welcome to newsday, reporting from singapore i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. warnings of a "heat apocalypse" as a blistering heatwave engulfs much of europe with wildfires spreading in many countries. up up in the wood you can see guys tackling the fire is, there's a huge amount of activity down here and it is smoky. just look at the haze in the trees. the intense heatwave is affecting most of the uk — where tuesday could be the hottest day since records began. a chinese filmmaker appears in court in malawi charged with child exploitation — following an investigation by bbc africa eye. the sentencing phase of the trial of florida

school shooter begins nicolas cruz pleaded guilty to gunning down 17 people at his former high school. it's six in the morning in singapore, and midnight in western france which is facing a "heat apocalypse", experts have warned, as extreme temperatures continue to hit much of europe. they say temperatures could reach record levels in 15 regions of the southwest, with firefighters battling wildfires and thousands forced to evacuate. wildfires in spain, portugal and greece have forced thousands more to flee. our europe correspondent jessica parker has the latest. into the forest and the front line

of an exhausting battle, one that today, we were able to witness. up in the woods, you can see guys tackling the fires. there's a huge amount of activity down here, and it is hot, it is smoky — just look at the haze in the trees. the smoke thickens the further we go, the flames suddenly all too apparent. translation: the fire | rekindles in many places, we have to be very careful with these conditions. we are in a pine forest. the vegetation is so dry here and with the temperatures the fire reaches the top of the trees very quickly, flames reach up to 80 metres high. along here we were due to reach an evacuated campsite by the coast but we never got there. things were getting worse. you could see it on the ground and in the sky.

water bombers, one after the other, flying over our heads. they never stop here, they can't, but soon we along with others are told its time to leave. back on the main road, the thousands of evacuations were plain to see. smoke means for many it's not safe to stay. here at this centre you can at least take a moment to cool down. translation: it was very smoky this morning, it's l very bad for the lungs. i knew there were problems coming so i prepared a grab bag. even the medications for my dogs were ready to go. for some it's a matter of frantic phone calls to find a place to sleep tonight. who knows when they will get to go home? it can be a few days, it could be a few weeks. it's very difficult now to say but we try to make people come back to their house as soon as possible.

france's wildfires seen from above are an alarming sight. winds and over a0 degrees heat made for a destructive mix today. temperatures are set to drop tomorrow and for these men that can't come soon enough. jessica parker, bbc news in gerald. well you've seen the situation in france and other parts of europe — let's take you to the uk now which has had one of its hottest days on record, with a high of 38.1 degrees celsisus — recorded in suffolk on monday. these temperatures have triggered an extreme red weather warning for most of england — meaning a real threat to life. temperatures are soaring — its thought they could get reach past 41 degrees celsius on tuesday — much higher than they would normally be injuly and hotter even than what parts of asia are experiencing right now. our correspondent daniela relph has all the latest. keeping cool any way possible.

normal everyday life has had its challenges today. in central london, some still braved an open—top bus tour, while others cope with the intense city heat in a more traditional way. we have had ice pops, ice creams, slushies, smoothies, so we have had a few drinks. just taking on plenty of water, staying in the shade as much as we can, and having a wee dip, keeping the fluids up. we've got a lot of water inside and i've been pourin- it on their head, i've been pouring it on their head, trying _ i've been pouring it on their head, trying to make _ i've been pouring it on their head, trying to make sure _ i've been pouring it on their head, trying to make sure that _ i've been pouring it on their head, trying to make sure that they- i've been pouring it on their head, trying to make sure that they are i trying to make sure that they are able to— trying to make sure that they are able to go— trying to make sure that they are able to go around _ trying to make sure that they are able to go around the _ trying to make sure that they are able to go around the city. - engineers are currently trying to fix the problem. once flights resume, passengers will be able to look down at the parched landscape that makes up much of southern and eastern england. cambridgeshire looking

especially dry and brittle as the county records some of highest temperatures. and these conditions come with risks. a 16—year—old lost his life, he is the fourth person to die in recent days after getting into difficulty in open water. this evening and another teenager is missing in the river thames at richmond and sorry. this particular messaue richmond and sorry. this particular message for— richmond and sorry. this particular message for teenagers, _ richmond and sorry. this particular message for teenagers, children, l message forteenagers, children, some who may be tempted to go for a swim. there is significant dangers of that, quite often when people go swimming in rivers when we have hot weather. but for so many today, the usual routine has continued, with some alterations. this building site in dagenham in essex has changed its schedule. no more than 45 minutes outside, before you swap with a team working inside. in the middle east, whether that be dubai or anywhere else, buildings are built. did you ever think of not working

today? we gave the option for people not to work and coming this week and next week everybody said no, of course not. the building still has to happen and instructed to make a difference, so here we're. the prince of— difference, so here we're. the prince of wales _ difference, so here we're. the prince of wales and _ difference, so here we're. the prince of wales and duchess of cornwall experience they had temperatures on a visit to cornwall. the prince used his speech to reinforces long—term interest in tackling climate change. if i reinforces long-term interest in tackling climate change. if i may sa these tackling climate change. if i may say these commitments - tackling climate change. if i may say these commitments run - tackling climate change. if i may say these commitments run at i tackling climate change. if i may i say these commitments run at zero have never been more vitally important as we all swelter under today's allotment record temperatures across britain and europe. as i tried to indicate for quite some time, the climate crisis really is a genuine emergency. seven o'clock this evening _ really is a genuine emergency. seven o'clock this evening the _ really is a genuine emergency. seven o'clock this evening the seafront - really is a genuine emergency. seven o'clock this evening the seafront in the was undergoing its own version of rush hour. packed beaches taking advantage of today's sunshine. as we all try to find our own ways of managing in these extreme temperatures.

daniela relph, bbc news, dagenham. there have been warnings that extreme temperatures will happen more regularly because of climate change. periods of intense heat do occur within natural weather patterns, but scientists say they are becoming more frequent, more intense and are lasting longer, as our climate correspondent jonah fisher reports. the livestock at the royal welsh show have been given fans and extra ventilation to help get them through the hot weather. despite record temperatures being predicted for mid—wales, organisers have decided to stay open and they're expecting several hundred thousand people. i think we've been slightly overtaken by a bit of a nanny state on this one, but that's my own view. we've got extra shaded areas. we may have to change judging times a little bit, depending on whatever happens. but the show will go on. the advice for the next couple of days is, if you can, change your plans. but it's important to understand that this isn't a one—off, a freak weather event.

it's something that we are going to have to get used to. for as long as our emissions continue to warm the planet, and at the moment temperatures are rising by 0.25 degrees every ten years, heat waves like this one are going to become more frequent and more intense. this particular hot weather system has made its way north from southern europe, where it has led to temperatures in the mid—40s and devastating forest fires. climate change scientists say it will be no surprise to them if temperature records are broken across the uk. heatwaves is one of the clearest signs in extreme weather of human influence on climate. it's one of the extreme weather events we can be most confident about are being affected by rising global temperature. is it too late for us to turn this around? it's absolutely not too late, because future warming is determined by future emissions. if we stop dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the world will stop warming.

it's that simple. but rapid action to cut emissions has not proved simple politically. this heatwave is an uncomfortable reminder of how much still needs to be done. jonah fisher, bbc news. i want to tell you about another story now — one that our colleagues at the bbc africa eye service have been investigating with dramatic consequences. a chinese filmmaker has appeared in court in malawi charged with child exploitation. this is the moment he was confronted by the bbc team, which documented how he had used local children to film personalised greetings, some of which included racist content. we can speak now to our reporter azadeh moshiri who has been looking into the amazing journalism that the bbc africa eye team did in order to get to this point. azadeh — just talk us through the background of this,

and explain how it all started. as you said, thanks to our journalism on bbc, these colleagues noticed on chinese social media there was some videos popping up of children in africa that would becoming very popular, children singing content in chinese, often time quite innocent, things like personal greetings, birthdays, holiday chance but sometimes that content involved racist language and sometimes racist language about themselves. clearly these children didn't necessarily know they were chanting given it wasn't their own language. and that's when our colleagues decided to trace exactly what the source of these videos were. we had won colleague doing data journalism tools within china and another on the ground reporting and another on the ground reporting and malawi to trace exactly where these videos were coming from and who is behind it.—

who is behind it. fascinating, particularly — who is behind it. fascinating, particularly given _ who is behind it. fascinating, particularly given the - who is behind it. fascinating, particularly given the fact - who is behind it. fascinating, | particularly given the fact that who is behind it. fascinating, - particularly given the fact that the tools that they use as you describe really allow them to get a sense of what was happening. talk us through the implications of this investigation.— the implications of this investiuation. ., , investigation. some of the big issues here — investigation. some of the big issues here where _ investigation. some of the big issues here where that - investigation. some of the big issues here where that these l investigation. some of the big - issues here where that these videos were going for as much as $70 apiece online. they were becoming widely shared. when this investigation came out it was obviously a lot of discontent within malawi, especially within the communities affected because of the fact that these children will be important this position. the government in malawi lodge their own probe injune and the attorney general of malawi confirmed to the bbc that a man, a chinese film—maker and a malawi resident who denies he had any involvement with these videos fled malawi, was then arrested for entering illegally in zambia and was then extradited back to malawi a few days ago. as you mention, he's now appeared in court and was charged

with counts of trafficking in persons. the state prosecutors have said their own investigation is ongoing and that more charges could be filed in the next two weeks this has also had a big consequence within china, the chinese embassy within china, the chinese embassy within malawi apologise on behalf of the government and said they have zero tolerance for racism and the chinese government insisted they would take action to clamp down on this online content. it also meant that some popular sites, social media sites within china has said date they are going to take further action to try to prevent this sort of content circulating online. in keeping us up—to—date, amazing journalism that the bbc africa i team did in order to for us to get to this point lots more on the website.

you're watching newsday on the bbc. we give you some advice on how to stay cool during the soaring temperatures. coming down the ladder now. one small step for man one giant leap for mankind. at, small step for man one giant leap for mankind-— small step for man one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire has been _ for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire has been blamed _ for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire has been blamed tonight - for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire has been blamed tonight for. for mankind. a catastrophic engine | fire has been blamed tonight for the first crash— fire has been blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30 year history of concorde, the worlds only supersonic airliner. it of concorde, the worlds only supersonic airliner.— of concorde, the worlds only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid _ supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols - supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of - supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the i the most vivid symbols of the violence — the most vivid symbols of the violence and _ the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred _ the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that - the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore | the most vivid symbols of the - violence and hatred that tore apart the stale _ violence and hatred that tore apart the state of — violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia _ violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia but - violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia but now. violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia but now a i the state of yugoslavia but now a decade _ the state of yugoslavia but now a decade leter— the state of yugoslavia but now a decade later it's _ the state of yugoslavia but now a decade later it's been _ the state of yugoslavia but now a . decade later it's been painstakingly rebuilt _ decade later it's been painstakingly rebuilt and — decade later it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens _ decade later it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again _ decade later it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. - rebuilt and opens again today. there's— rebuilt and opens again today. there's been— rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a _ rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% _ rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease i rebuilt and opens again today. i there's been a 50% decrease in rebuilt and opens again today. - there's been a 50% decrease in spurn quantity and an increase in malfunctioning spurn unable to swim properly. malfunctioning spurn unable to swim --roerl. ., ,., malfunctioning spurn unable to swim --roerl. ., ., , properly. thousands of households across the country _ properly. thousands of households across the country are _ properly. thousands of households across the country are suspiciously| across the country are suspiciously quietly this one time as children bury their noses in the final

instalment of harry potter. this is newday on the bbc. in singapore, our headlines i'm karishma vaswani. warnings of a "heat apocalypse" as a blistering heatwave engulfs much of europe with wildfires spreading in many countries. the intense heatwave is affecting most of the uk — where tuesday could be the hottest day since records began. let's turn away from heatwave story and take you to myanmar now, which has been out of the headlines recently. but let's not forget that the country is still very much stuck in a coup — where the military is fully in charge again, and most, if not all political freedoms are pretty much non existent. today marks martyrs' day there, a time when people typically honour those who had paved the way for independence from british colonial rule 75 years ago.

it's a hugely symbolic day for people there — both historically and culturally. so, on a day like this we ask — what next for myanmar? for more on this, i'm joined now by moe thuzar of the myanmar studies programme in singapore. i singapore. want to start by asking you, this is i want to start by asking you, this is such an important day in the history of bmr, given the events we're currently sitting there right now, what is your sense of how the resistance movement is going there? thank you. good morning, thank you for having me. you talked about the significance of martyrs day in me and mar today. if we look at it, just look at it to the past five years from 2016 to 2020, under the national league for democracy government which was elected in a

landslide in 2015 elections the government which was headed by state counsellor and foreign minister also we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that martyrs day essentially commemorates the memory of fallen figures within the burmese independence movement, including her father who was also can be said to be the founder of that me armed forces. the coup leaders, commander in chief of the bmr military who now heads the state administration council regime, they all attended these observance ceremonies through 2016 two 2020 but not so last year. which was already me and mar under

military rule again since the coup of february 2021. so to address your question then, what is it like right now? the situation continues to be rather bleak picture, if we look at the kind of political freedoms that people in bmr saw widened from 2012 onwards. and of course —— me and mar. if you're looking at how the broad resistance movement probably represented by an entity like a national unity government. there is this determination to continue sustaining the resistance and also trying to tell the story of the

myanmar people now again under brutal military rule, the kind of atrocities that are being committed by the military in central myanmar. essentially the very wary polarise angry situation that people and myanmar... angry situation that people and myanmar- - -_ angry situation that people and m anmar... ., ,, i. angry situation that people and m anmar... ., ,, . myanmar... indeed. thank you so much for “oininu myanmar... indeed. thank you so much forjoining us— myanmar... indeed. thank you so much forjoining us with _ myanmar... indeed. thank you so much forjoining us with your— myanmar... indeed. thank you so much forjoining us with your insights - forjoining us with your insights and on that story. if you want to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma let's turn to the us now, where the trial for school shooter nikolas cruz, who gunned down 17 people at his former high school in parkland, florida, has begun. this is a rare instance of a mass shooter facing a jury, as they often either take their own lives or are killed by police.

it is being held to determine his sentence, whether to be executed or imprisoned for life without parole. 0ur north america correspondent, barbara plett usher told us more about this case. terrific a very horrific case on valentine's day and a public school in florida. nicholas cruz entered the school through an unlocked door, heavily armed with a high—powered rifle and he started a rampage in the hallways of some of the classrooms, he killed 17 people, 1a students of three teachers and he injured 17 as well. in fact, went back several times to students he had shot and shot them again to make sure they were dead. a particularly brutal execution of a mass shooting. he was captured shortly after he left the school he had managed to blend in with students but was picked up. eventually he pleaded guilty, the facts were quite clear, surveillance cameras had picked them up surveillance cameras had picked them up on their images, he was

recognised by witnesses so he pleaded guilty last fall. the trial now is about whether he will face the death penalty, as you said or whether he will get life without parole. so the opening statement of the prosecutor basically tried to recreate the terror of the day, he went to the timeline of what happened, he named each of the victims that were killed, their names, the ages, how many times they were shot. he emphasised those times when the defendant went back and shot his victims again. this is something that would be needed as evidence to prove the aggravating factors are heinous crime element of the accusations in order to warrant the accusations in order to warrant the death penalty. there are family members in the courtroom, about 50 people sitting there listening to this, it's been a very difficult morning for them, very heavy atmosphere. some broke down, many close their eyes looked shaken, one had to leave the classroom. were going to be facing a number of months of testimony that's going to bring to light these very terrible

days for the families who lost their loved ones. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. in the uk, four candidates remain in the conservative leadership race to replace borisjohnson as prime minister. tom tugenhadt was eliminated in the latest round of voting. of the four that remain, the former chancellor rishi sunak tops the polls followed by penny mourdant. the final two will be whittled down by wednesday, before conservative party members decide the winner. sri lanka's acting president, ranil wickremesinghe, has said the country's negotiations with the international monetary fund over an emergency bailout are nearing conclusion. there's been no comment from the imf but there've been growing calls from sri lankan politicians for the lender to be more mindful of the scale of the crisis on the island. meanwhile, parliament is scheduled to elect a new president on wednesday. protesters are against the election of mr wickremesinghe, who they consider to be too close

to the family of the former president, gota baya rajapa ksa. and before we go — a return to our top story on that intense heatwave in europe. one of the key things in times like this is to make sure to stay cool in this hot weather. our medical editor, fergus walsh, has some tips. the uk simply isn't used to this and nor are our bodies. oh, its warm in here, isn't it? this is the heat chamber at st mary's university, twickenham. that is warm. it's been used by sporting greats like andy murray and max verstappen. but even an amateur like me can show how heat affects our physiology. as my core body temperature starts to creep up, blood vessels near the surface of the skin open up, pushing heat to the surface, trying always to keep that core body temperature on an even keel.

that can mean a drop in blood pressure as the heart works harder. now, another key way in which my body regulates its core temperature is through sweat. that's why dehydration can quickly become a problem. working out in this heat is not recommended, but staying fit all year round is. people who regularly exercise are regularly experiencing higher body temperatures internally because you produce a lot of heat when you exercise. so then that leads to better preparation for these heatwaves. the elderly and those with heart and lung conditions are most at risk from extreme heat, but even the young and fit can feel the effects. too long in the sun can lead to heat exhaustion. symptoms include headache, dizziness, nausea, heavy sweating and pale, clammy skin. left untreated, it can

progress to heat stroke, a medical emergency. this whole area is in the sun the whole time. stjohn ambulance are a familiar sight at public events in all weathers, on hand to offer help and advice. so what should you do if you come across someone with heat exhaustion? you want to bring them out of direct sunlight somewhere cool where they can lie down, raise their legs, encouraging blood flow back to the brain. hydrate them as much as possible with clear fluids, so water. and if they're not recovering in about 30 minutes, we'd recommend phoning 111. and the health advice is simple — stay in the shade, drink water, use sunscreen and keep an eye on the vulnerable. fergus walsh, bbc news. good advice. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. thanks forjoining us. from me and the team as fergus walsh was saying,

do stay safe, stay cool, make sure you are hydrated. thank you for watching. hello there. monday's heat was extraordinary, not least because it covered a really wide area. 38.2 celsius the highest temperature recorded in santon downham in suffolk, very close to the all—time uk record. jersey had its how to stay on record. wales had its hottest day on record as well, and with this met office red warning for extreme heat still in force through tuesday, some places could see temperatures get even higher than that. because we start tuesday morning in a wedge of exceptionally hot air. this is actually the air overhead. the hottest it will have been throughout the whole of this heatwave period. so as the sun gets to work on that after starting temperatures like these, well, those values will really start

to rise very quickly as we go through the morning where we hold onto sunshine. most of us will have a sunny start, further east you are, you can expect to keep its positive sunshine through into the afternoon potentially one or two showers, but for northern ireland, for wales, the southwest of england, we are going to see more cloud, maybe some showers and thunderstorms working in here, cloud bringing some rain into western parts of scotland as well. for western parts, a little bit cooler than it has been, but further east, still some extremely high temperatures maybe middle 30s across parts of southern scotland. and for some of the central and eastern parts of england and the temperatures could climb to 40—a2 celsius. so that would be unprecedented. through tuesday night, we will see some rain across northern scotland and some showers and thunderstorms elsewhere. starts to turn a little bit fresher from the west, by the end of the night, temperatures in glasgow and belfast will be around 1a degrees. still very warm across central and eastern parts of england, still in the midst of this very warm air. but we do see these cooler

conditions pushing in from the west as we get into wednesday. so a different feel to the weather on wednesday, we will see some showers around, maybe some thunderstorms popping up, perhaps most especially across central and eastern parts of england as we go through the afternoon. some spells of sunshine as well, but temperatures much lower, still 28—29 celsius across eastern england, more like 19 celsius for northern ireland and the western side of scotland. we stick with those cooler conditions for the rest of the week. there will be some sunny spells, but some bursts of rain at times, some of that rain could be heacy possibly thundery. bye for now.

this is bbc news. the headlines.. wildfires continue to spread — as much of western europe has been sweltering under an intense heatwave. severe warnings have been issued in britain and france, while parts of northern spain registered temperatures of forty— three degrees celsius. britain's first extreme heat warning has come into effect, with parts of southern england expected to reach forty celsius laterfor the first time. the government says it's treating the unprecedented red alert as a national emergency. the sentencing trial has begun for the man who carried out the deadliest attack on a us high school. the jury will decide what penalty nikolas cruz will pay for killing seventeen people at his former school, in parkland, florida, in 2018. four candidates remain in britain's conservative leadership race to replace borisjohnson

as prime minister. tom tugenhadt was eliminated in the latest round of voting.