this is bbc news. 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 $45—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. thousands of performers descend on edinburgh as the world's biggest arts festival gets under way.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. palestinian militants from the islamichhad faction have fired dozens of rockets into israel in response to israeli airstrikes on the gaza strip. the airstrikes 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.

well, earlier i spoke to david makovsky who's the ziegler distinguished fellow and the director of the programme on arab—israel relations at the washington institute of near east policy. i asked him to explain who palestinian islamichhad are. the palestinian islamichhad not funded by 0mos, its weapons are not as accurate or sophisticated as hummus. they operate autonomously in gaza and the commander in the west bank was arrested by israel without retaliation. israel locked down its neighbouring communities right near the border, and there was a lot of pushback, saying, there is a whole week where we are stuck

in our house because of this thread, but they, you know, they operate independently and they operate independently and the name of the game, frankly, is to keep hamas out. hamas has stayed out before one islamic jihad and israel have exchanged blows, and that is the name of the game this time. if hamas stays out it won't escalate, but the question is, will they be able to stay out of the fighting?— be able to stay out of the fiuuhtin? �* ., . fighting? and four three, what is the aim _ fighting? and four three, what is the aim these _ fighting? and four three, what is the aim these days - fighting? and four three, what is the aim these days as - fighting? and four three, what is the aim these days as they i is the aim these days as they carry out some of these actions?— carry out some of these actions? , , actions? they will say, "we want to liberate _ actions? they will say, "we want to liberate all - actions? they will say, "we want to liberate all of - want to liberate all of palestine." they were accepted under any borders, not even in a telephone booth, on a tel aviv beach. they have basically been doing a lot of round spinning, they are the dominant military group that is hamas, but they maintain that freedom of action and it is also a way for hamas to poke the israelis when convenient for them.

and how do you see it then in the larger scale of the conflict, how significant these events that have happened over the past day or so? it's hard to know. if the past day or so? it's hard to know. , ., , it's hard to know. if this goes on for another _ it's hard to know. if this goes on for another 24 _ it's hard to know. if this goes on for another 24 hours - it's hard to know. if this goes on for another 24 hours i - it's hard to know. if this goes. on for another 24 hours i don't think people will remember this a lot, but i think a key flashpoint could be on a sunday. there is a jewish fasting day with thousands of battery typically go to the mount. initially, hamas says it is the guardian ofjerusalem, which might make things are. i want to know, will this go into an escalatory phase with hamas joining in or will it be over? it is here that hamas and islamichhad are rivals, and two to as not to upset that israel has kind of hurt its biggest rivals within the gaza

strip, so this is, i think, 48 hours from now will tell us, you know, is this going into an escalatory phase or is this just one and done? david makovsky. the conspiracy theorist alexjones has been ordered to pay $45.2 million dollars 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 six 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 4.1, 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 not just 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. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: no respite in sight, as europe endures the worst drought on record. the question was whether we wanted to save our people, and japanese as well, and win the war, or whether we want to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. the invasion began at 2 o'clock this morning. mr bush, like most other people, was clearly- caught by surprise. we call for the immediate

and unconditional withdrawal of all the iraqi forces. 100 years old, and still full of vigor, vitality and enjoyment of life. no other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that she's achieved this landmark anniversary. this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: at least ten people are killed in israeli air strikes on gaza, including 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 $45 million in punitive damages after falsely labelling the sandy hook school shooting a hoax. let's bring you some breaking news now. the senate in the us state of indiana has approved a bill that would ban most abortions. this comes six weeks after the us supreme court overturned a landmark ruling on a woman's constitutional right to terminate her own pregnancy, which was enshrined in the 1974 roe versus wade case. the senate in indiana is controlled by republicans. the bill would make indiana the first state to bring in such legislation since the supreme court decision injune. several other republican states already had bans or near—total bans on the books that were enacted soon after the supreme court decision. let's cross to indianapolis now and speak to arika herron, a reporter with the indianapolis star, which has been

following the story. thank you so much forjoining us. i know you have been following this blow by blow over the past few hours, so i am very happy to have you with us. forthose am very happy to have you with us. for those that are not totally familiar with the landscape in the united states, there are a number of states that enacted total only a total abortion bands, but indiana, people are saying, is the first state to have this type of legislation.— state to have this type of leaislation. ~ . ., , , legislation. what happened? that is correct. _ legislation. what happened? that is correct. indiana - that is correct. indiana actually the governor already announced he has signed the bill, so it is now law in indiana, that does make them the first state in the nation to parts such a law since the dodge decision. it makes us one of the handful of sites that have basically a zero abortion ban in the country at the moment. ban in the country at the moment-— ban in the country at the moment. . , ., , , moment. that 'ust happen in the ast few moment. thatjust happen in the past few minutes _ moment. thatjust happen in the past few minutes that _ moment. thatjust happen in the past few minutes that the - past few minutes that the governor signed it? when i was looking, i was still expecting that to be up for debate, that would have swung at that. it didn't become law.—

didn't become law. yes, he could have _ didn't become law. yes, he could have chosen - didn't become law. yes, he could have chosen to - didn't become law. yes, he could have chosen to veto i didn't become law. yes, he i could have chosen to veto the bill, ourstate could have chosen to veto the bill, our state legislator can override the veto with a simple majority, but he had called on our legislator to address this issue in a special session, so it is not a huge surprise that he is signed, but they came through a minute or two ago. thank you for telling us that. just to reiterate our view is, that has now become law in indiana. where is abortion now permitted under the state parliament law?— permitted under the state parliament law? ~ ., , ., parliament law? abortion is now ureatl parliament law? abortion is now greatly banned _ parliament law? abortion is now greatly banned in _ parliament law? abortion is now greatly banned in indiana, - greatly banned in indiana, exceptin greatly banned in indiana, except in cases of rape and incest, a woman can get an abortion in those instances in the first ten weeks. it has also allowed up to 20 weeks in cases of fatal vehicle anomalies or in cases when the life of the pregnant person is in danger. i5 life of the pregnant person is in danger-— in danger. is it possible to know whether... -

in danger. is it possible to know whether... there . in danger. is it possible to l know whether... there were in danger. is it possible to - know whether... there were some haven states, as we heard of, where people are going to get abortions. there was a case of abortions. there was a case of a ten—year—old from ohio, that was in the news, that particular very sad case. do you think the aspect that people were coming to this state made a difference? what do you think is at the heart of it, this change in legislation? i think there were certainly legislatures here who did not want to see indiana become what they called abortion tourists destination, but i am not sure that it really would have changed things too much. i think we had quite a few anti—abortion lawmakers who were ready to take this action, the case of the... inaudible i am so sorry. the case of the. .. inaudible i am so sorry-— the case of the. .. inaudible i am so sorry. thank you so much. her line was _ am so sorry. thank you so much. her line wasjust _ am so sorry. thank you so much. her line wasjust going _ her line was just going with the audio, but i do want to

reiterate because it has just happened in the past couple of moments, but the governor of indiana has signed that bill into law, the indiana has become, as we are hearing, new total abortion ban in that state except for the exceptions that she outlined there. it is different to the other side because i have laws on the books, trigger laws that were enacted after roe versus wade was overturned. this is the first to take it upon the legislative agenda and to make that happen. so thatjust happened over the past couple of minutes. let us turn to ukraine and russia. 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 powerlines. 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 occupiers created another very dangerous situation for all of europe. they shelled a nuclear power plant. they have done it twice in one day. this is the largest nuclear station on our continent and any shelling is an overt, blatant crime, a terrorist act. let us turn to drought now. 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, these fields are usually bursting with colour, row after row of lavender. but this year, the soil is like sand. the plants seem 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 and deal with a problem they say is unprecedented. translation: we've 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 will stop. it is even worse than that, because we have a heat wave and a drought — so we have a vicious circle. so, just how bad has it got? well, 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 some nuclear power stations have had to reduce output because river temperatures are too high to properly cool reactors. farmers say there are lower yields, which could lead to higher food prices. here, not far from the palace of versailles, the water inspectors are on patrol. visiting this golf club,

they want to ensure that restrictions are being respected, the rules are being followed. translation: this year, obviously, the situation l here is similar to what is happening in france as a whole. we are experiencing a period of drought that is quite exceptional. it's not just france. italy is experience its driest year since records began almost 200 years ago. in romania, the river danube is at its lowest level, with exposed sand dunes making navigation difficult. translation: i can tell you, the danube had a low level. before, but the elders say it's never been like this. we hope maybe a divine force can help us with some rain. even in the uk, a country not exactly renowned for high temperatures, they've experience the driest july 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're pulling out all the stops for a pre—gala show which will welcome the world back to edinburgh. it's incredibly exciting. i think none of us really knew for sure whether the audience would be back, whether 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've had no mercy at all. they will go for your neck when you are on stage. they are great hecklers, the scots! and it's 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's never been more important to make a comeback. i think it's tested everybody�*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 audiences, and it's great. both fringe and international

festivals celebrate 75 years this summer, but no—one is resting on their laurels. this show challenging perceptions about robert burns and regular festival performer alan cumming. i'm dancing and it's very, 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 alive. pauline mclean, bbc news, edinburgh. a reminder of the news we heard a moment ago with our guests at the governor of indiana has signed into law and eel total abortion ban. the first state to do so six weeks after the us supreme court decision raised a woman's constitutional right to terminate her own pregnancy. we

will keep following that and other stories right here on bbc world news. 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 north—west 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 air first thing in the morning, temperatures will range from around 8 to 12 degrees 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 degrees, 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 is also going to open up the doorway for hotter 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's going to be far more comfortable, and here always, perhaps a little more cloud. that's it from me. have a good weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines: israeli air strikes on gaza have killed at least ten people, including the target, a top commander of palestinian movement islamichhad. the group's responded by firing over 100 rockets at israel. it's the worst bout of violence there in over a year. 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. and the republican state of

indiana has bad abortions.