this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm kasia madera. france's president calls for "profound change" from lebanon's leadership and an international investigation as he visits beirut after tuesday's explosion. taking aim at the national rifle association. new york's attorney general accuses the group of fraud and sues to disband it. and as italy struggles to draw back the tourists — new ways to try to make visitors feel safe. you hang it around your neck and then if you get closer to 1.8 metres to the person next year, it vibrates. ingenious.

hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. amid the grief and pain in lebanon, there's growing anger at the government. the massive explosion in beirut killed at least 137 people — and injured more than 5,000 — dozens are still missing. the french president, emmanuel macron is the first world leader to visit since the blast and called for "profound change" from lebanon's leadership. here's our middle east correspondent quentin sommerville. france's president said he was here to bring home truths to lebanon's politicians. he received an earful of them in beirut‘s gemmayzeh neighbourhood. woman shouting they stopped clearing up their shattered homes and streets, and begged for help. please help us! please, please! do something about us! the french president is being pulled in all directions behind me, there is a great deal of anger

here among the lebanese people. some are calling for a revolution. others are telling them that there needs to be political change in this country. most are just asking for help. their own president, they declaimed as a terrorist. and as they've demanded for nearly a year now, they called for a revolution. one woman, angry that the government wasn't doing enough to find the dead and injured, let rip. in the country's hour of need, it was a foreign leader who listened. few lebanese politicians dare get this close. the french president spoke to aida heosh. he said you must try our best again and again. we shall do this because for our children, the future of our children, because... we are all desperate because we have had enough. we are hopeless in this country. every time we try to

do some project or... we don't have dreams any more. we don't have dreams. translation: we know that the crisis here is serious and implies a historical responsibility on the part of the leaders in place. it is a political, moral, economic, and financial crisis of which the lebanese people are the first victims. but some in lebanon can't yet worry about the future. they‘ re too lost in the present. this family hold a vigil outside the gates of the docks. they take it in turns. zeinab is searching for her husband, ali. he had a good job until lebanon's economic crisis. two months ago, he started work at the port for just a few dollars a day. "we've been here for days," she told me. "no one came to hear our cries and no one tells us "whether he's alive or dead. "if it was any of their sons missing, they would be "moving heaven and earth.

"for us, no one has showed up." this was lebanon's lifeline to the world and it's now in ruins. this is what's left of the country's electricity provider. it barely functioned before the explosion. rebuilding this will take billions — whole neighbourhoods have been abandoned. a job like this will require international effort. and tonight, the anger boils over again. more fury at the leaders who don't appear to be listening. the response in lebanon's hour of need was more tear gas. the government's incompetence has brought tragedy here. it may unleash much more. quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. quentin described the situation in beirut tonight. there's a lot of pain here at the moment, a lot of suffering and a lot of grief.

they're still searching for bodies at this very moment. but increasingly, there is anger here about who is responsible, who is to blame for this enormous catastrophe. their own politicians aren't really to be seen. they're almost invisible, if you like — greatly disrespected by large swathes of the lebanese population, who are sick of their corruption, sick of their mismanagement. and could there be any bigger example of this country's dysfunction than the fact that dangerous chemicals were stored just down here, right in the heart of the city? somehow that they managed to explode despite the government being warned that this was a threat and a danger, notjust to all of beirut but to all of lebanon. still, this was allowed to happen. and the people, who have already got rid of one government... remember, they took to the streets last year in protest, demanding change. well, that wasn't enough for them, and now they're looking at this aftermath — and you have to wonder,

will change finally come for this country? quentin sommerville reporting from beirut. we are seeing many countries pay tribute and send their support. this is christ the redeemer in rio dejaneiro where as you can see the statue isn't lit up in the colours of lebanon's flack about the huge statue with swatches over rio dejaneiro statue with swatches over rio de janeiro now showing statue with swatches over rio dejaneiro now showing support having the colours, the red and the white and the spanish cedar tree there let's out to show support for all of those injured and for those many who have lost their homes in beirut. —— lebanon's flag. much more of course on oui’ beirut. —— lebanon's flag. much more of course on our website booklets now turn to the united states. in the us, new york's attorney general has filed a major lawsuit against the national rifle association, trying

to dissolve the group. top officials are accused of funding their lavish lifestyles by corruption and misspending. the nra's defence of the right to bear arms gives it huge cultural and political influence in the us, though it's a lightning rod for advocates of gun control. 0ur north america editor jon sopel has more. that protesters can freely walk the streets of america armed to the teeth is largely down to the formidable power of the national rifle association, arguably the most influential lobbying organisation in the us. the right to bear arms is their cause but how the nra has been spending its money has led to them coming under distinctly unfriendly fire from the new york attorney general. just a few minutes ago, my office filed a lawsuit against the national rifle association, to dissolve the organisation in its entirety. she paints a picture of wild indulgence. they use millions upon millions of dollars from the nra for personal use, including for lavish trips for themselves and their families, private

jets, expensive meals, and other private travel. the national rifle association also spends fortunes backing like—minded candidates in elections and none is more like—minded than donald trump. coincidentally, the nra announced today it would be spending millions in the battleground states supporting the president, attacking his opponent, joe biden. donald trump has never sought to hide his admiration for the nra leadership. i am thrilled to be here in indiana with the men and women of the nra. you are great american patriots. but today he tried to switch the focus away from their excesses to what a joe biden presidency might mean for gun rights. he is following the radical left agenda. take away your guns, destroy your second amendment, no religion, no anything.

hurt the bible, hurt god. he's against god, he's against guns. millions of ordinary americans own and carry weapons and go to gun shows like this one in the same way you would a garden centre or diy store. can i just walk out with it if i give you the money? if you give me the money and show me your driver's license. but after every mass shooting, there is a familiar chorus for gun control. the move by new york's attorney general won't bring a swift demise to the nra, but it will ensure that guns will be a well—trodden cultural battleground come this november's election. jon sopel, bbc news, virginia. earlier i spoke to journalist, frank smyth, who wrote a book about the nra called nra — the unauthorised history. and he told me about the background to the new york attorney general‘s lawsuit. a number of things happened when she filed her initial request for documents.

the nra leadership in virginia asked their long—time communications partner ackerman mcqueen in oklahoma to provide records of the billings that they had charged the nra for in the millions of dollars. and ackerman mcqueen resisted doing so. that prompted a split in the nra and a number of accusations came out that didn't come from the attorney general but came from different factions within the nra. 0n the one hand you have wayne lapierre the ceo for the nra for the past 29 years who's been a really effective leader for the nra in its own terms and has been quite popular among the board that governs the nra as well as the membership, but then the nra president at the time oliver north, the former reagan administration of iran contra fame, backed up by other well—known board members like ted nugent, the rock musician, as well as alan west who is now the chair of the texas republican party, all formed an alliance

against lapierre and they began leaking accusations to the wall streetjournal that are exactly the same kind of information that letitia james is now going for. so i think she has quite a bit of evidence to pursue an effective case. and also the nra board last year when evidence of these financial dealings came to light, voted in the board to retroactively approve these transactions and sanction what lapierre has done. in a way that makes the entire board and the nra more culpable than just a few officials and it seems that is the line of attack that letitia james, the new york attorney general, is pursuing to say that her goal is to dissolve the nra and put it out of existence. the figures are absolutely staggering. the suggestion is that $61; million lost in around three years, is that by around the people at the top, so a handful of people. what's going on with the nra and will it actually make any

difference in terms of how americans who believe in the second amendment feel about this organisation? the people at the top, lapierre and his top aides, a few of whom have history of financial malfeasance in their dealings in organisations in companies prior to joining the nra, certainly have engaged in what seem like credible allegations of lavish spending and personal enrichment. and that has angered some others in the nra but the one thing to keep in mind, these factions within the nra are fighting over power in the nra. they are completely allied together when it comes to gun rights and supporting donald trump. i don't think this is going to matter in terms of nra supporters and a lot of republicans and other conservatives in the united states. lapierre has been claiming this has been a conspiracy by new york authorities against the nra now for a few years and he can continue to clean this and now it looks like the conspiracy is coming through in the eyes

of those who are hardened gun rights supporters. but i think this is going to damage the leadership of the nra. it seems unlikely to me that lapierre could survive these allegations, especially since he has people inside the nra on his own board of directors, the nra's board of directors, who have been out to try and oust him for over a year. so, this could do lasting damage to the organisation and certainly put in on the defensive. frank smyth, the author of nra — the unauthorised history. to africa now where confirmed coronavirus cases have reached a million. take a look at this graph, comparing some of the worst affected countries on the continent. as you can see cases are running higher in egypt, and then much higher again in south africa. it's the worst affected country on the continent, with over 500,000 confirmed infections — and just over 9,000 deaths.

more than a million americans have filed for unemployment benefits for the twentieth week in a row, as the coronavirus continues taking a heavy toll on the economy. about 16 million workers are still receiving benefits — more than double the last peak during the financial crisis in 2008. monthly figures released on friday are expected to show that recovery in the us labor market lost momentum in july, as virus cases surged. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: 75 years after hiroshima we look at it's legacy. the question was whether we wanted to save our people and japanese as well and win the war or whether we wanted to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. the invasion began at 2am 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 has 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. the clean—up begins in beirut after tuesday's blast. around 300,000 people have had to leave their homes.

new york's attorney general accuses the national rifle association of fraud and sues to disband it. 75 years ago the united states unleashed the world's first atomic bomb attack on the city of hiroshima. that was followed three days later by the second, and last, on nagasaki. the bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people, razed buildings and subsequently ended japan's war. japan surrendered six days after the bombing of nagasaki, officially ending world war ii. michel paradis is a law professor at columbia law school and the author of the book, last mission to tokyo. i spoke to him earlier. the atomic bombing was one of the great human tragedies, one of the most innovative moments in all of human suffering. and how could the legacy not continue till today? it is remembered solemnly in places like hiroshima which have dedicated itself to being a memorial to the horrors of nuclear war

and it has affected japan in ways big and small. i think it's affected the world in ways big and small. so, it's impossible to overstate the significance of this 75th anniversary. and the consequence was article nine, as well. of course, there were so many deaths and the destruction but article nine which brought japan into a future where this article of the japanese constitution forbids warfare. how is that playing out for the next generation who of course don't remember what happened and witnessed what happened and perhaps are more willing to forget? sure, so one of the greatest legal legacies of the hiroshima bombing in world war ii was the enactment of article nine of the japanese constitution in which japan abandons the use of war as a matter of policy. it's one of the only countries ever in all of history to do that. at the time it was to some extent forced

down japan's throat. we wrote that constitution — i should say the united states wrote that constitution in no small part but since then it's become a leading part and probably one of the more popular parts of any constitution in the world. there have been efforts over the years to change it, to hedge it, to give japan a greater opportunity to have a military footprint around the world and they have always encountered really stiff resistance from across the political spectrum inside japan. the last poll i saw on proposals to revise article nine showed 69% of the japanese oppose any revision to article nine. and so that shows you that a legacy, the legacy of world war ii, has certainly forjapan been a legacy of embracing peace. certainly in every country, it may be a complicated issue, i certainly could never and would never speak for all of japan and all of its complexity. but the idea that you have a country that has so thoroughly abandoned warfare

and that that position is not only long—standing but popular to this day and if anything more popular today probably than it was 20, 30 years ago. i think it's a testament to how countries can learn lessons, hard lessons perhaps but nevertheless learn lessons in growing peace as a consequent. michel paradis there. the author of the last mission to tokyo. let's get some of the day's other news. india has become the third country in the world to surpass two million confirmed coronavirus infections, after the us and brazil. official figures showed that the last million cases came injust 20 days. more than 41,000 people have died. the government argues that the fatality rate in india is among the lowest in the world and the recovery rate is more than 65%. sri lanka's ruling party has won a major victory in parliamentary elections. it's the second electoral success in less than a year for the rajapa ksa family, which dominates sri lankan politics.

-- sri —— sri lankan politics. they won 146 seats in the 225—member legistlatu re, with a record number of votes. india's prime minister narendra modi has already congratulated the incumbent prime minister for his victory. india's cricket board has dropped smartphone maker vivo as sponsor of this year's indian premier league. in a short statement it said it had decided to suspend its relationship with the chinese company, without giving details. vivo says both sides agreed the decision. the move follows a backlash against chinese companies after 20 indian soldiers died in a border clash. hong kong police have arrested 25 activists, who took part in a banned vigil to mark the anniversary of china's tiananmen square crackdown. democracy campaigner joshua wong and media tycoon jimmy lai were among those charged with taking part in an unlawful assembly. authorities cancelled the event for the first time in 30 years, citing coronavirus concerns, but the move came just before beijing imposed a new security law on hong kong.

all this week bbc news has been looking at the impact of coronavirus on travel and tourism. italy was the first european country to be badly hit by the virus with the north of the country seeing the most cases. 0ur correspondent mark lowen has been to tuscany — a popular destination for british tourists — to see if the region is recovering. as chianti's grapes ripen, its tourism is turning sour. if only business at the antinori vineyard looked as promising as this year's harvest. visitors are trickling back, but few foreigners. these big casks are quite typical of chianti... the family has been making wine here since 1385. the 26th generation to run it says she has never seen it so bad. the british market has always been very, very important in terms of tourism

and in terms of work as well. the only replacement we have had was the italians so we lost like 90% of tourism here. it's very big. we have never lived anything like this. in my generation, i've never lived anything like this. this is like a war. so, it is like being after the war. in nearby florence, it's usually hard to move for august tour groups. no longer. the first western country crushed by coronavirus is emerging scarred, with tourism — 13% of italy's economy — expected to drop by half this year. the lucky ones see an uncrowded treasure. we was meant to be on honeymoon in bali, which got cancelled, and when we saw italy was now available to travel to, we had always said we wanted to come to italy and we thought, help out the travel industry at the moment and it is so quiet here at the moment, we felt really reassured. this is a desert. a blessing for the visitors — who can breathe — the emptiness is a curse for the tour guides.

i worked the last time march the 2nd. i lost my entire salary of one year. the entire year is gone because you normally, as a tour guide, make the living of one year in between may and october. and all that is gone. at the uffizi gallery, thermal scanners are the new installation. just half the pre—covid capacity can now visit the renaissance gems, meaning you are often alone with leonardo — an opportunity for change, says the director. we also have the chance to really rethink our model of tourism. i don't think that we really would want to return to the point of last year, to have over—tourism, people in the museums that just come to take some snapshots and selfies and then rush out. next door, they are

trying out new methods. well, this is an extra covid measure that florence cathedral has brought in, a special device that is given to you already disinfected, you hang it around your neck and then, if you get closer than 1.8 metres to the person next to you, it vibrates. ingenious. this is the first place in the world to introduce it and several cathedrals in britain have already been in touch saying they want the same. there is suffering in beauty and art. and this city of both is now feeling it. mark lowen, bbc news, florence. we have much more on our website. these are life pictures from brazil, christ the redeemer lit up in the covenant —— in the colours of lebanon's flag in support of what happened on to say, the huge explosion in which beirut

was absolutely devastated. 137 people lost their lives, at least 5000 people have been injured, and around 300,000 people have had damage to their homes, absolutely devastating situation. there've been protests near parliament in the lebanese capital beirut, where a small crowd vented their anger at the authorities after that devastating explosion. but we can see countries showing their support. this is christ the redeemer in rio de janeiro. and before we go a colombian farmer thought carried out a good deed when he rescued a kitten on the side of the road. but elber guzman was shocked to learn he's taken in a female baby cougar. incredibly cute but just imagine that in a few months' time. he said he began to suspect his

guest was more than just an ordinary housecat after observing some unusual behavior. the cougar will be examined, and released into the wild. hello. friday brings some weather deja vu, with temperatures soaring once again. one week on from last friday, this is how it looked at the start of the day. the uk was set to record its third—highest temperature on record. so, here we go again this friday. heat surges up from the south. not everybody is going to get it, but the hottest area — around london — could reach 36 celsius. and unlike last friday, this is the start of several days of heat, so for parts of england and perhaps wales, the start of a heat wave. but, again, not everybody will get it. this weather front for northern ireland, into scotland, will bring some outbreaks of rain and keep temperatures into the low 20s. pretty warm and muggy start to friday. some cloud around, a lot of sunshine from the word go through central and eastern england. but for northern ireland and scotland, here comes the rain. maybe some heavy and thundery bursts pushing

eastwards during the day. i think parts of the east and southeast of scotland will stay largely dry until the evening. there may well be some misty low cloud hanging on towards some western coasts of england and wales. could be a bit drizzly in places here, but for the bulk of england and wales, it'll be sunny, the cloud increasing in southern england mayjust bring the odd sharp shower later in the day. but, really, it's about those temperatures in england and wales. very warm to hot. parts of the midlands, eastern and southeast england in excess of 30 celsius, an exceptionally hot in the hottest parts of southeast england, where, of course, after such a very warm to hot day, it'll be very warm overnight and into saturday morning through a large part of england and wales. even where you have clear skies, difficult forsleeping. but as that weather front has pushed on and cleared away from scotland and northern ireland, some cooler, fresher air here, and some actuallyjust dip into single figures as saturday begins. high pressure in control on saturday. that means a lot of fine weather to start the weekend. plenty of sunshine. bit of a breeze just kicking in towards some of these

north sea coasts will actually take temperatures back down a bit from friday. even where it was so very hot, you may not be quite as hot on saturday, not so much i think as many people would notice. it is still very warm to hot across a large part of england and wales. 0vernight and into sunday for england and wales, the growing chance of seeing a few showers and thunderstorms break out, but many places will still stay dry and have a fine sunday. quite a range of temperatures across the uk, but it's those hottest parts of england and wales that will see the heat continue into the start of the week.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: grief turns to anger in beirut, as people there accuse the lebanese government of negligence and say corruption and mismanagement led to tuesday's huge blast at a warehouse in the city. more than 130 people died and 300,000 are homeless after thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded. france's president is the first foreign leader to visit the country since the disaster. he was mobbed people pleading for help and asking that those responsible face justice. emmanuel macron called for a "profound change" in lebanon's leadership and an international investigation. the state of new york is suing the powerful gun lobby the national rifle association, with the intention of dissolving it. state attorney general letitia james accused the organisation of financial mismanagement. the nra has called the lawsuit "baseless and desperate".

it is just