welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... soaring temperatures break records in the uk, with the heatwave triggering dozens of fires in london. wildfires are also spreading in many areas across europe, with experts warning about the danger to human health. protests continue in sri lanka, but the country will have a new president on wednesday. three candidates have been nominated by parliament to replace the outgoing gotabaya rajapaksa. vladimir putin travels to tehran to meet the leaders of iran and turkey and holds talks with turkey's president about restarting the export of ukrainian grain. live from our studio in singapore...

this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. it's six in the morning here in singapore and ”pm in london, where the uk has recorded temperatures of more than a0 degrees celsius for the first time. the heatwave has caused widespread disruption on the railway network, and there have been a large number of fires in parks and grasslands. a major incident has been declared in london, where the mayor, sadiq khan, said fire crews were struggling to cope. this comes as the un's climate chief has warned that heatwaves such as the one currently gripping western europe are becoming more frequent. our first report is from our climate editor, justin rowlatt.

with today's searing heat came fires, and lots of them. huge plumes of smoke rose above london as grass fires engulfed homes. on the outskirts of the capital. the fire brigade declared a major incident. a number of the calls we have been dealing with today have been wild fires or grass fires, where the ground has been tinder box dry result of the weather. in particular the last two days. temperature records were tumbling before midday, the 39.1 temperature records were tumbling before midday. the 39,1 recorded near gatwick airport was a warning. within an hour another record, 40.2 at heathrow. by mid—afternoon, we got a new record when coningsby in lincolnshire reached 40.3 celsius. there was a new provisional

record for scotland, too, we've been beating records by 1.5 and 2 degrees, and this is unusual. these are high temperatures over a broad area, so quite surprising. look at today's temperatures compared to previous records. in 1976, it peaked just shy of 36 degrees. 16 years after that, it hit 38.7 celsius. just three years later, and we've got today's new record. who would have thought over a0 degrees in the uk? years ago, temperatures would only reach peaks like this in the far south. but look how the temperatures are moving north and west. the heat is getting more intense

and it is spreading, and, say climate scientists, we need to prepare for more in the coming years. the first thing organisations can do is make sure their heat wave plans| are suitable and fit for purpose and they're going to work. - as individuals, we can recognise l that heat waves are not fun things to enjoy. they can be damaging - and really affect our health. it was certainly too hot for most tourists in cambridge today. those brave enough to tkae to the river brought their own shelter, and they needed it. the only sensible place to be was in the shade, and that says something important about our changing world. this really ought to be a critical warning for even in this country, but especially our policymakers, that climate change is not something to be ignored. it's a really critical issue that we have to address as a a country, and as a world. some people did find ways to cool down.

but the message from scientists is clear — if we want to stop britain and the world getting even hotter, we need to start cutting emissions and quickly. justin rowlatt, bbc news, cambridge. so, that's the situation in the uk. let's take you to the rest of europe now, and start with france, where fire crews in the southwest of the country are battling to control wildfires spreading along the atlantic coast. tens of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes near bordeaux. our correspondent lucy williamson was at the scene and sent this report from one of the affected areas. in teste—de—buch, we drove towards the fire following fire towards the fire, following fire crews as they disappeared into the smoke. all around us, the forest still smouldered, waiting for a chance to reignite. you can really taste and smell the smoke in the air here. fire crews have been battling these

fires for a week now, and while they're contained in parts, they're still not under control despite the drop in temperatures. you can see some of them still working over here. the key concern now is preventing any fresh fires from taking hold. they talk about an apocalypse here. last week, it was paradise. these campsites carry evidence of both. holiday memories spat out by the flames. the guests evacuated last week. translation: it's heartbreaking l for the locals, for the tourists l who come here, it's upsetting. and of course, us firemen feel the same way, but itjust makes us more determined to finish the job. a short drive away, rachel has been packed for days. been packed for days, her husband's old camper van stashed with water. and then, we've got a couple of baskets... anything irreplaceable, packed into a bag. you could actually taste the smoke in your mouth. it was really disconcerting, this acrid taste. and there was ash

falling from the sky. the situation is really scary. it's something that is so out of our control and heat waves are happening more and more. we are surrounded by forest and it's really something that has made us ask the question, are we going to go back to england perhaps because of it? it's frightening. across the border in spain, angel was caught on camera yesterday heading out in his bulldozer to dig a firebreak. now you see him, now you don't. it's the closest escape imaginable. this is what the apocalypse looks like up close. and this is what it looks like to survive it. lucy williamson, bbc news, teste—de—buch. well, the searing heat has also caused fires in greece, where a fire has broken out in a mountainous area near the capital athens.

an official said it was not yet threatening any homes, but would be difficult to control. it's notjust europe feeling the heat. more than a0 million people in the united states are under heat alerts. there have been small wildfires in texas, and the use of power there and in other central states is expected to break all—time highs in coming days as people turn up air conditioners. president biden is expected to outline his next steps to tackle climate change on wednesday. lots more on our website for you on this — and i want to just point you to this story, where you can take a look at what life is like at a0 degrees celsius for folks in other cities, including abuja, delhi, madrid and sydney. there's information there on how to stay cool and safe when dealing with these soaring temperatures — and also how countries that have dealt with super high temperatures and extreme weather have prepared themselves for the hot weather. that's on bbc.com/news or simply download the bbc news app — that is, of course, if you haven't already.

let's leave the heatwave for now and take a look at the other stories in the headlines today. steve bannon, the anti—establishment outsider who helped bring donald trump to the white house, is now on trial for refusing to testify about the january 6 assault on the us capitol. bannon has pleaded not guilty to the contempt charges. the two charges he faces are misdemeanours, but if found guilty, each carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days injail. a judge in the us state of delaware has ruled that the dispute between the tech billionaire elon musk and the social media company twitter should go to trial in october. mr musk had tried to buy twitterfor $41; billion, but subsequently argued it misled him and the regulator. china's government has warned it would take "forceful measures" if nancy pelosi, the speaker of the us house of representatives, visited taiwan. this comes after the financial times reported about plans

for ms pelosi to go to taiwan next month.taiwan�*s foreign ministry said it has "not received relevant information" about any visit. presidentjoe biden and jill biden have welcomed the first lady of ukraine, olena zelenska, to the white house. the wife of president zelensky is in the us for a series of bilateral meeting with american officials and will address lawmakers on capitol hill on wednesday. still to come a bit later in the programme — and then there were three. which is heating up, but first... turning to another big story today — sri lanka is facing a major vote political direction. and widely hated gotabaya rajapaksa, but there's a problem — two of them are closely associated with the former president, or his party.

sri lanka, you'll remember, is in economic meltdown, and needs some semblance of political stability to negotiate an emergency imf loan. for more, i'm join by the editor of the independent newspaper and a tv host in sri lanka. he's currently in north wales. it's great to get you on the programme, and i want to start by asking you, what are your expectations for that vote today? are you expecting it to go smoothly? yes, we don't see any reason to doubt that it will go smoothly. it's the result that people will be waiting to see, especially because all three contestants are having their own problem. truth?

all three contestants are having their own problem.— all three contestants are having their own problem. why don't you collaborate- _ their own problem. why don't you collaborate. give _ their own problem. why don't you collaborate. give us— their own problem. why don't you collaborate. give us a _ their own problem. why don't you collaborate. give us a think - their own problem. why don't you collaborate. give us a think dome| collaborate. give us a think dome accents of the issues are the candidates?— accents of the issues are the candidates? , ., , , ., candidates? -- give us a sense of. the acting — candidates? -- give us a sense of. the acting prime _ candidates? -- give us a sense of. the acting prime minister- candidates? -- give us a sense of. the acting prime minister who - candidates? -- give us a sense of. the acting prime minister who is i the acting prime minister who is also the acting president is also a person with quite a lot of history, and protesters have already named him and educating against him returning to any form of position within the ruling party. however, he was the only person who came forward when the outgoing president gotabaya rajapaksa asked for help to try and form a national government. he was the only one who came over, but he has his own history. the other person is from the rajapaksa party.

there is unhappiness as well about that because it sort of indicates to the public that he may be acting on behalf of the rajapaksa family. and finally, we have the marxist party nominee. he has a certain amount of following, but he's only got three seats in parliament. so, what we now see is an opposition party and all the other opposition parties have pitched in and are saying they look backin pitched in and are saying they look back in an attempt to stop him from becoming the next president for the balance of the term. 50 becoming the next president for the balance of the term.— balance of the term. so much

instability. — balance of the term. so much instability, as _ balance of the term. so much instability, as you've - balance of the term. so much instability, as you've just - instability, as you've just described. all of this happening against an economic collapse in sri lanka, and trying to get out of this involves the help of the imf. how do you see that playing out? well. involves the help of the imf. how do you see that playing out?— you see that playing out? well, i believe that _ you see that playing out? well, i believe that no _ you see that playing out? well, i believe that no land _ you see that playing out? well, i believe that no land will- you see that playing out? well, i believe that no land will consider lending to a country that has no stability in terms of governance. all these lenders will be looking to see where the stability will begin again. that's very important because right now, sri lanka's economy is measured in endless queues — for petrol, for diesel, for cooking, gas and so on. and the queues are intense. mainly because three link —— sri lanka has no foreign reserves to pay for these imports. -- sri lanka has no foreign reserves

to pay for these imports.— to pay for these imports. indeed. thank you — to pay for these imports. indeed. thank you so _ to pay for these imports. indeed. thank you so much _ to pay for these imports. indeed. thank you so much for— to pay for these imports. indeed. thank you so much forjoining - to pay for these imports. indeed. i thank you so much forjoining us on the programme with your thoughts on that situation in sri lanka. we will have more on that a little later on in the programme. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme — we'll have more on sri lanka for you, this time looking at the country's famous tea estates, and how they're faring during these troubled times. a special report coming up. coming down the ladder now. one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. a catastrophic engine fire has been 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 l 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 spurn quantity and an increase in there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity and an increase in malfunctioning sperm unable to swim properly. thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quietly this luncyhtime as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... soaring temperatures break records in britain, with the heatwave triggering a surge of fires in london. the london fire brigade declared a major emergency. wildfires are also spreading in many areas across europe, particularly in spain and france. there are warnings about the danger to human health.

let's move away from that heatwave story for now, and take you to iran, where russian president vladimir putin has met turkish and iranian leaders in tehran. this is only his second foreign trip since he launched the invasion of ukraine in february. unblocking ukrainian grain exports via the black sea was high on the agenda, and mr putin said progress had been made. i'mjoin i'm join now by sina azodi at the university of south florida. it's great to get you on the programme, mr azodi. great to get you on the programme, mrazodi. how do great to get you on the programme, mr azodi. how do you think the visit went? i mr azodi. how do you think the visit went? , ., , went? i believe that president putin's trip — went? i believe that president putin's trip was _ went? i believe that president putin's trip was quite - went? i believe that president| putin's trip was quite essential went? i believe that president i putin's trip was quite essential in the context of what we've been hearing. recently, we heard that chiron supplied drones to russia ——

iran. they did not confirm it. so i believe there's a possibility that the discussion over drones will come in. i think also that there is trade involved. iran has issued a statement announcing that the largest investment in iran's oil industry has been signed with russia. so i think it is an important trade for both iran and russia, which both have been isolated due to the sanctions of the united states and the west. mr azodi, it's not like iran and russia have been fast friends, to use a colloquial phrase. if this —— this is this more of a marriage of convenience than a long—lasting relationship? convenience than a long-lasting

relationship?— convenience than a long-lasting relationshi? ~ , ., relationship? absolutely. there have been times that _ relationship? absolutely. there have been times that russia _ relationship? absolutely. there have been times that russia has _ been times that russia has undermined i iran's interest. when iran was selling oil to china at a discounted price, russia also began selling its oil to china at a discounted price. the money that iran desperately needs to run the economy. previously, russia has used this defence contract with iran to basically push iran where it wants to. so, and syria too, iran and russia have mutual interest. that is why they cooperated in syria. but are they strategic allies? i believe they're not. mr are they strategic allies? i believe they're not-— they're not. mr azodi, i “ust want to turn to — they're not. mr azodi, i “ust want to turn to turkey h they're not. mr azodi, ijust want to turn to turkey because - they're not. mr azodi, ijust want to turn to turkey because their. they're not. mr azodi, i just want l to turn to turkey because their role in all of this interesting. how do

you think nato allies might view this? i you think nato allies might view this? ., �* , ., , , this? i don't believe that this is necessarily a _ this? i don't believe that this is necessarily a concern _ this? i don't believe that this is necessarily a concern for- this? i don't believe that this is necessarily a concern for the i this? i don't believe that this is - necessarily a concern for the west. turkey is reportedly going to conduct an operation in northern syria. iran does see it as a mistake. what the president was in tehran, he said it was a mistake and that it could jeopardise regional security. but i do not believe that the president is concerned for the west and nato. i believe that turkey has its own problems with nato. but especially over the missile systems from russia. as i said, i don't believe this is a major concern for the west and the united states. i

find that surprising because it is a key member of the alliance. it's trying to play this sort of mediator. is that a sensible strategy, and your view? i mean, turkey really _ strategy, and your view? i mean, turkey really tried _ strategy, and your view? i mean, turkey really tried to _ strategy, and your view? i mean, turkey really tried to align - strategy, and your view? i mean, turkey really tried to align itself. turkey really tried to align itself with the west to get itself in the eu, but i believe over the years, they had been disappointed, rather dismayed with the progress of aligning their policies with the west. especially as i said, after they purchased the as/400 missile systems. as much as they... even recently with applications of finland and sweden, i think that turkey has been increasingly causing problems with nato, but i don't

believe that could be a major concern for the western allies. sina azodi, concern for the western allies. sina azodi. thank _ concern for the western allies. sina azodi. thank you — concern for the western allies. sina azodi, thank you very much for joining us on newsday with your thoughts. well, if you want to get in touch with me on any of the stories you've seen so far on newsday — that visit by president putin to iran, for instance — i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma. i would love to hear your thoughts. the race to become the next leader of the conservative party and prime minister has moved another step forward as the four remaining candidates have been reduced to three. kemi badenoch failed to get enough votes from mps to move votes from mps to move into the next round of the contest. the three remaining candidates must now face a further vote on wednesday to pick the final two contenders. the winner will replace borisjohnson in seven weeks' time. back to the situation

in sri lanka now, and whoever takes charge of the country will have to deal with a deep economic crisis. sri lanka is running out of foreign reserves, leading to shortages of fuel and medicine. the country's lucrative tea industry — one of the largest in the world — has been severely affected, too. our correspondent secunder kermani reports from kandy. the tea leaves picked here end up in cups across the world. these lush fields are home to sri lanka's biggest export, but they've been badly hit by this unprecedented economic crisis. "our leaders aren't bothered about providing us with the basic necessities," he says. "they're the ones who have put us in debt by stealing "dollars and spending them however they want. "right now, sri lanka is like a ship stranded at sea." across sri lanka, there are huge queues waiting forfuel, with much of the country grinding to a halt. anger on the streets has already led

to the ousting of the president. in factories, there's frustration. tea exports bring in dollars vital in keeping the economy afloat, but production has been falling. tea has been grown and produced in sri lanka for the past 150 years. the industry employs more than 2 million people and normally brings in more than $1 billion every year. right now, though, like the rest of the island, it's facing its biggest ever crisis. at this factory, like many others, they've cut back on operating times and are worried about what the future holds. without the fuel, we are finding it very, very difficult. if this goes on, we might have to shut down all factories. normally, about 20 lorries are running for us. now we are running

about eight lorries. and with the power cut, there are factories closed down. working three days, four days a week. it's the poorest who are suffering the most right now. tea—pluckers struggle hard all day for little more than the minimum wage. but food prices are soaring. translation: we don't eat lunch any more. - we eat once at around ten in the morning and then again in the evening. for now, life looks likely to get even harderfor sri lankans, whoever ends up leading their country. secunder kermani, bbc news, kandy. hopefully some political stability versus sri lanka. we will be sure to bring you those updates, but for

now, that's it for us. things from us —— thanks forjoining us. hello. our historic and unprecedented heatwave is now coming to an end, but on tuesday, the we recorded a new provisional uk but on tuesday, we recorded a new provisional uk record of 40.3 celsius. normally when we break records, it's by a fraction of a degree, but that's the old record. we've exceeded it by more than one and a half degrees. this is very significant. eastern parts of the uk start wednesday, stood in the grip of some relatively warm air, but out towards the west, something cooler and fresher flowing in from the atlantic. so, waking up to another warm start to cross eastern parts of england, across eastern parts of england, but with some spells of sunshine. out towards the west, wales, the southwest seeing some cloud and some showers, the odd heavy one. those showers drifting eastwards through the day.

quite a lot of cloud for eastern scotland, more brightness further north and west. sunny spells and just the odd shower there for northern ireland. temperatures lower than they have been. still 29 celsius in the east of england — normally we consider that hot, but obviously not as hot as it has been — more like 18—20 for a good part of scotland and northern ireland. now, through the late afternoon and evening, we will see some quite intense thunderstorms across parts of northeast england, the midlands, east anglia, maybe the southeast — quite hit and miss, but some places could get quite a lot of rain in a short time. a lot of cloud holding on across eastern areas, more clear spells out towards the west, but it will be cooler and fresher for all of us as we start thursday morning. now, the next thing i think many of us would really like is some rain, but with high—pressure building in for thursday, some rain, but with high pressure building in for thursday, we're not going to see very much of that. yes, there mayjust be the odd shower here and there, a lot of cloud across central and eastern parts of england, that could produce the odd spot of rain, but for most, it is looking like a dry day. some spells of sunshine, particularly out towards the west. temperatures, though, much lower than they have been at 17—25 celsius north to south.

friday, we stick with that cooler feel. a greater chance of seeing showers on friday, but they certainly won't crop up everywhere. they will be quite hit and miss. some will be heavy, some will be thundery, some will be thundery. best chance of brightness, i think, across southern and southwestern parts, but temperatures much closer to where they should be, actually, for the time of year, 15—23 celsius. as we head into the weekend, the best chance of seeing some rain will be up towards the north and the west of the uk. further south and east, it should stay dry with some spells of sunshine and it will actually start to turn a bit warmer once again.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the uk has registered its highest temperature on record, above 40 degrees celsius. meanwhile, the london fire brigade has declared a major incident after a number of fires broke out around the capital. the heatwave continues in europe with wildfires continuing to spread, particularly in spain and france. with record heat and smoke, there have been warnings about the threat to human health, crops and air quality. president putin has thanked the turkish leader, recep tayyip erdogan, for mediating in talks on the export of grain from ukraine. he said not all issues had been resolved but the fact there was some movement was positive. the protests continue but sri lanka will have a new president on wednesday —

three candidates have been nominated by parliament to replace the outgoing gotabaya rajapaksa.