welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: the heat and the havoc, as the uk records its highest ever temperatures the heatwave sparks dozens of fires around london. in europe, they're still fleeing the fires in their thousands. wildfires continue to affect countries right across the continent. in the us, 17 members of congress from the democratic party are arrested at an abortion rights protest outside the supreme court in washington. is it a netflix horror show? what's the true impact for the streaming service as it loses a million subscribers?

hello and thank you forjoining us. of more than a0 degrees celsius have been recorded for the very first time. the heatwave has caused widespread disruption and a major incident has been declared in london, where the mayor sadiq khan said fire crews were struggling to cope. the un's climate chief has warned heatwaves like the one gripping western europe are becoming more frequent. our first report is from our climate editorjustin rowlatt. with today's searing heat came fires, and lots of them. huge plumes of smoke rose above london as grassfires engulfed homes on the outskirts of the capital. the london fire brigade declared a major incident. a number of the calls that we've been dealing with today have been wildfires or grassfires, where the ground

has been tinder box dry result of the weather over the last week, but in particular, the last two days. temperature records were tumbling before midday today. the 39.1 degrees recorded at charlwood near gatwick airport was a warning of what was to come. within an hour, another record had been set at another airport — 40.2 celsius at heathrow. by mid—afternoon, we got a new provisional heat record for the uk when coningsby in lincolnshire reached 40.3 celsius. and here was a new provisional record for scotland, too, incinerating the previous record. we've been beating records by 1.5, two degrees, and really quite an extensive region of over 35 degrees, and this is really unusual. these are high temperatures over a broad area in england, so quite surprising. just look how today's temperatures compared to previous records.

in 1976, it peaked just shy of 36 degrees. it was 27 years before that record was broken. 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? and it isn'tjust getting hotter. years ago, temperatures would only reach peaks like this in the far south. but look how these high temperatures are moving north and west across the country. 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 heatwave plans are suitable, fit for purpose and they're going to work when the next heatwave kicks in. as individuals, we can recognise 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 take 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 everyone 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 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.

ido i dojust i do just want to focus or a moment on some of the buyers that have been breaking out here in the uk. we have talked in particular about the east of london. this was the scene east of london where a small fire in a back garden quickly turned into an inferno that ripped through several houses. there have been fires in other areas too, with bone dry conditions providing ideal conditions for blazes to spread. we are being told that temperatures are at least beginning to cool. it has been above all perhaps in terms of what we have seen, it has been brands were the most devastating fires have taken hold. mostly along the country's atlantic coast. tens of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes. 0ur 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 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 for the locals, for the tourists who come here, it's upsetting. and of course, us firemen feel the same way, but itjust makes us more determined to finish thejob. a short drive away, rachel has

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. this situation is really scary. it's something that is so out of our control and heatwaves are happening more and more. we are surrounded by forest and it's really something that's 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. we have climate critical coming up we have climate critical coming up in a few minutes where we will focus on the impact of those forest fires so stay with us for that. now to washington, where 17 democratic members of congress have been arrested at an abortion rights protest outside the supreme court. the group includes alexandria 0casio—cortez, a prominent member of the progressive wing of the democratic party. the congresswoman and her colleagues have been led away by police after blocking a nearby street as part of a civil disobedience rally. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes told us what the significance of the protest is. this was quite a small protest in all about 35 people were arrested. about 50% of those

were members of congress, 17 in all. i think what the purpose of this was was to simply keep this issue in the headlines and it succeeded in doing that. there have been many other protests since the supreme court �*s ruling a few weeks ago that were much bigger than this one. there is a concern among some democratic�*s especially those in a progressive wing of the party but the administration could perhaps have done more and have responded a bit more strongly to what the supreme court did. although, mr biden has settled several occasions that to some extent his hands are tied and there is very little he could do. now, perhaps looking ahead to the november elections and from his perspective hoping that more democrats are elected and then meaningful legislation could be passed, it could be got through both houses that could guarantee abortion rights across the country. you could guarantee abortion rights across the country.— could guarantee abortion rights across the country. you make a really interesting _ across the country. you make a really interesting point - across the country. you make a really interesting point there i really interesting point there that the november midterms are really important. this is a massive issue which i think the

biden administration would look at and think we need to capitalise on this, but when you have a progressive arm of the party pushing them and criticising them for not doing enough it is a double—edged sword. it enough it is a double-edged sword. , w sword. it is tricky, isn't it for the — sword. it is tricky, isn't it for the democrats. - sword. it is tricky, isn't it for the democrats. how i sword. it is tricky, isn't it. for the democrats. how to position this debate over the next few months. you are absolutely right, there is one wing of the party that are pushing, pushing, pushing, another wing saying there is very little we can do right now other than to highlight it as an issue at the ballot box. it will be quite unusual if the issue like abortion or indeed something like rights were to dominate a mid—term election especially this year when americans are hurting through the economic crisis and cost of living crisis, that is perhaps more likely to feature in people's mines when it comes to voting in november. as far as abortion is concerned, it is perhaps the only or main hope in the foreseeable future of something changing.

let's get some of the day's other news. 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. 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 $aa billion, but subsequently argued it misled him and the regulator. china 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.

just three candidates remain in the race to be britain's next prime minister. the penultimate round of voting by mps saw kemi badenoch feliminated. 0n wednesday rishi sunak, penny mordaunt and liz truss will face another vote by mps before the two leading candidates face a vote by conservative party members. the streaming giant netflix has just reported its second quarter results. it lost nearly a million subscribers from april throuthune, fewer than than the 2 million customers the company had warned investors it would lose. 0r thought it might lose. well, to help crunch the latest numbers from netflix we can now speak to wade payson—denney from parrot analytics. they help the media industry understand audience streaming demand. were you surprised by

these latest figures? i demand. were you surprised by these latest figures?— these latest figures? i was. i definitely — these latest figures? i was. i definitely thought _ these latest figures? i was. i definitely thought they - these latest figures? i was. i| definitely thought they would report a significantly larger loss. but like you said it is all about the expectation game. that is one thing they have been consistently good at. they know how to play that game and went to lowball how things will be in the next quarter. look, it is a win for net leaks. it is also a win for the entire streaming and entertainment industry. i streaming and entertainment indust . ~ ., ., streaming and entertainment indust . «a, ., ., industry. i think a lot of competitors... - industry. i think a lot of competitors... why - industry. i think a lot of competitors... why do | industry. i think a lot of. competitors... why do you industry. i think a lot of- competitors... why do you say that. they are still losing the best part of 1 that. they are still losing the best part of1 million subscribers. that is the hard nuts and bolts of this. you are riuht. i nuts and bolts of this. you are right. ithink— nuts and bolts of this. you are right. i think the _ nuts and bolts of this. you are right. | think the ceo - nuts and bolts of this. you are right. i think the ceo did - nuts and bolts of this. you are right. i think the ceo did a - right. i think the ceo did a good job on the video making it clear that these are losses, he did not bang the drum as much as a lot of outside analysts and obviously net leaks and obviously net lea ks stockholders and obviously net leaks

stockholders would have. i think if they are losing subscribers at a smaller rate than they expected, it is a big win, i think. than they expected, it is a big win, ithink. maybe than they expected, it is a big win, i think. maybe we will get to this inner sex. i think the stranger things was such a crucial player in helping netflix stem the bleeding. without that show they would have been down as much as they expected. the show exceeded their expectations and our expectations.— expectations. that is the challenge _ expectations. that is the challenge in _ expectations. that is the challenge in a _ expectations. that is the challenge in a way - expectations. that is the challenge in a way and l expectations. that is the - challenge in a way and maybe thatis challenge in a way and maybe that is the hallmark of every day is netflix coming up with outstanding series or documentaries or what might be that brought people in. once you are in, let's be honest, there is a lot of marsh to wade through actually. it is not all star—studded brilliant television, is it? star-studded brilliant television, is it? that's ri . ht. television, is it? that's right- i— television, is it? that's right. ithink— television, is it? that's right. i think we've - television, is it? that'sl

right. i think we've seen television, is it? that's - right. i think we've seen that in notjust netflix losing subscribers but all its competitors gaining subscribers, gaining demand share. we measured demand for content. we found that demand for original series is a leading indicator of subscriber growth. that is why it is so important and we measure and publicise those figures. this past quarter was the first time ever that netflix's six main competitors, disney plus, hooroo, paramount plus, they had a larger market share than netflix labelling when it comes to original series. the first time ever. that is a huge sign of how much things are shifting. in a much larger the market is becoming. netflix will keep losing shares it is a question of whether they can build their total demand of content. ., ., ., ., content. you cannot have it all to yourself— content. you cannot have it all to yourself what _ content. you cannot have it all to yourself what it _ content. you cannot have it all to yourself what it is _ content. you cannot have it all to yourself what it is backward | to yourself what it is backward for that long. good to speak to

you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: it's notjust temperatures at a record high in the uk the hunt is on for the winner of the biggest ever lottery jackpot — do you have the hottest ticket in town? 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 news, the latest headlines: the uk records its highest ever temperatures with the heatwave sparking dozens of fires around london. in the us, 17 members of congress from the democratic party are arrested at an abortion rights protest outside the supreme court in washington. every week at this time we focus on an issue affecting the state of our planet and in climate critical this

week, guess what? it's that extended heatwave over much of europe and north africa, with temperatures reaching their highest ever — even here in the uk we have now joined the a0 degress celsius club. but it's what the heat is bringing with it that is proving so damaging. raging wildfires and forest fires. we've seen them in portugal, there are more than 30 still alight in spain, while the southwest of france has been ravaged by blazes along the coast. and here's the knock—on: european union scientists say the fires in spain and morocco injune and july have produced more carbon emissions than the same period in any year since records began in 2003. we've seen all this in other parts of the world too, of course, from siberia to california and australia. james maccarthy is a research analyst with global forest watch at the world resources institute. he joins us from washington. thank you for your time, james.

let's start, you are monitoring all of these, are we seeing a rising number of forest fires in particular around the world? yes, some new data out of the university of maryland confirms what we long suspected, and thatis what we long suspected, and that is forest fires have gotten worse over the last two decades. right now you are seeing that enhanced in spain, three orfour times seeing that enhanced in spain, three or four times higher than average in spain for this time of year and definitely an increase the cloth globe. the oint is increase the cloth globe. the point is about _ increase the cloth globe. the point is about forest fires. it is doing something we desperately don't need and that is further c02 desperately don't need and that is further co2 emissions. how much c02 is being pumped into the atmosphere as a result of these forest fires? i the atmosphere as a result of these forest fires?— these forest fires? i want to be clear that _ these forest fires? i want to be clear that fossil - these forest fires? i want to be clear that fossil fuel - be clear that fossil fuel emissions are by be clear that fossilfuel emissions are by far be clear that fossil fuel emissions are by far the biggest contributor to climate change across the globe. if you do consider global foreign

missions across all land cover types, if you combine them all and consider them as their own country as a standalone, they would rank as one of the top countries for producing carbon dioxide emissions. globally, they do add up to a large value but in the us for example, really, on an annual basis, only 6% of the total fossil fuel emissions for the country but then again the us is a larger emitter of fossil fuels and that is why it has such a small number.— and that is why it has such a small number. you say only 696, but that is _ small number. you say only 696, but that is 696 _ small number. you say only 696, but that is 696 we _ small number. you say only 696, but that is 696 we were - small number. you say only 696, but that is 696 we were hoping i but that is 6% we were hoping we would not have to deal with at all, still quite a huge amount and i suppose it is this painful reality that it is a vicious circle, isn't it? we are having fires, they are putting more c02 in the atmosphere, leading to more heating which will lead presumably to get more forest fires? .. , ,

fires? exactly. this fire climate _ fires? exactly. this fire climate feedback - fires? exactly. this fire climate feedback loop | fires? exactly. this fire l climate feedback loop is fires? exactly. this fire - climate feedback loop is one of the biggest concerns we haven't really the best thing we can do right now is to decrease the amount of fossil fuels we burn. climate change as you mentioned is the thing driving heat we are seeing. they are now five times more frequent than they were 50 years ago. thanks to some of the changes in the climate. yeah, the single most important thing we can do to help both reduce climate change and author reduce the number of fires we are seeing is to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. �* ., , ., fuels. i'm not sure of the numbers. _ fuels. i'm not sure of the numbers, you _ fuels. i'm not sure of the numbers, you may- fuels. i'm not sure of the numbers, you may or. fuels. i'm not sure of the| numbers, you may or may fuels. i'm not sure of the - numbers, you may or may not know but the number of trees being lost compared to the number being planted year on year but does the replanting of trees, would it cover the loss? great question. right now, we're definitely seeing the globe there is a net decrease

injury, so the answer to your question is we're not quite replacing them at a neutral level but there is certainly more we could be doing in that respect. more we could be doing in that resect. �* ., respect. but there are other issues that _ respect. but there are other issues that come _ respect. but there are other issues that come with - respect. but there are other issues that come with this i respect. but there are other l issues that come with this and i was talking to some people who live about 2.5 hours from the forest fires in south—west france and they are coping with the smoke coming up from the south and the smoke from those forest fires is crossing the whole country and that brings with it its own human health issues. it does extend beyond us just talking about the climate?— us just talking about the climate? . , , climate? that is definitely true. i know _ climate? that is definitely true. i know that - climate? that is definitely true. i know that the - climate? that is definitely true. i know that the fires| climate? that is definitely l true. i know that the fires in 2015 in south east asia, there were some studies out of harvard university that found an increase in about 100,000 premature deaths due to the smoke related in fires in that

area. it definitely is a health concern as well as the direct impact that fires have on property. i do want to stress also that not all fires are bad. we do need some fires in a lot of ecosystems. the problem comes when you have fires that are more frequent than they have been in the past and more intense. low intensity fires can actually be really helpful in preventing longer—term fire risk. in preventing longer-term fire risk. ~ . , . , in preventing longer-term fire risk. . , ., risk. which is a very fair oint risk. which is a very fair point but _ risk. which is a very fair point but perhaps - risk. which is a very fair point but perhaps we're| risk. which is a very fair - point but perhaps we're getting just too many fires for everyone's liking at the moment! thank you forjoining us, james mccarthy from the global forest watch. if you're in the uk and you took part in tuesday's euromillions lottery you might want to check your numbers right about now. 0ne ticket—holder has scooped a jackpot of nearly £200 million! that's more than $235 million in what's being described as the biggest uk

lottery win of all time. the bbc�*s tim allman reports. it was only two months ago that joe and jess thwaite celebrated their immense good fortune. their numbers had come up, and they had won £18a million in the euromillions lottery. but now they seem almost like paupers as an even biggerjackpot is about to be claimed. in the latest draw, a uk ticket holder has won £195 million. that is worth around $23a million. in a statement, camelot said:. ...millions of dollars, get those tickets out! of course, the best thing about it is a lot of money but it pales in comparison with some other lottery jackpot winners. in america, these sort of big

pay—outs are not that unusual. a mother of two, mavis, received a cheque for more than $758 million five years ago. and spain's el gordo, or the fat one, is an annual christmas tradition that has a prize fund of nearly 3—billion euros, although the winnings are spread around in much smaller numbers. as for the latest lucky winner, they willjoin a long line people celebrating with a champagne and a big cheque. it could be you. it almost certainly won't be... ..but you never know. tim allman, bbc news. 0nly only one lucky ticket winner so bear that in only one lucky ticket winner so bearthat in mind. only one lucky ticket winner so bear that in mind. reminding you ofa main bear that in mind. reminding you of a main story. the extraordinary temperatures rising across much of the uk, more than 30 places around the uk beating the previous record by best part of 1.5 celsius. so

we have had a temperature rise of over a0 celsius in the uk. hello. 0ur historic and unprecedented heatwave is now coming to an end, but on tuesday, we recorded a new provisional uk record of a0.3 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, still 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 across eastern parts of england, but with some spells of sunshine. 0ut 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 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, 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. 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: here in the uk, temperatures of more than a0 degrees celsius have been recorded for the first time. and the previous high was broken more than thirty times around the country. the heat caused widespread disruption and sparked a number of fires near london. 17 democratic members of the us congress have been arrested at an abortion rights protest outside the supreme court in washington. they were led away by police after blocking a nearby street as part of a civil disobedience rally. steve bannon, the anti—establishment outsider who helped donald trump's election campaign — has gone on trial for refusing to testify about the january 6 assault on the us capitol. the former white house advisor pleaded not guilty to contempt

of congress charges. now on bbc news: panorama. i think it's very sad but its

politics. i think it's like in