welcome to bbc news, i'm rich preston. our top stories: europe's intense heatwave ignites wildfires, many have died in extreme temperatures across the continent. this is a very dangerous time of yearfor this is a very dangerous time of year for wildfire risk and we have seen significant instances of fires reignited. moscow orders its forces to step up operations across ukraine, as russian missiles strike several cities. the un extends its mission in haiti for a further 12 months, after gang warfare and petrol shortages

in port—au—prince causes greater instability. president biden wraps up his first middle east tour, with a promise the us will remain fully engaged in the region. and, beerfor sunflower oil, the munich pub finding an unusual way to beat a frying oil crunch. hello and welcome to the programme. 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. scientists say climate change is a factor in the severity of the heatwave. 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 gironde. it went so fast. and the fire, too, was big, big, big. my friends woke me up and i was like, "0k, what do i take in my room?" manon was working and living at a local campsite. for now, this conference and is her home. it's also become an office for this campsite workers. the region's beaches and forests a huge attraction, but now plans have changed. right now, this morning, we took the schedule on monday. we're calling everybody, saying, "no need to move. "come on monday." we do the same for tuesday, and so on and so on. others here wait for news, or the chance to dash home to fetch what they left behind. we're trying to get our cat, so we're going to go to the village, escorted

by police, and try to get the cat and get out. you can see the smoke billowing in the distance and it was not like that a couple of hours ago. and it means that people who are waiting here to be quickly escorted back into the village of cazaux, 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 blazes — one a little inland, another right by the coast. translation: this is a very dangerous time of year - for wildfire risk, and we are seeing significant instances of fires reigniting. temperatures are set to edge towards a0 degrees in the coming days. the dune du pilat 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. our 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 a0 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 not just 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 enjoying the sea air. 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. john donnison, bbc news. given the rising temperatures around the world, action on global warming can appear slow — and highly politicised. lisa friedman covers climate for the new york times. she explained to me what's

happening in america. at the moment the us an action is what everyone is talking about. earlierthis is what everyone is talking about. earlier this week, joe manchin let it be known that he would not be able to vote at this moment for legislation that would have helped president biden achieve that goal. so the goals at cop27 are multiple but the most important one is for all countries to move towards reducing emissions and get on this 1.5 degrees pathway. if the us isn't able to move forward, that will have implications for every other country. implications for every other count . ., ., , country. you mentioned this concern about _ country. you mentioned this concern about us _ country. you mentioned this concern about us inaction, l country. you mentioned this i concern about us inaction, why is american politics so important with the global climate change picture? it is important with the global climate change picture? it is a aood climate change picture? it is a good question. _ climate change picture? it is a

good question. undeniably, i climate change picture? it is a l good question. undeniably, the us is the largest historic emitter and most influential country in the world, has the power to lead or not. we saw during the trump administration that the us tried to withdraw from the paris agreement and it was four difficult years of global climate policy. president biden came back and rejoined the paris agreement, said the united states would lead but if the us is not actually cutting emissions, it makes it very hard to then convince developing countries and countries like china and india and brazil who are still addressing development needs of their own to say hey, you should be reducing emissions as well. you can find out more about the links between extreme heat and climate change on our website. there's this video on why it's so hot in europe at the moment. just go to the bbc news site to watch. 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 space rocket and satellite factory in dnipro. 0ur defence correspondent, jonathan beale, has this report. 0n ukraine's eastern front, they're about to target russian positions... ..this time, using american—supplied howitzers and ammunition. howitzer fires. ukraine's still vastly outgunned. these help... howitzer fires. but they can't hang around. 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. gunshot.

go, go, go! 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 its not directly involved in this conflict, but in truth, it's now an essential part of ukraine's war machine. jonathan beale, bbc news, eastern ukraine. the un says that at least 234 people were killed in gang violence over a five day period in haiti's capital earlier this month. that news comes as the un security council has voted unanimously to extend the un mission to haiti for a further 12 months, and to ban some weapon sales to the caribbean nation.

it's an attempt to tackle increasingly bloody gang—fuelled conflict over control of the capital port—au—prince. the instability has been exacerbated by fuel shortages and rising food prices. mathias pierre is haiti's former elections minister and joins us now from haiti. thank you very much for making the time for us. this gang violence in port—au—prince, how bad is violence in port—au—prince, how badisit? violence in port—au—prince, how bad is it? i violence in port-au-prince, how bad is it? ~ , violence in port-au-prince, how bad is it?— bad is it? i think it is very bad, in — bad is it? i think it is very bad. in a _ bad is it? i think it is very bad, in a sense _ bad is it? i think it is very bad, in a sense that - bad is it? i think it is very - bad, in a sense that violence, the gangs are well armed and they received a lot of weapons and ammunition is through the contraband from the us, and while the legal police force and army are not well prepared and army are not well prepared and they are not able, since

the president was there, the government of haiti was not able to legally buy the weapons and ammunition is due to some constraints with the us government. now we have a situation where the gangs are well and better equipped than the legal forces so the control of most part of the country and particularly the capital of haiti. ~ ., particularly the capital of haiti. ., , . , haiti. we mentioned fuel prices and food prices. _ haiti. we mentioned fuel prices and food prices. talk— haiti. we mentioned fuel prices and food prices. talk to - haiti. we mentioned fuel prices and food prices. talk to us - and food prices. talk to us about what is encouraging this gang violence and what is fuelling it.— gang violence and what is fuellin: it. ,, , . fuelling it. suddenly haiti has been facing — fuelling it. suddenly haiti has been facing for _ fuelling it. suddenly haiti has been facing for quite - fuelling it. suddenly haiti has been facing for quite a - fuelling it. suddenly haiti has been facing for quite a while l fuelling it. suddenly haiti has| been facing for quite a while a very tough economic situation, understanding clearly, the target of 80, it's where everything is happening. the gangs control most of the

strategic neighbourhoods of the country. so businesses are not able to work properly. those other businesses who are able to work have to negotiate with the gangs in their neighbourhood so they could function. so there is the decline of business in the country, decline ofjob country, decline of job creation country, decline ofjob creation and certainly you have the country facing a major issue. the president assassinated last year, the local currency dropped more than 100% and the economic situation is very bad and today the country is in a food crisis. gas crisis and certainly fuel problems, and you can see where and how the

population is struggling today. since 2010, haiti has received over $13 billion of international aid. there are widespread accusations that the government hasn't handled this aid properly, there has in corruption and mismanagement. you used to be a part of that government, others accusations fair? i government, others accusations fair? ~' , ., government, others accusations fair? ~' ., fair? i think if you read the re ort fair? i think if you read the report from _ fair? i think if you read the report from the _ fair? i think if you read the report from the deputy - fair? i think if you read the report from the deputy to l report from the deputy to president and managing those funds, the government of haiti was never in charge of managing those funds. the funds were managed by the entity put in place by the un and according to the report, approximately $8 billion has been disbursed to

the 13 billion promised. $3 billion managed by ngos. ngos that received 3 billion, of that received 3 billion, of that 3 billion only1 billion were invested so—called in haiti by those ngos and the other 5,000,000,000- $6 haiti by those ngos and the other 5,000,000,000— $6 billion has been managed by different organisations, entities, added by the un consulate in charge so the government never had the responsibility to manage it. ok, we will need to leave it 0k, we will need to leave it there. thank you very much for your time. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: europe's intense heatwave ignites wildfires. many have died in extreme temperatures across the continent. moscow orders all its forces to step up operations

in ukraine as russian missiles strike cities across the country. president biden is returning to the us 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

ruler, one to one. the cia concluded that the crown prince approved the brutal murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi in istanbul, though he's always denied it. afterwards, the president vowed to make saudi arabia a pariah. today, the saudi minister for state for foreign affairs, adel al—jubeir, 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, descent, 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 that what you may 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 this funding murder? but they're presented outside saudi arabia as if they're 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. let's get some of the day's other news. a cargo plane with eight people on board has crashed in northern greece, near the city of kavala. state television reported that the aircraft was flying from serbia to jordan. video footage showed the plane descending in flames before hitting the ground in a large explosion. firefighters said they were treating the cargo as ammunition or other dangerous material. parliament in north macedonia has voted in favour of a deal which paves the way for long—delayed talks onjoining the eu. bulgaria has agreed to lift its veto on north macedonia's membership in return for bulgarians being recognised as an official minority group.

sri lanka'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. 0ur 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. 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 forfuel, 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. after 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 should — we have to face another two, three years. can you live like this for another two or three years? no. 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. secunder kermani, bbc news, colombo. the russian invasion of ukraine has caused severe cooking oil shortages — particularly in europe, which gets 80% of its oilfrom ukraine and russia. now, a brewery in germany has come up with a cunning plan to make sure customers can still order the fried schnitzel they love. wendy urquhart reports. danke schon. who would have thought that the best thing to take to the pub in germany would be a bottle of cooking oil? the war in ukraine has caused a severe lack of rapeseed and sunflower oil. supermarket shelves are empty, and several shops in munich alone have slapped a limit on the number of bottles people can buy.

translation: getting oil is very difficult. - you can only get small quantities in the shops. if you need 30 litres a week and only get 15, at some point, you won't be able to fry schnitzel. now, the munich pub has come up with a novel way to make sure it has enough oil to cook tasty lunch and dinners. for the foreseeable future, it's offering people the chance to exchange one litre of oil for one litre of beer. 0ne customer bought a truckload of sunflower oil during a humanitarian aid trip to ukraine and was delighted to be able to swap them for a few cold beers. translation: i bought 80 litres i of sunflower oil and in return, l i got 80 litres of beer, or eight crates. i mixed it all a bit — a bit of wheat beer, a bit of light beer, a bit of shandy. i think it's cool because we get cheap beer and giesinger brewery is also helped

because there's an oil shortage in germany. a litre of beer costs around 7 euros in a german bar and a bottle of sunflower oil is just 11.5 euros, so it's little wonder that customers are loving it. wendy urquhart, bbc news. and there's just time to tell you about one sport that's not for the faint—hearted. it's the cliff diving world series competition that has been taking place in the danish capital, copenhagen. the men's event was won by romanian constantin popovici, who performed the dive of the day with a very steady handstand to clinch the win from the roof of the royal danish opera house. and for the first time in the event's history, women were able to take part and display their skills from more than twice the olympic diving height. australia's rhiannan iffland came first with a faultless dive, despite some very windy conditions. you would not catch me doing

that! you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. from all of us on the team here in london, thanks for being with us and we will see you next time. goodbye. you've probably heard already that a national emergency has been declared on account of this unprecedented heatwave. the english temperature record, which is also that of the uk, is going to get obliterated in the next few days, as indeed will the record for wales. in scotland, probably getting 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 one ever issued for all these areas of england, including many of england's largest cities — that's in force for monday and tuesday, the peak of the heatwave. but across sunday through to tuesday, for england, wales, southern scotland, we have a widespread amber weather warning. impacts to health, impacts to infrastructure are expected. over the next few hours, seeing some showers push into northern scotland.

look at these temperatures — this is as cool as our weather gets for the next few days, so if you're up early sunday morning, take advantage of this cool air, open your doors, open your curtains, open your windows, let that cool air into your house and into your flat and the first couple of the hours of the morning, shut everything — shut the windows, shut the doors, shut your curtains, shut that exceptional heat out. we're going to see temperatures building widely into the 30s across england and wales as well. what follows on monday is a spell of dangerous heat. we've got sunshine across the board and temperatures hitting a0 degrees celsius or so. the current uk temperature record is 38.7, so this is going to be the hottest day we've ever had in our country. and it's notjust the daytime temperatures — overnight, 10 o'clock monday night, we're still widely into the 30s — that's going to be horrendous for getting a good night's sleep, hence the importance of keeping your flats and your houses as cool as possible. tuesday, we start to see some storms break out in the west,

bringing some 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. 0nly 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.

there. thank you very much for your time. this is bbc news, the headlines: the extreme heatwave across southern europe, is continuing to intensify. wildfires have now spread to the coast of croatia and the greek island of crete where they have caused widespread destruction. in spain and portugal, over three hundred people are thought to have died from the heat. moscow has ordered its military to step up the offensive in ukraine, as russian missiles continue to strike cities, across the country. an official statement said their aim is to prevent strikes by ukrainian forces, on eastern regions no longer controlled by kyiv. the united nations has extended its mission in haiti for a further 12 months, after petrol shortages and gang

warfare in port—au—prince, led to greater instability.