this is bbc news i'm ben boulos with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. new research suggests logging and wildfires could be causing some of the world's biggest forests to produce more carbon than they absorb. new lockdowns come into effect in parts of russia as it registers a record number of covid deaths and infections. it's a similar story in romania but political infighting there is hampering the struggle against coronavirus. and the power of play are risk averse parents and denser cities harming children's development?

a study has found that some of the world's most highly protected forests are emitting more carbon than they absorb, as a result of illegal logging and wildfires. at least ten forests designated unesco world heritage sites including yosemite national park in the united states were found to have been net carbon emitters over the last two decades. the findings have alarmed researchers, as forests are considered vital for curbing climate change because of their ability to act as carbon sinks. tanya dendrinos has more. for its emitting more carbon than they store. it may seem perplexing, the concept is simple. perplexing, the concept is sim - le. ~ . perplexing, the concept is simle. ~ . ., simple. when we cut down forests or _ simple. when we cut down forests or they _ simple. when we cut down forests or they are - simple. when we cut down i forests or they are burned, they will emit carbon into the atmosphere and it is a matter of how much forests we cut down

relative to how much forest we leave standing. if we cut down too much for us, we have forests emit more carbon than they are capturing from the atmosphere.— atmosphere. researchers involved _ atmosphere. researchers involved combined - atmosphere. researchers i involved combined satellite atmosphere. researchers - involved combined satellite and field data to estimate the amount of carbon absorbed and emitted by world heritage forest between 2001 and 2020. the study looked at a network of more than 250 world heritage forests. 0n of more than 250 world heritage forests. on a whole, they capture much more carbon than they emit, collectively it is more than 190 million tonnes from the atmosphere every year. but ten, including wetlands in brazil, which have been ravaged by fire in recent years, emitted more carbon than they locked away. emitted more carbon than they locked away-— emitted more carbon than they locked away. these are some of the most protected _ locked away. these are some of the most protected sites, - locked away. these are some of the most protected sites, most| the most protected sites, most treasured and iconic places and they should not be emitting so much carbon. so we believe if these heavily protected and

treasured sites are at such risk, a few of them are, others in this unesco world heritage network will be threatened as will other protected forest, much less forests that are less protected. it much less forests that are less protected-— protected. it is an alarming fine, further _ protected. it is an alarming fine, further highlighting i protected. it is an alarming l fine, further highlighting the need to cut global emissions. we will come back to the forest issue in a moment, but first... people around their world are desperate for their governments to take action on climate change. a new poll commissioned by the bbc ahead of next month's cop26 international climate summit shows growing public support for governments to take strong action. more than 30,000 people were surveyed across 31 countries about their attitudes to climate change policies. and more than half — 56% say they wanted their governments to play a key leadership role. this is an increase against a similar poll conducted five years ago.

well one of the forests mentioned in that unesco report is the greater blue mountains area in australia. joining me from sydney is tim beshara, manager of policy and strategy at wilderness society. in terms of this report, how big a concern is that if the forests that we have long been told help take carbon out of the atmosphere are net emitters of carbon? it the atmosphere are net emitters of carbon? , ., the atmosphere are net emitters of carbon?— of carbon? it is an absolute disaster- — of carbon? it is an absolute disaster. these _ of carbon? it is an absolute disaster. these forests - of carbon? it is an absolute | disaster. these forests gave scope to fossil fuel believers to keep going. but if these forests are emitting carbon rather than storing it, we have got all sums wrong and we need to do them again. do got all sums wrong and we need to do them again.— to do them again. do you think it is at a point _ to do them again. do you think it is at a point where _ it is at a point where something can be done to salvage the situation and reverse the trend or as it got to the point where there is no coming back from it? i to the point where there is no coming back from it?- coming back from it? i think there is two _

coming back from it? i think there is two things - coming back from it? i think there is two things we - coming back from it? i think there is two things we need | coming back from it? i think. there is two things we need to do. we need to actively, speedily and as fast as possible reduce emissions down to a level that keeps global warming to less than 1.5 degrees rather than on the two degrees rather than on the two degrees the paris agreement is talking about. we need to look at these world heritage areas, look at the impact that is happening to them and put in strategies to stop this sort of disaster happening. for example, in the blue mountains themselves, which isjust up themselves, which isjust up the road from sydney. i remember breathing the smoke and the carbon emitted from those fires myself. we had limited firefighting resources, we didn't get out to the fires fast enough and we didn't put the technology on the ground to deal with the issue. if we are able to do more, stop the fires as they start, we won't end up with 80% of a world heritage area burning in one year, which is what we had two years ago in

our blood some bushfires. what would you like to see by way of commitments from your own country at this summit? i heard you talking before about the global surveys and sentiments of people in their own countries wanting leadership. i can tell you the australian people are desperate for leadership from our government and are devastated we are not getting it. we would like to see australia moving from being a pariah in global climate talks, to being a leader. it is so distressing that there is this giant distance between what the australian people want and what our leaders are providing. we would like to see a genuine cut in emissions, but we are not contemplating that right now. we would like to see more on the table, we would like to see australia encouraging other nations to reduce our emissions. australia is a stand—alone country with its own continent and the driest continent on the planet. we have got so much to lose if

the world doesn't act on climate change. i would like to see us cajoling other countries into doing so much more, but while we are doing so little, we can't do that.— while we are doing so little, we can't do that. thank you so much. moscow is set to shut down all non essential businesses from today, ahead of the national non working week aimed at halting soaring coronavirus cases and record death rates. the latest available daily figure for fatalities, from tuesday, shows 1,126 people died from coronavirus. but some russians who have had vaccinations, believed they're being punished and their businesses will suffer because of the countries low vaccination rate. courtney bembridge reports. at one of moscow's main train stations, emergency service men suit up and start disinfecting before the first commuters arrived. it comes as infections

and deaths rise across russia and deaths rise across russia and it is now one of the worst affected countries in europe. authorities have blamed slow vaccination rates and are offering incentives to get more people jabbed. translation: i people jabbed. translation: ., ,, people jabbed. translation: ., translation: i obviously care about my own _ translation: i obviously care about my own health _ translation: i obviously care about my own health and - translation: i obviously care about my own health and the l about my own health and the health of my relatives. i think we should do it, the vaccination. 0therwise we should do it, the vaccination. otherwise we won't defeat covid—19. vaccination. otherwise we won't defeat covid-19._ defeat covid-19. moscow has reimposed — defeat covid-19. moscow has reimposed a _ defeat covid-19. moscow has reimposed a partial- defeat covid-19. moscow has i reimposed a partial lockdown and only essential shops like pharmacies and supermarkets are allowed to remain open. president vladimir putin has ordered a nationwide shutdown of workplaces from saturday and many russians have decided to use the paid leave for a holiday. translation: , ., , translation: there is a very larae translation: there is a very large flow _ translation: there is a very large flow of _ translation: there is a very large flow of tourists, - translation: there is a very large flow of tourists, prices l large flow of tourists, prices have rocketed for all the destinations we provide due to this lockdown, people are leaving. this lockdown, people are leavinu. ., , , this lockdown, people are leavinu. ., _ ., ., leaving. honestly, i am not scared, leaving. honestly, i am not scared. they _ leaving. honestly, i am not scared, they are _ leaving. honestly, i am not scared, they are trying - leaving. honestly, i am not scared, they are trying to l leaving. honestly, i am not. scared, they are trying to keep on top — scared, they are trying to keep on top of— scared, they are trying to keep on top of this, including the

hotels _ on top of this, including the hotels it_ on top of this, including the hotels. it is not my first holiday— hotels. it is not my first holiday this year, it is probably my faith. they are trying — probably my faith. they are trying to— probably my faith. they are trying to follow and observe the rules. plus i am vaccinated, it will not save you. — vaccinated, it will not save you. but _ vaccinated, it will not save you, but it will help. the kremlin— you, but it will help. the kremlin has stopped short of banning _ kremlin has stopped short of banning travel but has warned against — banning travel but has warned against it. banning travel but has warned auainst it. . banning travel but has warned against it-_ against it. that message appears _ against it. that message appears to _ against it. that message appears to be _ against it. that message appears to be falling - against it. that message appears to be falling on | against it. that message - appears to be falling on deaf ears with recent poll suggesting one third of russians plan to travel during the workplace shutdown. romania is battling soaring coronavirus infection rates stay with us for our correspondent�*s report from bucharest later in the bulletin. here, rishi sunak has sought to reassure conservative mps that he aims to cut taxes before the next general election after announcing a budget that increases taxation and spending to levels not seen for decades. here, rishi sunak has sought to reassure conservative mps that he aims to cut taxes before the next general election after announcing a budget that increases taxation and spending

to levels not seen for decades. we'll have more analysis on the uk budget in 20 minutes in our business coverage so do stay with us for that. the uk has said threats to block british boats from french ports over fishing rights are not compatible with international law and trade agreements. france is angry many of its beds have been refused languages raqqa licences to fish in uk waters which they say breaches the brexiteer. france has threatened to target energy supplies to jersey. threatened to target energy supplies tojersey. police in the us say they haven't ruled out bringing criminal charges against the actor alec baldwin after he shot dead a

cinematographer on a film set. investigators have recovered the bullet which killed the cinematographer, which lodged in the shoulder of the director, he was also injured in the shooting. let's speak to a white collar criminal defence attorney from los angeles. what do you make of the situation with the uncertainty around whether criminal charges will actually be brought? i whether criminal charges will actually be brought?- whether criminal charges will actually be brought? i am not surprised _ actually be brought? i am not surprised they _ actually be brought? i am not surprised they did _ actually be brought? i am not surprised they did not - actually be brought? i am not surprised they did not have i actually be brought? i am not. surprised they did not have any answers today. the police and the da are going to have to do a lot of investigating in order to determine whether they should bring any criminal charges against anyone as it relates to this incident. and then when you look at the possible charges that could be brought, looking at it from a lay person's point of view, it is quite hard to see, you know, where the fault may lie and who

the charges may be brought against. the charges may be brought aaainst. �* , ~ . against. because if alec baldwin _ against. because if alec baldwin was _ against. because if alec baldwin was handed - against. because if alecj baldwin was handed the against. because if alec - baldwin was handed the firearm believing it to be incapable of firing any live rounds, it almost seems that the intent isn't there to have caused harm? i isn't there to have caused harm? ., , ., ., �* harm? i agree with you, i don't think alec— harm? i agree with you, i don't think alec baldwin _ harm? i agree with you, i don't think alec baldwin will - harm? i agree with you, i don't think alec baldwin will have - think alec baldwin will have charges brought against him in his capacity as the shooter. i think there are no facts that suggest he had any intent to kill the cinematographer or that he thought the gun was loaded in any way. what could however happen, which may implicate alec baldwin, is it be shown there was so much safety protocol being breached and the scene of the set throughout the production, not just on the day of the incident. that it rises to a level of criminal negligence. if that is shown, they will be

going for the company, west projections, the lead producers, one of which is alec baldwin, the assistant director and then all the way down to the armour. i think the safety protocols will be and lack there of and lack of enforcement will be the general focus on the investigation going forward.— focus on the investigation auoin forward. ., going forward. rachel, “oining us from lost going forward. rachel, “oining us from los angeles, _ going forward. rachel, joining us from los angeles, many i us from los angeles, many thanks indeed. still to come on bbc news. at first we had a self driving car, now a self driving boat. the potential transport revolution that is taking place in amsterdam.

indira gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy, died today. 0nly yesterday, she had spoken of dying in the service of her country and said, "i would be proud of it. "every drop of my blood will contribute to the growth of this nation." after 46 years of unhappiness, these two countries have concluded a chapter of history. no more suspicion, no more fear, no more uncertainty of what each day might bring. booster ignition and lift off. of discovery with a crew of six astronaut heroes and one american legend. - this is beautiful. a milestone in human history. born today, this girl in india is the seven billionth person on the planet.

new research suggests logging and wildfires could be causing some of the world's biggest forests to produce more carbon than they absorb. new lockdowns come into effect in parts of russia as it registers a record number of covid deaths and infections. this week romania closed schools and introduced tough new restrictions for unvaccinated adults, due to soaring coronavirus infection rates. the country s death rate from covid is now one of the worst in the world. the situation has been made worse by political infighting the country has an interim government. from romania, nick thorpe sent this report. this is the epicentre of the romanian storm. the intensive care unit at the hospital in bucharest. all 2500 intensive care beds in the country awful. critically people wait in emergency wards outside. 0ne

emergency wards outside. one person dies every five minutes. romania spends barely half the eu average on health care and suffers a huge shortage of doctors and nurses because so many work abroad. last year, the health system cope. this year, it fell apart. why? unfortunately in the political term, this year all the projects the slowdown despite the fact they had already launched. the main cause is bureaucracy combined with the lack of authorities. in bureaucracy combined with the lack of authorities.— lack of authorities. in june, the political _ lack of authorities. in june, the political leaders - lack of authorities. in june, i the political leaders declared victory over the virus and restrictions were relaxed and vaccinations fell to a trickle. 0nly vaccinations fell to a trickle. only 34% of the adult population are vaccinated. fear of the vaccine also played a role. translation: ., translation: even now in the center today. —

translation: even now in the center today, i _ translation: even now in the center today, i met _ translation: even now in the center today, i met an - translation: even now in the center today, i met an elderly i center today, i met an elderly lady, high risk person he would have been a priority for vaccination from the very start. she told me she was afraid to get vaccinated because she heard on tv you could die from it. or get adverse effects.- could die from it. or get adverse effects. the virus has sread adverse effects. the virus has spread fast — adverse effects. the virus has spread fast since _ spread fast since mid—september. in response, vaccination is now picking up dramatically. vaccination marathons like this one organised by the army are encouraging many. so is the lockdown. the high infection and death rate has panicked many romanians into getting the job. but another important factor is inconvenience, it is getting harder and harder to lead a normal life without the vaccination certificate. i lead a normal life without the vaccination certificate.- vaccination certificate. i came here to get — vaccination certificate. i came here to get vaccinated. - vaccination certificate. i came here to get vaccinated. the i here to get vaccinated. the main thing is, you cannot go to the shopping mall are many crowded areas. many different

places, so i would like to be free as much as possible. translation: i free as much as possible. translation:— free as much as possible. translation: i was hesitant because i was _ translation: i was hesitant because i was worried - translation: i was hesitant because i was worried about. translation: l was hesitant i because i was worried about the adverse effects the vaccines might have. we have a heart condition, you see. but what convinced me was the current situation with so getting sick. front line medical staff still cope somehow. they have little choice. 1a european countries have sent help to romania, hungary is taking in critically ill patients. when this is all over, many lessons will have to be drawn. nick thorpe, bbc news. children will be among the keynote speakers at a conference in australia today that will consider the role of informal, outdoor play in child development. the organisers of the childhood summit in brisbane say more risk averse parents and denser cities mean that children have fewer

opportunties to play outside. let's get more from our correspondent phil mercer. what is the problem in australia about housing density they are talking about? thea;r they are talking about? they say informal _ they are talking about? they say informal outdoor - they are talking about? they say informal outdoor play i they are talking about? iia: say informal outdoor play by children has been in decline in australia for quite some time and they point to many reasons, parents, child safety, increased traffic, pull city planning. also greater housing density. medium to high density housing, apartment blocks are a relatively new concept in sydney. but anyone who has been to australia's biggest city in recent times, not that you have been able to get it because of covid restrictions, but you would notice the city is getting taller. about a quarter of residents in those apartment blocks are families with

children. campaigners say that children. campaigners say that children are often the last people to be thought about when these developments are made and thatis these developments are made and that is one reason why this childhood summit is taking place in brisbane and crucially, they are listening to the people that really matter in all of that, that is children. matter in all of that, that is children-— matter in all of that, that is children. ., ., children. yes, and one of the other points _ children. yes, and one of the other points they _ children. yes, and one of the other points they bring - children. yes, and one of the other points they bring in - children. yes, and one of the other points they bring in is i other points they bring in is notjust other points they bring in is not just the other points they bring in is notjust the physical effect of notjust the physical effect of not being outdoors and physically active in the fresh air and so on, but also the mental effects?— air and so on, but also the mental effects? yes, and these psychological — mental effects? yes, and these psychological impacts _ mental effects? yes, and these psychological impacts have - mental effects? yes, and these| psychological impacts have been exacerbated by covid—19 lockdown. what campaigners say, for those children who live in apartment blocks, some of them do suffer great social isolation and loneliness, too. there are concerns about obesity and even suicide as well. so the physical impacts

are a significant consequence as are the psychological consequences as well. this conference in brisbane is bringing together not only children, but teachers, architects, landscape designers and urban planners as well as government officials. the aim is to create city play action plans that can be brought in as a template, if you like, not just for cities and towns in australia, but beyond. speaking to experts, they say cities in canada and others injapan have set a good example of how increased urbanisation can take care and accommodate the smallest members of our society. smallest members of our socie . smallest members of our society-— society. ok, sounds interesting, - society. ok, sounds interesting, thank l society. ok, sounds. interesting, thank you, society. ok, sounds- interesting, thank you, phil mercer. now let's get all the latest sports news. i am marc edwards with your sport. we start with football and the news ronald koeman has been sacked as manager of barcelona afterjust 1a

sacked as manager of barcelona afterjust14 months in charge. the club confirmed his departure a couple of hours after they suffered their second successive league defeat. having lost at home to real madrid at the weekend, they were beaten 1—0. it means barcelona have won only two of their second league games and sit in ninth place in the table. a bad day for european powerhouses come out of germany and news of a shock defeat for bayern munich in the second round of the german cup. it's not the fact they lost to baresi a mansion glad back, it is the fact that they were thrashed 5—0. after the first goal, they were always in control. 1a minutes on the clock it was 2—0. a penalty was added just before half—time. and then two goals in a six

minute spell early in the second half to hand them their heaviest defeat in 43 years. and england continue their perfect start at the men's t20 world cup with thrashing bangladesh in abu dhabi. after bowling them out, england restricted bangladesh for 129. jason roy, who celebrated winning his 50th cap crashed 61 from 38 balls and dawid malan made a 20 not out as england wasted their target with 35 goals to spare. they sit top of group one. next up it is australia in dubai on saturday. marc edwards there with all the sport. in the quest to push the barriers of transport technology, we have had self driving cars, self driving trucks, self driving buses and now in the dutch city of amsterdam, they are trying out

self driving boats. the designers hope they can breathalyse travel and commuting. # row, row, row your boat # gently down the stream... # actually, there's not much rowing involved. this is the autonomous floating vehicle, the roboat — as in robot. an electric—powered vessel that finds its own way around. we have a lot of open water available in the canals that is not being used anymore for transport. only for tourists. so we developed a self—driving autonomous ship. for several years they have been testing the roboats on a project involving the massachusetts institute of technology. the small ships have no pilot and depend on sensors to avoid any unwanted aquatic encounters. so if you want to go from a to b, it automatically calculates the most efficient route to sail. then when it's sailing, it senses and maps the environment to see where are other objects

or other ships that i have to avoid any collisions with. the designers have lofty ambitions for the roboats. they can be used like tugboats, linked together to form a bridge, there are even hopes they could one day be used to contain oil spills. # row, row, row your boat # row your boat down my stream... # for now, the plan is to utilise them as mobile rubbish collectors — vital in a crowded, congested city like amsterdam. after that, the sky — well, the water — is the limit. tim allman, bbc news. coming up in a few minutes, we will have all the business use. and the latest figures giving a health check on the state of the us economy, of course, the

world's biggest economy. don't go away, i will have that shortly. and you can reach me on social media. see you very soon. hello. 24—hour rain totals have now surpassed 230mm in the wettest parts of the cumbrian hills, and the met office amber warning for rain continues across cumbria and southwest scotland into thursday. there is more rain to come and, as all that water feeds down through the rivers and streams, the risk of flooding and disruption increases from a weather front which is very much still around in the day ahead, pulses of energy running along itjust enhancing the rainfall. so, there will be more rain to come on a very wet day in cumbria, for a time more widely across southern, central and eastern scotland, from the eastern side of northern ireland before it eases here, and pushing into more of northwest england and wales, and southwest

england as the day goes on. northern scotland, sunny spells and a chance for showers, brightening up in northern ireland. largely dry through central and eastern parts of england. these are your wind speed averages — gusts are high, particularly with the rain band along irish sea coasts, gusting near 50 mph in places, and the higher temperatures will be those parts of across eastern england that break out into a few sunny spells. we could well see 18 celsius again. there will be further rain overnight thursday into friday, but the idea is it's starting to move its way further east on another very mild night. and on friday, that rain will reach into parts of eastern england that have stayed dry through much of the week. there'll be another spell of rain moving through scotland — but as it all begins to pull away eastwards, it will be much drier to end friday, and particularly in those areas that have seen so much rain so far this week. at the same time, temperatures are coming down a few degrees. we're not finished with the rain, though — low pressure still very much in charge for the weekend, and another band of wet weather will arrive friday night into saturday. now it does look as if it's

moving a little bit quicker now, this, so it will bring a spell of rain overnight into saturday, but clears away more readily on saturday, allowing a drier, brighter day after the rain with a few showers around. and again, notice our temperatures are edging downwards. it looks at this stage as if sunday will be the wetter day of the weekend. as low pressure feeds in yet more rain, some of this will be heavy as it moves its way northward. the wind starts to pick up again, as well, and even after the rain, there'll be some heavy showers around.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. cheers to the uk hospitality sector, as yesterday's budget delivers a cut in business rates as well as lower taxes on sparkling wine and draught beer. slowdown or not? we take the pulse of america's economy ahead of its third quarter gdp release. and e—commerce giant ebay exceeds analysts predictions and we find out how one plumber in england is pedalling a message to go green. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world.