this is bbc news. i'm christian fraser. the call for freedom — communist cuba erupts with some of the largest demonstrations we've seen in decades. tens of thousands came onto the streets on sunday demanding food, medicines and basic rights. joe biden said the country's communist leaders needs to listen to their people, rather than enriching themselves. there's been widespread condemnation of the racial abuse levelled at england's black football players on social media, following last night's european championship final. boris johnson confirms all government mandated restrictions will be lifted in england from next monday, but he warns the country, the pandemic is farfrom over. are you joking? are youjoking? i'm not joking, i'm

are you “oking? i'm not “oking, i'm so are youjoking? i'm not “oking, i'm so sorry to — are youjoking? i'm not “oking, i'm so sorry to break h are youjoking? i'm not “oking, i'm so sorry to break the _ are youjoking? i'm not joking, i'm so sorry to break the news - are youjoking? i'm not joking, i'm so sorry to break the news to - are youjoking? i'm not joking, i'm so sorry to break the news to you. | 0h fiddlesticks! and is this the only man in england who didn't know the score when he woke up this morning? there have been demonstrations in cuba the like of which we have not seen in generations. thousands of people took to the streets in cities around the country on sunday to protest at the food and medicine shortages exacerbated by us sanctions. it was a direct challenge to the communist government. the opposition say dozens have been arrested since the demonstrations began and the internet has been largely cut off across the island. the cuban president blamed the us for the protests. in a live televised address, miguel diaz—canel said the us embargo of cuba was part of a policy by washington to provoke social unrest. but today president biden blamed

the corruption of the cuban leaders who continue to enrich themselves. "we stand with the cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief. from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by cuba's authoritarian regime." let's speak to pascal fletcher from bbc monitoring, who is in miami. good to see you. clearly, this is driven by the economic situation on the ground, row castries who stood down from his positions in april. how is this a sign of the group slipping? i how is this a sign of the group sli -|n~ ? ~ how is this a sign of the group sliuinu? ~ , , , how is this a sign of the group slimin? ~' , , ,., slipping? i think it suggests a certain slipping _ slipping? i think it suggests a certain slipping on _ slipping? i think it suggests a certain slipping on the - slipping? i think it suggests a l certain slipping on the streets, slipping? i think it suggests a - certain slipping on the streets, and not just certain slipping on the streets, and notjust on certain slipping on the streets, and not just on the certain slipping on the streets, and notjust on the streets, it's a political narrative, because of the access cubans have had to the internet, and through mobile phones,

and that's one the reasons why demonstrations yesterday picked up so quickly and kind of rippled from one end of the island to the other, from the west, havana and around havana,is from the west, havana and around havana, is also santiago to cuba in the east. we are seeing reports around the island, and i think it is around the island, and i think it is a wake—up call to the cuban government, therein revolutionary reaffirmation today, and either the streets that it might political narrative now. we streets that it might political narrative now.— streets that it might political narrative now. ~ . ., ., ., ~ narrative now. we are about to talk to someone — narrative now. we are about to talk to someone from _ narrative now. we are about to talk to someone from the _ narrative now. we are about to talk to someone from the us _ narrative now. we are about to talk to someone from the us congress | narrative now. we are about to talk. to someone from the us congress and second, but i want to get your feeling. do you think we are at a tipping point and is there a role that the united states could tipping point, it is difficult to say. i think, without doubt, it's the most significant challenge in terms of protests of the government in decades, properly since the first race of the revolution. there's been nothing like this in terms of the extent and geographic dispersion,

you know, really since the early 60s, and nothing since then. i think, from judging from what president biden, how he has responded, not show the cuban government can expect very much, and they are not offering very much. they are basically repeating their demand that the us government should lift the embargo, they say that it is all in the hands of the us government, they are blaming it all on the us government. obviously, i think it's not entirely true, i think it's not entirely true, i think there's a tremendous amount of popular anger and frustration is boiled through here, although we know that the cuban government, the us government, does support pro—democracy activities in cuba, and has probably spent millions of dollars on it over the years, but there is certainly a sign that people's own feelings are boiling over, frustration and anger against the cuban government.— over, frustration and anger against the cuban government. thank you for that. let's talk _ the cuban government. thank you for that. let's talk to —

the cuban government. thank you for that. let's talk to a _ the cuban government. thank you for that. let's talk to a republican - that. let's talk to a republican congressman from new york. her own mother is from cuba, she left cuba in 1959. i'm guessing, from a family perspective, you are taking great interest in this.— interest in this. yes, i'm very ha - interest in this. yes, i'm very happy to _ interest in this. yes, i'm very happy to see _ interest in this. yes, i'm very happy to see the _ interest in this. yes, i'm very happy to see the cuban - interest in this. yes, i'm very. happy to see the cuban people interest in this. yes, i'm very - happy to see the cuban people stand up happy to see the cuban people stand up and push back against and oppressive communist regime that has destroyed lives and taking away peoples businesses and homes, jailed peoples businesses and homes, jailed people and kill people over the decades, those who are brave enough to speak out against what they were doing, my own family history, my mum came and my grandfather stayed behind, the regime stuck his businesses, took a time, and he lived a life of misery there until he died, and this is an opportunity for change. with role castro gone, maybe this is an opportunity for people to rise up and say they want free and fair elections, they want

liberty and freedom, they want human rights, they want the ability to speak out and make their own future, some hoping this is something real happening. {iii some hoping this is something real ha eninu. u, , some hoping this is something real haueninu. , ., , happening. of course, donald trump took a very different _ happening. of course, donald trump took a very different view _ happening. of course, donald trump took a very different view and - took a very different view and imposed the sanctions. you think the sanction brought this to this point? the embargo has been in place for decades. almost every country in the world has done it, the regime takes money and live like kings, and everyone else has a horrible life, they have nothing, not even access to food, to restaurants, access to buy clothing and it's a very, very oppressive regime. communism only destroys lives and brings misery, we know that throughout the course of history. if you look at any country thatis history. if you look at any country that is implement of that type of system. i don't believe... what

united states can do now is push this regime, try to provide more free freedoms, and i think this is probably the time, we have a strong president, i'm hoping president biden will step up to the challenge. when we saw president obama give away all these concessions to the castro regime, we got nothing in return, the cuban people saw nothing in return. what he had done was completely wrong approach. i think that we need to instead ensure that there is a number of conditions that are met before we moved to do any sort of negotiation. let's talk to michael shifter — president of the inter—american dialogue and professor of latin american studies at georgetown university's school of foreign service. nice to have you on the programme.

the congresswomen dyer was suggesting that the only thing that will bring the cuban regime to its knees was to drive a hard bargain, is that right? it knees was to drive a hard bargain, is that right?— is that right? it surely not a way to help the _ is that right? it surely not a way to help the cuban _ is that right? it surely not a way to help the cuban people, - is that right? it surely not a wayj to help the cuban people, which is that right? it surely not a way l to help the cuban people, which i think should be a major priority. what is clear, what is protests have made clear is that the cuban people are suffering terribly. there is a pretty dramatic economic deprivation, but also a lack of liberty, these economic sanctions are extremely harsh, and they're making things worse for the cuban people. i don't think we should subscribe to the logic that we should hurt the cuban people so that because our pricing and eruption in cuba, that's not the kind of scenario that would make for the most stable democratic transition, which is what all of us want. all of us are poor this oppressive dictatorial regime, but all of us want a transition that does not

cause major violence or cause misery, which the sanctions have. you just the congresswomen, they are, saying that the minute we start putting things into the country, things are by the regime for their own rich as, and that is part of the problem, it only seems to bring an authoritarian regime to heal is to have people protesting against them. i think process are fine, but i think protests are also motivated by a lack of liberty, lack of basic fundamental freedoms, a lack of liberty, lack of basic fundamentalfreedoms, that a lack of liberty, lack of basic fundamental freedoms, that it is the cuban regime. i don't think it is to starve the cuban people, inflicting greater pain and suffering on the cuban people. that is not, there is

a huge cost to pay, i'm not sure that the international community of the united states are anybody wants to bear that responsibility. it really devastates the lives of cuban people, which is what is happening. is there a formal structure to the opposition, from what you know? who is driving it, who is bringing mps people out onto the streets? i don't discern that — people out onto the streets? i don't discern that there _ people out onto the streets? i don't discern that there is _ people out onto the streets? i don't discern that there is a _ people out onto the streets? i don't discern that there is a formal- discern that there is a formal structure, i think it is quite spontaneous, i think there are different groups that come together. there is nobody really that you can negotiate with and have a dialogue with that is identifiable, and the opposition, these are just ultra broad masses of people that, as happens in many countries, and in latin america, there is a spark and they become much wider, and they begin to spread, but really there is no formal leadership, whether that might emerge in the coming days of the coming weeks, we will have to

see, but so far no.— see, but so far no. thank you for cominu see, but so far no. thank you for coming the _ see, but so far no. thank you for coming the programme. - prince william, who is president of the english football association, says he's sickened by the racist abuse aimed at three players who missed penalties last night in england's defeat to italy in the final of the european championship. he called the online abuse abhorrent and unacceptable. meanwhile the fa have ordered a review after fans without tickets forced their way into wembley stadium to watch the game. twitter and facebook said they identified and removed hundreds of posts last night — but did the social media companies work quickly enough and what punishment will there be for those who posted the racist abuse? let's talk to our disinformation reporter, marianna spring. so, the volume of abuse as sizeable last night. facebook and twitter have the technology to bring them down, but clearly it doesn't work well enough.

down, but clearly it doesn't work well enough-— down, but clearly it doesn't work well enough. much of the criticism toda has well enough. much of the criticism today has focused _ well enough. much of the criticism today has focused on _ well enough. much of the criticism today has focused on not - well enough. much of the criticism today has focused on notjust - well enough. much of the criticism today has focused on notjust the l today has focused on notjust the individuals who have been coordinating this terrific racist abuse, but also on the social media sites, who many feel were too slow to act when racist comments are being posted, particularly instagram, and the fear that the moderation these sites have in place of relies on the algorithm and detection of words which was not particularly effective. very offensive emojis were being shared in a racist way, they remained up, and this is not something new. social media was well courted by a number of sporting personalities when they were not doing enough to deal with racist abuse and harassment. pressure mounted on them again today, with a conversation about anonymous accounts, people who are able to again and again reappear on the social media sites and direct

yourself abuse at players and people outside of the public eye who find themselves subject to racism, misogyny and homophobic abuse. i want to play something that gareth southgate said in his press conference this morning. he was asked about where the tweets are coming from have a listen. for some of them to be abused is unforgivable, really. i know a lot of that has come from abroad, people that track those things have been able to explain that. but not all of it. it is just not what we stand for, we, i think, have been a beacon i'm not saying there has been racist abuse in this country, we know there is, the mural of marcus rashford was defaced in manchester, but that remark about these coming from abroad, what does that mean? fine abroad, what does that mean? one thin we abroad, what does that mean? one thing we found _ abroad, what does that mean? iez thing we found was that abroad, what does that mean? ©"i2 thing we found was that many of the comments that have been left on social media can be tracked back to

accounts that are not based in uk. that's not all of them, some have come from the uk, i think that can be explained largely by fans that live all over the world, and people who watch and engage with football. i would be wary ofjumping to the conclusion immediately that this is some sort of influence operation which people have been talking about. i think it is worth investigating, and we do find that with influence operations in general that people seek to sow seeds of discord to encourage disputes, to cause trouble. one thing we see was trolling, which is my thoughts here, is there actually lots of people will create several accounts, they almost become like professional chores. not necessarily because they are affiliated with something more sinister. we see how notjust fans or accounts on the mainstream social media sites, but on far right

channels, loss of this racist abuse is coordinated, and that's a real worry going forward, because it doesn't seem hugely disorganised at times. �* , ., , , times. let's hope it is the minority. _ times. let's hope it is the minority, because - times. let's hope it is the minority, because i - times. let's hope it is the minority, because i think| times. let's hope it is the - minority, because i think plenty of fans out there, in fact the vast majority, immensely proud of what the team has achieved. the commander of us—led forces in afghanistan, general scott miller, has officially stepped down from his role, as the us completes its military withdrawal from the country. since it began that draw down, taliban insurgents have been making advances across the country. albeit in the largely rural and less populated areas. but by some estimates they are now controlling around a third of the country. general miller handed command in the capital, kabul — to general frank mckenzie, the head of us central command who will now oversee the protection of international airport and the diplomatic mission in kabul. let's speak to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet who was at the ceremony today and has kindly

stayed up for us. on his way over, general mckenzie was talking to reporters, and he said that it was his view that the taliban is pursuing a military victory over the afghan government. how concerned you think they are in car ball at the speed at which things are happening right now? well, there has been talking car ball for many months that the teller are going to focus on a very bloody, what they call a summer of fighting, and they've been preparing for the intensification of fighting for some time, but i think the rapid advance of the taliban and their tactic to overrun as many districts as possible has taken everybody by surprise, including the united states. the afghan government, the security forces, have an explanation, they say they retreated

from many of those districts. in many do make some cases it didn't amount to much more than a fly, an afghan flag in some of them, and we see local officials negotiating and giving the land up to the taliban, in others, the soldier simply ran away because they had run out of food and water, and ammunition. they had been begging their commanders for weeks to give them supplies. we talked to the national security adviser heroes at general miller�*s... and they said, they were going to take them back. miller's. .. and they said, they were going to take them back. obviously, it is such a big _ going to take them back. obviously, it is such a big country, _ going to take them back. obviously, it is such a big country, it _ going to take them back. obviously, it is such a big country, it is - going to take them back. obviously, it is such a big country, it is so - it is such a big country, it is so difficult to monitor, because, as you say, so many areas are disparate and sparsely populated, it will depend on the air cover of the fledgling afghan air force, and i

read this weekend that the pilots and their families are read this weekend that the pilots and theirfamilies are now being threatened by the taliban. so, is the government is aware of the need to protect its critical resources in this? ~ ., ., ~' to protect its critical resources in this? ~ ., ., ., this? well, look at what was top of the agenda — this? well, look at what was top of the agenda when _ this? well, look at what was top of the agenda when the _ this? well, look at what was top of the agenda when the president - this? well, look at what was top of. the agenda when the president went to washington recently to meet president biden, when he was asked afterwards at a news conference what his main worry was, and he said the air force, maintaining the air force, getting down to the nuts and bolts of how they carry on without the assets in the intelligence of the assets in the intelligence of the us military. it had come down to so little, at the very end it was basically general miller with his whatsapp, still to the very end, and probl even tonight, receiving whatsapp messages from across afghanistan, various performed

professional relationships, and increasingly said, i can help you, mate, i don't have any more assets here, so it's all been transferred, mostly over the horizon, general mckenzie lives in florida, headquartered in tampa, florida. aha, headquartered in tampa, florida. a long way away, yes. do stay with us on bbc news. the man who managed to miss all the drama of last nights football. the rain has caused flash floods in many parts of london. roads are filled with water while train services have also been cancelled. london fire brigade reports it has seen lots of incidents of cars in

the water. we have had incidents of people wading to their cars this evening and early reports of floods. we were going to try and bring you that report. do we have it? yes. wearing an absolute deluge of rain, flash flooding and roads that look like they are rivers. take a look at this. this is raynes park not so long ago. you can see several feet of water under there, raynes park bridge road in south—west london. there is to cars in the van that was submerged, attended by the london... here in the uk, the prime minister has confirmed that almost all of the coronavirus restrictions that have been in place in england throughout the pandemic will end a week today onjuly 19th. but that will not be the end of it, in fact mrjohnson warned today the uk can expect up to 200 deaths and 2000 hospital admissions a day,

by the time the current covid wave peaks some time in august. and it could be even higher if people don't exercise some caution, for example wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces and on public transport. it is absolutely vital that we proceed now with caution, and i cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough, this pandemic is not over. this disease, coronavirus, continues to carry risks to you and your family. we cannot simply revert instantly from monday the 19th ofjuly to life as it was before covid. i'm joined now byjessica parker from westminster. as expected, the final restrictions relaxed, but certainly with more

concern and more caution. yeah, and some guidance. _ concern and more caution. yeah, and some guidance, really, _ concern and more caution. yeah, and some guidance, really, to _ concern and more caution. yeah, and some guidance, really, to match - concern and more caution. yeah, and some guidance, really, to match the| some guidance, really, to match the caution that has been released today alongside the confirmation, which we really didn't expect that most restrictions on social distancing in contact will go a week today, but alongside that, as i say, some guidance. so, when it comes to saying you don't need to work from home any more, they are saying, well, employers and employees who are planning to see people return to the office, that should happen gradually. then, on the issue of mask wearing, they are saying at the moment it is compulsory in england to wear masks in certain settings such as on a tube train or bus, public transport, if you go into a shop unless you're exempt, that will 90, shop unless you're exempt, that will go, but what the government is not uncommon they seem to have been a little bit of a journey on this, is that people should still be expected to wear masks in a crowded place. the main opposition party, the

member labour party, is actually saying that monetary mask wearing in the setting should remain. they are that the government is going to pass on this. it is urging a more cautious approach. we all want to ease restrictions, but with infection rates are still going up at the rate they are going up, this plan is still reckless, i'm afraid. we need a safe way of coming through this. now, one of the things the prime minister is saying is that if you don't look at relaxing restrictions now, when do you do it? because we are going into summer when respiratory viruses don't do so well, and kids are breaking up for the summer holidays. so, he described that as a natural fibre, rather than holding up until the beginning of autumn when it gets colder and kids are going back to school. so quite interestingly, when they have talked about the road map out of lockdown before they have

talked about it being irreversible, ie they wouldn't have to bring back restrictions at a later date. asked today, borisjohnson, weathered the road map out of blot to mike roxanne was irreversible is, he said he hoped it was, but he was not given any guarantees as to what would happen later in the year. an estimated 30 million people watch the game last night, you couldn't escape it. well actually that's not entirely true. because there was among the many who didn't watch it. james ansell from nottingham went to bed early on sunday night. the tv on his houseboat had broken and his phone was not working properly and so he missed it. but the 76—year—old got up early this morning and was on his way to buy a newspaper to find out the score when he was approached by the bbc navtej johal. take a look. and where are you off to right now? go on, make my day. so, england scored early on... 0k. and then the italians came back...

0k. second half, they equalised, went to extra time... oh, i did wonder. then to penalties, and then england sadly lost on penalties. oh, not again. are you joking? i'm notjoking — i'm so sorry to break the news to you. oh, fiddlesticks! i would say something stronger, but being on film... i don't... 0h... are you joking? not again. that was my response last night. had i known then what i know now i might have called him and asked if i could stay on his boat and save myself three hours of heartache. maybe i should actually move in with him and then i could move away from all the reaction and get away from it for a week... anyway, well done, james, at least he didn't swear in public, which is always a good thing. we have plenty coming up in the rest of the programme, do stay with us for

that. we will get some reaction to the football last night in case you need some more, and also we will focus on those wildfires in california. do stay with us. good evening. whilst we have seen some warm, sunny spells day, we have also seen some wet weather in northern england, notably through the latter part of the afternoon, this slump of cloud has moved its way into south—eastern areas, or circulating around this area of low pressure, which are starting to pull out the way, probably at the height at the moment, so their showers giving torrential downpours, localised flash flooding and lots of spray and standing water on the pass rates, and it will continue to rumble on into the evening, the odd heavy downpour elsewhere, as well, but, on balance, as i say, through the night, they tend to ease down except perhaps in southern areas, and instead begets a mist in low cloud rolling and of the north sea, and temperatures is to hold. still a few showers are into tuesday, but on

the hole that looks like we'll have fewer of them, therefore a few longer dry and sunny spells. little bits of mist involved, clear in the morning, will have sims see how and threats to the north coast, it could still trigger some sharp dance course. the showers when they come along will be some to make slow moving, but for most places more dry weather than their showers, and 23, 24, weather than their showers, and 23, 2a, responding to the sunshine is a little higher than we have had for the last few days, but the pollen levels are back up again, high to very high across many parts of, as you can see. the shower risks, but then as you will see they tend to dampen down, and as you move into wednesday, we are starting to lose that influence of the area of low pressure, and we instead have this moving on. some week weather fronts coming into the north—west of both northern ireland and scotland, so will probably see carrius guys,

perhaps a bit of patchy rain and drizzle for the western and northern isles. just the outside chance of some low clouds, for most, some good spot of sunshine won spells of sunshine, and that should translate to the rest of the week. the azores high moves in, moving the low pressure out of the way, giving us, we think a lot of dry unsettled weather with light winds, and therefore we will see the temperatures rising above average, perhaps into the high 20s by the time we get to the end of the week and we can.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president of cuba accuses the united states of wanted to provoke social unrest following protests on the island. california is off to another record—breaking year of wildfires. more than twice as many acres burned in the first six months of this year than during the same period last year. experts says climate chage is to blame. the army has been deployed in south africa to help deal with the violence and looting sparked by the jailing of former president jacob zuma. and we'll hear from gina yashere, the british comedian making it big in the us, who says she is not at all surprised by the racist abuse targeted at englands footballers. —— at england's footballers.

30 million people across the western united states and canada are enduring another blistering heatwave. canada has ordered emergency speed restrictions on the country's railways to reduce the risk of wildfires — sparks from trains are a common source of fires during heatwaves. las vegas has just matched its record temperature, 47 degrees, while death valley in california is expected to reach a high of over 52 degrees. wildfires are burning in several states. from los angeles, sophie long reports. wildfires in northern california grow in size and intensity, destroying homes in multiple communities as increasing winds complicate already dangerous firefighting conditions. this fire is raging out of control in southern oregon, as millions of people across the western united states

are hit by another round of scorching temperatures. i'm on the west side... more than 60,000 acres are currently burning. california is no stranger to wildfires, but scientists say they're becoming more frequent and more intense as global temperatures rise. the national weather service recorded temperatures of 130 degrees in california's death valley, some of the highest ever recorded on the planet. people in desert communities are being warned how quickly they can dehydrate or overheat. not realising how quickly you can run into trouble with dehydration and heat exhaustion or the body overheating. but even those following the advice in palm springs are struggling. it's too hot. i'm drinking as much water as i can. i'm drinking my weight in water every day. i think the best way to describe it, which is actually the way my friend

described it, is that moment when you open the oven and that gust of heat hits you in the face. as the record—breaking temperatures continue, people can only do their best to stay cool while also being urged to conserve water and energy. sophie long, bbc news, los angeles. i'm joined now by michael mann, director of the earth system science center at pennsylvania state university and author of the new climate war. michael, welcome to the programme. we used to talk about this kind of extreme weather is once in a century or once in a millennium event. it seems to me it is now much the norm. do you think this is down to climate change? do you think this is down to climate chance? ., v do you think this is down to climate chance? . 2 ., do you think this is down to climate chante? . �*, .,, change? thanks, it's good to be with ou. we change? thanks, it's good to be with you- we climate _ change? thanks, it's good to be with you. we climate scientists _ change? thanks, it's good to be with you. we climate scientists don't - you. we climate scientists don't like to see our predictions come true but that's what we are seeing happening. we predicted decades ago

that if we continue to add carbon pollution to the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning we would raise the temperature of the planet, we would see far more blistering heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods and that is not what we are seeing. that's the bad news. the good news is we can prevent it from getting worse but that's going to require dramatic action. can worse but that's going to require dramatic action.— worse but that's going to require dramatic action. can you put that into lehmans _ dramatic action. can you put that into lehmans terms _ dramatic action. can you put that into lehmans terms for - dramatic action. can you put that into lehmans terms for us - dramatic action. can you put that into lehmans terms for us given | dramatic action. can you put that - into lehmans terms for us given that our horizons are we pretty sure back to our childhood, we compared back to our childhood, we compared back to our childhood or grandparent bonsai time. how frequent are these freak weather events? aha, bonsai time. how frequent are these freak weather events?— freak weather events? a co-author and mine published _ freak weather events? a co-author and mine published an _ freak weather events? a co-author and mine published an op-ed - freak weather events? a co-author and mine published an op-ed in . freak weather events? a co-author| and mine published an op-ed in the and mine published an op—ed in the new york times a week and a half ago that this is the sort of event you would expect to see once in your lifetime if you are methuselah. one into thousand year offence by the most conservative standards. a new reportjust came out last week using

more sophisticated methods that they concluded that this event was probably a one in a 100,000 year event if not for the warming of the planet, that is to say if we weren't warm warming the planet through carbon pollution, we would not expect to see this more often than once in 100,000 years. what climate change has done is made this a much more probable event. they estimate that even with all the warming taking place, that is a 100,000 year event and that is because the models they are using probably don't take into account the full impact the human activity is having on these extreme weather events.- human activity is having on these extreme weather events. impact is the thin i extreme weather events. impact is the thing i did _ extreme weather events. impact is the thing i did rudimentary - extreme weather events. impact is | the thing i did rudimentary research on the wildfires, heat waves, floods, super stone urns. the collective cost to the united states and female last year was nearly $100 billion. —— anti—fema last year for some i feel like that is not being put across strong enough to the electorate am i right?—

put across strong enough to the electorate am i right? those are conservative _ electorate am i right? those are conservative figures. _ electorate am i right? those are conservative figures. the - electorate am i right? those are i conservative figures. the estimate, the crude estimates of the cost of climate damage comes to total like one or $2 trillion a year in global gross domestic product. the point is it is costing us a far more in climate damages then it would to take the actions that are necessary preventing it from getting worse. that is precisely the point, if you look at the political debate you're having there in the united states, some of the republican right you don't believe in this science who don't believe in this science who don't believe in the costs of putting it right, they are arguing the toss over, it sounds a lot of money. but in the context of what we have just been talking about, two or $3 trillion is not a lot of money when you think of the damage that is being caused year on year. iiiiuieiiii when you think of the damage that is being caused year on year. well when it comes to belief, _ being caused year on year. well when it comes to belief, the _ being caused year on year. well when it comes to belief, the famous - being caused year on year. well when it comes to belief, the famous upton | it comes to belief, the famous upton sinclair long ago stated that it is very difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary

depends on him not understanding it and unfortunately that's what we have in the form of climate change deniers, republican climate change deniers, republican climate change deniers who receive millions of dollars a year to promote the interests of the fossil fuel industry by denying climate change and preventing any meaningful action from taking place. lats and preventing any meaningful action from taking place.— from taking place. lots of people, i was at the g7 _ from taking place. lots of people, i was at the g7 recently _ from taking place. lots of people, i was at the g7 recently down - from taking place. lots of people, i was at the g7 recently down here i from taking place. lots of people, i was at the g7 recently down here in cornwall and lots of people are pleased to see the united states back at the table meeting from the front. but one of the things that struck me as quite odd is that the climate tsarjohn kerry came over and said right now we don't have the technology to decarbonise our economy and i am no expert but i sort of think we do, don't we? don't we have enough now to decarbonise our economy fully? we we have enough now to decarbonise our economy fully?— we have enough now to decarbonise our economy fully? we do and i think he soke our economy fully? we do and i think he spoke sort — our economy fully? we do and i think he spoke sort of _ our economy fully? we do and i think he spoke sort of inartfully. _ our economy fully? we do and i think he spoke sort of inartfully. i - our economy fully? we do and i think he spoke sort of inartfully. i don't - he spoke sort of inartfully. i don't think he really meant that we can't tackle this problem now. he was

alluding to the fact that and again i think he misstated the findings of some recent reports, a report from the international energy agency that suggests that 20 years from now, much of the decrease in carbon emissions at that point and will likely be coming from new technologies but that is two decades down the road. right now, we have the technology stacks —— necessary in the form of existing renewable energy and energy storage from a smart grid technology, we have the technology now to cut our carbon emissions by a factor of two within the next ten years which is the path we need to be on if we are going to avert catastrophic warming. we 'ust need the will. i avert catastrophic warming. we 'ust need the will. that is i avert catastrophic warming. we 'ust need the will. that is right, it h avert catastrophic warming. we 'ust need the will. that is right, it ish need the will. that is right, it is not a matter— need the will. that is right, it is not a matter of _ need the will. that is right, it is not a matter of technology, - need the will. that is right, it is not a matter of technology, it i need the will. that is right, it isj not a matter of technology, it is need the will. that is right, it is l not a matter of technology, it is a matter of political willpower to act. ~ . ., matter of political willpower to act. ~ . . , matter of political willpower to act. a . , ., ., ,, act. michael mann, very good to talk to ou, act. michael mann, very good to talk to you. thank — act. michael mann, very good to talk to you, thank you. _ the army has been deployed in south africa to help police deal

with the violence and looting that was triggered by the jailing of former president jacob zuma. mr zuma was convicted of contempt of court, after failing to attend an inquiry into corruption, during his presidency. the bbc�*s southern africa correspondent nomsa maseko has this report. south african police were clearly overwhelmed. they have their hands full trying to stop mobs who started looting shopping centres. nothing was spared. every shop was looted here. the military was then deployed. with more boots on the ground, the government hopes the protests and looting will come to an end. the jailing of south africa's former president jacob zuma resulted in violent protest action followed by looting incidents in two provinces — mr zuma's home province of kwazulu—natal and gauteng, the country's economic hub. more than 200 people have been arrested.

police are investigating the deaths of six others. south africa's president, cyril ramaphosa, addressed the nation last night. he said criminal activity would not be tolerated. property has been destroyed, cars have been stoned, have today authorised the deployment of the defence force personnel in support of the operations of the south african police service. the nationaljoint operation and intelligence structure has intensified deployments and all the affected areas. beyond the looting of businesses which has a negative impact on the economy, the violent protests have now caused a delay in the vaccination roll—out for covid—19. centres are closed citing security concerns. it remains unclear when they'll open as protesters vowed

to continue their protest action untiljacob zuma is released from prison. nomsa maseko, bbc news, pietermaritzburg. texas democrats are leaving home for washington today in a last—ditch effort to prevent the passage of a restrictive new voting bill in the republican—controlled legislature. 51 of the 67 house democrats say they will exit the state tonight on a pair of chartered flights from austin, to prevent texas republicans from attaining a quorum, which is required to conduct state business. the republican governor greg abbott had convened a special legislative session to push through new laws that would ban ballot—drop boxes, or outlaw 24—hour polling booths, and empower partisan poll watchers. the bbc�*s anthony zurcher is with us. get the sense this is not an attempt to block the bill in the texas state house but to shine a light nationally on a problem that many

texas democrats don't think the white house is doing enough about. i think that is exactly it and the fact that they are coming here to washington, dc to engage in demonstrations to try to call attention to what is going on in texas and to push for national laws that would limit what states, republican controlled state like texas or to income tells you all you need to know about the strategy here, they will not be able to block it forever, but they want to buy themselves time and put a spotlight on it. i themselves time and put a spotlight on it. ~ ., i. ., themselves time and put a spotlight on it. ~ ., ., ., ., themselves time and put a spotlight onit. ~ ., ., ., ., on it. i know you are a texas man so ou can on it. i know you are a texas man so you can tell— on it. i know you are a texas man so you can tell me _ on it. i know you are a texas man so you can tell me come _ on it. i know you are a texas man so you can tell me come if _ on it. i know you are a texas man so you can tell me come if they - on it. i know you are a texas man so you can tell me come if they stayed l you can tell me come if they stayed in the state, would they be rounded up in the state, would they be rounded up by the texas rangers? that in the state, would they be rounded up by the texas rangers?— up by the texas rangers? that is certainly a _ up by the texas rangers? that is certainly a possibility, _ up by the texas rangers? that is certainly a possibility, that - up by the texas rangers? that is certainly a possibility, that is - certainly a possibility, that is within the authority of the capital, the state capital, to order that all of the legislators who are missing from action in the capital could be arrested and detained and brought there. in fact in 2003 i was in texas when the democrats did something similar, they went to new mexico that time in order to block any redistricting bill from going through but once again back in 2003,

they were able to delay it but by they were able to delay it but by the fall, they were eventually came back to texas and had to show up at the capital and the redistricting past. 50 the capital and the redistricting east. ., , the capital and the redistricting ast. ., , , the capital and the redistricting ast. ., , ., past. so run for the hills, stay low but this is — past. so run for the hills, stay low but this is the _ past. so run for the hills, stay low but this is the second _ past. so run for the hills, stay low but this is the second time - past. so run for the hills, stay low but this is the second time they i but this is the second time they have done it in six weeks. the republicans in texas said tonight that they are delaying the inevitable.— that they are delaying the inevitable. ~ . ., ., .., that they are delaying the inevitable. ~ . ., ., ., inevitable. what the governor can do is he can continue _ inevitable. what the governor can do is he can continue to _ inevitable. what the governor can do is he can continue to call _ inevitable. what the governor can do is he can continue to call special - is he can continue to call special session after special session 30 days after 30 days until the democrats come back and there was something interesting that abbott also did at the end of the regular session, he vetoed funding for the legislature effective september one so if the democrats stay out past september one, none of them are going to get paid, numbered —— none of their staff are going to get paid and it will get painful for them to draw this out. eventually they are hoping washington doesn't something because they know that they can to grind all of the gears of state politics to a halt in texas indefinitely.— politics to a halt in texas indefinitel. ~ ., , ., indefinitely. also on his way to washington — indefinitely. also on his way to washington today _

indefinitely. also on his way to washington today was - indefinitely. also on his way to washington today was eric - indefinitely. also on his way to i washington today was eric adams indefinitely. also on his way to - washington today was eric adams who won the new york primary to be mayor or surely he will be mayor because it is a democrat city and has been on the sunday talk shows and he ran on the sunday talk shows and he ran on a moderate platform anthony and he has a concern. this is what he told abc on sunday. just have a listen. we can't be so idealistic that we're not realistic. is it fair to call you - an anti—woke democrat? no, i-i... some of us never went to sleep. interesting because there is a concern among more moderate democrats that woke, or being woke, is being attached to the liberal progressives and it would damage them in the midterms. and them in the midterms. and progressives _ them in the midterms. and progressives ran _ them in the midterms. and progressives ran for - them in the midterms. and progressives ran for the - them in the midterms. ji."ic progressives ran for the mayor ship of new york city and loss. alexandria ocasio—cortez perhaps the highest profile social democrat in congress, she endorsed one of the other candidates and that woman ended up losing. obviously eric adams was able to use his anti—crime

message to bring safety back to new york message to win a polarity of the votes and bring choice voting in your city. —— 20 plurality. he is coming here to meet withjoe biden, from the president on down this administration is emphasising that they are not part of the d fund the police movement, that they support giving more money to the police in a kind of thoughtful way perhaps but bring adams here is showing that they have an emphasis on addressing crime. ~ ., ~' . they have an emphasis on addressing crime. ~ ., ~ ., ,, they have an emphasis on addressing crime. ~ ., ,, , ., they have an emphasis on addressing crime. ~ ., ,, , crime. woke and wellness is a big debate on both _ crime. woke and wellness is a big debate on both sides _ crime. woke and wellness is a big debate on both sides of _ crime. woke and wellness is a big debate on both sides of the - crime. woke and wellness is a big i debate on both sides of the atlantic that i'm sure we will come back to. thank you anthony. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: as richard branson flies to the edge of space, what's next for the billionaire's race to space? we'll be live with a former nasa astronaut. as we've been hearing, facemasks will no longer be compulsory in england from next week. but almost 200,000 have signed a petition demanding we stick with them.

fiona lamdin reports. the rules may be changing next week, but here in clevedon, customers will still be asked to wear masks in this boutique. my daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia injune 2018, and went through two and a half years of treatment, and then came out of that treatment in...in covid, so, it's hard. it's been tough. those people, like us, that have shielded, that literally didn't leave their homes, you know, for months on end, and people wearing a mask to protect each other made them feel safer. people like martyn, who has lung disease. he shielded for the first three months of lockdown. i would feel terrified about going to shop next week, being surrounded by people not wearing masks and not social distancing. so, how will you get your shopping?

i will have to go back to relying heavily on kind friends and neighbours, like i did in the first lockdown. he is so worried about the end of mask wearing he has set up a petition, and so far nearly 200,000 people have signed it. research from bristol university has found that wearing a mask reduces the spread of covid by 25% if everyone wears them. and it's notjust shops. in this hair salon in bristol, the clients have asked for the masks to stay. i personally think it's too soon to remove masks, and with cases rising in bristol, you know, the health and well—being of my team is really my priority. therefore, i'll do everything that i can to stop covid passing through my team and clients. masks may not be mandatory this time next week, but as the prime minister has this evening said, they still should be part of our lives. fiona lamdin, bbc points west.

gina yashere is one of the uk's brightest comedian's — but not here — instead she is riding high in the usa with her own hit sitcom and a netflix standup special, and now she's published a book on her extraoardinary journey from lift engineer to comedy superstar. "cack—handed" is the title of the new book and a little earlier gina told me why she felt motivated to write a memoir of her early life. you know what? it came from social media. i'm on instagram every week and there was this hashtag called tbt, throwback thursday where you post an old picture of yourself. so i did that and i tell the story behind the picture and people became super interested and they kept saying, "we didn't know "these things about you, you need to write a book." and around the same time, i was approached by a publisher at harpercollins, tracy sherrod, and a literary agent at the same time both asking me if i was interested in writing the book so it was like the universe was like, "you need to write a book."

i didn't know if i could, it was a challenge, but i'm glad i did. we've all got a book in us, or so they say. for those millions of people who see you on television, what are they going to learn when they read your book? everything. so, it's not just. .. it talks about the history of how i ended up in england, how my parents were in nigeria, how british missionaries came to nigeria, how they ended up in england, why they ended up in england, why was born in england and then it why i was born in england and then it sort of follows my journey through childhood right through my life as an engineer up until i started doing comedy, and then finally leaving for america. so basically, it's the entire life story up until he get on a plane to america. —— i get ona —— i get on a plane. so, it covers everything from, you know, growing up in england in the �*70s being chased and spat on by skinheads, becoming an engineer, the educational aspirations of immigrant families and with a bit of humour thrown in obviously. i want to come back to the career

in a second but since you've just referred there to the racism, i've got to talk to you about the big story here of course through the day. it's been the racist abuse aimed at the footballers and for me, the most depressing bit about it is the inevitability of it, really. exactly, i'm not surprised by any of it. why are we surprised? it's been going on since football began! these three guys were heroes last week and now there pilloried week and now they're pilloried on twitter and social media. i mean, talk about from hero to zero, what, because of the colour of their skin? well, exactly. when white guys miss penalties, they're talking about their play, they're talking about, "oh, maybe they buckled "under the pressure." this is the kind of discussion that happens. but when black players miss a penalty or get their penalties saved, it's all because they're black and they don't really belong in this country. you know, i'm starting to believe that england didn't deserve to win. we didn't deserve to win. nationalism is on the rise — racism, xenophobia is on the rise. we've left europe and

there's that whole thing. if we'd won, i think it would've given so much more power to people who think like that. so, i don't think we deserved to win. i think that was the universe paying us back for what we've been, you know, the stuff that we've been doing the last couple of years. let's spin it to more positive things. your career fascinates me because in way, you've done it because in a way, you've done it the reverse way round. most comedians with think, "you know what, i'm going to be "a hit here in the uk and then i'm going to take this on the road "to the united states." you went open mic on a sort of standup comedy night. well, yeah, i started again from scratch. i didn't do it the way ricky gervais did it or russell brand where they're coming already super successful in england and already getting to america with their faces on billboards and already walking into projects. i didn't have those opportunities, i wasn't given those opportunities. so, when i went, i went and started again from scratch. nobody knew who i was, so i started turning up at the comedy clubs doing shows forfree, basically how

i started when i started in comedy in my early 20s, i started again in my mid—30s doing the same thing. a big hit now in the united states. cack—handed. the billionaire sir richard branson has been celebrating his successful mission to the edge of space. he is the first of the new space—tourism pioneers to try out his own vehicle, beating jeff bezos and elon musk in the process. but shares in virgin galactic have come back to earth with a bump after an announcement by the company today they would issue up to $500 million of additional stock — cashing in on the stratespheric rise of the company's value. sir richard flew high above the new mexico desert on sunday in the vehicle that his company has been developing for 17 years. let's talk our good friend and former nasa astronaut leroy chiao. leroy lovely to see you. this is getting a lot of attention 17 years in the making, is it as ground—breaking as richard branson tells that it is? it ground-breaking as richard branson tells that it is?—

tells that it is? it has certainly been a long — tells that it is? it has certainly been a long time _ tells that it is? it has certainly been a long time coming. - tells that it is? it has certainly been a long time coming. i. tells that it is? it has certainly been a long time coming. i lot tells that it is? it has certainly - been a long time coming. i lot more difficult than i think he believed it would become a lot more difficult than i think he believed it would be, spaceshipone, the smaller prototype of flu in 2004 and back then, he was promising by 2007 we would be here selling commercial rights to paying customers and so it is been a little bit later than that but thankfully we are there now and it is ground—breaking and at this ushers in a new era of commercial space flight for suborbital flight and the reason that is significant is because to date, some very wealthy people have been at between 20 and $50 million each to spend a week aboard the international space station flying with the russians are now you can go and touch a space if you don't have quite that much money but it was so cost you around $250,000.— but it was so cost you around $250,000. ,, , , ., , , $250,000. still slightly outside my leak i am afraid _ $250,000. still slightly outside my leak i am afraid we _ $250,000. still slightly outside my leak i am afraid we write _ $250,000. still slightly outside my leak i am afraid we write but - $250,000. still slightly outside my leak i am afraid we write but how . leak i am afraid we write but how long do you think it will be? we havejeff long do you think it will be? we have jeff bezos long do you think it will be? we havejeff bezos going up in a day's time. how long you think it will be before it is affordable for the masses or will it ever be? i think

unfortunately — masses or will it ever be? i think unfortunately it _ masses or will it ever be? i think unfortunately it will— masses or will it ever be? i think unfortunately it will be _ masses or will it ever be? i think unfortunately it will be some - masses or will it ever be? i thinkl unfortunately it will be some time because the fact is rocket engines are expensive, they are complex pieces of machinery, they have to work every time, it is a lot more complex than a jet engine and jet engines can power airliners and airliners can be built pretty big in thesejet engines can airliners can be built pretty big in these jet engines can handle it and take people safely from one point to another. but to get people into space, rocket engines really need a breakthrough where we can build an inexpensive yet very reliable robust rocket engine. at that point in the price point can come down but the fact is right now it is for the foreseeable future still going to be a game for people with more money than you and i. ibe a game for people with more money than you and l— than you and i. be honest, we have one minute — than you and i. be honest, we have one minute left _ than you and i. be honest, we have one minute left before _ than you and i. be honest, we have one minute left before we - than you and i. be honest, we have one minute left before we head - than you and i. be honest, we have one minute left before we head to l one minute left before we head to the break but be honest, you have spent a lifetime training for this wasn't richard branson said "i did seven days and now i am an astronaut." he is not really an astronaut." he is not really an astronaut like you are, is he? it is kind of like _

astronaut like you are, is he? it is kind of like when _ astronaut like you are, is he? it 3 kind of like when president reagan was given an knighthood and so the experts in britain at the time said what that is great and he has an honorary knighthood but it would be very inappropriate for president reagan to actually use the honorific. so it is kind of the same thing. it's fine they can call themselves estimates snb honorary astronauts but they are certainly not professional astronauts. tiler;r not professional astronauts. they are not. not professional astronauts. they are not- leroy — not professional astronauts. they are not. leroy you _ not professional astronauts. they are not. leroy you are _ not professional astronauts. they are not. leroy you are the - not professional astronauts. they are not. leroy you are the real deal. thank you very much indeed for coming on the programme again, it lovely to get your thought on that, jeff bezos offered eight days' time. it is going to be expensive for the rest of us. —— off in a day's time. hello there. the weekend and monday brought yet more showers or longer spells of rain, but as we work our way through the week, our skyline will change, with increasing amounts of dry and sunny weather as those showers ease away. and as a result, it'll be a warmer with more sunshine, and it's all down to the positioning of the jet stream.

at the moment, we've seen low pressure drifting its way across the southern half of the country in the last 48 hours, and the jet stream as a result has been diving southwards around the area of low pressure. and that low pressure gets cut off now to the south of us, and instead it strengthens the jet stream further north, pushing the weather fronts further north. to the south of that, however, we will be under the influence of high pressure, and that high pressure, that azores high, with the winds circulating clockwise, will bring in some much drier weather. but with the low pressure still in close proximity on tuesday, there still will be some showers around. fewer than we've seen during the last couple of days, but nevertheless some showers for tuesday, and still some heavy showers as well. because the winds are light, they're not going to move on very quickly either. and there will be quite a lot of low cloud near the east coast. but with the sunshine, temperatures will just lift a little more than we've seen in recent days, 21—23 degrees celsius. that low pressure is still close by even as we move into wednesday, and by that stage, we've got this

weak weather front brushing close by to the north west of scotland and to northern ireland. so, i think we'll see a complexion in the skies here with some drizzly rain. perhaps still a few showers in southern and eastern areas, but for the majority, there'll be a lot of dry and warm weather. and temperatures will really start route respond to that strengthening to respond to that strengthening sunshine and more of it, too, into the mid—20s potentially. now those are just weak weather fronts working their way across the country. the main theme really as we move through the second half of the week is the high pressure, that azores high, bringing, yes, a bit of a northerly breeze down the north sea coasts and at times some low cloud, but given the strength of the july sunshine, it should burn away and there should be plenty of dry and quite sunny weather. so, temperatures in the sunnier spots, 23—25 celsius, gentle sea breezes around the coast. and that high pressure's then with us for four or five days, and you can see gradually as itjust drifts its way a little bit further eastwards, the oranges start to deepen. we start to see more generally

temperatures getting into the low to mid—20s, and that continues into the start of next week as well, that high pressure being with us. so, through friday, againjust those weak weather fronts close, just to bring a bit more cloud to northern and western areas. still got a bit of a northerly breeze right through the east coast, but for most, the winds quite gentle i think for most of the week, but notably by friday i think there could be some early morning mist and fog as well. and then we've got saturday's scenario looking very similar. you may have noticed temperatures 24—25. they again will be in that sort of category as we head into saturday, but more widely getting up into the potentially high 20s further south as well. and that high pressure could well last notjust through the coming weekend, but beyond as well, keeping the weather fronts at bay. however, there is a question mark, and you can see that the models here are trying to move it eastwards and allow this cut off area of low pressure to come in from the south—west. and that potentially will bring a change. it will be the next great rainmaker, but that is looks as it will be into the new week.

for the time being, though, it looks like we are set to have a lot of dry and settled weather, also temperatures around the mid to high 20s, just tapering off a little bit into the beginning of next week. as ever, there's plenty more on the website.

tonight at ten — the prime minister confirms that almost all of england's coronavirus restrictions will be lifted next monday — despite a surge in cases. masks and social distancing will no longer be a legal requirement — though face coverings will still be encouraged in places like public transport. but predictions there could be up to 2,000 people admitted to hospital and up to 200 deaths every day within weeks. i cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough. this pandemic is not over. scientists say they're expecting this third covid wave to peak in the middle of august. also tonight... england's manager gareth southgate says the racist