this is bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories — wildfires tear through european countries, france is now the worst affected, with 30,000 people forced from their homes. up in the woods, you can see guys tackling the fires. there is a huge amount of activity down here, and it is hot, it is smoky — just look at the haze in the trees. the sentencing trial begins for the parkland school gunman, who killed 17 people in 2018. ajury in florida will decide if it's the death penalty or a life sentence. a chinese film—maker appears in court in malawi, charged with child exploitation, following an investigation by the bbc. and here in the uk, it's whittled down to four, in the race to replace borisjoohnson as the uk's next

prime minister, and leader of the conservative party. welcome to our viewers, on pbs in america, and around the globe. in france, they're calling it a "heat apocalypse". across much of europe, excessively high temperatures, wildfires, and, now, water shortages, are having a devastating impact. northern spain has reached 43 degrees, and it's predicted the uk could see record temperatures on tuesday. we'll have more on that, and the role of climate change in a moment. but nowhere has been more affected than southwest france, where 30,000 people have been moved out of their homes, for their own safety, as large areas of forest have been burned out. jessica parker has

our first report. 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 in 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're 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 it's time to leave. back on the main road, the thousands of evacuations were plain to see. smoke means, for many, it's just 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 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'll get to go home? it can be in a few days, it can be in a few weeks.

it's very difficult now to say. but we'll 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 40—degree 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 gironde. as we said, britain is also enduring an intense heatwave, with forecasters expecting a new temperature record on tuesday. monday was the hottest day ever in wales, and a red alert for extreme heat is in force for most of england, warning of a danger to life. the soaring temperatures have disrupted travel, and increased the pressure on the health service. i asked leah stokes, an expert in clean energy and climate policy at the university of california, santa barbara, if people now

accept these heatwaves are caused by climate change. the first scientific study to link a specific event to climate change was actually based on the 2003 heatwave, which killed upwards of 30,000 people in europe. so we have actually known for decades, almost two decades now, that climate change is causing these heatwaves, it's making them more frequent, and more severe, and causing them to kill more people, year after year. you know well, then, you're talking about, i think the french called it "la canicule", at the time, this massive heatwave, and i think they lost some 16,000,17,000 people that summer, but they have not seen that again, at least not up till now, probably won't get it this time, either. so people do struggle, don't they, to believe that it is getting worse and worse, when they look back, 15 years, and say it was worse then. well, climate change was already happening in 2003, that's what the scientific studies showed, and climate change is getting worse year

after year, and what the public opinion polling shows is that, actually, people all across the world, in the united kingdom, europe and, certainly, in the united states, that they understand that climate change is happening now, that it is caused by burning fossil fuels, and they are very worried about it. but do they appreciate what they need to do, what needs to be done, i suppose, on the grandscale? because we're talking about ending fossil fuels. i mean, these are massive steps to take, talk about no more use of gas, ultimately. almost impossible to envisage, in our current situation. well, it is not impossible to envision. what we have to do is clean up our electricity system, by using wind and solar, which of course the united kingdom has been doing a lot of — offshore wind, for example. then what we have to do is electrify our lives, so rather than filling up our car with quite expensive petrol or oil, what we can instead do is run an electric vehicle, whether that's a car or an even an ebike, and that is the exact same technology that you're

using today, it is just actually a lot cheaper. people who have an electric vehicle today have not been hit with inflation in the same way that people who have a gas—powered car. so it really isn't about sacrifice, it is actually about making things more affordable for people all across the world. and then things get in the way, don't they? we've got a war in ukraine, we've got president putin turning off the taps for gas into parts of western europe, in particular. and that exacerbates the calls, really, for, what? do we go back to coal? how do we get more oil? should we pursue more exploitation of oil? well, it also increases the calls for clean technologies, like, for example, heat pumps. heat pumps are an electric—efficient technology to both heat and cool your homes. and, for example, italy, the government is rapidly deploying heat pumps to deal with the difficult winter that's coming up and the gas shortages. they are actually paying people

to put in heat pumps, and that can be done all across europe, and that is the kind of solution that does not involve new fossil fuels. professor leah stokes there. let's turn to the us now, where the sentencing trial of nikolas cruz, who killed 1a students and three members of staff at his former high school in parkland, florida, has begun. this is a relatively rare instance of a mass shooting gunman facing a jury, as they often either take their own lives, or are killed by police. cruz has already pleaded guilty to the killings. in his opening statement, prosecutor mike satz recounted how the attacker planned the shooting. the murders were especially heinous, atrocious or cruel. three days before these brutal murders, this massacre, the defendant in this case made a cellphone video on his cellphone, and this

is what the defendant said, "hello, my name is nick. "i am going to be the next school shooter of 2018. "my goal is at least 20 people with an ar—15 "and some tracer rounds. "it is going to be a big event, and when you see me "on the news, you will know who i am. "you are all going to die. "oh, yeah, i can't wait." 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes has been following the opening of the trial. clearly, the focus is on this, the penalty stage of the trial. are there aggravating circumstances, factors, that justify the death sentence? or are there mitigating circumstances, that we will no doubt hear from the defence later on in the trial? the situations that they that may well justify the death

sentence — and we are hearing those from the prosecution — the fact that this was clearly planned by nikolas cruz, several days, perhaps longer than that, in advance, that the brutal nature of what he did, the fact that he went back to some of his victims repeatedly to shoot them again, to make sure that they were dead. the mitigating circumstances are likely to be accounts of his growing up, of his childhood, his emotional problems, the psychological problems, that we have already heard he suffered from as a young boy. he was 19 years old when this happened, he is 23 now. that is quite simply the choice that the jury has, either the death sentence, a lethal injection, or life in prison, without the possibility of parole. what a challenge for anyjury that must be. there are members, there were relatives and family listening to this testimony as well. that must be so difficult.

it is very clear already from the first few hours of this hearing, this penalty stage — which we expect to go on for four, possibly five months, it's going to be a long drawn—out procedure. we know from the reactions already of some of those people in the courtroom, how difficult it was, once again, to hear repeated — necessarily repeated by the prosecutor as he laid out what happened, as he named all of those people who lost their lives and 17 others who were injured. it was simply too much for some people and they had to leave the courtroom in tears. peter bowes there. jury selection has begun in the trial of steve bannon, the former close aide to donald trump. he faces charges of criminal contempt of congress for refusing to cooperate with the investigation into the storming of the capitol by trump supporters last year.

four contenders remain for the leadership of britain's governing conservative party. after another vote by mps, tom tugendhat, who had not previously served in borisjohnson�*s cabinet, was eliminated, leaving the former chancellor of the exchequer, rishi sunak, in the lead. his nearest rival is penny mordaunt. the winner, to be announced in early september, will automatically be prime minister. here's our political editor chris mason. all talking at once. hubbub in a heatwave? democracy of sorts at dusk. i have the results of the third ballot... round three of conservative mps deciding who they want and who they don't want to be our next prime minister. so tom tugendhat is eliminated from the election. the other candidates are able to go forward to a fourth ballot, which will take place tomorrow...

another defeated candidate, but this time not one willing to endorse anyone else, at least yet. thank you very much, that is the end of the road for me for this race. but look, it's been an amazing run. i'm incredibly proud of the team, i'm incredibly grateful to all the supporters who have been with me. the former chancellor, rishi sunak, is still the frontrunner, nearly doubling his lead over second placed penny mordaunt, who actually lost a vote, compared with round two. good morning. the foreign secretary, liz truss, finished third again, narrowing the gap to penny mordaunt. and here's who finished fourth — kemi badenoch on her way this morning to try to drum up more support. i'm going to be fighting hard for every single vote and i'm not taking anything for granted. but i'm optimistic, thank you. while tory mps voted upstairs, downstairs in the commons chamber, the start of borisjohnson�*s parliamentary swansong.

defeated, but demob happy, pointing out he crushed labour. we sent the great blue tory ferret so far up their left - trouser leg, - they couldn't move. we won the biggest conservative i victory since 1987, the biggest i share of the vote since 1979. we've won seats they never dreamed of losing. - despite knowing that he'd been fired from job afterjob for lying, they elected him to lead their party. and he behaved exactly as everyone feared when he got into downing street. he lurched from one scandal to the next. let's reflect on a man who should never have been put in office in the first place. a man that simply shouldn't be here for a minute longer, because he demonstrated no dignity in office, in the highest office in the land.

and incidentally, what does an outgoing prime minister ejected by his own side do while waiting for his replacement? well, he appears to be enjoying some of the perks of high office, filming himself here, as a passenger in a war plane being refuelled mid air. chris mason, bbc news, at westminster. another boat will take those later in the day. stay with us on bbc news, still to come — the premiere of a new film about the thailand cave rescue. we hearfrom director, ron howard. radio: i see you coming down the ladder now. i that's one small step for man... ..one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight. for the first crash - in the 30—year history of concorde, the world's only

supersonic airliner. _ it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia but now, a decade later, it's been painstakingly rebuilt and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity and an increase in malfunctioning sperm unable to swim properly. seven, six, five... thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: wildfires tear through european countries, france is now the worst affected with 30,000 people forced from their homes.

the sentencing trial begins for the parkland school gunman, who killed 17 people in 2018. ajury in florida will decide if it's the death penalty or a life sentence. a chinese film—maker has appeared in court in malawi charged with child exploitation. lu ke was living in malawi when a bbc investigation reported that he had used local children to film personalised greetings, some of which included racist content. this is the moment he was confronted by the bbc team, which documented how he had used local children and how big a business he was running. runako celina who investigated this story for the bbc�*s africa eye explained how it came about. i mean i lived in beijing, china, for seven years. i had seen these videos for years. you know, this industry, that these videos belonged to has existed for seven years since 2015.

there was bouts of controversy about the industry. but it took all of this time, essentially, for the industry to be shut down. i felt quite strongly that we needed to explore what was powering this exploitation. what was happening around, and who was behind it? so that's the origin. it took us about 1.5 years basically to investigate and find out more. it is a pretty insidious thing to do, i think that is understood. but how popular was it? you obviously saw these quite often. it is part of a massive industry. one thing that i endeavoured to show is how massive the market for these videos are. the investigation has come at a time when this industry is expanding. it is now moving into different markets across the world. you know, we have seen videos like this pop—up in germany and poland, promoted in the taiwanese market and injapan, for example. and so it is extremely

profitable, lu ke himself told us one point in undercover footage that he was able to earn— he was charging 200 chinese yuan per video and was able to shoot 380 in one day. you can imagine with an industry that has been going on for so long how profitable it is. and, lu ke, where's he now? so he allegedly tried to flee to a neighbouring country, zambia. we have been told as of saturday he was extradited to malawi. we are waiting to see what will happen now with the courts and the legal system over there. but this is all now part of a police investigation within malawi? that's correct. confirmed cases of monkeypox in the united states have topped

more than 1800 although the true number is believed to be more than that. the viral disease has been detected in almost 70 countries now around the world. health officials are talking about the increased demand for vaccines in places like york city which is the epis centre of the outbreak in the us. harvard medical school professor dr ali raja told us more. the fact is that every day in the emergency department i have patients who come in, and given our experience with covid, they already have a predilection to being concerned about infectious disease. i get asked every day about how worried we should be about monkeypox. the fact is we need to be aware of the disease so that we are on the lookout for it. if we have patients or if we know family members who have a few days of a fever and lethargy and muscle aches, and then develop that characteristic rash, we need to make sure they are then quarantined and they contact their doctor to arrange for testing. so we all need to be aware of it. but it is not spreading

at a rate that we need to be very concerned about and, as you just mentioned, it has a case fatality rate that is exceptionally low. so it's not the kind of thing that is causing a lot of people to get very, very sick. what we know about monkeypox is that it really does require some sort of direct contact to spread — a break in the skin, oral contact, touching a lesion. it's probably not aerosolised. since we know that it is spread through social networks, it allows for contact tracing and it allows for vaccination of the networks around a close contact. i don't mean to downplay the risk at all, but it is much more containable than something like covid is. back to that heatwave in europe. some parts of the world are used to high temperatures. for those in normally cooler environments, our medical editor,

fergus walsh, has some tips. the uk simply isn't used to this and nor are our bodies. oh, it's 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. panting. 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. back in 2018 the world watched on as a dramatic rescue took place in thailand. the rescue story is now the subject of a new film as claudia redmond reports. four years on from the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a cave in thailand, their story has been brought to the big screen by academy award winning director, ron howard. 13 lives had a special screening in london on monday. it was just so intense but more importantly, underneath all of it, is also a very contemporary theme that we need to remind

ourselves of, and that is how powerful we can all be, internationally or on a community level, when we pull together. you know, it's stunning what was achieved. what are you thinking? just a crazy idea. collin farrell, viggo mortensen and joel edgerton play the heroic rescuers. they prepared for their roles by working with real—life divers rick stanton and john volanthen, who admitted to not knowing who farrell was before filming began. i had no idea who collin was because i'm not really a movie buff but he seems to have done a really good job. he seems to be very diligent. he even took up running as a method actor, as it were. he's done a really good job. the complicated rescue operation back in 2018 took nearly three weeks as the world watched on. ron howard said it was notjust about the heroic divers but an entire community. claudia redmond, bbc news.

a movie to a great story. that is bbc news, thanks 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 at santon downham in suffolk, very close to the all—time uk record. jersey had its hottest day 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. the further east you are, you can expect to keep

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 for the east, still some extremely high temperatures. maybe middle 30s across parts of southern scotland. and for some of these central and eastern parts of england, temperatures could climb to 40—112 celsius. so that would be unprecedented. through tuesday night, we will see some rain across northern scotland and some showers and thunderstorms elsewhere. it starts to turn a little bit fresher from the west, so 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 heavy, possibly thundery. bye for now.

this is bbc news. with me, david eades. the headlines: a ferocious heatwave is continuing to cause wildfires and mass evacuations across western europe and parts of north africa. the sentencing trial for the kawann has begun. thejury will decide whether he will face the death penalty or life in

prison. and