this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughanjones with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. california and nevada brace themselves for record—breaking temperatures as the us heatwave continues. the widow of haiti's assassinated president claims he was killed because of his determination to re—write the constitution and improve ordinary people's lives. tragedy in bangladesh — police arrest a factory owner where more than 50 people died in a fire. and sir richard branson prepares to fly to the edge of space on sunday.

hello and welcome to the programme. more than 30 million people in the southwestern united states are experiencing another brutal heatwave, with excessive heat warnings and record temperatures in las vegas. it's linked to a heat dome, or ridge of high pressure, over the region. hundreds of people died in western canada and the us when a similar heat dome broke temperature records at the end ofjune. bbc weather presenter nick miller has the details. this latest heat wave is now well under way, notjust in the southwest usa but into parts of canada too. and whilst not reaching some of the highest temperatures recorded in the recent heat wave in canada, it's still hot from alberta across to ontario, with temperatures well above 30 celsius. the higher temperatures are being felt, though, across the southwest of the usa, particularly through nevada and into california — well above 40, but in some spots above 50 degrees.

so even in a part of the usa accustomed to extreme heat and heat waves, this is a particularly difficult and indeed extraordinary situation. death valley, california on friday recorded a high of 54.1; celsius, 130 fahrenheit, matching a temperature recorded in august last year which some argue is the highest temperature reliably recorded on earth, but the official record at death valley actually goes back to 1913 at 56.7 degrees celsius. now, whilst not expected to threaten that this weekend, we still see temperatures getting a little bit higher over the weekend in death valley. gradually, temperatures will subside as we go through the week, head closer to the seasonal average. may also threaten a record at las vegas. regardless of the actual numbers, regardless of records, this is clearly another extreme and dangerous heatwave affecting some people and places in the usa. thanks to nick for that update.

california's wildfire service told us they've been preparing for this for months. what we're doing is we're actively monitoring right now. right now, we have numerous incidents throughout the state, but none of them have really exceeded our capabilities. we are monitoring and aggressively attacking all those fires as they come up. so as of right now, we are keeping everything in check, but we are cautiously optimistic that no new incidents will start. we monitor up and down the state, looking at different areas that have high potential forfires, and obviously the whole western united states is under a heat wave, so, really, all of california has that potential to have wildfires. and as the temperatures rise, the fires become more challenging to suppress, so the whole state of california is really underneath these fire conditions. so, really, what we do is we look at this... and we've been really preparing this since last wintertime, when we saw that there was a shortage of rainfall in california and anticipating another hot summer. so, really, we've been planning for this since, really, the wintertime, so this is nothing new to us. we are prepared.

we've had all of the staffing in place, and we'rejust keeping our fingers crossed that there's no large incidents that break out. preparing as best they can there in the us. next, the widow of haiti's presidentjovenel moise has made herfirst public remarks since he was assassinated. martine moise, who was injured in the attack, said the couple were taken by surprise when gunmen entered the president's palace and shot at them several times. she said president moise was killed by mercenaries because of his determination to re—write the constitution and improve the lives of ordinary people. her message comes as the crisis in haiti is deepening, with rival political factions arguing over who should run the country. courtney bembridge reports. crowds gathered outside the us embassy in port—au—prince with suitcases packed, looking for a way out. translation: i can't close my eyes. - i can't sleep at night. i had to come here to the embassy because i'm scared.

there are so many gunshots, and you don't even know where they're coming from. i've abandoned my home. i can't go back, i don't know about my family. the country of 11 million people is reeling from the assassination of its president, shot dead inside his home on wednesday. translation: looki at what happened to the head of the state. i can't stay here. it's important to leave the country. these are two of the men haitian authorities say carried out the plot. they were attacked by the public as they were loaded into a police car. 17 men have been arrested so far, most of them colombian, but investigators are still looking for who ordered the killing. haiti was already plagued by hunger and gang violence, but the assassination has pitched the country deeper into turmoil. it's requested the united nations and the united states send troops to help secure the country and protect key infrastructure.

the us has declined the request, and the un may also be reluctant to get involved. ithinkthe un is- thoroughly sick of haiti. they had a 13—year peacekeeping force there that got in a lot - of trouble in a lot of ways. the last thing being l the cholera epidemic which the peacekeeping forces brought into haiti. _ so, i think they don't really. want to get entangled again. i think most outside forces don't want to get militarilyi entangled again in haiti if they can avoid it. - adding to the uncertainty is the political situation. there's no working parliament, two men are claiming to be the prime minister, and a third of the senate has just nominated another man to lead as interim president. courtney bembridge, bbc news. and in an hourfrom now, we'll speak live to haiti's minister for elections about who he thinks should be leading the country, why they've asked for the help of un and us troops and get

the latest on the investigation into who was behind the assassination. so do stay with us for that. next, ethiopia's prime minister abiy ahmed has won a landslide parliamentary victory to secure a further five—year term. his prosperity party won more than 400 seats out of the 425 for which results were announced. no voting took place in the tigray region, which is in the grip of an eight—month war. meamwhile, the un world food programme is moving aid into tigray for the first time in two weeks. a convoy of 50 lorries had to find an alternative route after a bridge was destroyed. the ethiopian government and tigrayan rebels have accused each other of sabotaging the delivery of aid. police in bangladesh have arrested the owner of a food and drinks processing factory where more than 50 people died in a fire. the blaze broke out late on thursday. shahan shah azad, the owner of hashem foods, is one of eight people arrested so far.

he's expected to face murder charges. most of those who died were trapped inside the building. children were among the dead — and this has led to an investigation into the use of child labour at the factory. akbar hossain is in the bangladesh capital dhaka with this update. this is a huge factory which employs more than 7,000 workers, and after the fire incident which killed 52 people, the police are now investigating. they said that the factory owner cannot avoid responsibility and many people are describing the incident as a deliberate murder. this factory was operating flouting all rules and regulations that were maintaining labour laws and regulations and safety standards. that is why police did this

as a homicide case and this is why people who are in charge of responsibly running the factory had to face charges. and the dreadful news for the families, of course, of those affected still filtering through. yes. they are still gathering in front of the factory in search of their relatives because many people are still unaccounted for. all of the fire department says that they rescued as far as they could and no one is missing, but still they are trying to find out more inside the rubble. police have been collecting dna to help identify victims, and many people who have lost relatives are gathering, holding photos of their relatives and asking the police to help identify and search for people, and this is a dreadful scene in front of the factory. the whole factory is ablaze, and many people, especially victims�* relatives, actually

do not know what to do, how to find their relatives. this is why they are gathering in front of the factory. there are plenty of factories like this and buildings such as this in the country and this isn't the first disaster we've seen. yes, it is. fire safety is always ignored in bangladesh. although there are some steps taken by the government after the big factory collapse in 2012 which killed more than 1,200 workers. afterthat, big brands in europe and america helped to improve safety standards, but outside the garment industry, like the food processing industry and some other industries, they do not follow the rules and regulations and do not follow safety standards and the government is not improving safety standards, it is widely alleged. and people are saying that this factory, it is widely alleged that this factory also employs child labour, which is another which is another major concern, that although the bangladesh

government claims there is no child labour in bangladesh, a few years back, international labour organisations came up with a report that said that still 1.2 million child labour is employed in different sectors in bangladesh, and this factory, among the dead bodies, there are some children. so this is a huge concern for many people in bangladesh. child labour is going on. 0ur thanks to akbar there in bangladesh. 0k, thanks to akbar there in bangladesh. ok, let's see what else is hitting headlines across the world now. the leaders of north korea and china have exchanged messages promising to strengthen cooperation, on the anniversary of their treaty of friendship and mutual assistance. according to north korea's state media, kim jong—un said cooperation is vital in the face of hostile foreign forces. south africa's president cyril ramaphosa has called for calm following violent protests linked to the imprisonment of the former presidentjacob zuma. 25 lorries were torched

and shops were looted overnight in kwa zulu natal province. major roads were blocked with burning barricades. the police said at least 26 people were arrested. the statue of confederate general robert e lee in charlottesville has been removed. the controversial monument was the focal point of the white supremacist unite the right rally in 2017, which saw anti—racism protester heather heyer killed by a neo—nazi. it's just over a week before covid restrictions are lifted in england, but medical leaders are warning that people should remain cautious, as cases continue to rise. the academy of medical royal colleges says the nhs is "under unprecedented pressure" as staff are having to isolate and it tackles the backlog of patients. 0ur health correspondent katharine da costa reports. covid infections in oxford have soared to their highest

levels since the start of the pandemic, mostly among young adults. from monday, the city will follow places like bolton and bedford in getting extra government support for surge testing and vaccinations. with restrictions in england due to end in nine days' time, people are urged to continue wearing facemasks in crowded indoor areas. i have no problem with continuing to wear a facemask after they are not in force, because i think if it helps people to feel reassured, you know, it'sjust a bit of cloth over your face. it's more about thinking of others as well. i mean, i'm fairly young, but the older generation are more vulnerable. elsewhere, large parts of the north east of england have the highest infection rates in the uk, many of them rising sharply in the last week. with people getting together for the big final tomorrow, there is a plea from hospital bosses. as much as it's an exciting opportunity and potentially once in a lifetime for our country, i ask that, you know, fans remain at a distance as best they can, wash their hands at every opportunity, drink alcohol in moderation. please do not overwhelm

our a&e services. here in liverpool, over 18s are being turning up to get their first jabs. there is a big push to get more young people to come forward. with predictions covid cases could hit 100,000 a day later this summer and a third of adults still not fully vaccinated, medical leaders across the uk warn things are likely to get worse before they get better. many people have just had or are about to have their first doses of the vaccine and this virus is rampaging through society. and although far few people are ending up in hospital and dying at present, than have previously, because the vaccine is helping, actually many of people who get covid will get go on to get long covid. hospitals are extremely busy, with record number of patients in some a&es, while trusts are trying to catch up with the huge backlog of postponed operations. health bosses are warning the sharp increase in infections will lead to major staffing issues if doctors and nurses have to self—isolate every time they are in close contact with someone

testing positive. 0ne hospital trust is said to have 500 staff off due to the virus. ministers are considering making double jabbed nhs workers exempt from self—isolating when lockdown ends. that's welcomed by health unions if there's appropriate testing and ppe. katharine da costa, bbc news. next, the venezuelan security forces have been conducting operations to regain control in some districts of the capital, caracas. it follows two days of intense fighting with armed groups. saadaat ahmed bakir reports. house to house searches in the poor neighbourhoods of caracas. 0fficers seize weapons and vehicles thought to belong to the gangs. many arrests have been made. as the fighting subsides, the authorities seek to claim control, but they warned that snipers could still be lurking around. security

forces continue to free citizens taken hostages by gangsters in two days of fighting. no official toll yet, but local media say it doesn't people have lost their lives. local residents are clearly a nerd by the violence, fleeing their homes, frightened of being hit by bullets. translation: ., , translation: their grenades. this morning. _ translation: their grenades. this morning, we _ translation: their grenades. this morning, we were - translation: their grenades. this morning, we were woken i translation: their grenades. i this morning, we were woken up by the sound of grenades, and it's really terrible to be living in such anxiety. translation: living in such anxiety. tuna/mom- living in such anxiety. translation: , ., , ., translation: the shots hit one after another _ translation: the shots hit one after another for _ translation: the shots hit one after another for somebody - after another for somebody before _ after another for somebody before yesterday, one hit on the roof_ before yesterday, one hit on the roof of my house, but we could — the roof of my house, but we could not— the roof of my house, but we could not find the bullet anywhere, but there's a whole like this, — anywhere, but there's a whole like this, round. on anywhere, but there's a whole like this, round.— like this, round. on thursday, security forces _ like this, round. on thursday, security forces launched - like this, round. on thursday, security forces launched a - security forces launched a major offensive against the heavily armed gangs who have de facto control over parts of the capital. criminal gangs move from city slums into residential and commercial

areas in an attempt to expand their territory. they wanted control of one of the main corridors linking caracas to the rest of the country. authorities even offered rewards of up to half $1 million for information about three criminal bosses who are now on the run. this once wealthy oil—producing nation is one of the most troubled countries on earth. there, violent deaths are seven times higher than the global average in 2020. the country is also mired in economic and political problems that see more and more insurmountable. four years of hyperinflation, eight years of recession, and it is hard to say when that is available see the light at the end of the tunnel. the british billionaire businessman sir richard branson is set for his latest venture. —— businessperson.

he will fly to the edge of space as a passenger in the back of the unity rocket plane his virgin galactic company has been developing in the us for the better part of two decades. here's the rocket on a test flight. if all goes according to plan, the flight will last about 90 minutes, taking mr branson and his crew in an almost vertical climb through the outer fringe of earth's atmosphere. and if successful, it will give him bragging rights to beating amazon rival jeff bezos into space will whitehorn is president of uk space, the trade body for the british space industry, and the former president of branson�*s company virgin galactic. iam i am actually more nervous than i am actually more nervous than i expected. i mean, space is not easy and they are actually going into space. nasa's official definition of space is 50 miles or 80 km as is the us government and federal aviation authority, so tomorrow, within 24 hours, sir richard branson will earn his astronaut wings according to the us government regulations. and this is a

flight, they've been in a very big test problem. there have been setbacks, very tragic accidents, and this is a sin to make regular access to space, for the likes of spacex satellites, for virgin orbit satellites, for virgin orbit satellite launcher, regularize it for virgin galactic and for blue origin. this is about getting economically achievable access to the industrialisation of space, so a really important flight tomorrow.— of space, so a really important flight tomorrow. ok, we might come onto _ flight tomorrow. ok, we might come onto the _ flight tomorrow. ok, we might come onto the invocations - flight tomorrow. ok, we might come onto the invocations a i flight tomorrow. ok, we might| come onto the invocations a bit later, butjust want come onto the invocations a bit later, but just want to focus on the flight. what will mr branson experience and what will he see? i branson experience and what will he see?— will he see? i am fortunate enou:h will he see? i am fortunate enough to _ will he see? i am fortunate enough to have _ will he see? i am fortunate enough to have exterior . will he see? i am fortunate | enough to have exterior and some of it during my training. i did do an astronaut on virgin galactic. the first thing you pull is a lot of g. you are dropped from the spaceship, four of them in the back, two pilots upfront. it drops about 500 feet and the rocket motor fires. and you feel it on your back. you feel the g forces as

you go into space. you go into the sound barrier and then you go to mock 3.5, which is three and half thousand miles per hour. flying as fast as any human being has. and then you get into space, and the first thing you experience is silence, and then you experience weightlessness as you leave your seat, and then you leave your seat, and then you see a vision of the earth below you, not the kind of curvature we are seeing in the picture behind me at the moment. and with all of those sensations going at once, it really is a blast of sensations, and you realise how fragile the earth is. every osian knott i have known, and i've known quite a few of the nasa and easter astronauts — everything a one says once you go into space, you never, ever forget it. thanks to will whitehorn there. and we will have plenty more coverage of that later on sunday. wimbledon has a new champion. world number one ash barty has claimed her first title at the all england club.

she defeated eighth seed karolina pliskova from the czech republic in three sets. chetan pathak reports. what a moment for ash barty. ten years after winning thejunior title here, she is now wimbledon champion, emulating what her hero evonne goolagong did 50 years ago — goolagong an idol to so many of the indigenous australian community. barty, from the beginning, has talked about winning this title. and today, she achieved that dream. it wasn't easy and it took three sets in the end against karolina pliskova, the czech eighth seed who really started this one slowly — barty winning the first 14 points in a row. but once the world number one had won that first set, pliskova did find her rhythm again, taking the second on a tie—break and leading us into a decider. but barty�*s game of variety and slicing and stronger movement got her over the line in the end. and when she won, she drops to the ground, the tears soon followed.

and like pat cash and many before her, she made her way up the stairs and to her box, to celebrate with her team — in particular, the physios that have got her ready for these championships. it was only at the french open that she had to walk out in the second round with a hip injury. huge uncertainty about whether she'd be fit for wimbledon. she's ended up going all the way and winning the title. now, the question will be, with two grand slams, can she go on and dominate the women's game? in the men's game, all we've seen is domination for the last two decades — federer, nadaland, of course, novak djokovic. on sunday, djokovic goes for his sixth wimbledon title. he's a man motivated by numbers. if he beats matteo berrettini, it would be 20 grand slams — and that would bring him level with nadal and federer. thanks to chetan there.

turkey has left the eurovision song contest in 2013, claiming the voting system was "unfair." but now turkish state broadcaster trt and the event's organisers, european broadcasting union, say they are discussing the country's possible return. bbc monitoring's ilgin karlidag reports. this was one of the proudest moments for turkish music. sertab erener took eurovision by storm in 2003 and led her country to victory. but a decade later, turkey left the competition, with state broadcaster trt complaining about unfair voting. this was related to the introduction of a professional jury alongside tele—voting.

turks love eurovision, and rumours have circulated for years about turkey's return. recently, for the first time, both sides are discussing the possibility. fans are ecstatic. the timing of it is no coincidence. the move may reflect on corrupt�*s renewed interest in european integration. turkey wants to emerge from a period of political isolation after strained ties with europe over human rights and energy exploration. turkey won eurovision a year after

president erdogan came to power in 2002, amid a wave of optimism about the country, possiblyjoining the eu. a lot has changed since then. erdogan's conservative and islamist routes to government has become increasingly authoritarian. trt's general manager said in 2018 that turkey would not participate because the competition includes drag performers. the turkish broadcaster has until this autumn to decide if it will compete in 2022.

that's it from me. i am lewis vaughanjones. this is bbc news. hello. fairly quiet on the weather front right now. plenty of dry weather across the uk, but we are expecting some showers and even the odd downpour and thunderstorms later on. and, of course, it's a very big day in the world of sport. we've got wimbledon, we've got the final at wembley too, so eyes on the weather too. we'd like the best weather conditions we could possibly get. so, this is what it looks like early in the morning. some sunshine and dry, but weather fronts are approaching and showers are brewing. the good news is that, for wimbledon, we're expecting fine weather conditions, very pleasant temperatures of around 18 to 20 celsius with some scattered clouds. so, this is what it looks like for most of us through the morning.

it's dry, but then in the afternoon, very quickly, heavy showers will develop across parts of northern england and scotland. some of them could be thundery. also in the southwest, a weather front is approaching at the same time. so, wet weather for the west country, parts of wales too. and this weather front will move slowly eastwards through the course of the day, so areas looking dry for the afternoon it may turn a little cloudy and then wet, and that does mean thatjust around kick—off time, we're expecting some rain and wimbley. but the good news is it should be mostly light and fleeting. so, the forecast into the week ahead, a different extreme here, indicating further showers in the cards and we do get a dip in thejet stream, low pressure over us and the ingredients of further showers and so lots of showers on the way once again on monday and some of them heavy. if you squint, you can make up some lime green colours there, and that indicates a downpour or two.

temperatures in the sunshine will be around 20 degrees 01’ so. the good news is the weather improves, a few showers around. but we are watching these very close by in the continent, northern france. the further west you are, i think the drier the weather will be on tuesday. and then from midweek onwards, we are expecting high—pressure to gradually drift from the azures in our direction, and that means the weather will settle down and most dry weather around, lighter winds and also a little bit warmer too. i suspect in one or two spots eventually towards the end of the weekend, temperatures will hit 25. but wherever you are today, have a good day.

this is bbc news, the headlines more than thirty million people in the southwestern united states are experiencing another brutal heatwave. nearly 200 square miles of forest has been closed due to wildfires and people have been moved from their homes, close to the nevada border in northern california. the widow of haiti's assassinated president, jovenel mo se has accused his political enemies of hiring mercenaries to kill him, in order to halt efforts to introduce constitutional reform and better living conditions for all. in an audio message posted on twitter, she urged the people of haiti to continue fighting. police in bangladesh have arrested the owner of a food and drinks processing factory where more than 50 people died in a fire. the blaze broke out late on thursday. eight people have been arrested so far. most of those who died were trapped inside the building. now on bbc news.