welcome to bbc news. i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories: at least ten people are killed in israeli air strikes on gaza, inluding a top commander of the islamichhad movement. the group's responded by firing dozens of rockets at israel. conspiracy theorist alex jones is ordered to pay m5 million in punitive damages after falsely labelling the sandy hook school shooting a hoax. chinese fighter jets fly close to the coast of taiwan, as bejing halts cooperation with the us on key issues including climate change. no respite in sight as europe endures the worst drought on record. thousands of performers descend on edinburgh as the world's biggest arts festival gets under way.

palestinian militants from the islamichhad faction have fired dozens of rockets into israel in response to israeli airstrikes on the gaza strip that killed a commander of the group, as well as nine others including an infant. islamichhad said 100 rockets had hit tel aviv and other cities. israeli media said there were 70 within half an hour. azadeh moshiri reports. gaza's sky lights up israel's military launches successive air strikes. this is the footage they released of the attack. it lasted hours and claimed several lives — including that of a top military commander of palestinian islamichhad,

a militant group also known as the pi]. israel carried out a precise counterterrorism response against an immediate threat. our fight is not with the people of gaza. islamichhad is an iran proxy that wants to destroy the state of israel and kill innocent israelis. in response, the militant group fired back more than 100 rockets towards israel, most of them hitting its iron dome missile shield. sirens sounded out across the streets, with israelis seeking shelter. hamas, which governs the palestinian territory, condemned the strikes on gaza. translation: the occupation has initiated crimes in the middle - of the day by targeting residential buildings while the inhabitants were inside on a weekend and targeting a resistance leader. the crime occurred despite all our communication through mediators. the occupation must pay the price of this crime.

israel's airstrikes reportedly killed civilians as well with gara's local health officials saying a young girl was amongst the dead. translation: how is it this child's fault? - she was dreaming of going to kindergarten and asked her father for a school bag and clothes. what has she done wrong? this innocent child. dozens of palestinians carried the body of the dead commander after one of the most serious outbreaks of violence in gaza in over a year. israel says theirs was a preemptive move after they arrested one of the top leaders of the group earlier this week and received days of threats. now, hamas says armed groups are united in battle. the conspiracy theorist alexjones has been ordered to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages after falsely claiming the 2012

sandy hook school shooting was a hoax. the defamation case against the infowars founder was brought by the parents of one of the victims. they say they endured harassment and emotional distress because of the right—wing host's disinformation. 20 children and 6 adults were shot dead at sandy hook elementary school in connecticut. the bbc�*s nomia iqbal in washington told me more about the background to the story. for decades alexjones has built this cult following in america, broadcasting on his social media platforms to a very angry part of the us, where he has tapped into the worst fears that people have about the government, you know, people legitimately worried about the government taking away their rights and that sort of stuff. but he really has tapped into that and with sandy hook, he latched onto this, back in 2012, as you mentioned there, the worst school shooting in american history, and he claimed it was a hoax. he said it was put on by the us government, the dead

were crisis actors, and this was all done in order to restrict guns, in order to take away people's rights to guns. and pushed that for years and spread that misinformation, spread those lies, and it led to a lot of families bringing defamation cases. they said that it wasn't just the fact that he was saying all this, it's what it cost them, because only they grieving the loss of their children, but also they were facing death threats and harassment. so this case was brought by the family of a six—year—old, called jesse. they've already been awarded damages, but these are punitive damages which is basically punishment for alexjones for his behaviour. i should add that that cost could be reduced by thejudge in texas, but it is significant in the sense that you have this man who, as i say, for years has pushed these conspiracy

theories, now paying the cost for doing that. we were reporting the other day, i think 11.1, maybe the other day, about $45.2 million. does alex jones have that money? it was interesting because in court he claimed he was bankrupt. yet there was evidence presented by an economist that said he was still making lots of money through his companies, about $800,000 a day. so they really questioned whether or not he was bankrupt. and i should also add that in court he retracted his claims. he said that he'd been, you know, just spreading information that he'd received. but he had also been going on his web casts and attacking thejudge, attacking thejurors. his lawyer, outside court, once these punitive damages were decided, said this was an attack on the first amendment, this was his right to free speech. but the point that families are making — and defamation cases are quite difficult to bring in the us, quite often — but the point the families and prosecution were making is that free speech

is not a blanket thing. that what alex jones did was well outside the bounds of free speech, given that the malicious lies and misinformation he spread did cost the families, and added to the grief that they have been suffering for all these years. china is halting co—operation with the us in several key areas including climate change, military talks and efforts to combat international crime. the new measures follow a trip to taiwan by senior democrat nancy pelosi. china views the visit as a challenge to its claims of sovereignty over the island. but taiwan's foreign minister, joseph wu, has defended ms pelosi's visit, and said that taiwan would continue to invite democratic politicians from around the world. 0ur correspondent, rupert wingfield—hayes, sent this report from taipei. for the second day in a row,

china has continued its military intimidation of taiwan. at least 68 chinese fighter jets are reported to have crossed into taiwanese controlled airspace. this video broadcast on chinese television this evening shows just how close some of them came to the taiwanese coast. in the background, those are the mountains of central taiwan. china has also announced a long list of retaliation against america, including personal sanctions on nancy pelosi. but in taipei, foreign minister joseph wu told me he has no regrets about inviting the us house speaker to visit the island. the taiwanese government, especially the ministry of foreign affairs, has been working very hard in expanding taiwan's international space, making friends with important international leaders or trying to connect more with like—minded partners around the world, like speaker pelosi. to have an opportunity to visit taiwan is very significant, to allow the international community to understand that taiwan is a democracy.

it's notjust taiwan's democracy that is threatened by china. it's a big chunk of the world's economy. one hour drive south of taipei, these are the huge fab plants of the world's most important maker of advanced microchips. it's amazing to think that in these huge buildings behind me here, they manufacture around two thirds of the world's most advanced microchips, and in that building over there, currently under construction, they are going to start next year making the next generation of even more advanced chips. that makes this one corporation, tsmc, absolutely vital to the world's modern economy. it also makes this place very vulnerable. if only for this selfish reason, joseph wu says the world should care what happens to taiwan. without the computer chips here in taiwan, or without the tsmc, the international community is going to suffer.

a chinese blockade of taiwan could make the worldwide chip shortage caused by the covid pandemic look like a minor blip on the global economy. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in taipei. in afghanistan, the islamic state militant group has claimed responsibility for a deadly blast in the capital kabul on friday. afghan police said that 8 people were killed and 18 wounded. they say the explosives were attached to a cart loaded with vegetables and parked in a shopping area. ukraine and russia have blamed each other for the shelling of the russian—occupied zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in europe. the attacks are said to have also hit nearby high—voltage power lines. ukrainian and western officials have accused russian forces of using the complex to launch attacks, leaving the ukrainians unable to respond for fear of causing a disaster. ukraine's president zelensky said the kremlin must take responsibility for what he called a terror attack.

translation: today the occuwers _ translation: today the occupiers created - translation: today the | occupiers created another dangerous situation for all of europe. they shelled a nuclear power plant and have done it twice in a day. this is the largest nuclear station on our continent and any shelling is an overt, blatant crime, a terrorist act. there has been further progress in transporting ukraine's grain crops out of the country after last month's deal between moscow and kyiv to resume shipments. three more ships loaded with grain sailed from the ukrainian ports of 0desa and chornomorsk. they're heading for ireland, turkey and britain. ukraine's agriculture ministry says this year's grain harvest to date is 48% down year—on— year, with under 18 million tonnes threshed so far. 0ur correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse, is following the movements of the vessels.

this does represent the first convoy in this green agreement. it's not a big one. they are currently moving south, still in ukrainian waters, no issue so far but we must remind ourselves of these rc is littered with mines and they are passing under the very watchful eye of a dominant russian naval fleet. watchful eye of a dominant russian navalfleet. —— these are seas. as you say, 58,000 times on board, and ukraine is taking the opportunity today, alongside this movement, to call for the route to be used for other materials like metals. so we have been in the dark, really, and when these ships will leave, and how many. we have seen the vessels ourselves, in trauma mosques, getting prepared, as well as the port of 0desa, but according to the minister of infrastructure it is clear he is very ambitious but the numbers seem to be changing over time. numbers seem to be changing overtime. so numbers seem to be changing over time. so at the start of this week ukraine said it wanted to export 5 million tons a month from its ports. it of

course controls fathers of its coastline than it did before this invasion. today he is saying at least 3 million. so i think you might be accounting for a bit more of the reality of this whole delicate operation, but nevertheless, this is something ukraine is desperate to keep going and these vessels will, as with every other ship in this agreement, make their way to istanbul where they will be inspected before moving on. sexual health charities and lgbt groups are urging the british government to do more to tackle the monkeypox outbreak in the uk. in an open letter to the health secretary, they say without a quicker and wider vaccine rollout, the virus could become endemic. there have been more than 2,600 cases of monkeypox here, most of them among men who have sex with men. josh parry reports. a friday afternoon in london, and this clinic is working hard to give jabs to fight the monkeypox virus. the disease

predominantly affects men who have sex with men and is spread through skin to skin contact. mostjabs are being given out in london, but it is notjust a london disease, and campaigners say more vaccinations i needed outside of the capital. here in leeds, staff at this lgbt friendly cafe are gearing up to the local pride festival, but say that without widespread vaccination, there is some concern. vaccination, there is some concern-— vaccination, there is some concern. ., . concern. there is a fantastic buzz in leeds _ concern. there is a fantastic buzz in leeds at _ concern. there is a fantastic buzz in leeds at the - concern. there is a fantastic| buzz in leeds at the minute, we're getting ready for pride, we're getting ready for pride, we haven't had it for three years, the bunting is up and the booze is ready, and i have managed to get my vaccination books for next week which is fantastic and i look forward to getting that. it is all about everyone taking the right steps to protect themselves. so everyone taking the right steps to protect themselves.- to protect themselves. so far there have — to protect themselves. so far there have been _ to protect themselves. so far there have been around - to protect themselves. so farj there have been around 2500 cases in the uk, with more than two—thirds in london. monkeypox is classed as a mild illness, and most people recover in a few weeks without treatment. but it can be very painful, which is why people are keen to be vaccinated.—

be vaccinated. people are very mobile, especially _ be vaccinated. people are very mobile, especially people - be vaccinated. people are very mobile, especially people in i mobile, especially people in these high—risk groups. there is lots of travelling between different cities in the uk, lots of my friends from london come to manchester for the weekend. come to manchester for the weekend-— come to manchester for the weekend. ., ~ , ., u weekend. the monkeypox vaccine is bein: weekend. the monkeypox vaccine is being rolled _ weekend. the monkeypox vaccine is being rolled out _ weekend. the monkeypox vaccine is being rolled out by _ weekend. the monkeypox vaccine is being rolled out by local- is being rolled out by local sexual health services, which means different approaches to appointments in different areas. those who are high risk should be contacted by their local clinic, but any of those who believe they are eligible and has not been contacted should check online. the department of health and social cases it is working rapidly to vaccinate those at greatest risk. in the us, numbers are growing quickly and it has been officially declared a public health emergency, leading to calls from some sexual health charities and lgbt groups to call on the government to do the same here. josh parry, bbc news. this is bbc news. a reminder of the headlines: at least ten people are killed in israeli air strikes on gaza, inluding a top commander of the islamichhad movement. the group's responded by firing dozens of rockets at israel.

this conspiracy theorist alex jones is ordered to pay $115 million in punitive damages after falsely labelling the sandy hook school shooting a hoax. just want to bring you some breaking news and the senate in the state of indiana has approved a bill that would ban most abortions. this comes six weeks after the us supreme court overturned the landmark rolling on a woman's right to terminate her own pregnancy in the roe v wade case. the senate is controlled by republicans. this would make indiana the first state to impose a ban the supreme court decision. it is now up to the republican governor whether to sign it into law. let's stay with the story. when the supreme court of the united states ruled to remove a women's constitutional right to an abortion, several states immediately certified laws banning, or restricting,

access to the procedure. 0thers made moves to ensure the right will be preserved, and abortion providers in these so—called haven states say they're being overwhelmed by the increased demand. 0ur west coast correspondent sophie long has this report. even before the official ruling came, many californians made it clear they would fight to protect a woman's right to choose. women and girls will die. gloria allred said she was raped at gunpoint in the 1960s. that was traumatic, but she says it was the illegal abortion she had after that nearly killed her. now a high—profile lawyer, she's determined to keep the procedure safe and legal. these bans on abortion are not going to stop abortions, itjust means that women and girls will not be able to obtain safe and legal abortions. many of them will have to resort to the back alley abortions,

such as the one that i had. california is what's known as a haven state. there's been a push to protect access to the procedure here and to help women who come from states where it's been banned. in november, californians will vote on whether to protect the right to abortion in the state's constitution. a woman has a right to decide when she's going to become a mother. little girls' rights begin in the womb, yes, they do. but as this altercation outside a clinic in the liberal city of san francisco shows, it is a deeply divisive issue. no, i'm expanding on that, if you'd let me finish, please... and in rural california, in the heat of the central valley, you find a deeply conservative pocket of a liberal state. this is redding, where running an abortion clinic isn't easy and it hasn't always been safe. one of the things we experienced in our history was fire bombs.

you know, we had four fire bombs in this site, we have had picketing nearly from the day we opened at this site, still continuing to this day. 0utside, emotions run as high as the temperature. if she's pregnant, she's planning to carry that baby to term and have it adopted, and you assumed, you assumed that she was doing something that you were against. we love her. there's help here for her and we love her. you freak her out. it'll be on your conscience and it should be on your conscience, because what you're doing is not right. 0ur government is really pushing, almost encouraging now, to open our doors and use our tax dollars to bring women from other states in to have abortions, which is, to us, both legally but, more importantly, morally wrong. many who believe in a woman's right to choose feel the predominantly pro—choice democratic party has done too little, way too late.

they want people to vote in november's midterm elections, but without a clear national plan to protect abortion rights, it will be difficult to convince those outraged by their lack of one that it's worth it. sophie long, bbc news, northern california. un secretary general antonio guterres has attended the ceremony for the victims of the 1945 atomic bomb attack on hiroshima at the peace memorial park injapan. around 70,000 people died when america bombed the city in 1945 with a similar number injured. three days later another attack took place in nagasaki. earlier this week mr gutteres on countries to strengthen the nuclear non—proliferation treaty and work towards ridding the planet of nuclear weapons. much of europe is struggling to cope with what's being described as the worst drought here on record. high temperatures and a lack of rain have led to serious problems in several countries. people are being told to conserve water —

and the forecast says more hot weather is on the way. the bbc�*s tim allman reports. in this part of south—east france, _ in this part of south—east france, these fields are usually— france, these fields are usually bursting with colour. row — usually bursting with colour. row after row of lavender. but this year this soil is like sand. the plan seemed lifeless. the heatwave taking its toll. ministers came to see the situation for themselves. the french government has set up a special crisis unit to try to with the problem they say is unprecedented. translation: we have unprecedented. translation: - have never experienced a drought like this one and the bad news is as far as we can see there is no reason to think it.. it is even worse than that because we have a heat wave and a drought so we have a vicious circle. , ., .,, circle. so 'ust how bad has it not? circle. so just how bad has it got? welcome _ circle. so just how bad has it got? welcome to _ circle. so just how bad has it got? welcome to more - circle. so just how bad has it got? welcome to more than| circle. so just how bad has it - got? welcome to more than 100 towns and villages across the country have run out of fresh drinking water, with supplies having to be bussed in. the national energy company, edf,

says that some stations have had to reduce output because there is no water to cool reactors. and farmers say there are lower yields, which could lead to higher food are lower yields, which could lead to higherfood prices. not farfrom the palace lead to higherfood prices. not far from the palace of versailles the water inspectors are on patrol. visiting the golf club they want to ensure that restrictions are being respected and rules are being followed. translation: the situation here _ followed. translation: the situation here is _ followed. translation: tue: situation here is similar followed. translation: tte: situation here is similar to what is happening in france as a whole. we are experiencing a period of drought that is quite exceptional. tt period of drought that is quite exceptional.— exceptional. it isn't 'ust france. i exceptional. it isn't 'ust france. italy * exceptional. it isn't 'ust france. italy is i exceptional. it isn't just i france. italy is experience exceptional. it isn't just - france. italy is experience in its driest years since records began almost 200 years ago. in romania, the river danube is its lowest level, with exposed land younes making navigation difficult. translation: i can difficult. translation: i can tell ou difficult. translation: i can tell you the _ difficult. translation: i can tell you the value _ difficult. translation: i can tell you the value had - difficult. translation: i can tell you the value had a - difficult. translation: i can tell you the value had a low. tell you the value had a low level before but the elders has

never been like this. we hope may be a divine force can help us with some rain.— us with some rain. even in the uk, a us with some rain. even in the uk. a country _ us with some rain. even in the uk, a country not _ us with some rain. even in the uk, a country not exactly - uk, a country not exactly renowned for high temperatures, with experience the driestjuly since 1935. water restrictions are being imposed in the south—east and in parts of wales. and with the heat likely to rise, and no sign of rain in the coming days, things may well get worse before they get better. tim allman, bbc news. thousands of performers from across the world are in edinburgh for the start of the world's biggest arts festival. the edinburgh festival fringe will see more than 3,000 shows from 58 countries to mark its 75th anniversary. pauline mclean reports. they are pulling out all the stops for a pre—gala show that will welcome the world back to edinburgh. it is incredibly exciting. i think none of us really knew for sure whether the audience would be back or the artists

would be back but here we are and ready to go and the city is buzzing as much as it has ever been. the show did go on last year. a smaller number of them in open air venues like this multi—storey car park. those who took part said they owed it to edinburgh and its festivals. i cut my teeth here. in 1996 i was brand—new. i was in a competition called so you think you're funny. i learnt my craft in edinburgh. how to be a stand—up. over the years they have had no mercy at all. they will go for your neck when you are on stage. they are great hecklers, the scots. and it is notjust the fringe. all the summer festivals are back offering music, art, cabaret, philosophy and fun. and for an industry which has been so hard hit by the pandemic, it has never been more important to make a comeback. it has tested everyone's resilience to the extremes this year but you only need to look at the streets and the stages and the venues and the number

of artists and creators. i saw a human potato on the street yesterday and you go "the fringe is back." anything can happen and everyone is just focused now on the festival, the artists, the shows, the audience and it's great. both fringe and international festivals celebrate 75 years this summer, but no—one is resting on their laurels. this show is challenging perceptions about robert burns and regularfestival performer alan cumming. i am dancing and it's very challenging and i realise that sometimes i do things that really challenged me to the point and i think that is annoying, frankly. but as an artist it keeps you around. pauline mclean, bbc news, edinburgh.

a good time there. thank you for watching. this is bbc world news. stay with us if you can. hello. well, let's see what the weather's got in store for us this weekend. and as you might expect, a lot of warm sunshine, but a bit of rain in the forecast, too. not where we really need it, though — in fact, if we have a look at the rainfall accumulation over the next five days, most of it will fall across western parts of scotland, just dribs and drabs in the northwest of england, and no rain at all for many parts of wales and england further south. and, in fact, the longer—term outlook indicates that the next ten days across southern parts of england will probably be dry, possibly the next two weeks, which is farfrom ideal. ok, let's have a look at the short term, then —

so here's the cloud and the rain heading towards western parts of scotland. but for england and wales, the early hours are clear. a bit of a nip in the airfirst thing in the morning, temperatures will range from around 8—12 celsius in towns and cities, and in rural spots, it'll probably be a little cooler than that. now, the first half of the day may be quite overcast across more northern areas, but come the afternoon, the sun should poke through the clouds. but showers may continue in the north of scotland all day long. here, 15 celsius, 19 for newcastle, 22 for birmingham, and around the mid—20s expected in london and the south—east. that was saturday — this is sunday, and more of the same in scotland, thicker cloud, occasionally some rain, but really not an awful lot. elsewhere across the country, it is looking dry and turning warmer. temperatures perhaps in the mid—20s pushing into the peak district and yorkshire, around 27 expected in london. now high pressure will build across the uk and much of western and central europe as we head into next week — and that will also open up the doorway for hot air to stream in from the near continent,

all the way from spain, france, and then into the uk. so let's have a look at the outlook, then — london, birmingham, cardiff, and manchester, very warm if not hot. in fact, temperatures into the 30s, possibly even the mid—30s by the end of the week across some southern parts of the uk. further north, also warming up, but it'll be far more comfortable, and here always, perhaps a little more cloud. that's it from me, have a good weekend. the group's responded by firing dozens of rockets at israel.

this is bbc news, the headlines: at least 10 people have been killed in israeli air strikes on the gaza strip. israel says it was in response to a threat from palestinian group islamichhad. one of its top commanders is among the dead. the conspiracy theorist alexjones has been ordered to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages after falsely claiming the sandy hook school shooting was a hoax. the defamation case against the infowars founder and host was brought by the parents of one of the children killed. chian has made a show of strength in the taiwan strait for a second day. the us has accused china of "fundamentally irresponsible behaviour" after beijing said it was stopping cooperation with the americans on a range of key issues including how to tackle climate change.