue has been shot by a black male photographer with a predominantly black team on set. the magazine's editor said the september issue was a rallying cry for the future and includes 40 activists described as the "faces of hope". brenda emmanus reports. if a picture paints 1,000 words, then this is the vision for hope for the future as seen by the editor of british vogue. the prestigious september issue has been dedicated to activism and features a host of international authors and change—makers, led by footballer marcus rashford and model turned mental health campaigner adwoa aboah. because we've been in covid, and then we went into sort of really an incredible time of change, these people for me, reflect where we need to go, where we need to be. in the past three years, edward enninful has stormed towards his vision of a more

diverse publication. he's showcased big names and aspiring talent, had meghan markle as a guest editor, and turned key workers into cover stars. it was misan harriman‘s photographs of the black lives matter movement that drew him to the attention of vogue's editor. what i felt i could do is capture a time capsule of a truly unique time in british civil rights history. and i didn't know what to expect. and when i went out there, i saw this wave of solidarity. he became the first black man in the magazine's history to shoot a front cover, producing images with a resounding message. reni eddo—lodge earned her place in the publication as a best—selling author of ‘why i am no longer talking to white people about race'. she has praise for vogue's leadership, saying it is activism at its best. leading, basically. leading, not following what you think the mass wants, but actually leading.

because i think, you know, if more cultural leaders did that, they would be pleasantly surprised. like i say, i don't think my book would have been picked up in 2012, but in the last few months it hit number one in a year marked by global challenges, vogue claims to deliver a message of hope by celebrating the activists determined to make a difference. brenda emmanus, bbc news. let's return to our main story. that huge blast in the lebanese capital. killed almost 80 people and injured more than 4000. paul hawkins is with me. no date on the figures so far, as you say, 4000 injured, 80 people, almost 80 people dead. the lebanese president pointing to hundreds of tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate which is now the subject of an investigation. he declared a three day morning period and has indicated that the government will release $66 million of emergency funds. the

prime minister has called it a catastrophe and spoke of a dangerous warehouse which a p pa re ntly dangerous warehouse which apparently has been there since 2014 but he would not pre—empt the investigation. the lebanese supreme defence council has said those responsible would face the maximum punishment available. a lot of reaction coming from around the world. president donald trump in a press c0 nfe re nce president donald trump in a press conference in the white house was asked about the explosion in the lebanese capital and he said he had spoken to his unnamed generals and said, quote, unquote it looks like a terrible attack, the blast was not some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event, they seem to think it was an attack. it was a bomb of some kind although we should stress that the lebanese authorities very much seem to be pointing towards this being an accident, an industrial accident. the french president, by the way, strong links to the region, they say they are deploying a civil security unit

are several kinds of medical equipment and emergency doctors. worth mentioning of course that i think almost every expert in the field that we have spoken to has pointed to this history of ammonium nitrate unintentional explosions because of the way it is stored. a terrible thing to happen anywhere but particularly in lebanon which already has economic and political trouble and the pandemic. the country is pretty much on its knees anyway and has been struggling with unrest four weeks because, as you say, of political and economic strife. this is the last thing they need and beirut port is such a significant hub, economically, for the country. it is difficult to think that there will not be food shortages, given the amount of damage there is to the port which will be out of action for some time. thank you very much for that. much more on that and much more on all our news national and international any on the bbc website. of course

you can always download the bbc news app to your tablet or smart phone. iron the team are on twitter. —— i and the team are on twitter. hello there. we're holding onto this north—west, south—east divide. certainly on tuesday it was the case, with many southern and eastern parts of england seeing plenty of dry, bright, warm and sunny weather. but it was a very different story further north. we had outbreaks of rain in northern ireland, northern england, and for scotland it really was a soaking wet day. now, this weather front responsible for it will sink a little bit further southwards into central areas to start wednesday, but we've got another front which will move into western areas later in the day. this first front will start to migrate northwards again through the morning, taking the patchy rain with it. this next weather front will push across the irish sea, into parts of wales and western england, the odd heavier burst mixed in there. and then further north—west, it will be rather cloudy with spots of drizzle at times.

a blustery day to come, particularly in england and wales. but once again, we'll stay dry with some brightness across england, the top temperatures 25—27 degrees. also fairly warm across aberdeenshire, with some brightness there. now, through wednesday night it stays rather cloudy with further outbreaks of rain pushing on in towards the north sea. but i think that will leave a legacy of clouds and clear spells and once again it's going to be quite a warm and humid night to come. now, this weather front really started out as we head on into thursday. you can see it fade out there in response to this building area of high pressure over the near continent, and that's going to be the theme as we end the week with high pressure starting to dominate. so that weather front as it fizzles out, it will take any showers with it, the cloud should start to break up, but as we start to pick up warm and southerly winds, i think it will be a dry day for many of us with variable cloud and sunny spells. and warmer, too, temperatures reaching the low 20s further north, the high 20s across the south—east. as we head on into friday, we could see a little bit of rain returning to western areas, some of it

could be heavy. but for the bulk of the country, central, southern and eastern areas, it's going to be a very warm or even a hot day with plenty of sunshine. so again, low 20s in the north and west, 30 to maybe 34 degrees in the south—east. so feeling quite hot again. as we move into the weekend, looks like another area of high pressure will build in across the uk and will settle things down, so it should be drier even further north and west, too. and again, another hot day across the south—east on saturday, signs of it starting to cool down a little bit as we head on into sunday.

this is bbc news, the headlines: at least 80 people have been killed and thousands injured by a huge explosion in the lebanese capital beirut. many people are still missing, believed trapped under rubble. the blast was so powerful it caused extensive damage to buildings over much of the city. the lebanese prime minister has blamed a confiscated haul of thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate. he has promised those responsible will be held accountable. lebanon was already facing huge economic and political difficulties, along with the covid—19 pandemic. the bbc has obtained rare footage from inside china's secretive system of mass incarceration, which detains up to a million muslim uighurs in the far—western region of xinjiang. in a self—shot video, a formerfashion model can be seen handcuffed to a bed.

his relatives say he's been detained for so called "re—education" and nothing has been heard from him since. now on bbc news, panorama. since lockdown began, almost 250,000 babies have been born in the uk. oh, it's making me cry! i've come to bradford to spend a week on the front line of a maternity unit, finding out how the pandemic has hit pregnancy and birth. i've got, like, new mum anxiety with, like, pandemic anxiety on top of that! bradford has one of the largest south asian communities in britain, one of the ethnic groups ha rdest—hit by covid—19. how has the threat of the virus here affected mums—to—be? i'm really nervous about going into hospital. i'm struggling to sleep,

struggling to eat.