this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm shaun ley. cuba sees the biggest demonstrations against the communist government in decades. president biden says the protests are a �*clarion call for freedom'. the south african president appeals for an end to days of violence and looting sparked by the jailing of his predecessor, jacob zuma. the british prime minister confirms that almost all of england's coronavirus restrictions will be lifted next monday, despite a surge in cases. wildfires are raging across the western us as the latest heatwave dries out forests and millions struggle with soaring temperatures. 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. and why google�*s boss says the model of a free and open internet is under attack. hello and welcome. the cuban opposition says that dozens of activists have been arrested since sunday, when thousands of people joined the biggest protests in decades against the island's communist government. many were detained at the demonstrations, which called for democracy and criticised the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. cuba's president has blamed the united states for the unrest and said its embargo of cuba was aimed at encouraging dissent and social unrest. our north america editor jon sopel has more. libertad! "libertad", the crowd in havana shouts, orfreedom. but while many cubans feel this

in their hearts, it's extremely rare for protesters to take to the streets to give vent to their anger in this one—party communist state. translation: we are here because of the repression l against the people. they are starving us to death. havana is collapsing. we have no house, nothing, but they have the money to build hotels and they have us starving. and shouting "down with the dictatorship," as many of the protesters did, can come with a heavy price. but a toxic cocktail of economic collapse, a faltering response to the pandemic and lack of civil liberties has emboldened these people. and the response of the president? "blame your over—mighty neighbourjust 90 miles "to the north, the united states." translation: there will be a revolutionary response, i so we call upon all the revolutionaries in the country, all the communists, to take to the streets of any of the places where these provocations are going to take place.

for decades, cuba was a flashpoint in the cold war between the us and the soviet union. archive report: the familiar communist brainwashing - technique is displayed - in propaganda books constantly spewed out as required reading. nearly sparking a nuclear confrontation between the superpowers. in this period, hundreds of thousands of cubans fled to the us and to miami. and it was no surprise that last night the exiled community was out in force to support their countrymen, support that's come from the american president, too. i don't think we've seen anything like this protest in a long, long time, if, quite frankly, ever. the united states stands firmly with the people of cuba as they assert their universal rights, and we call on the government of cuba to refrain from violence, and their attempts to silence the voice of the people of cuba. this is being watched incredibly closely by the white house. sanctions that were intensified

in the trump era have not been relaxed byjoe biden. what needs to be weighed is whether this is just a spasmodic outburst or the start of a cuban spring and something much more fundamental. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. from the american university in washington. i've been speaking to professor william leogrande from the american university in washington. he's written several books on us cuba relations. he explained how the us response is being read by the cuban government. well, i think the biden administration's response is quite predictable. they of course called for the cuban government to use restraint against the peaceful demonstrators and basically sided with the demonstrators against the cuban government. this then reinforces the cuban government's message that all of these demonstrations are nothing but provocations from the united states. so, i think the position of the two governments blaming one another, in effect,

doesn't help the situation. cubans are demonstrating because of economic desperation. the economy there is just in terrible shape. there's no food at the stores, there's no medicine in the pharmacies, there is no fuel at the gas stations and electricity is blacking out periodically. people are frustrated and they're blaming the government. people on the island have endured food shortages before. in fact, it's hardly ever been a time of plenty in cuba because of limits on what is possible to grow there, and obviously, the long—standing economic embargo. do you think, though, that there is anything that the government has done on the island in recent months that has exacerbated these problems? well, yes. injanuary of this year, the government undertook the unification of its dual currency system. it had two currencies — a cuban peso and a convertible peso, which was equal to the us dollar — and it converted them. it was a devaluation that was absolutely necessary, according to all economists,

in order to get prices right, but the result has been, really, runaway inflation. the government tried to raise wages to keep pace, but prices are outstripping wages, so people's real income has gone down in the last few months. and the paradox of that for many people is that presumably, hang on, you told us it was a controlled economy, that this was one of the virtues of the controlled economy, and yet we're suffering like they suffer in america when the inflation gets out of hand and a free market. yes, well, so the government's economic reform programme has been aimed at introducing more market mechanisms in order to spur economic growth, and one of the consequences of turning things over to the market is that the government has lost control to some extent. south africa has deployed its military to two of the country's provinces, following deadly riots that erupted after former president jacob zuma handed himself in to begin a is—month jail sentence.

mr zuma was convicted of contempt of court, afterfailing to attend an inquiry into corruption during his presidency. the bbc�*s southern africa correspondent nomsa maseko has the latest. south african police were clearly overwhelmed. they had 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 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. he said criminal activity would not be tolerated. i 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 known as natjoints has intensified deployments in all the affected areas in kwazulu—natal and in gauteng. 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—i9. centres are closed, citing security concerns. it remains unclear when they'll open, as protesters vow

to continue their protest action untiljacob zuma is released from prison. nomsa maseko, bbc news, pietermaritzburg. let's get some of the day's other news. at least 35 people have been killed in a fire at a hospital treating coronavirus patients in the iraqi city of nassiriya. health officials say the fire at the al—hussain hospital has now been brought under control and a search operation is being carried out. many of the patients are said to be missing. dutch prime minister mark rutte has apologised for what he called "an error ofjudgment" in scrapping most coronavirus restrictions in the country. authorities eased measures three weeks ago, which led to a spike in cases. on saturday, more than 10,000 new covid cases were reported, the highest number in a single day since december. curbs on bars, restaurants and nightclubs were reimposed on friday. france is to make it compulsory for all health staff to be vaccinated against covid i9. announcing the new rules, president emmanuel macron said workers in retirement homes and other healthcare settings

would have until september to get themselves vaccinated. just over half of france's population, 35 and a half million people, have had at least one jab so far. london's heathrow airport says a number of staff working at terminal five have been told to isolate by the nhs covid app, causing major delays earlier today. the bbc understands that more than a hundred security guards were affected. the airport is gearing up for a surge in customers as travel restrictions end and brought in extra staff to clear the queues. britain's prime minister boris johnson has confirmed that mandatory coronavirus restrictions will be scrapped in england, even though the rate of infection is rising sharply. the government says its vaccination programme has largely broken the link between new cases and deaths. but mrjohnson urged people to exercise "extreme caution" when the rules change next week, as the pandemic is not over. our health editor hugh pym has more. for those in england

wondering how things will be different from next monday, there was a change of tone from the government today. masks and face coverings will be expected in certain places, like crowded public transport, even as legal restrictions are lifted onjuly 19th, with the key message being caution. this pandemic is not over. this disease, coronavirus, continues to carry risks for you and your family. we cannot simply revert instantly from monday the 19th ofjuly to life as it was before covid. scientists and modellers predict the current wave of infections will reach a peak in august. there could be between 1,000 and 2,000 daily hospital admissions and between 100 and 200 deaths each day. but all that depends on a certain amount of continued caution by the public. for example, mask wearing in some crowded indoor spaces. can you spell out some

of the risks involved with opening up onjuly the 19th in england, for example, to the nhs? if behaviour returns to immediately to pre—pandemic levels, that would be a very big rise. if we go slowly and cautiously, that would be less of a rise. but we can't escape the fact that any increase like that will be associated with an increase in hospitalisations and sadly with deaths as well. those hospital numbers could be around half the peak seen injanuary and covid patients now tend to be younger and need less time in hospital, but leading doctors are concerned about the mounting pressure. not only are we managing the backlog from last year, we're also trying to do normal activity, but we're also seeing a rise in admissions with patients with covid. so, as health care professionals, we are really worried about what is going to happen over the coming weeks. labour had this response

to the changes. we all want to ease restrictions, but with infection rates still going up at the rate they're going up, this plan is still reckless, i'm afraid. we need a safe way of coming through this. there were mixed views among people we spoke to in derby. i think it's a good idea because i think the country have really been very patient. coronavirus is still very much around. i will still keep on my mask. i think we should lift the restrictions. - i think you should let - people live how they live, instead of keeping people as prisoners, mate. - with more walk—in vaccination centres open like this one in southampton at the weekend, national and local officials feel they have to reach out more to younger adults. that's because take—up of first doses has fallen, and it's not down to supply issues. it was very consistent during june, but since the end of the month, measured by the seven—day rolling average, it's more than halved.

government scientists have made it very clear that in their view, there's no ideal date for easing restrictions and delaying wouldn't mean a different outcome. hugh pym, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the italian team arrive back home to a hero's welcome, showing off their new trophy to the large crowds of supporters. after months of talks and missed deadlines, a deal has been struck to keep greece within the euro zone. the immediate prospect of greece going bust in the worst crisis to hit the euro zone has been averted. emergency services across central europe are stepping up their efforts to contain the worst floods this century. nearly 100 people have been killed. broadway is traditionally called the great white way by americans, but tonight, it's completely blacked out. it's a timely reminder to all americans of the problems that the energy crisis has brought to them. leaders meet in paris- fora summit on pollution,

inflation and third world debt. this morning, theyjoinedl the revolution celebrations for a show of military might on the champs—elysees. . wildlife officials in australia have been coping with a penguin problem. fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on their favourite food, pilchards. some had eaten so much, they could barely stand. this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley with the headlines. opponents of cuba's communist authorities say dozens of activists have been arrested since sunday's anti—government demonstrations on the island. the south african president has appealed for an end to days of violence and looting sparked by the jailing of his predecessor, jacob zuma.

30 million people across the western united states and canada have been enduring another blistering heatwave. las vegas has matched its record ofjust over 47 degrees, or around 116 degrees fahrenheit. in death valley in california, the temperature was expected to reach a mind—boggling 52 degrees celsius, or 125 degrees fahrenheit, and the extreme heat is having some devastating consequences. wildfires have been burning six western us states. 0ur correspondent sophie long reports from los angeles. 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 0regon, 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 openj the oven and that gust of heat

hits you in the face. _ the extreme heat has led to the deaths of dozens of people across the western united states in recent weeks. it's also putting a massive strain on the region's power grid. californians are now being told to reduce their water usage by 15%. it's not a compulsory, but it underscores the harsh reality that millions of people living in cities like los angeles are now facing. as the record—breaking temperatures continue, people can only do their best to stay cool. sophie long, bbc news, los angeles. the commander of us—led forces in afghanistan, general scott miller, stepped down today as the us withdraws troops from the country after almost 20 years. the bbc�*s lyse doucet was at the ceremony and gave us more from kabul. another important step on the last parts of ending the us—led nato mission here in afghanistan. it was a very short ceremony at what used to be called

the resolute command centre, the command of all the nato armies here in afghanistan. general scott miller is the last commander to serve here. he's actually the longest—serving as well. he served three times in afghanistan during this mission, and in fact, he was here in 2001, coming in with the forces who toppled the taliban. he's also one of the few us generals to actually talk to the taliban in recent years, and today, when he handed over his command, he reiterated again the need for the taliban to stop the violence. it's the world's biggest search engine, and its boss says the model of a free and open internet is under attack. sundar pichai says many countries are restricting the flow of information and the western model, free from political censorship, is often taken for granted. google is under huge pressure from regulators around the world for its approach to privacy, data and tax. 0ur media editor, amol rajan, spoke to google's chief executive at the company

headquarters in silicon valley, california. for the past two decades, one californian company, more than any other, has designed and built the internet with a dominance in digital advertising. now google isjourneying into the unknown with two big bets — unimaginably powerful quantum computers and, above all, artificial intelligence. i viewed it as the most profound technology that humanity will ever develop and work on, and we have to make sure we do it in a way that we can harness it to society's benefit. sundar pichai is the man leading google into this new era. be it health care, be it education, be it how we manufacture things and how we consume information. if you think about fire or electricity or the internet, it's like that, but i think even more profound. born of humble roots in tamil nadu in south—east india, sundar pichai trained as an engineer. he moved to the us to pursue

his dream and joined google's founders, larry page and sergey brin, when the company was just six years old in 200a. now, he's the boss of both google and its parent company alphabet, which includes youtube. and he faces unrelenting scrutiny from us lawmakers to, most recently, at the g7 and g20 summits, where tax was in focus. historically, has google paid enough tax in the right places? we are one of the world's largest taxpayers. if you look at on an average over the past decade, we have paid over 20% in taxes. we do pay the majority of our share of taxes in the us, where we originate and where our products are developed. i think there are good conversations, and we support the global 0ecd conversations figuring out what is the right way to allocate taxes. and this is beyond a single company to solve. you've got two teenagers, i understand. what's your policy on screen time for kids? i think this generation

needs to learn to adapt to technology. it's going to be a big part of their lives, so i've encouraged them to develop boundaries on their own, but i've approached it as a journey of personal responsibility. how worried are you that, today, the internet seems to be splitting into different domains, where we have a kind of californian internet and increasingly a chinese one, and the chinese one might be in the ascendant? the free and open internet has been a tremendous force for good, and i think we take it for granted a bit. but i do think the model is being attacked. and so i think it's something we take for granted, but i hope we can stand up, particularly in countries with strong democratic traditions and values. sundar pichai is clear, it's up to democracies, as much as any tech giant to shape our digital future. amol rajan, bbc news, in silicon valley. italy's national team have been given a heroes' welcome in rome after their euro 2020 victory on sunday evening.

after a night of celebration, they were invited to a a reception by the italian president, followed by a reception by the italian president, followed by a triumphant open top bus tour of the capital. 0ur correspondent mark lowen sent this report from rome. in the end, it's come to rome. cheering. 53 years, not quite of hurt, but of italy's wait for a european title. and now the mancini magic, with its greatest trick. back on home soil, and crowned champions of europe. who needed sleep after that win? you couldn't have got it, anyway. in every corner of this passionate country, victory tasted sweet. and it was savoured loudly, for hour after hour. morning brought sore heads and calm after the storm.

the piazzas returned from football to food. seeking refuge from the heat, jan carla and herfamily. generations witnessing history. i hope you don't mind me asking, but do you remember italy's last european victory in 1968? i remember, just because of my father, who was so happy. and i was a little kid then. and i thought oh, what a lovely thing it is! so, it was also a revival of that. well, i wasn't watching the match, i was sleeping. but i heard everybody shouting outside at midnight. i woke up and then my mum told me we were champions. your grandma says you go to the british school here. so, what are you saying to your english friends? i don't know, i'm just going to say we won! from italy's captain, a message dedicating the victory to the country's medics. both heroes of our times. the word that italians are using about their team is redemption. both from italy's failure

to qualify for the last world cup and its year of agony to this — champions of europe and bringers of unbridled joy. victory parade, honour guard, there's time for it all. italy's been waiting 53 years. now is the moment to enjoy the glory. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. there is such a thing as flying fish but this is a slightly different take. wildlife authorities in utah are restocking lakes with fish by dropping them out ofa plane, bringing a new dimension to flying fish. some lakes across the state are inaccessible by vehicle or other means of stocking, so the fish are made to flutter down slowly to the water. what a site that is! it looks blasted out to me, but there you go. the plane can drop 35,000

fish in a single flight. almost all fish are expected to survive the fall. this is not a new technique: aerialfish stocking has been used in utah since the 1950s. fa ncy fancy that. hello there. we had some pretty impressive downpours across different parts of the country on monday. the radar picture shows one of these bands of heavy rain working into north east england, particularly north yorkshire, and then we have this second band of rain across the west london area. now in kew, in west london, we picked up 46 mm of rain from the shower band. that was pretty much smack bang on a whole month's of rain and the majority of that fell in just the space of two hours. if you were wondering what that looks like, it looks like this. three miles down the road in twickenham the roads flooded, and there were reports of flooding elsewhere as well. now, over the next few hours, those showers that we have seen by day will continue to very gradually fade away. the majority of us will eventually become drier over with just an odd patch of rain still lingering into the east. temperatures around 12 to 1a

celsius, feeling a little on the muggy side as well, particularly across parts of eastern england. now, for tuesday, we've got much more in the way of dry weather and sunshine with fewer showers, and for most of us, it's going to be a dry morning. the early morning cloud breaking, sunny spells developing widely and there should be quite a lot of that sunshine. but into the afternoon, we're likely to see some showers develop. look at this line of showers forming across parts of northwest england, the midlands and perhaps another one affecting wales down towards parts of dorset as well. now, those showers could be fairly heavy at times, but away from those shower bands, there should be a lot of dry weather to take us through the rest of the afternoon. temperatures pushing into the low 20s quite widely. it will feel warm in the sunshine. now, wednesday, we see a little weather front working into the far northwest of the uk. that's bringing some thicker cloud. might get a few patches of rain just skirting into the north and west of scotland. but otherwise, probably a bit more cloud around, but still some bright

or sunny spells developing. the best of those towards the east of high ground and those temperatures still into the low 20s. it's going to be another day that will feel pleasantly warm where the sunshine breaks through the cloud. now, beyond that, it was the end of the week, the weekend and next week. this area of high pressure is going to be dominating our weather picture, and that means we've got a lengthy spell of dry and sunny weather. temperatures on these charts pushing into the high 20s. well, it wouldn't be surprising to see temperatures into the low 30s in some places next week.

this is bbc news,

the headlines. the cuban opposition says dozens of activists have been arrested since sunday, when thousands of people joined the biggest protests in decades against the island's communist government. many were detained at the demonstrations, others were picked up from their homes. president diaz—canel has blamed the us for the unrest. south africa's governing anc party has warned that continuing violent demonstrations will have a devastating economic impact on the country. troops have been deployed to protect property, as protestors set buildings on fire and looted shops. the violence was triggered by the jailing of the former president, jacob zuma. wildfires are raging in the west of the united states as the region is hit by a heatwave that has brought record temperatures. communities have been told to evacuate as firefighters struggle to battle the blazes. in california, residents were urged to cut power consumption after overhead

lines were brought down. now on bbc news... it's hardtalk.