bit in england and wales that little bit in england and wales that are always going to because they are in scotland and northern ireland but next weekend this is worth noting. could get up to 36 in the south—east of england in the strong sunshine. this is bbc news, with the latest headlines. trade minister penny mordaunt becomes the 9th candidate to join the conservative leadership race with former health secretaries, sajid javid and jeremy hunt also declaring in the last 2a hours. in ukraine 15 people are killed in shelling on an apartment block in the donetsk region in eastern ukraine. sri lanka's deepening economic crisis — the us appeals to politicians to act swiftly — as the president says he'll step down after huge demonstrations. the economic situation is not going to change overnight. it is going to be a difficult recovery period. the international community will need to come in and help and that is why the un was warning there is an impending humanitarian emergency.

the governing liberal democrats injapan are predicted to maintain their majority in the upper house following sunday's election — in a vote overshadowed by the assassination of former prime minister, shinzo abe. in tennis — prince georgejoins the duke and duchess of cambridge at wimbledon — as defending champion novak djokovic faces nick kyrgios in the men's final. and temperatures rise around the uk — with some areas hitting 30 degrees today — and the heat expected to remain for much of the next week. the international trade minister, penny mordaunt, has become the ninth candidate to enter the conservative leadership contest. most candidates are focusing

on their plans for the economy. the former health secretary, sajid javid, wants to bring forward the 1p income tax cut to next year. both mrjavid and the former cabinet minister, jeremy hunt, are also pledging to reduce corporation tax from i9% to 15%. here's our political correspondent, david wallace lockhart. and then there were nine. trade minister penny mordaunt the latest to throw her hat in the ring to be the next tory leader. many candidates but one key issue — taxes. former health secretary sajid javid will cut them if he is prime minister, including a tax rise introduced to help the health service when he ran it. if we don't have the tax cuts we will not get growth, if we do not get growth we will not be able to sustain the public services. that is a much greater risk. in all my time in government, i have never come across a decision, especially the big decisions, that don't involve risk one way or the other. his rival, jeremy hunt, promises a brexiteer deputy if he gets

to number ten and is also pledging tax cuts, focusing on lowering the cost of business. treasury figures show you get about half the cost of corporation tax back because of increased economic activity. if we keep the cycle, keep the fiscal rules we have but increase the length of the cycle to five years, we can afford these tax cuts. transport secretary grant shapps says there will be an emergency budget if party members pick him. i think it is very important in this cost of living squeeze that people get money back into their pockets, and quickly, so i would bring the tax cut slated for next year forward. five new candidates within 2a hours. chancellor nadhim zahawi is also running, and pledging lower taxes, like others. the field is starting to feel a bit crowded in this leadership contest and it is entirely possible that when senior conservative mps meet here at westminster tomorrow to decide on rules for the contest they decide to introduce a threshold

for support from fellow mps that any candidate would need to get even to get into the first round of voting. many candidates and more to come, with foreign secretary liz truss expected to declare a bid in the next 2a hours. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster. conservative mp rachel maclean is supporting sajid javid's leadership bid. she was minister for safeguarding until she resigned on wednesday, and also previously worked as mrjavid's parliamentary private secretary when he was chancellor. she spoke about why she is endorsing sajid javid... i worked with him very closely into very significantjobs in the treasury, and also in the home office. the overriding thing for me, when i look for a candidate to support, is integrity and honesty. someone who will tell the truth to the voters about the hard decisions that need to be taken to tackle the crises facing the country,

but also about standards in public life. those are vital for us to repair the trust in our democracy. having taken the decision that sajid has those qualities, it was about who has the experience. this is not an apprenticeship, there is not time to learn on thejob. i looked at what was on offer, and out of all the candidates sajid javid was ahead of the rest, in terms of all experience, and i believe he can form a government and unite the party. you where they are when he resigned as chancellor very early on because he was unhappy with the idea of borisjohnson controlling his team in the treasury. he took a stand on principle, and then he went back in, and that still baffle some people. we have had a period of time where we have been in government, and we have taken the decision, for

the good of the country, to serve that democratic mandate that the prime minister was elected under in some very difficult times. when you serve in a government you accept collective responsibility, and that is you do. the prime minister has an exceptional record, he had an enormous mandate, he had that democratic consent of the people, and that is why we all took the decision is that we did to serve the prime minister. you would have to ask every single individual, but there was a global health crisis, there was a war in ukraine, and we looked at the prime minister's record, and he did have a fantastic record of connecting with people and getting us through the pandemic and getting the economy back on track, but it was clear with the cascade of the latest events that have taken place, it was clear that he had lost the confidence of the whole party so he would not be able to govern in any kind of sensible way.

at least 15 people are believed to have died after a residential apartment block was destroyed by russian shelling in the donetsk region in eastern ukraine. a rescue operation is under way — the regional state emergency service told the bbc at least 20 people are thought to still be under the rubble in the town of chasiv yar, including one child. ukrainian officials say russian missile and rocket strikes have caused more widespread damage in towns and cities across the country's eastern and southern regions. our correspondentjoe inwood has the latest. now, at the moment, the russians say they are taking what's known as an operational pause, essentially slowing down their attempted advances, to regroup their forces after punishing assaults of the last few weeks, but that doesn't mean there's been an end to missile strikes and shelling right across ukraine, places like kryvyi rih, zaporizhzhia and mykolaiv have seen strikes over the last 2a hours, and in the town of chasiv yar in the donetsk region there was a strike late yesterday evening, just after nine o'clock. according to the regional governor, a 5—storey building was brought down

by a multiple launch rocket system. a number of people have been killed, some pulled out of the wreckage, and it thought around 30 people are still trapped under the rubble. emergency services are said to be on the scene trying to look for survivors, but it seems, whatever the operational pause the russians are taking on the ground, the difficulties and the trauma for the people of the donbas continues. protestors in sri lanka are still occupying the ransacked presidential mansion after seizing it yesterday. they say they won't leave until president gotobaya rajapaksa keeps a promise to resign. he announced he would step down on wednesday, after protesters stormed his residence and set the prime minister's home on fire. the united states has appealed to sri lanka's politicians to act promptly to resolve their country's economic crisis. the international monetary fund says it's closely monitoring the situation and will continue to work with the authorities to assist its economy.

our south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan, is in colombo outside the presidential office... a day after some dramatic developments here in the sri lankan capital colombo, hundreds of people, men, women and families are coming here to have a look at the president's office which was stormed by hundreds of protesters. and these protests have been going on for months. it started as protests against the escalating cost of living. and then, people blamed the government of president gotabaya rajapaksa and the ministers for mishandling the economy. now, president rajapaksa has entered through the speaker of parliament that he's willing to step down, but we haven't heard anything directly from him. the next step for sri lanka is to choose a new prime minister and then president, and that's why politicians are holding meetings throughout the day and tomorrow to see how this political turmoil can be solved, because the country

is facing a crisis, huge crisis. it is bankrupt. they have no money, no foreign currency reserves, which means they are struggling to import fuel, food and medicine. and whoever is going to come to power next, they are going to face the challenge because the loan from imf, the emergency bailout package, it will take months before the money can be transferred to sri lanka. so they have to work out a plan, how they are going to get foreign currency reserves so that they can address the immediate needs of the people here. the south african president cyril ramaphosa has expressed his condolences after 15 people were shot dead in a bar in soweto in johannesburg. a number of other people are in a critical condition in hospital. four people have also been murdered in a second south african city, in the country's east. our africa correspondent, andrew harding, reports.

south african police and forensic experts at the scene of what many here are calling a massacre. gunmen with automatic weapons charged into a busy bar in this poor neighbourhood last night and opened fire, seemingly at random. two women were injured, the rest of the victims were all young men. was it a robbery gone wrong? for now, the police are simply calling it a cold—blooded attack. there is shock here, but only at the high death toll. i think this really does reflect the dire state in which our country's failures is at. we don't have visible policing in this area and there is no electricity in this area, which fuels the crime rate in the country. another four men died last night in a similar attack in a different town, and last month 21 teenagers died, possibly from gas or poison, in a bar in the port city of east london. this is a violent country at the best of times,

but these murders have contributed to a sense of south africa losing its way, wrestling with sky—high unemployment and deepening inequality. andrew harding, bbc news, in soweto. japan has gone to the polls, just two days after the assassination of the former prime minister, shinzo abe. the governing coalition appears to be on track to increase their majority in the upper house of parliament. current prime minister fumio kishida thanked his supporters and said a bill would be presented to parliament to debate constitutional reform. this has been one of the policies that shinzo abe had believed in most strongly. earlier i spoke to david caprara, who is a freealance journalist based injapan. i asked him about the impact of shinzo abe's death on the current election. today i made a visit to in front

of the train station where shinzo abe was shot, and there was this endless line of mourners offering flowers and their condolences at a shrine that has been set up. a politician who was right beside shinzo abe at the moment he was shot was offering his almost apologies there, and everybody has been offering the respects, putting politics aside. in terms of the election, the ruling liberal democratic party, which shinzo abe was a part of, they were projected to win this upper house election, but it is the lower house which has the more power injapan. the ldp is predicted to win a majority, as expected, but this is a litmus test for the new prime minister, kishida, i think that is the real function here, i think shinzo abe's passing had some effect on that. his larger legacy,

his father, he's also caring for his grandfather, but you mentioned this reform of the pacifist articles of japan's constitution, this has been in place since the constitution was created, japan has not been able to have a standing army since after the war, and this was the biggest goal that shinzo abe as prime minister, which he wasn't able to accomplish. i think that his ruling party is still pushing to get this passed. if mr kishida achieves this, which would be remarkable, because shinzo abe had more political clout than any prime minister anyone can remember in post—war japan, he was an extraordinary figure, but if the prime minister can achieve that that has big implications in the region,

presumably china would not be pleased to have japan with an army? that is correct, and that's the position that shinzo abe towards china. that being said, i think this idea of constitutional revision, the ruling liberal democratic party that is in place has basically been in place since it was created in 1955. it has held the majority almost consistently since then, it is not this huge swing of governments, that's taking place every four years in the united states and in other countries. that being said, the prime minister himself, and what was said before shinzo abe was in power was that there is a revolving door of prime ministers, and this is kind of what it has returned to. i think most people living in the uk might not even know who the prime

minister is here. shinzo abe was prime minister twice, the second term for nearly a decade, that stability that was created, his politics aside, he was able to form connections around the world that other prime ministers just didn't have. his absence, even though he had stepped down as prime minister, and others had stepped in, he was still very influential behind—the—scenes, and his power for pushing forward for this constitutional revision, reforming article nine of the constitution. one thing that he pushed for was a doubling of the defence budget, and with his absence, it remains to be known how this is going to be carried forward.

the headlines on bbc news... the battle to become the next prime minister. trade minister penny mordauntjoins former health secretaries, sajid javid and jeremy hunt, on the growing list of contenders in the conservative leadership contest. in ukraine 15 people are killed in shelling on an apartment block in the donetsk region in eastern ukraine. sri lanka's deepening economic crisis — the us appeals to politicians to act swiftly — as the president says he'll step down after huge demonstrations. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's paul scott. good afternoon.

the men's single final is under way, nick kyrgios took the first and set 6-4. nick kyrgios took the first and set 6—4. let's go live to centre court, you can see here, novak djokovic is “p you can see here, novak djokovic is up a break of serve, and he is serving at 5—3, but nick kyrgios has the break point as he tries to level the break point as he tries to level the second set, took the first set at 6-4, the second set, took the first set at 6—4, competing in his first grand slam final, novak djokovic of course are 20 time grand slam winner. djokovic getting the point back to

deuce, there is drama on centre court, and you can follow that one word. —— one live. britain's alfie hewett has lost his wheelchairs singles final to world number one shingo kunieda in three sets... hewett was serving for the match at one stage, but kunieda fought back, coming from a set down to win his very first wimbledon title. kunieda also got the better of hewett and his doubles partner gordon reid yesterday as he and team mate gustavo fernandez beat them in the wheelchair doubles final. there are two more matches in the women's european championship on sunday — belgium coach ives serneels says his side need to be patient against iceland in their opening game. later, france meet italy in their group d opener in rotherham. france, ranked third in the world, find themselves in a tough group that also includes iceland and belgium. england and northern ireland both play tomorrow. huddersfield giants have moved up to third in the super league after beating salford on the second

day of magic weekend in newcastle. jermaine mcgillvary scored two tries as huddersfield won 30—18 on the day their head coach ian watson agreed a new contract to keep him at the club until 2026. catalans dragons will move back to third if they beat warrington wolves in the second game of the day. england are looking to avoid a 3—0 white wash in their three match t20 series against india at trent bridge. they're looking for big improvements after yesterday's 49 run defeat at edgbaston. they won the toss and started well at the crease withjos buttler finding early boundaries before going for 18 offjust 9 balls. fellow openerjason roy reached 27 off 26 deliveries before being caught behind by wicketkeeper ribhshabh pant. a few moments ago england were 84 for 3

ican i can tell you that novak djokovic has just taken the second set in the wimbledon final. the austrian grand prix is heading towards it's conclusion. charles leclerc is on course for his third win of the season. you can follow the action on the bbc sport website and bbc radio five live. that's bbc.co.uk/sport let's return now to the conservative leadership contest. most of the nine candidates are focussing on their plans for the economy. joining me now is pauljohnson, director of the leading economic research group the institute for fiscal studies. it isa it is a curious discussion this, unfolding, trying to define each from each other, over whether the cuts taxes and borrow money to pay

for it, or cut taxes by reducing public spending. what is the case for tax cuts at the moment, given the state of the economy? ta)»: for tax cuts at the moment, given the state of the economy? tax cuts are alwa s the state of the economy? tax cuts are always better— the state of the economy? tax cuts are always better than _ the state of the economy? tax cuts are always better than tax - are always better than tax increases, that is something that we would all probably prefer. given where we are at the moment, i think there are two key problems with tax cuts. 0ne there are two key problems with tax cuts. one is that there is lots of pressure on public spending, we have huge waiting lists on the nhs, as well as, of course, demand for public sector pay increases that at least approach inflation. 0n the other hand, we have got very high levels of inflation, and if you are going to cut taxes and increase borrowing, probably the time you don't really want to do it is when prices are already rising at 10% or more, because that means putting more, because that means putting more money into the economy, and therefore more pressure on to

inflation. i therefore more pressure on to inflation. ., , therefore more pressure on to inflation. . , ., ~ ., ., inflation. i was talking to one conservative _ inflation. i was talking to one conservative mp _ inflation. i was talking to one conservative mp and - inflation. i was talking to one conservative mp and hour - inflation. i was talking to one | conservative mp and hour ago inflation. i was talking to one - conservative mp and hour ago who said that tax cuts would be a good thing because it would stimulate the economy, get people spending again, and that would be good for business, but presumably that is good for business unless it adds to the inflationary impact? it stimulates the economy _ inflationary impact? it stimulates the economy but _ inflationary impact? it stimulates the economy but in _ inflationary impact? it stimulates the economy but in particular - inflationary impact? it stimulates i the economy but in particular ways, in particular we need the supply side to get better. what we are not short of his people spending money, and that is why inflation is high, because there is pressure on supply chains around the world. we want to spend our money on goods, and the prices of those goods is rising. i am not saying that a £10 million tax cut is going to have any effect on inflation, but is certainly risky. if you push up consumer demand when

there are supply—side constraints, then you do risk that pushing through to inflation.- then you do risk that pushing through to inflation. many of these tax cuts were _ through to inflation. many of these tax cuts were based _ through to inflation. many of these tax cuts were based on _ through to inflation. many of these tax cuts were based on forecasts . tax cuts were based on forecasts when inflation was running out 4%, it is now heading towards when inflation was running out 11%, it is now heading towards 11%, the question is, i suppose, can they stand, and what impact is this increase in inflation having on public spending? at increase in inflation having on public spending?— increase in inflation having on public spending? increase in inflation having on hublicsendinu? �* ., public spending? at the moment part ofthe public spending? at the moment part of the problem _ public spending? at the moment part of the problem is _ public spending? at the moment part of the problem is that _ public spending? at the moment part of the problem is that the _ public spending? at the moment part of the problem is that the figures - of the problem is that the figures on public finances are based, as you say, on the spending review that was done last timber. —— last september. public sector pay, for example, was expected to rise only three or 4%.

given they have actually had pay cuts over the last decade. the pressure on the public finances and public spending are much higher than was expected back in september, and one of the things i think the candidates really ought to be focusing on is, what is my view about public spending? will i be giving inflation pay rises to teachers, nurses, and so on, and if i'm going to come home are going to pay that, what do i want to do with the public services, the health services, education, in the medium term, ratherthan services, education, in the medium term, rather than this very partial focus on tax, where it is very easy to say, we want to cut taxes, but it is much harder to say how we will make public services work in a world when we have less money. £31 make public services work in a world when we have less money. of course, crateful when we have less money. of course, grateful back — when we have less money. of course, grateful back in _ when we have less money. of course, grateful back in which _ when we have less money. of course, grateful back in which governments i

grateful back in which governments often use, is that they are efficiency savers, kemi badenoch certainly said it, grant shapps certainly said it, grant shapps certainly said it, reduce the size of the state. that is the sort of thing that can stay quite a long time, and if you say you're going to have tax cuts now, were going to pay for it with that, you are effectively going to have to pay for it some other way in the meantime, that might pave the way in the long term, but the immediate costs will have to be poor in another way? born in another way have to be poor in another way? born in anotherway ——. have to be poor in another way? born in another way ——. it is have to be poor in another way? born in another way ---_ in another way --. it is worth sa in: in another way --. it is worth saying that — in another way --. it is worth saying that most _ in another way --. it is worth saying that most western - in another way --. it is worth - saying that most western european countries have bigger states than we do, we actually have relatively low level of tax and public spending compared with most of our

neighbours. we could go for an australian or us welfare state, one where the private sector does a lot more in terms of providing health, or providing pensions, that there is less of a welfare safety net for people who are out of work and so on. these are all completely reasonable things that we ought to be having political debate about, and i wish we could have debate about the future of the health service, and how we fund health spending going forward. if that is what the candidates believe, i would love it if they were to come out and say this is how i want to achieve it, but what we generally get is what you have just described, which is a desire for a smaller state, a desire for greater efficiency, but absolutely no level of specificity about how to achieve that. if you're going to talk about tax cuts, and specific spending cuts alongside

them, i think that is what we are having a discussion about, but without anything specific on the spending side. without anything specific on the spending side-— without anything specific on the sendin: side. ., ~' . ., spending side. thank you so much for our time. much of the country is currently enjoying a heatwave. scotland has recorded its warmest day so far, with aboyne in aberdeenshire recording a temperature of 26.7 celsius. the met office has issued a level three heatwave alert for parts of england. from nine o'clock tomorrow morning until friday, temperatures could get as high as 32 degrees celsius. 0ur correspondent helena wilkinson, has this report from southend—on—sea. southend—on—sea, basking in the hotjuly sun. crowds began arriving here from early this morning,

hoping to secure the best spot for a day at the seaside. we came from london, an hour away, and we came because it is really hot, so we came to enjoy the beach and go in the water. lovely to come down on a lovely hot day, lovely to relax and chill with the grandchildren. you start getting a bit hot, - so when you go to the beach you can swim in the sea and you cool off. by mid—morning the temperature here had reached 21 celsius. it will get hotter as the day goes on. the high temperatures will continue next week across most of the country. parents and carers have been reminded to make sure children are well protected. just being a bit careful, making sure there is plenty of shade if they are feeling a bit overheated. short bursts in the sunshine, covering them top to toe in suncream, regular re—applications of that and also having light clothing on top as well. as temperatures rise, heat health alerts have been issued by the uk health security agency. they will remain in place until friday. we are all being reminded to check

on vulnerable family, friends and neighbours, and particularly people with dementia. somebody who might have memory loss problems, they often forget to drink, may have difficulties getting up and getting themselves a drink, it means they are more likely to become dehydrated so we really want people to do is check on people they know with dementia, if you are a carer, a family member or friend, pop in and make sure they can access fluids. for those who enjoy the heat, the advice is to drink plenty of water, don't stay in the sun for too long and apply lots of sun cream. helena wilkinson, bbc news, southend—on—sea. the temperature is also hotting up in the north of england — jessica lane is in bradford for us. it is still looking fantastic here,

we are in a very popular place for