this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories: officials in the us state of oregon say more than half half a million people in oregon are under evacuation a million people have now been ordered to evacuate alert as america's west coast because of wildfires. thousands of square kilometres wildfires burn out of control. of land have been burned in the past week. the afghan government at least three people have died calls for a ceasefire and hundreds of homes with the taliban as the have been destroyed. first—ever peace talks the afghan government has between the two sides, take place in qatar. called for a humanitarian ceasefire with the taliban, stranded migrants on the greek as the first—ever peace talks lisland of lesbos between the two sides spend a fouth night sleeping rough take place in qatar. after a fire destroyed the us has urged both sides the moria camp. to reach an agreement, 0n the edge of losing telling them: "the entire world control of coronavirus — wants you to succeed". a warning from a leading british scientist, as 3,500 cases are recorded stranded migrants on the greek island of lesbos are spending a fourth night sleeping rough after a fire destroyed in a 2k hour period. the moria camp. efforts to build alternative accommodation for thousands of residents of the moria camp have been delayed by objections from local authorities.

it's just over a week since schools in england reopened for the new term and there've already been a number of instances where pupils have been sent home to prevent possible covid infection. schools are required to isolate suspected cases and, as a last resort, to close a school. our education correspondent, elaine dunkley, has been to a school in darlington, which had to send home a teacher and 20 pupils as a precaution. who has got a new skill from being in lockdown? it's distance learning for primary school children. today, mrs craggill is teaching year three by video link. she's currently self—isolating, but lessons continue at heathfield primary school. well, obviously, it wasn't the way i wanted to start the year with the children. i wanted to be in school, but circumstances happened. so it's been really beneficial for myself and the children to be able to have some connection each day, and just to connect with maths and english. and to see their faces, really, and for them to see me.

children here are having recovery classes and lessons in mindfulness. helping them to adjust after missing months of schooling is vital. so, i liked being back at school to be with my friends and have education. like, really good education. like, face—to—face. i like being back at school, because i can see my friends and because if i am struggling, the teacher can help me, because i couldn't do that at home. the risks to children are low, but there are concerns about the virus spreading. social distancing and hygiene is now an important part of the school day, but it puts pressure on budgets and time. obviously, paying out for more cleaning materials, but also there's some staffing costs as well. and on a personal level, health and safety has just taken over my life as a head teacher at the moment, which is nobody‘s fault, that's the way, the situation that we are in. but it's frustrating because we want to be getting

on with our usual dayjob of making sure that we do teaching and learning really well. if there is a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus, schools have to get in touch with their local public health teams. claire has two children at the school. her son is still attending, but her daughter's class has been sent home to self—isolate. she is asymptomatic, which is great. you know, i am very happy about that. but should she get symptoms, my concern is that because my older son is still in school, obviously, if my daughter gets symptoms and does get covid, then my son will get it and he will have moved it to year six. can you write it for me there, siobhan? the vast majority of children across the uk are now back in lessons, but learning to deal with disruption is the reality of being back at school in these times. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in darlington. now on bbc news, our world: in the forests of colombia,

nature is under attack. since the civil war ended in 2016, deforestation has skyrocketed. i'm frank gardner and i am heading into what remains of the virgin tropical rainforest. i traded in my wheelchair for a packhorse and am tested to my limits. i don't think i can do this. i think this is too dangerous. i am joining a crack team of scientists from the royal botanic gardens, kew. they are on a mission to discover and save unique plant species before they vanish forever. i am going to bear witness on the frontline of rainforest conservation.

this is where the journey begins — not in colombia, but in the royal botanic gardens, kew, london. kew is the world leader in developing plant science. the botanists are preparing for their mission to discover new species. and it is from here that this expedition will be launched. i have come here to see the expedition leader, doctor mauricio de bernardos. he works in a library for lab specimens. this is where we

identify new plants. we believe we have more than 200,000 different species here. you are a botanist and a biologist. and a scientist and an explorer in some sense. what are you expecting to get from this mission? the most remote areas are the best preserved and this is going to be our most important expedition. we're going to try to get into the heart of this area. we do not know what we expect to find. what is at stake with this whole trip that we're doing? why is this so important? we are in a race against time to protect this biodiversity from disappearing. we have rapid deforestation. we see how we are losing this forest very quickly and ourjob is to get an understanding about the diversity of these resources as well as their importance.

in 2016, the colombian government signed a peace deal with the farc rebels. for more than half a century, civil war actually slowed the pace of deforestation. but now remote tracts of land have opened up. farmers, loggers, and miners are scrambling for resources. colombia is now reportedly losing 3,000 square kilometres of forest every year. we are travelling to an area famous for its emerald mines, western boyaca. this is a bittersweet journey for me. this could be the last time that i could see this forest. if i come back in ten years, this forest could be gone. colombia is still an eden.

it's the second most biodiverse country in the world, after brazil. i may be the bbc‘s security correspondent, but my passion is for nature. you know, just look around you. there's incredible scenery. it is such a privilege to be here. i love being surrounded by the sounds and smells of nature. nature has always been something of an antidote to myjob as a security correspondent. in 2004, i was shot and partly paralysed while on the job. i won't deny, i have a certain trepidation about the trip itself because everybody else is walking. i will need to do this on horseback or i will not make it.

the team assemble at the edge of the rainforest in las quinchas. it's going to be a beautiful day. yes, it is going to be a beautiful day. this is the first time this area will be explored by scientists. for so many years, conflict and criminality made this area inaccessible to outsiders. if you see a snake, everybody please freeze, don't move. we are going to carry radios at all times. you, actually, frank, you'll have a radio. so this is going to be your radio. i'm going to be quite busy trying to control the horse. well, yes, maybe we can put this on the horse so you can have something that you can... the horse can do the radio.

there is a bit of a risk here. my legs are like honeycomb, the bones. i cannot afford to fall off and break things. at the beginning of the track is a steep descent. the botanists hope to find new species deep inside the forest. but i am unable to hold on with my legs. guys, i don't think i can do this. i'm going to fall off. i think this is just too dangerous. i mean, it breaks my heart, ijust... i think you will have to carry on without me. but the local guides come up with an idea. well done. 0k.

i am so thrilled that despite my injuries, thanks to the endurance and kindness of these guys, i am able to see this amazing scenery. primary forests are the most bio—diverse terrestrial ecosystems anywhere on the planet. forests are not only vital in mitigating climate change, the botanists hope to find plants with untold potential. they get to work collecting specimens. we don't know what it is. it could be a philodendron. beautiful.

one of the local guides believes that he has chanced on something extraordinary. wow! this, we actually don't know exactly what it is. it could be something new. we are the first botanists collecting in this area. so basically every single collection is a new report for science in this area. the scientists will take the cuttings to the laboratory for further examination, in kew. beyond the fact that it is

scientifically interesting, what does it mean to find new species like this in a remote forest? in a country like this, unusually biodiverse, we still do not know how many species are out there. we are estimating in colombia we have about 30,000 species, but still probably 6,000 new species to be discovered. so you think that there are new species out here in these forests that could actually vanish before they are even discovered? yes, absolutely. and we still don't know the uses of many species. some of the species could have the properties to cure important diseases for humans. and so, as biologists, as botanists, we need to understand as much as possible as quick as possible of this amazing biodiversity. this is like a supermarket, or a pharmacy, and we don't know it, we don't appreciate the forest. 0ur quality of life relies on the preservation of these environments.

in the fight to save the forests, the colombian government has extended its protection to millions of acres of land. the army launched 0peracion artemisa in 2019 to combat illegal logging. colonel hermida has a thousand troops deployed in the area. what effect has this had on deforestation here?

but this can't really apply to the whole of colombia, because deforestation is continuing throughout the country — i mean, even here, they are still doing it. this region, colonel, seems very secure, very peaceful but of course in the past, it wasn't like that. do you worry that if they don't find proper alternatives for people to make a living, that this region will go back to conflict? under colombian law, illegal deforestation carries

a sentence of up to 12 years in prison. but in remote places, the law is hard to enforce.

illegal loggers are still at work in these forests.

the loggers say they have bills to pay. they've chosen their target — an 80—year—old rosewood tree. chainsaw whirrs.

this fallen giant will make the loggers $300. these valleys are populated by miners and loggers. in the town of 0tanche, members of the community have

been invited to a workshop organised by the authorities. they hope ecotourism will be the silver bullet, providing an income for the community while saving the forest. the botanists from kew have been invited to make their case. the fact that there is such

a good turnout here — better than expected — shows there is a lot of interest in alternatives to cutting down the forest. but the question is, is it going to give people enough of a livelihood? and that's a big question. the colonel has turned up. sitting next to him is edemildo, who's been a logger all his life. now, though, he is looking for new opportunities.

lidia is one of the pioneers of ecotourism. she set up a butterfly sanctuary to try and entice tourists into the region. it is a natural destination for ecotourism but there is no infrastructure for it at all. it's going to take years, isn't it? and by then, the forest will be almost gone. are you optimistic or pessimistic? are you going to win this fight to save colombia's natural heritage?

for future generations and the environment, time is running out. the need for a solution is urgent. i'm back on the horse, on another field trip with the botanists — this time on rather more even ground. wow! oh, my god! it's like... this is incredible! of all the wild, remote places i've been to in the world, i think this is got to be right up there near the top and as a disabled person, as somebody who can't walk, who has to use a wheelchair, it's amazingly liberating that here, amongst all this rare flora and fauna, these beautiful butterflies and rare plants, there's this amazing biodiversity.

the scientists from kew remain hopeful of finding hidden treasures, before it's too late. it is a very unusual plant. i have never seen it before. i have no idea what genus it belongs to. the thing about plants, they can be rare and special. they all look the same but it's just when you go back and start comparing them with others, you find out how important they are. mauricio, do you think you can persuade people to stop cutting down the forest soon enough before the forest is gone? that's very hard to say. that's our hope and that's our mission — that's why we are here. i believe that we can make a change, we just have to do our best to protect the best of this biodiversity.

jennifer is a local botanist. she's exploring new areas of her country for the first time. how optimistic or pessimistic are you that you, and others like you, who care about nature, who care about biodiversity, that you can save this forest? it's great that you're optimistic, but the reality is the area of forest is getting smaller every year. colombia today is a post—conflict nation,

but it faces a new battle to protect its natural resources. the biodiversity contained in these forests could prove to be its most precious commodity of all.

hello there. on saturday, we finish the day with some pretty big weather contrasts. now, across england and wales, we have a sunny day, and it was a fine end to the day as well. this was one of our weather watcher pictures sent in from the surrey area. thanks to debbie w for that. further north, in scotland's stirling, it was a soggy saturday, certainly through the afternoon. thanks to graham for sending us that picture of the rain coming down in stirling. and the rain was all courtesy of this weather front, this area of cloud that stretches thousands of miles out into the atlantic. this is rain—bearing cloud, and it's going nowhere very far, very fast. so, at the moment, it's pouring down in scotland. around western scotland,

the rain continues. notice over the next few hours, there is a tendency for the heaviest of the rain to start to nudge away from northern ireland. still an odd patch for north—west england and perhaps the western side of wales as well, but a mild start to the day for sure. now through sunday, we're going to continue to see the rain pouring down across those western mountains in scotland. now, by the end of the weekend, we could see over 100 mm of rain, so there is a risk of seeing some localised flooding in western scotland. the rain clears away in northern ireland. should brighten up here with some sunny spells, and probably some sunny spells to end the day for southern and maybe central scotland. england and wales, that's where the best of the sunshine will be, with ea rly—morning cloud melting away, certainly through the afternoon, and temperatures up to 26 across parts of eastern england. that warming trend continues into the first part of the new week as well, briefly turning hotter as this area of higher pressure in the continent, just drifts a little bit further eastwards to allow our winds to start to flow in from the south. and that'll be dragging in that hotter air from france. so, for monday, a lot of dry weather to come, and for most of us, yes, it is going to be a warm day in the sunshine. notice across the north west, there is a little bit more

in the way of cloud here, perhaps threatening a little in the way of light rain late in the afternoon. but it's across eastern england that we'll see the day's highest departures — up to 30 degrees in the london area. so, a brief hot spell of weather here. now, we will stay pretty hot across parts of eastern england as we go on through tuesday. again, afairamount of sunshine for most of us. temperatures again pretty widely into the low 20s, with those highest temperatures again for east anglia and south—east england. but from there, really, as we go on deeper into the week ahead, temperatures will tend to get close to normal, as easterly winds start to blow in across the uk 00:29:31,353 --> 2147483051:51:30,391 and we start to see 2147483051:51:30,391 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 cloudier skies.