this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm sally bundock. in cuba, the biggest protests against the communist government in decades. president biden says the protests are a "clarion call for freedom." france warns health workers who refuse to be vaccinated against covid—19 they won't be paid. greece follows suit, after italy unveiled similar measures back in april. at least a0 people have been killed in a fire at a iraqi hospital treating coronavirus patients, in the city of nassiriya. many patients are missing. dozens of texas democrats fly out of the state to block a controversial

republican voting law. a senior government minister is criticised by one of england's footballers for condemning racist abuse directed at his team—mates, after she had previously called taking the knee "gesture politics." hello, and welcome. dozens of people have been arrested in cuba after thousands joined the biggest protests for decades against the island's communist government. cubans are angry at the collapse of the economy, food and medicine shortages, as well as price hikes and the government's handling of the covid—19 crisis. havana has blamed the united states for the unrest, while washington has urged the cuban government to listen to the protesters. 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. france says that all healthcare workers must be fully vaccinated against covid—i9 by september, or they risk not being paid. the announcement, by president macron, comes as cases of the delta variant there are rising. greece is also following suit, after italy unveiled similar measures back in april. mark lobel reports. to france's healthcare workers, a message from the president: get vaccinated in the next two

months or risk not being paid. translation: it is the only way to return to normal life. - initially for healthcare staff in hospitals, clinics, retirement homes, institutions for people with disabilities, for all professionals or volunteers who work in contact with the elderly orfrail, including at home, vaccination will be made compulsory without delay. president macron says it is a race against the clock as the take—up of firstjabs is falling and less than 40% of the population has had two shots. that's a concern because of a rise in cases of coronavirus with the delta variant causing a surge in hospital admissions. not everyone has welcomed the move. translation: if it's l compulsory, we will do it, of course. translation: for me, forcing an agent to be l vaccinated with a specific product is total nonsense. new rules also mean that from next month the nonvaccinated will struggle to get into one of these, these, these, or get away without a negative covid test. greece has announced vaccines are now mandatory for care home

staff and will be for healthcare workers from september, with new restrictions for the nonvaccinated in bars, cinemas and theatres. in holland, there has been a screeching u—turn of the loosening of restrictions unveiled just three weeks ago as nightlife resumed, infection levels surged to their highest levels this year. the dutch prime minister admitted an error ofjudgement. translation: | do think | the prime minister opened things too early. it would have been better to wait a few more weeks because now we are in a surge again. it's a shame because everybody expected to have like an open summer with a lot of activities. i know that my friends were all buying tickets and everything, and now it's just all cancelled again. as europe faces rising numbers of infections, mainly due to the delta

variant, several countries' tolerance of those avoiding injections appears to be waning. mark lobel, bbc news. later in this programme we will go live to paris to speak to a leading economist based there and talk about the decision in france, what it means for the economy and what it means for public health. all bus to come later. —— all that to come. at least 50 people have died in a major fire at a hospital treating coronavirus patients in southern iraq. health officials say the fire at the al—hussain hospital in nassiriya has now been brought under control and a search operation is being carried out. tanya dendrinos reports. a roaring inferno and a sea of desperate voices. fire crews battled the flames raging against the night sky. dozens of people have died, many were injured and others are still unaccounted for.

what makes this scene all the more devastating is the fact it is at a coronavirus hospital in a country already ravaged by war with a health system under significant strain. as medical teams work to treat victims, the search operation continued in the burnt out wards. charred bodies carried out of the building. the blaze was likely caused by the explosion of an oxygen tank and it wasn't long before rage spilt out onto the streets. protesters gathered outside the hospital and the mayor's office, demanding the resignation of officials. the prime minister has held an emergency meeting, initiating a high—level investigation into the incident and directing urgent medical aid to the region.

yet another tragedy just months after a similar incident at a hospital in baghdad which claimed more than 80 lives. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. the united states says it's not ruling out sending troops to haiti to help investigate the assassination of presidentjovenel moise, who was killed last week. the request for troops was made by the prime minister, claudejoseph, who said foreign troops were necessary to guarantee law and order. south korea has reported more than 1,100 new coronavirus cases as it battles its worst—ever outbreak, due to the highly contagious delta variant. the new cases were reported on the same day the government implemented the toughest curbs on residents and business activities in seoul. around 11% of the population has received both shots of the vaccine. venezuelan security forces have arrested the opposition politician, freddy guevara, accusing him of having ties

with paramilitary groups linked to the colombian government. mr guevara, a former member of congress, was intercepted as he drove his car on a highway in the capital, caracas. usually, whenever there's an important measure to be discussed in a legislative chamber, political parties make sure that all their delegates are present to maximise their voting options. but in texas this afternoon, a large number of democrat politicians travelled away from the state parliament and headed for washington instead, in a bid to deny republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions. earlier chris turner, a democrat from the texas house of representatives, stated their reasons for leaving texas for the capital. we are determined to kill this bill in the special session, on august seven. and we will stay out until then in order to do that. we're to use that time to

plead with our friends and our colleagues and our leaders in the congress, but the time is now. there is no time. you must pass strong federal voter protection legislation and you must do it now. you must do it before the august recess. i'm joined by the bbc�*s david willis in los angeles. david, really unusual, democrats fleeing their own state, heading to washington. just explain why these new voting restrictions are so controversial?— voting restrictions are so controversial? ~ ., j~ controversial? well, about 58 democratic — controversial? well, about 58 democratic lawmakers - controversial? well, about 58 democratic lawmakers left i controversial? well, about 58 i democratic lawmakers left texas today, bound for the nation plasma capital, washington, dc, which they arrived at a couple of hours ago. their departure from texas basically deprives republican lawmakers who hold the majority in both chambers there in texas of a quorum, the

number of people present that i needed under state laws in orderfor a needed under state laws in order for a vote to be cast. now, in this particular case, what they are seeking to avoid is any vote on very controversial laws which have been brought in, in many other states, republican lead states, in this country, that basically restrict voting rights or, as republicans would put it, enhanced polling security. and what they will have to do now is, they will have to remain out of the state for the length of the special session that the republican governor, greg abbott, has called to debate and vote on these measures. it is possible then, and once they return, he holds another special session then, and another one perhaps after that to force them to come back, but there could arrested on their return. but they are going to

have to sit it out outside of texas for the next 26 days at least in order to pull this off. ~ , ., least in order to pull this off. ~' , . , least in order to pull this off. ~ , ., , ., off. ok, we will keep an eye on that. david, — off. ok, we will keep an eye on that. david, for _ off. ok, we will keep an eye on that. david, for now, _ that. david, for now, thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: millions struggle with soaring temperatures as wildfires rage across the western us. after months of talks and missed deadlines, a deal has been struck to keep greece within the eurozone. the immediate prospect of greece going bust in the worst crisis to hit the eurozone 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. i wildlife officials in australia have been coping with a penguin problem. fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on a huge shoal of their favourite food, pilchards. some had eaten so much, they could barely stand. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: opponents of cuba's communist authorities say dozens of activists have been arrested since sunday's anti—government demonstrations on the island. the aftermath of england's last—gasp defeat to italy in the euros final at wembley has been dominated not so much by the performance itself, as by the racist abuse aimed at three players, who missed their penalties at the end of the match.

the manager gareth southgate described the highly offensive language as "unforgivable". our sports editor dan roan reports. it had all started so well. having waited more than half a century for their first majorfinal, england took the lead afterjust two minutes. but then suffered the cruelty of an all—too—familiar fate against italy, losing once again on penalties. a tournament that had lit up the summer ending in tears. as the team left their hotel this morning, the manager left to reflect on what might have been. the fact that we've had the first signs of some consistency — semi—final, final — it has to be a step in the right direction, it's not ultimately where we wanted to get to and when you're so close, that's even more painful, of course. just feels like the stomach�*s been ripped out this morning.

but the game's aftermath was soured still further. the three england players who failed from the spot, marcus rashford, jadon sancho and bukayo saka, all subject to racist online abuse. for some of them to be abused is on unforgivable, really. we've got to make sure that we're there and aligned with their clubs and making sure that we look after those boys absolutely. this morning, the fa's president, the duke of cambridge, said he was sickened by what he called abhorrent behaviour. "it must stop now", he added. borisjohnson said he hoped those responsible would crawl back under the rock from which they emerged, but labour leader, sir keir starmer, claimed the prime minister failed to show leadership by not initially condemning fans who booed england's taking of the knee before warm up matches. downing street insists he always supported the players�* right to protest, and did subsequently criticize the booing, asking fans to cheer. but tonight, england defender tyrone mings accused the home secretary priti patel, who also condemned the abuse, of stoking the fire,

after she described taking the knee as gesture politics last month. a mural dedicated to rashford was defaced. the police investigating what they called racially—motivated vandalism. rashford apologised for his penalty shoot—out miss, but said he would "never apologise for who i am". so, unacceptable. as long as they're scoring and getting results, then of course, we're all england, we're all behind you. the minute that doesn't happen, the abuse comes out. reporter: how. you feeling today? their euros dream over, the hurt continues for england, but as they head home, the sense is that these players are going in the right direction. rather than the day of celebration english football had hoped for, this was a reminder that while its team proved a unifying and uplifting force, the issues of hooliganism and racism have not gone away. but after a historic campaign that they will never forget, southgate and his players can plan for next year's world cup

with renewed belief that finally they're contenders again. dan roan, bbc news, wembley. 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 ii6—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 in six western us states. 0ur correspondent sophie long reports from los angeles. i'm joined by rupa basu of the californian environmental protection agency. took us through the consequences. it took us through the consequences.- took us through the consequences. took us through the conse . uences. , . . consequences. it is all related to extreme — consequences. it is all related to extreme heat. _ consequences. it is all related to extreme heat. with - consequences. it is all related l to extreme heat. with extreme heat, that kind of triggers a drought which we are also

really experiencing in california, extreme drought, and with that extreme drought, wildfires are also more severe. it is the biggest problem that we have now, like you said, the rising temperatures, but that is also causing other issues with climate change and also outcomes. with climate change and also outcome— with climate change and also outcomes. but this now is an annual event, _ outcomes. but this now is an annual event, is... _ outcomes. but this now is an annual event, is... event, i outcomes. but this now is an annual event, is... event, it| annual event, is... event, it would seem, and each year the temperatures are going up and up. temperatures are going up and u . _ , ., , ., . , up. yes, that is exactly right was not the _ up. yes, that is exactly right was not the frequency, i up. yes, that is exactly right i was not the frequency, duration and intensity. all three of those factors are playing into extreme heat which is driving, like i said, all of these other things as well. so that is really the problem. things that we used to see every five years is now happening every year or even multiple times per year, and i could say i grew up in california, i've never seen wildfires like we've seen in the last five years. so anyone workin: the last five years. so anyone working in — the last five years. so anyone working in agriculture - the last five years. so anyone working in agriculture or- the last five years. so anyone | working in agriculture or other sort of businesses within

california or these estates that are impacted, they are having to rethink long—term, aren't they? make any of these state. , , , , state. yes, because it is affecting _ state. yes, because it is affecting all _ state. yes, because it is affecting all of - state. yes, because it is affecting all of our i state. yes, because it is affecting all of our lives | state. yes, because it is i affecting all of our lives in different ways will stop with rushin different ways will stop with rush in different ways. with agriculture, animals are dying because we are unable to keep them alive. we are also, i have been hearing just being cooked alive on the ocean itself because the temperatures are so high. —— mussels and seafood. with other things, migration, it is making an impact and actually pretty quickly. find actually pretty quickly. and 'ust actually pretty quickly. and just briefly. _ actually pretty quickly. and just briefly, what _ actually pretty quickly. and just briefly, what conclusions are being drawn about this with regards to climate change? i think the main conclusion is that we are seeing the effects of climate change in california and other parts of the country the world as well. but it is ready happening. we can't keep waiting to act, it is

happening, we are seeing it very clearly and we need to take action.— take action. thank you for “oininr take action. thank you for joining us _ take action. thank you for joining us live _ take action. thank you for joining us live from i joining us live from california.- joining us live from california. ., ,, ., california. thank you for havin: california. thank you for having me _ california. thank you for having me today. i a senior eu official has asked the greek government to stop the alleged deportation of migrants arriving on the country's borders. human rights groups say thousands of people seeking asylum in europe have been pushed back from greece to turkey before being given a chance to apply for asylum. greece has always denied the allegations. the bbc�*s fergal keane reports now from the island of lesbos. 0n europe's southern frontier, the guardians of the law are accused of breaking it. please, lease! accused of breaking it. please, please! pushing _ accused of breaking it. please, please! pushing asylum - accused of breaking it. please, please! pushing asylum see i accused of breaking it. please, | please! pushing asylum see has a cross international _ please! pushing asylum see has a cross international border, i a cross international border, time and time again.- time and time again. greek coastguard. _ time and time again. greek coastguard, greek - time and time again. greek. coastguard, greek coastguard, this is a turkish coastguard. you are now pushing back the migrants to territorial waters.

women are quite aggressive how this took place, it is violent. —— it is aggressive, how it took place. -- it is aggressive, how it took place-— -- it is aggressive, how it took place. intimidating. we have been — took place. intimidating. we have been investigating i took place. intimidating. we have been investigating the | have been investigating the stories of some of those who allege they have been for them is a push backs. 0njune ten last, migrants build part of their encounter with greg coastguard. using the footage —— greek. we verified the date and location. -- greek. we verified the date and location.— -- greek. we verified the date and location. �* ,, �* , and location. translation: they asked us why _ and location. translation: they asked us why we _ and location. translation: they asked us why we didn't _ and location. translation: they asked us why we didn't get - and location. translation: they asked us why we didn't get a i asked us why we didn't get a visa before entering. we explained that we fled the country and there was no way to get a visa when you flee like that. with war at home and the multiple problems, our exit is illegal. they insulted us and told us to go screw ourselves if we came back they will kill us. some do manage to land in

greece. �* ., ., , �* greece. but that doesn't end the danger — greece. but that doesn't end the danger of _ greece. but that doesn't end the danger of being - greece. but that doesn't end the danger of being pushed i the danger of being pushed back. we've heard evidence of people who have mac gotten ashore and been discovered by the greek authorities only to be taken back out to sea and pushed in the direction of turkey without any due process. translation: then they put us on the bus and took us to a military port, then put us in boats. it was around eight p.m.. they were police wearing dark loo and commandos covering their faces with masks stop i could only see the eyes. they were armed with weapons. when were armed with weapons. when we arrived at a location at around quarter past midnight. they put us all in one boat. after that we realised we were in regional turkish waters. they were then transferred to dinghies with no engines and allowed to drift before being eventually picked up by the turkish coastguard. greece

already hosts thousands of refugees who are applying for asylum in the eu, but campaigners say it is breaking international law by forcing others back. shill international law by forcing others back.— others back. all of this our international _ others back. all of this our international obligations. i others back. all of this our i international obligations. they have to be kept by greece. but also, it is eu law that is not, thatis also, it is eu law that is not, that is violated. because the right to asylum, to seek asylum, is also in the eu chapter of human rights. since these scenes _ chapter of human rights. since these scenes six _ chapter of human rights. since these scenes six years - chapter of human rights. since these scenes six years ago, i these scenes six years ago, sentiment has hardened against migrants in europe. the eu is accused of turning a blind eye to abuses because greece is keeping migrants out. some boats from the eu's own border agency are even accused of helping with push backs. but now a top eu official has told the bbc push backs defy its core values and must stop. i think these are violations of our fundamental european values

and when we are protecting our borders, we are protecting our values. it is because our values, because we are defending fundamental rights, and that is why we can't see violations of fundamental human rights going on, without having a proper response to that. we asked for — a proper response to that. we asked for an _ a proper response to that. we asked for an interview, but the greek migration industry denied. they denied push backs take place. that denial will be challenged if the eu is serious about ending abuses on its borders. we have so much more to come here to you on bbc news. all the top business stories including, as promised, a conversation with a leading economist based on paris about the measures being taken in france and also how businesses are preparing forjuly the 19th in the uk. so do stay with us,

i will see you very soon. 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's pretty much smack bang on a whole month's worth of rain and the majority of that fell in just the space of two hours. if you're 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've seen by day will continue to very gradually fade away. the majority of us will eventually become drier over night 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 work 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, at 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 with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. open for business — the uk prime minister confirms england's lockdown measures will be eased from the 19th of july. we assess how businesses will react and what it means for the economy. a big sigh of relief from tech giants, after the eu announces its plans for a digital services tax is put on ice. and fighting back from the pandemic blues! musicians offer tailored music to customers hoping the creative innovation will prove to be a big hit.