this is bbc news. i'm krupa padhy with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a major disaster is declared in the us state of kentucky after floods cause at least 25 deaths. there's least 25 deaths. no words. it's just ha rd there's no words. it'sjust hard to imagine. there's nothing really that you can do but we are just glad we got out. but we are just glad we got out. back in isolation — president biden tests positive for covid—nineteen — for the second time in nine days. pope francis says health problems are likely to force him to travel less frequently and he may even have to retire. translation: with all honesty, it is not a catastrophe. _ you can change your pope, it's not a problem.

and — england stand on the brink of women's football history — as they take on germany in the european championship final at wembley. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. the us state of kentucky has been hit by its worst floods for decades — killing at least 25 people. hundreds of homes and businesses had been flooded — in the east of the state and president biden has declared it "a major disaster." our north america correspondent peter bowes reports flowing water, powerful enough to sweep away entire homes. torrential rain has wreaked havoc. some areas received more than 20 cm in a 24—hour period.

swollen streams and mudslides have torn through several communities with devastating results. everything's gone. like, everything is gone. my whole life is gone. there's no words. it'sjust hard to imagine. there's nothing, really, that you can do, but we're are just glad that we got out. some areas are difficult for rescuers to reach because local roads have been badly damaged and are impassable, cars engulfed in the muddy waters. there's widespread poverty in the affected areas. making matters worse, tens of thousands of people are now without electricity. the biggest concern is the many people who are still missing. we continue to pray for the families that have suffered an unfathomable loss, some having lost almost everyone in their household. this is still an emergency situation. we are in search

and rescue mode. but again, that count is going to continue to go up. and we don't lose this many people in flooding. this is a real tough one. rescuers fear the search for survivors — and bodies — could last several weeks. scenes like this are becoming more familiar. this part of kentucky has had flash floods before, but nothing on this scale. we didn't have no time to get nothing out of my little apartment in the basement. i lost everything — twice. this makes twice that i've lost everything. and i ain't the only one. we going to have to have some help, more than what they brung in here the last flood. president biden has declared a disasterfor this area, freeing up funds and equipment to help. but the worst may not be over, with more rain expected early next week. this is, according to experts in kentucky, another glimpse into the future, becoming hotter and wetter due to climate change.

peter bowes, bbc news. earlier i spoke to justin horn, a journalist at the lexington herald—leader newspaper, who has been reporting from the scene of the flooding today. the of the flooding today. reaction right now is mostly the reaction right now is mostlyjust the reaction right now is mostly just shock will stop i'm actually from the region and my grandfather was 83 years old and he said he's never seen anything close to this before in his 83 years here. so i've talked to several people who have lost their homes on the ground, some have lost loved ones, cousins, family members, friends. it's reallyjust shock. i mean, what else can you feel at this point? at the same time, this is a resilient people. a generally impoverished population but at the same time they treat each other very well and they have

each other�*s backs. so you've got rate to eight neighbours rescuing neighbours, people making daring escapes. i heard a story of a river lifted a car into his trailer, knocked it over, he was outside and his family was still in the trailer and he was able to swim and rescued them from that trailer. lots of stories of rescue and eventual recovery.— lots of stories of rescue and eventual recovery. you touched a bit they _ eventual recovery. you touched a bit they are — eventual recovery. you touched a bit they are the _ eventual recovery. you touched a bit they are the dynamics, - a bit they are the dynamics, the demographics of that community. looking down your twitter feed, community. looking down your twitterfeed, i noticed that you said that some people who have lost everything, had no insurance. have lost everything, had no insurance-— insurance. right. that's the norm. insurance. right. that's the "am you _ insurance. right. that's the norm. you i've _ insurance. right. that's the norm. you i've asked - insurance. right. that's the norm. you i've asked a - insurance. right. that's the i norm. you i've asked a dozen people at that very question, if they had insurance and i think i've only had one or two people say that they did have insurance on their homes. to give you a sense of the kind of communities most affected, you

do have some downtowns of these towns that got flooded but often times it has been what we call haulers here, there low level hollows and usually centred around tiny streams. those tiny streams just became flowing rivers in an instant for a lot of people. and generally, the community is built around those little streams don't have extravagant means by any stretch of the imagination. so these are people with little recourse. we will see what the fema money does and if those populations are able to navigate that whole bureaucratic process. but that's a question that remains to be seen. it that's a question that remains to be seen-— that's a question that remains to be seen. it was only months auo to be seen. it was only months a . 0 that to be seen. it was only months ago that the — to be seen. it was only months ago that the same _ to be seen. it was only months ago that the same community | ago that the same community was impacted by that extreme weather, that tornado back in december 2021. these are people who are still recovering from one disaster and here they are in the midst of another.

exactly. kentucky has been rattled by extreme weather of late. and there is no way to have this conversation without talking about climate change. with any single event it's hard to say whether this event is directly attributed to climate change but the trend is undeniable here. 0ften change but the trend is undeniable here. often times people like to think of the rising sea levels, which they absolutely should, but at the same time you got these communities built around the streams that have just been totally destabilised. severe thunderstorms have also caused chaos in las vegas. a witness recorded this footage of ceiling panels falling down and water pouring into a restaurant as the storms passed over the city. torrential rain caused heavy flooding and thousands of people have been left without power. more bad weather is forecast in the coming hours.

let's get some of the day's other news. the russian energy company gazprom says it has suspended gas supplies to latvia — the latest eu country to be hit with such action as tensions continue over ukraine. gazprom accused latvia of violating conditions of purchase but gave no details of the alleged violation. the eu says russia's squeezing of energy supplies is in retaliation for western sanctions over moscow's invasion of ukraine. the cuban capital havana will begin electricity blackouts next month to deal with the island's worsening energy crisis. other energy saving plans have been announced, including cancelling next month's carnival, more working from home and mass vacations. the rest of the communist—run island has been experiencing blackouts for months already. in the czech republic, rain and poor visibility

are preventing aircraft from taking off to help put out a forest fire that's been raging for almost a week on the northern border with germany. almost seven hundred firefighters are trying to douse the flames in the bohemian switzerland national park. the rain — which is heavy in prague and other regions — has missed the area of the fire. president biden has tested positive for covid—19 for a second time and is returning to isolation, but his white house doctor says he "continues to feel quite well". the seventy—nine year old president returned the positive test on saturday morning after four consecutive days of negative results. doctors believe biden is suffering a rare case of rebound positivity experienced by some coronavirus patients. in statement posted on twitter, the president himself says he is "feeling fine".

0ur correspondent tara mckelvey explains what a rebound positive test means. there is different numbers that show that people who have been treated with past low bit up testing positive again. some people say as low as 5%, some people say as low as 5%, some people say as low as 5%, some people say it's a0%, people go through the positive test have another one, this rebound. 0ften another one, this rebound. often in most cases these symptoms are relatively mild weather nonexistent as you can see, president biden has made it very clear that he is continuing to work and his doctor says the symptoms have not reappeared and president biden. 0ne not reappeared and president biden. one of mr bidens messages is that things are getting better, he is try to project a very optimistic demeanour during his diagnosis and let people know that things are better in the country. but

there is no question that covid is still part of the fabric of everyday light blue mac life here in the united states and many people are being affected just as the president has been. britain and europe's summer of travel troubles continues — this time it's the trains in the uk again with more disruption on railways this weekend as train drivers walk out in a row over pay. drivers from seven british rail companies are involved in the strike. it's the second this week affecting passengers, with more strikes scheduled for dates in august. this report from our correspondentjudith moritz. folkestone station this morning was a gateway to nowhere. no southeastern trains running and passengers who didn't know about today's strike caught by surprise. so we were planning to go to brighton and now we'll have to find an alternative. probably we'll have to take the bus or something. not right, because i don't go to london very often and i've got a lunch date with my daughter and a friend. but not all stations are closed. though around 5,000 train drivers at seven companies have

walked out over pay on a busy sporting weekend, not all lines are affected. at leeds station, northern rail services are running, but the lner east coast main line is severely reduced. normally, there are two trains every hour that run from here in leeds to london. today, there was one which left first thing this morning, but that's it. the next one won't go to the capital until tomorrow morning. the train drivers union aslef says members like these at leeds haven't been on strike since 1995, and they have a high mandate for action as they push for a pay increase to address the cost of living. what's the magic figure? what are you looking for here? there is no figure. what we're saying is we want a suitable pay offer. look, let's be clear. it's the 1a companies that are controlled by the government that are in a blockage. elsewhere in the industry, we've agreed deals with other companies ranging from about 4.5% up to 8%. what we're saying is give us a suitable pay rise, give us a suitable figure that we can put to our members and if they believe it's the right thing to do,

we move on and the dispute is over. but the transport secretary, grant shapps, has accused militant union leaders of bringing the country to a standstill and the rail delivery group, which represents operating companies, said it was urging the aslef leadership to resume talks. we want the trade unions to come to the table and make sure we have meaningful discussions. the industry continues to lose a significant amount of money, with passenger revenues only back at 75% of what they were pre—pandemic. so it's really important to look at modernisation. with more strikes planned during august, the trains may be hit and miss, but a summer of disruption for passengers does look set to rumble on. judith moritz, bbc news. you are watching bbc news, a reminder of our main stories... a major disaster has been declared in the us state of kentucky, after floods caused at least 25 deaths. president biden is back in isolation — after testing positive for covid—nineteen — for the second time in nine days.

more than 120 people have been injured during protests by supporters of the powerful iraqi cleric moqtada sadra in baghdad. the protesters stormed the iraqi parliament for the second time in three days and have been staging a sit—in inside the parliament building. they oppose the nomination of a pro—iran rival candidate for prime minister. richard galpin reports. twice now this week, protests here in the iraqi capital baghdad leading to parliament being broken into and occupied — supporters of the powerful iraqi cleric moqtada al—sadr venting their anger about the possibility of a pro—iran candidate becoming prime minister. concrete barriers pulled down so they could enter the high—security green zone. more than 100 people have been injured.

iraq's current prime minister, mustafa al—kadhimi, has called for calm. translation: i ask on everyone to maintain peace and calm - and to avoid clashes, and for the citizens not to clash with the security forces, to respect the rule of law of the country. all this the result of many months of stalemate between the political factions, in the quest to create a new government. translation: this is | the longest postelection deadlock iraq has gone through since the days of the old regime. the political forces possess the authority and positions but forget about the iraqi people. there is no budget, no infrastructure. it has been eight months and they could not yet elect a prime minister. moqtada al—sadr, who opposes iranian and american influence in iraq, has claimed victory for his own

nationalist movement. but he's refused to work with any of his rivals, making it impossible to build a new governing coalition. richard galpin, bbc news. the bbc�*s world affairs correspondent, mike thomson, has more on the political deadlock. the on the political deadlock. deadlocks all about the t groups the deadlocks all about the two groups can't agree on a prime ministerial candidate or presidential candidate. and so neither one has given way. and last month mr al's salts group walked away with the 73 lawmakers with the idea i think of stirring up protests outside the parliament and thereby forcing the opposition aligned with iran opposition groups to cooperate with him. but that hasn't happened. now he's gone in there to say look, we are

now in minority because they put more lawmakers into cover for us and now they could elect a prime minister we don't want. and they are there to stop any form of election going on. the caretaker prime minister has called on everyone to be calm and not let the situation slide into violence and confrontation. and he's made a televised address to that end. but one of the problems is the coordination framework, the opposition group has called on its supporters to come out and protest peacefully against this occupation in parliament and against the efforts to stop this vote. of course if it stays peaceful, fine. but the atmosphere at the moment is so volatile that of course this could do the very opposite and spill over into fighting between the groups. june president zelensky of ukraine has repeated the government's order

for the mandatory evacuation of people in the eastern donetsk region, the scene of fierce fighting with russia. in his late—night address, president zelensky said hundreds of thousands of people still in combat zones in the larger donbas region also needed to leave. spain has announced a second death linked to monkeypox. one person has also died in brazil — these are the first known deaths outside africa. there have been more than 20,000 cases recorded worldwide in the current outbreak. last week the world health organisation declared monkeypox a "global health emergency." pope francis says he can no longer keep up his busy international travel schedule — and has suggested he could step down due to problems with his health. the announcement came on his return flight from a week—long trip to canada — where he met indigenous people to apologise for the catholic church's role in the residential schools scandal. let's have a listen. translation: i don't believe i can travel.

at the same pace as before, and i believe that at my age and with this limitation, i have to save some energy to be able to serve the church. i think about the possibility of stepping aside. with all honesty, it's not a catastrophe. you can change your pope. it's not a problem. 0ur religion editor, aleem maqbool, was on the plane with pope francis. we have just returned to terminalfive in rome after a week—long trip to canada with the pope. this is where diplomatic visitors come and go. and we are all exhausted, it turns out the pope is as well. he said it was a very intense trip for him. he talked about the fact that perhaps now he might need to save himself a little in order to continue serving the church, or he might have to think of retiring. he told that to us journalists on the plane from his wheelchair.

he has been in a wheelchair for a lot of this trip because of ongoing issues with his knees. although he has previously dismissed all the speculation that there has been about an much more serious life threatening illness. but he said it was not taboo for a pope to step down, and that was a door he said that was open to him though not a door he had knocked on as yet. although he did say, that was not to say that in a couple of days' time he would not do just that and consider retiring. but he has stressed that, for the moment, he intends to continue his duties. he does, for example, still want to make a trip to ukraine. we were expecting some news on that, but he said, for now, he has to consult his doctors first. australian prime minister anthony albanese, has revealed details of a referendum aimed at enshrining indigenous voices in parliament. he said australians will be

asked whether they support a constitutional change that gives a say to aboriginal and melanesian people living in the torres strait islands off queensland. it would bring australia into line with canada, new zealand and the us in formally recognising indigenous communities. i believe that this country is ready for this reform. i believe there is room in australian hearts for the statement from the heart. we are seeking a momentous change, but it is also a very simple one. it's not a matter of special treatment or preferential power, it's about consulting aboriginal and torres strait islander peoples on the decisions that affect you. nothing more but nothing less. this is simple courtesy. it is common decency. by this time tomorrow

we will know if england women's wait for a major trophy has ended — after they take on germany in the euros final at wembley. the lionesses who've scored twenty goals and conceded only one so far, have been getting ready to take on the most successful nation in the tournament's history — the germans have won it eight times. our sports correspondent natalie pirks looks ahead to the match. you know it's a big deal when the queens guard gets involved. the familiar refrain of three lions has been echoing around every ground en route to wembley. and will no doubt again for this sell—out final. from 2401 at the start to the current squad it took a moment to take it all and to work out whether families will be for the defining match of their careers and the spot where they

might be lifting the trophy. we have a 90 might be lifting the trophy. - have a 90 minute game of football to play first but i think that's been my dream, that's been the dream of everybody since we were little. i know how it felt in the garden when i was pretending when i was six and i'm sure it will feel just when i was six and i'm sure it will feeljust as good as that. just over 100 years ago football was deemed quite unfit for females and was banned for almost 50 years. it was only four years ago the women super league went fully professional, england's women have been playing catch—up ever sense. those at the forefront of change say this tournament will always be remembered. for sure when peeple _ always be remembered. for sure when people look _ always be remembered. for sure when people look back _ always be remembered. for sure when people look back in - when people look back in history they will talk about 2022 and the euros and the sold—out stadiums, the huge tv audiences. it really the month that those players became household names across the country. household names across the count . �* , household names across the count . v m household names across the count . �*, '. ., country. it's difficult to overstate _ country. it's difficult to overstate just - country. it's difficult to overstate just how - country. it's difficult to overstate just how big | country. it's difficult to . overstate just how big this moment is, notjust for women's moment is, not just for women's football moment is, notjust for women's football but for women sport in

this country for the sunday will see the biggest crowd in history for a women's european file, regardless of result for them, this is special.- them, this is special. every little girl — them, this is special. every little girl now _ them, this is special. every little girl now can _ them, this is special. every little girl now can see - them, this is special. every little girl now can see that l little girl now can see that women _ little girl now can see that women can be successful and you can do— women can be successful and you can do what you really love. and — can do what you really love. and that _ can do what you really love. and that makes a difference and hopefully that will change the society — hopefully that will change the society in a positive way. england _ society in a positive way. england had steamed into this final scoring 20 goals along the way and only conceding one. a germany of the most successful side in european history, winning eight of the last ten trophies. for them to meet at wembley in the final is a scriptwriters dream. the fairy tale fixture both of only one though will get the hollywood ending. one though will get the hollywood ending. a lottery player in the us has won more than $1.3 billion, one of the biggest prizes in lottery history. the jackpot has grown because no—one has won it since april. the megamillions ticket was bought in the state of illinois but the winner,

hasn't yet come forward. now, taking a wrong turn on your way home is something we can all relate to but spare a thought for an intrepid pigeon called bob, who lost his bearings and went missing for three weeks. the prized four year—old racing bird has a value of around e1000, and his disappearance caused no end of worry to owner alan todd, who lives in northeast england. in earlyjune, bob set off from guernsey, in the channel islands, on a 400—mile race home to tyneside, that should have taken him around 10 hours. but bob had other plans, starting an epicjourney that took him across the atlantic, to alabama in the southern united states, 4,000 miles from home. it's believed he hitched a ride on a cargo ship. bob was identified thanks to his distinctive leg bands, and looked after by staff at a local animal shelter, who put an appeal out on social media. so the next your flight is delayed or diverted, spare a thought for bob — and don't worry, this story has a happy ending. he's just been reunited

with his owner. you are watching bbc news. hello there. saturday was a warm and humid day for many of us. in places, we got to see some sunshine. in other places, the humidity gave rise to a lot of cloud, mist and murk and some outbreaks of rain, and there's more cloud and rain in the forecast for sunday across some parts of the uk. the sunniest conditions will be up to the north. the earlier satellite picture shows this pipeline of cloud, bringing some outbreaks of rain. we're starting sunday on a pretty soggy note across parts of wales, northern england, the north midlands, eastern england too. very little rain getting down into the south, but quite a cloudy, murky start of the day here. much of the rain will tend to peter out. still a few showers into the afternoon, but a bit

more in the way of brightness developing, particularly in north wales and northern england. all the while, northern ireland and scotland will have the lion's share of the sunshine. always a bit more cloud for eastern scotland. cool and fresh here — 16 for aberdeen, 18 degrees from belfast. still quite warm down towards the south and the south—east. it's triathlon and para—triathlon day at the commonwealth games. quite a lot of cloud, some spots of drizzle to start. should brighten up later on. and for the women's euro 2022 final at wembley, chance for a shower. i think, on balance, it should be dry, quite warm and muggy for the kick—off. so, yes, we could just see the odd shower drifting across the south—east corner during sunday evening, but overnight, into the early parts of monday, we'll see largely clear skies overhead, light winds and, actually, particularly up toward the north, something quite cool and fresh. seven to start monday in glasgow. still 17 there in london, so still a bit of warmth clinging on in the south. monday getting off to a fine start in most places, with some spells of sunshine, but we see another area of cloud starting to push in from the west. that'll bring rain

into northern ireland through the afternoon, perhaps fringing into parts of west wales and the far southwest of england. ahead of that, actually, another relatively warm day. 21 degrees for newcastle, 26 once again in london. as we move out of monday into tuesday, we see this area of low pressure bringing frontal systems and outbreaks of rain, but not much of that rain getting down into the south, where we really do need some. in fact, southern areas through tuesday are likely to be very warm indeed — 27, maybe 28 degrees — with the rain further north and west. it is then set to turn cooler but drier for the end of the week.

this is bbc news, the headlines a federal emergency has ben declared in the us state of kentucky after floods caused at least 25 deaths. the governor, andy beshear says many residents remained unaccounted for — while hundreds of homes and businesses have been washed away, in the east of the region. the white house says president biden has tested positive for covid— nineteen for a second time in two weeks. doctors said the seventy—nine year old returned the test, after four consecutive days of negative results. he is now back in strict isolation at the white house. pope francis has said health problems are likely to force him to scale down his busy international travel schedule — and may even lead to his retirement. speaking after a six—day visit to canada, the 85 year—old pontiff said his frailty had led him to the decision.