this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. an extreme heatwave, which has caused wildfires across large parts of europe, is predicted to get worse. record—breaking temperatures are set to hit the uk next week. transport services could face "significant disruption". president biden wraps up his first middle east tour, with a promise the us will remain fully engaged in the region. moscow orders all of its forces to step up operations in ukraine, as russian missiles strike cities, right across the country.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. iam i am samantha simmonds. the heatwave in southern europe is intensifying — with wildfires forcing thousands of people to flee towns and villages. a number of people have already died, and temperatures are predicted to go well above a0 celsius, in parts of spain and portugal. more than 11,000 people have been forced to leave france's south—western gironde region — from where our europe correspondent, jessica parker, sent us this report. the fight to tackle flames ripping through forests in south—western france. they have been battling these fires for days. 1a,000 people have now been evacuated across the area of ge rong. have now been evacuated across the area of ge rang-— area of ge rong. everything went so fast, the area of ge rong. everything went so fast. the fire — area of ge rong. everything went so fast, the fire was _ area of ge rong. everything went so fast, the fire was big, _ area of ge rong. everything went so fast, the fire was big, big, _ area of ge rong. everything went so fast, the fire was big, big, big. -- l fast, the fire was big, big, big. ——

gironde. my friends said ok, this is serious, what do i take, in my room? she was living and working in a local campsite. for she was living and working in a local campsite.— local campsite. for now this conference _ local campsite. for now this conference centre _ local campsite. for now this conference centre is - local campsite. for now this conference centre is her - local campsite. for now this i conference centre is her home. local campsite. for now this - conference centre is her home. it has also become an office for these campsite workers, the region's beaches and forests are a huge attraction but now plans have changed. attraction but now plans have chanced. ., , ., changed. right now this morning we took the schedule _ changed. right now this morning we took the schedule on _ changed. right now this morning we took the schedule on monday - changed. right now this morning we took the schedule on monday and i changed. right now this morning we| took the schedule on monday and we are calling _ took the schedule on monday and we are calling everybody saying there is no _ are calling everybody saying there is no need — are calling everybody saying there is no need to come on monday and tomorrow— is no need to come on monday and tomorrow will be the same for tuesday— tomorrow will be the same for tuesday and so on and so on. others here wait for— tuesday and so on and so on. others here wait for news, _ tuesday and so on and so on. others here wait for news, all— tuesday and so on and so on. others here wait for news, all the _ tuesday and so on and so on. others here wait for news, all the chance i here wait for news, all the chance to —— home to fetch what they left behind. we to -- home to fetch what they left behind. ~ ., , to -- home to fetch what they left behind. ~ . , ., ., behind. we are trying to get our cat, so behind. we are trying to get our eat. so we _ behind. we are trying to get our eat. so we are — behind. we are trying to get our cat, so we are going _ behind. we are trying to get our cat, so we are going to - behind. we are trying to get our cat, so we are going to go - behind. we are trying to get our cat, so we are going to go to . behind. we are trying to get our| cat, so we are going to go to the village, — cat, so we are going to go to the village, escorted _ cat, so we are going to go to the village, escorted by— cat, so we are going to go to the village, escorted by police, - cat, so we are going to go to the village, escorted by police, to i cat, so we are going to go to the | village, escorted by police, to try to get— village, escorted by police, to try to get the — village, escorted by police, to try to get the cat— village, escorted by police, to try to get the cat and _ village, escorted by police, to try to get the cat and get _ village, escorted by police, to try to get the cat and get out. - village, escorted by police, to try to get the cat and get out. you i village, escorted by police, to try to get the cat and get out. you can see the smoke _ to get the cat and get out. you can see the smoke billowing _ to get the cat and get out. you can see the smoke billowing in - to get the cat and get out. you can see the smoke billowing in the i see the smoke billowing in the distance, and it was not like that a couple of hours ago. it means people who are waiting here to be quickly escorted back into the village to fetch pets that were left behind,

perhaps personal belongings as well, that's been put on hold. authorities say around 100 square kilometres of forest have been ravaged by fire here. there are two main places, one a little inland, another right by the coast. translation: this a little inland, another right by the coast. translation: this is a very dangerous — the coast. translation: this is a very dangerous time _ the coast. translation: this is a very dangerous time of _ the coast. translation: this is a very dangerous time of year i very dangerous time of year for wildfire risk and we are seeing significant instances of fires reigniting. significant instances of fires reigniting— significant instances of fires reiuanitin. , . , ., significant instances of fires reiuanitin. , ., , ., , significant instances of fires reiuanitin. , . , ., reigniting. temperatures are set to ed . e reigniting. temperatures are set to edge towards _ reigniting. temperatures are set to edge towards 40 _ reigniting. temperatures are set to edge towards 40 degrees - reigniting. temperatures are set to edge towards 40 degrees in - reigniting. temperatures are set to edge towards 40 degrees in the i edge towards 40 degrees in the coming days. this is a famous tourist destination but this year the views are hard to see. jessica parker, bbc news, gironde. here in the uk — the government has held an emergency meeting, to discuss how to respond to the record temperatures, expected to hit parts of the uk next week. a national emergency has already been declared, after the met office issued a red extreme heat warning for the very first time, meaning there's a risk to life. an amber warning has been announced for sunday, affecting parts of england

and wales, and that extends to scotland on monday. then, the red warning will come into effect, across a large part of england. 0ur correspondent, jon donnison has the latest. it is without doubt weather for mr whippy, and at roundhay park in leeds, he's been doing a roaring trade. so, yeah, it's been extremely busy. we're just working 12 hours every single day, in the heat and obviously monday and tuesday next week, itjust looks like it's going to be unbearable. here we go. keeping cool is going to be key... ..with temperatures expected to reach the high 30s and even 40 celsius. concerned about my dogs, so i'm going to get her a paddling pool, try to keep her inside as much as possible, but then also i've got a mother in a nursing home so that's concerning me. so i've got a meeting today to find out what they're going to do to make sure that the residents are kept cool. doctors have warned it's notjust

the vulnerable who are at risk from such extreme heat. the uk health security agency says a far more moderate heatwave last summer led to over 1,600 excess deaths. and all this comes with hospitals already under mounting pressure because of the recent surge in covid cases and there's a particular warning from health officials today that patients shouldn't be left stuck in ambulances in sweltering temperatures while doctors wait for beds to clear inside. but speaking on a visit to the east of england ambulance trust today, the new health secretary said the government was prepared. we're putting in additional capacity, whether it's with call handlers, whether it's the number of paramedics on duty, whether it's extra capacity in 111 as well. so we're putting in that additional capacity and we're working with hospital trust leaders in terms of where we're able to increase bed capacity on the wards. at 0gmore beach, in wales,

this weekend, people were topping up their tans. but in some parts of the uk it is forecast to be 10 degrees hotter on monday than today, and the advice is to stay out of the sun. and forecasters say all this is something we're going to have to get used to. scientists believe now that we are going to see more extreme heat and potentially for a longer period of time. we're10% more likely now to see extreme heat as a result of climate change and man—made influence. so, the next few days could see records broken and britain's weather move into uncharted waters. but climate scientists say extreme temperatures in the summer are already becoming the new normal. jon donnison, bbc news. as we mentioned, the uk government's cobra civil contingencies committee met earlier today to discuss the escalating heatwave and plans being put in place.

0ur political correspondent ben wright has been following this — i spoke to him a little earlier. kit malthouse, the cabinet office minister, chaired today's meeting and afterwards did warn of severe disruption on monday and tuesday. there are three key areas where we want to make sure we're stood up and as ready as we can beat. ready as we can be. the first is health and social care, where there has been a lot of work, first of all messaging those people who may be vulnerable and making sure they take steps to protect themselves, but also that hospitals, ambulances and other areas of that service that may come under pressure are ready and prepared. second area was schools, where we want to make sure that kids do continue to go to school, we think they are safer in schools, but those schools should have more help and guidance and the support they need to keep those kids out of the sun and nice and cool and hydrated. thirdly, transport, where we do think there's going to be a significant impact.

obviously, the transport providers are messaging people that they should only _ travel if they really need to on monday and tuesday, but also that services are going to be significantly affected. the heat will affect the rails, for example, so trains may have to run slower. there may be fewer services. people just to be on their guard for disruptions to normal travel patterns and if they don't have to travel, this may be a moment to work from home. a pretty strong suggestion that people should, as kit malthouse said, work from home. the issue of schools was clearly discussed at length in this meeting, too. there is not going to be a blanket school closure on monday and tuesday. the view in government is that it is better to have children inside schools, particularly kids of key workers, for example, whose parents need to be at work, or vulnerable children, they don't want them at home during this. they don't want children out potentially playing in rivers and getting into trouble. so schools will stay open although they have discretion if they choose to close. but they are preparing for significant disruption, as you heard kit malthouse say there.

on a side note, labour has criticised the prime minister for not taking part in today's cobra meeting, calling borisjohnson missing in action, saying he's leading a zombie government. downing street say the prime minister is working from chequers and it is not unusual at all for prime ministers not to be chairing these meetings and delegating it to the relevant ministers. let's move away from the weather for the moment, and talk about the tory leadership race. we had the debate last night, what has been happening today? a lull, to be honest! a pause. a pause, as they go back through their various attack lines and policies, look at the polling from yesterday, which was interesting, building some sort of picture about what people may be thinking of the five candidates in these relatively early stages of a contest that will be over very quickly. we have five still in the running now. but by wednesday, we will have two left. the third round of the balloting of mps is on monday, there will be another, i think, on tuesday and the final one on wednesday, by which time

they will have the final duo who then go forward to a ballot of the wider tory party membership, 175,000 conservatives, over the course of the summer. the attack lines didn't really move yesterday. rishi sunak, former chancellor, of the five, being the one who's most cautious about talking about tax cuts. all the others say that some sort of tax cuts are needed now to helpo people with the cost of living. rishi sunak, the current front runner, is insisting that would only fuel inflation. so that remains, i think, the big battleground of this contest, he remains ahead, and it feels like the battle really is on for that second place on the ticket between penny mordaunt and liz truss. and it's volatile contest and there is no guarantee at all who those final two are going to be, even though we will know in four days' time. then right there. i'm sure we will talk more about that in the papers coming up shortly.

president biden is returning to america, after completing his first tour of the middle east since taking office. he insisted his administration would remain engaged in the region, and he's been trying to persuade gulf states to boost oil production, to help cut global prices. 0ur middle east correspondent, anna foster has more details. standing side by side once again. joe biden came here to saudi arabia to mend relations with america's old ally, and the president made a promise not to desert the middle east. we will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by china, russia or iran. we will seek to build on this moment with active, principled american leadership. but some say mr biden abandoned his principles by coming here. yesterday he met crown prince mohammed bin salman,

the kingdom's de facto leader one—to—one. the cia concluded that he approved the brutal murder ofjamal khashoggi in istanbul, although he has always denied it. afterwards, the president vowed to make saudi arabia a pariah. today the saudi minister of state for foreign affairs told me that was simply election talk. what happens in campaigns is what i call what happens during the silly season. but disagreement with the regime, dissent, is still frowned upon and ultimately punished, so when will that change? i think we can have a discussion about this and an argument about this because what you call a dissident, we call a terrorist. what you may call somebody expressing their opinion, it is incitement. when somebody gives money to a group that murders people, is that expressing their opinion? or is it funding murder? but they are presented outside saudi arabia as if they are activists. many believe the president came

here to negotiate for more oil. if that was the case he left empty—handed and that raises questions about whether this controversial visit achieved enough to be called a success. anna foster, bbc news, jeddah. mark finley is an energy expert with rice university's baker institute. he told us about the importance of the us having access to saudi — and more broadly gulf states — oil. the united states as part of a global marketplace and whatever happens anywhere drives up prices at the pump here. and so, even though the united states is roughly self—sufficient in terms of the amount of oil it produces and consumes, it's also by far the biggest trader of oil, both crude oil and products that it gets made into, like petrol and diesel fuel. that's partly because the complexity of the modern oil industry and also because of the continental scale of the marketplace here.

the saudi state oil company claims to have the capacity to produce 12 million barrels a day and is currently producing about 11. so, it has the capacity to produce an additional million barrels per day in a global marketplace, that is close to 100 million barrels per day. extra supply could matter for prices at the pump. there is actually already an agreement between saudi arabia and other members of the so—called 0pec+ group to implement a small production increase next month, but the real question will be when the group meets on august 3rd to discuss the next steps for september and beyond. working with friends in the international energy agency, other big consumers in the europe, including the uk and japan, already in the process of the biggest coordinated release of strategic stocks of oil that the world has ever seen. the us by itself is releasing 1 million barrels per day,

we're in a six month period of release. the us is also encouraging both us producers and refiners to invest more to try to ramp up domestic capacity and in addition to reaching out to saudi arabia, they have been pursuing a diplomatic relations with countries that are currently under sanctions like iran and venezuela. and finally, trying — so far without success to get china, which hosts the biggest fleet of refineries in the world, to open up export quotas that they have put in place for refined products like petrol and diesel fuel. the headlines on bbc news: an extreme heatwave, which has caused wildfires

across large parts of europe, is predicted to get worse. president biden has finished his first middle east tour. he's promised the us will remain an active and engaged partner in the middle east. russia's defence minister has ordered all forces to step up operations across ukraine. sergei shoigu said it was to prevent attacks on the occupied east of the country. it comes as russian missiles struck cities right across the country, including at a famous space rocket and satellite factory in dnipro. 0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale reports. 0n ukraine's eastern front, they're about to target russian positions. this time, using american—supplied howitzers and ammunition. explosion. ukraine's still vastly outgunned. these help, but they can't hang around. explosion. western weapons like this have given ukraine an advantage in terms of accuracy and range, but they've also become high—value targets, with russia trying to hunt them down. they prepare to move out quickly before they become the target.

explosions. go, go, go! explosions. well, that's a russian reply coming in just now. they fired their shots and, within minutes, russian artillery were responding, shells landing close to us, where we are now. gunshot. there's another one. this time, they miss. the howitzers get away. the artillery commander tells me the russians are regularly targeting them because of their western weapons. "because they're precise and effective," he says. ukraine's also having to learn a western way of war, the emphasis on precision. and this one's making a difference — the us himars rocket launcher. ukraine doesn't have many, but it can now strike targets from distance. but it's creating a massive

logistical challenge. ukraine's now having to maintain dozens of weapons from dozens of countries, like these british—supplied armoured vehicles. each one requires separate training and spare parts. and weapons supplied by the west also use a different calibre of ammunition, like these german self—propelled guns. the west still claims it's not directly involved in this conflict, but in truth, it's now an essential part of ukraine's war machine. brendan kearney is a retired us colonel, and a former chief of staff for us marine corps forces in europe. he says he doesn't believe russia can �*step up' its ukraine offensive beyond its current form. i think there is an excellent chance that we'll see an increase in the number

of cruise missiles and other high—technology missile attacks on soft targets in ukraine. that seemingly is something they are very enamoured with, and sadly i think will continue to view that on a daily basis. but when you get to the real aspects of increasing your offensive capability, say taking over air control in the skies of ukraine, they have failed so far. taking over the northern part of the black sea around odesa, they have failed miserably at that. their logistics issues seem to continue, their command and control issues continue, and they continue to have significant morale problems. i think it is more rhetoric than anything else. part of the shipments that are going in to ukraine, there has been an increasing technological sophistication with some of the anti—air weapons that are coming from the west. so that may help. again, the proof will be

in the pudding and how successful they can interdict those cruise missiles. but other than that, most of them are being fired from inside russia. so unless the ukrainians want to go after those launch sites, and a lot of them are mobile launchers, so very difficult to identify and then target, there probably won't be much they can do. but what they will be

able to to sri lanka now, where the country's parliament has gathered to begin the process of choosing a new president. that new leader will replace gotabaya rajapaksa — who fled the country and resigned in the face of massive anti government protests. our correspondent secunder kermani reports from the capital, colombo. tight security outside parliament this morning as politicians began the process of selecting a new president. this is the man it's most likely to be — ranil wickremesinghe, currently acting leader. he's an old political face and has been the focus of protester anger. do is continue to target with these new multiple launch rocket systems the uk has provided, and with the himars, taking out the russian artillery systems. the himars, taking out the russian artillery systems. the ukrainians in the last month _ artillery systems. the ukrainians in the last month have _ artillery systems. the ukrainians in the last month have proved - artillery systems. the ukrainians in the last month have proved to i artillery systems. the ukrainians in the last month have proved to be i the last month have proved to be very successful in that. brendan kearney, retired us general, talking to us early. the president's office is still under the control of demonstrators, though they've handed back other official buildings. a few metres away, the main protest camp, named the gota go home village, a reference to the ousted

president, gotabaya rajapaksa, who they forced to resign and flee the country. but those here have always also demanded ranil wickremesinghe, who looks likely to succeed him, should resign too. we're halfway there with gota going home, it is a win. but ranil still being there, still being acting president is a problem for us. we need him to step down as well. he is going the path that he's taking as we see it, is that he's going to be a failed leader, just like gotabaya. and as people gathered here to send a failed leader home, they'll gather again. but the longer this instability continues, the more difficult it's going to be to sort out the terrible problems with the economy here. yeah, that's true, but the thing is, without sending home the people that initiated, that started this crisis, we don't see a possibility of us getting into any sort of stability. meanwhile, much of the country has ground to a halt. cars line up waiting for fuel as the government can't afford to import enough.

wherever you go in this city, you see these huge queues of cars that stretch on and on and on. people waiting for days just to get fuel. and for whoever takes charge of this country, resolving this economic crisis is going to be a massive challenge. hilmi and fahim have pushed their car for the last five kilometres of this queue. how long have you been waiting for fuel? five days. and you were in this queue for those five days? yes. do you think your new leader is going to be able to sort out this problem? is he going to be able to bring fuel? honestly, we don't know. honestly, it seems like this problem we have to face another two or three years. can you live like this for another two or three years? no, we can't. sri lankans are suffering with food prices rocketing up too. continuing political instability will make

an imf bailout deal all the more difficult. but protesters here say they want to see real change. the mexican navy has captured one of the country's most wanted drug lords — rafael caro quintero. the us attorney general says the united states will now seek his immediate extradition. the arrest came days after mexico's president, andres manuel lopez 0brador, metjoe biden at the white house. claudia redmond reports. with a bounty of $20 million on his head, this is the moment drug lord rafael caro quintero was captured after a search dog found him hiding in bushland. found him hiding in brushland. quintero was released from prison in 2013 after a court overturned his 40—year sentence for the 1985 kidnapping and killing of a us drug enforcement administration agent. he was added to the fbi's most wanted list in 2018.

his arrest comes just days after mexico's president andres manuel lopez 0brador met joe biden at the white house. both leaders said they would step up the fight against drug trafficking. the former leader of the guadalajara cartel was one of the primary suppliers of heroin, cocaine and marijuana to the united states in the late 1970s. in a statement confirming the arrest, it emerged that a blackhawk helicopter used in the operation had crashed, killing 14 of the 15 passengers on board. the cause of the crash is still being investigated. claudia redmond, bbc news. let me show you some incredible pictures of drought in syria. these dry expanses are what's left of the khabur river near the village of sabaa sukour in northern syria. it was once one of the main water sources for the nearby city of hasa kah. but years of crippling drought

have depleted riverbeds. that's it, thanks for watching. you've probably heard already that a national emergency has been declared on account of this unprecedented heatwave. the english temperature record, and also that of the uk, is going to get obliterated in the next few days, as indeed is the record for wales. in scotland, probably there or thereabouts, northern ireland perhaps just missing out. but this is an unprecedented spell of hot weather. a met office red extreme weather warning, the first ever issued for all these areas of england, including many of england's largest cities. that is in force on monday and tuesday at the peak of the heatwave. sunday through to tuesday, for england, wales, southern scotland, we have a widespread amber weather warning, impacts to health and infrastructure are expected.

in the next few hours, showers push into northern scotland. look at these temperatures, this is as cool as the weather gets for the next few days, so if you're up early on sunday morning, take advantage of the cool air, open your doors and your curtains and windows, let that cool air into your house and into your flat for the first couple of the hours of the morning, then shut everything, shut the windows, shut your doors, shut the curtains, shut that exceptional heat out. we will see temperatures building widely into the 30s across england and wales as well. what follows on monday is a spell of dangerous heat. we have sunshine across the board and temperatures hitting 40 celsius or so. the current uk temperature record is 38.7, so this is the hottest day we have ever had in our country. and it's notjust a daytime temperatures, overnight, 10pm on monday night, still widely into the 30s, that will be horrendous for getting a good night's sleep, hence the importance

of keeping your flats and houses as cool as possible. tuesday, some storms breaking out in the west bringing slightly fresher air into western areas but otherwise, it's another day of dangerous heat. this heat is dangerous for people's health, so you can mitigate some of those problems. i've already mentioned some tips, keeping curtains closed, particularly on the sunny side of your house. only open windows and doors if it is actually cooler outside. that would often only be at the end of the night. drink plenty of water and remember, a cool shower can help you cope.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be

bringing us tomorrow. with me are political commentatorjo phillips and chief business commentator for the independent, james moore. the conservative leadership contest features heavily in many of the papers. all five remaining candidates have articles in the sunday telegraph — though the paper leads with rishi sunak�*s promise to review all eu law still in force in the uk. the sunday express goes with the same story, calling it a pledge to "torch eu red tape". it's a similar story in the independent, which says sunak is trying to appeal to brexit supporters in the conservative party. the observer reports that cop 26 president alok sharma may quit his cabinetjob if the new tory leader dumps the plan for net zero. the sunday times splashes on fresh claims about penny mordaunt�*s views on trans rights. the mail on sunday has the same lead, claiming leaked documents show she once supported people being able to choose their own gender. the sunday mirror reports that boris johnson

was absent from today's cobra meeting discussing the heatwave.