while this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. an extreme heat warning for parts of england and wales comes into force — expected to last till sunday. meanwhile thousands of french firefighters have been sent to tackle a resurgence of wildfires in the southwest region of gironde. energy bosses meet uk government ministers to discuss plans to help customers struggling with soaring bills. a british man accused of being a member of the islamic state group has been charged with terror offences — he's due in court in the coming hours. the remains of at least eight russian warplanes are pictured on these newly—released images taken after a recent bombing of a crimean airbase.

russia has sought to downplay the attack, that could be a big win for ukraine. donald trump declines to answer questions as part of a new york state investigation into his family's business practices. disney has overtaken netflix as the world's largest streaming service — adding over 1a million new subscribers in the last quarter to bring it up to a total of 221 million paying customers. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. temperatures in europe are climbing once more, as another heat wave sweeps

across the continent. here in the uk, an extreme weather warning has come into force across large parts of england and wales, with temperatures forecast to hit 36 celsius in some areas. the met office amber warning is in place for the next four days, with the heat expected to affect water supplies, farming and wildlife. in france, there's been a resurgence of wildfires in the south—west of the country. more on that in a moment — but first, frances read reports on the dry weather in the uk. a dog locked in a sweltering hot car, rescued by police in the nick of time. come on. panting it's now making a good recovery, but underestimating the heat can pose the most danger to humans and animals. wildlife charities say hedgehog

populations are struggling, coming out in the day to try to find water. and in the fields the grass cattle would usually eat has dried out. leaves have shrivelled, with yields down 20%. fortunately, we've got a yield, but unfortunately we haven't got the size of potatoes we need, because these potatoes should all be that size. and far too many are that size. and so therefore, that's where the lost yield is. of course, some are making the most of the hot weather, but extreme heat warnings have been issued to protect people from the risks. this week's amber status for high temperatures extends across the south of britain, into the lower part of the north of england. we're being told to stay hydrated and eat foods with high water content, limit travel and exercise, and shower in cool water to lower body temperature. but water has also been an issue. canals are starting to dry up, with locks closed off near woking in surrey,

because the levels are so low. and in some places like oxfordshire, there have been problems with both leaks and supplies, with tankers sent out to replenish them. hosepipe bans are already in place in parts of the country, with more planned. and rivers running low, or dried out completely, not helped by more hot weather on the way. francis read, bbc news. 1,000 firefighters have been mobilised in france to tackle a resurgence of wildfires in the southwest region of gironde. the blaze has spread faster than those that devastated the region injuly. france, like the rest of europe, has been struggling this summer with successive heatwaves and its worst drought on record. 0livia 0tigbah reports. apocalyptic scenes in the south of france. severe drought and summer heatwave seen across europe. reigniting flames which authorities

thought they had under control. another 6200 hectares have been torched since the fire began. more than 1000 firefighters are working 2a hours per day to battle the blaze, working tirelessly to extinguish flames so violent that additional help was needed from countries like italy and sweden. translation: it is a fight that is being done in all directions. - it is a fight which is done on the i ground with nearly 1000 firemen. this means the firefighters of gironde, the firefighters of landes, have cooperated in this huge effort. - now, a mass evacuation is under way for some 6000 residents, after 16 homes were destroyed near this village. an effort made more difficult as smoke clouds the air. translation: of course we are worried. - we have fire all around us. but the firemen are really great.

they are present until the end. bravo to the firemen. it is a pity they don't - have a little more means. that would be nice. while people may be enjoying the warmer, european climate, the consequences of increasing temperatures may be harder to extinguish. olivia 0tigbah, bbc news. stay with us because later, we will be speaking to a french farmer to find out exactly how they are surviving this current heatwave, on their land. . , _, , ., ministers are meeting energy bosses this morning amid fears over the soaring cost of gas and electricity. average annual bills in the uk are expected to rise to more than £3,500 in october — but ministers say no extra support will be announced until a new prime minister takes office next month.

our business correspondent, caroline davies, has been looking at the impact of the energy crisis on british consumers. so in my fridge, just got some bottled water and just 19p pop. there's not much left in dallas' one—bedroom flat. a mattress, a microwave, the space where the washer once was. this is what my normal food cupboard is like. that hasn't had food in there since i can't remember. and that's what's in my cupboard. that's supposed to last me for another 15 days. she says to keep paying the bills and a roof over her head, she sold the rest. a couple of months ago, dallas says that her gas bill went from £30 to £150. she says she's tried everything to try to cut back, but still built up £500 of energy debt. i don't have any massive appliances taking up loads of energy. you know, my flat is empty, so ijust don't know how i can possibly make any more adjustments or changes to try and satisfy this

gas bill that they're expecting me to relentlessly pay, and actually prioritise that over my rent and my other priority bills. dallas is on universal credit, and so should be eligible for extra government payments to help. but she says much more help is needed and sooner. and she's worried about further price rises to come. it's making me feel very, very anxious all the time, just switching a light on and worrying about where i'm going to be in anotherfew months. the amount of money energy companies are allowed to charge the average household — the price cap — has rocketed up. experts now estimate that the price cap could exceed £3,500 a year in october, and more than £4,200 byjanuary. and ofgem has said that it is possible for suppliers to raise direct debits in advance of the new cap on energy prices kicking in. several energy companies have said that given the rising prices,

the government need to offer more support. utilita say more of their customers have contacted them asking for help. we know that our extra care team has seen — an increase in calls of around 140%. we put our extra care team in place to deal with the most vulnerable. and in most cases it's, "i haven't got any money." it is terrible to listen to some of the plights of those consumers, and it's only going to get worse. some energy companies are due to meet ministers today, to discuss measures to help with the cost of living. but it's been made clear that any big decisions on this will wait until a new prime minister is chosen. the chancellor has stressed that there is already money in place to help, but the pressure is rising. it used to be full in here of furniture and units and wardrobe and things like that. but i've had to sell all that, to try and keep up with the rising costs of living. ..before the price rise is announced later this month, which dallas fears would take what little she has left.

caroline davies, bbc news. joining me now is energy editorfor the financial times, david sheppard. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. we heard there how people are calling for help, they simply don't have money. there is a meeting taking place today were options are going to be discussed. what should be discussed, to make a difference to peoples bills? this be discussed, to make a difference to peeples bills?— to peoples bills? this is a huge issue right _ to peoples bills? this is a huge issue right now, _ to peoples bills? this is a huge issue right now, and _ to peoples bills? this is a huge issue right now, and will- to peoples bills? this is a huge issue right now, and will be - to peoples bills? this is a huge l issue right now, and will be front and centre for the incoming prime minister in september. although they may need to take action sooner given the level of concern in the country, when people hear figures the level of concern in the country, when people hearfigures like the level of concern in the country, when people hear figures like £4400, later going into the spring. the measures they can take are somewhat limited initially, but the reality

is that, as a country, we are going to be playing these higher prices. the question is, whether they find a way to spread that more evenly across the economy and protect those less able to pay, be that through subsuming the cost of this energy into general taxation or to raise windfall taxes on some of the energy companies that have benefited from rising prices. the companies that have benefited from rising prices-— rising prices. the question is, what are the answer— rising prices. the question is, what are the answer is, _ rising prices. the question is, what are the answer is, what _ rising prices. the question is, what are the answer is, what are - rising prices. the question is, what are the answer is, what are the - are the answer is, what are the solutions? do the solutions lie elsewhere? how to be compare with what is being done in europe, for example? what is being done in europe, for examle? ., , , what is being done in europe, for examle? . , , example? varies widely across euro e. example? varies widely across europe. france _ example? varies widely across europe. france is _ example? varies widely across europe. france is the - example? varies widely across| europe. france is the standout, example? varies widely across - europe. france is the standout, and president macron has essentially told the biggest energy company, edf, that they can only raise

electricity bills in france by 4% this year. most people in the uk would bite your hand off right now if you told them their bill would only go up by 4%, so they are much more comfortable with what we are facing at the moment there is indifference, the french energy system is much more reliant on this one giant company which is state back and is in the process of being fully nationalised. france already owns 86% of edf and by the end of this year will earn it in its entirety so it is easier for the government to say, look, you will take the losses on this, you're going to absorb this for the country, effectively but edf has turned round and said we may be partly state owned but we are actually going to sue the government, because we are being asked to absorb something above and beyond our ability, just to help our customers. if the uk was to go down a similar route and say, that's it,

you cannot charge any more for energy, you would have a real risk of many companies going bust, so why then does in the ukjust of many companies going bust, so why then does in the uk just nationalise some of these companies? it is a possibility. governments can do many things when they are in a real crisis that we arguably are, right now, but it is more complicated. companies that supply energy in the uk much more spread out, so you're talking about the potential nationalisation of dozens of companies, notjust one that the government already owns a huge percentage of. i government already owns a huge percentage of-— government already owns a huge percentage of. i was going to ask ou to percentage of. i was going to ask you to remind — percentage of. i was going to ask you to remind us _ percentage of. i was going to ask you to remind us why _ percentage of. i was going to ask you to remind us why the - percentage of. i was going to ask you to remind us why the bills i percentage of. i was going to ask| you to remind us why the bills are so high, but when you talk about renationalisation, referring to the point made by gordon brown earlier. thank you very much for that, david, thank you. thank you very much for that, david, thank ou. ., ~ thank you very much for that, david, thank ou. ., ,, i. a british man accused of being part of an islamic state cell known as the beatles because of their british

accents, has been charged with terror offences. a british man accused of being part of an islamic state aine davis was held by counter terrorism officers last night when he arrived in the uk at luton airport. he was deported from turkey after spending more than six years in jail there. he'll appear at westminster magistrates' court this morning. our security correspondent frank gardner gave us the background to the case. aine davies was from west london. he was originally involved in petty crime. he had served time already in prison some time ago. it was there, that he became radicalised towards radical islam. he went to syria in 2013. he has denied belonging to the infamous four—man gang known as "the beatles", because of their british but police and m15 clearly have a file on him. they were waiting for him when he arrived at luton airport last night after coming from ankara.

he was arrested. taken to a police station and in the last couple of hours, he has been charged with a number of terrorism offences under the terrorism act 2000. leaving him aside, the other members of that gang are all accounted for, so the leader, the infamous "jihadijohn", nicknamed that by the media, was killed in a drone strike in 2015 and that was on the same day that aine davies was captured by turkish police, arrested in a villa just outside istanbul and eventually convicted of belonging to a terrorist group. two other members who were stripped of their british nationality, they were captured in syria, held by kurdish forces, handed to the americans, flown to america, there,

they stood trial and have both been convicted of very serious offences. one of them has a life sentence. the other is waiting to be sentenced. just to recap, aine davies is alleged to be the fourth member of this group. he denies it and now that he has been charged it is incredibly important that we, the media, do not speculate in any way that could prejudice his trial. that was security correspondent frank gardner. let's get more now on the very dry conditions in france at the moment. france, like the rest of europe, has been struggling this summer with successive heatwaves and its worst drought on record. joining me now is arnold puech d'alissac — he's the chairman of the world farmers' organisation, as well as being a farmer himself, based in normandy, in northern france.

how bad is it for you? i how bad is it for you? i am in normandy. — how bad is it for you? i am in normandy, and _ how bad is it for you? i am in normandy, and we _ how bad is it for you? i am in normandy, and we are - how bad is it for you? i am in normandy, and we are a - how bad is it for you? i am in i normandy, and we are a better weather than the rest of france, but evenin weather than the rest of france, but even in normandy, you can seejust around me that the pasture is very dry, and everywhere in france, we feed the animals at this time of the year, like we feed it in winter, when we give them hay and straw and sometimes green. taste when we give them hay and straw and sometimes green.— sometimes green. we have been heafina sometimes green. we have been hearing from _ sometimes green. we have been hearing from british _ sometimes green. we have been hearing from british farmers - sometimes green. we have been | hearing from british farmers were using their winter food because they have run out of food through the summer in the fields. are you going through the same thing?— through the same thing? exactly, exactl . through the same thing? exactly, exactly- we _ through the same thing? exactly, exactly. we feed _ through the same thing? exactly, exactly. we feed it _ through the same thing? exactly, exactly. we feed it exactly - through the same thing? exactly, exactly. we feed it exactly like i through the same thing? exactly, exactly. we feed it exactly like in | exactly. we feed it exactly like in winter, which is not usual, at all. in some part of france, you can do that but now it is everywhere in france. and we have fire outside

also in normandy, in brittany we have a big fire, with a lot of forest destroyed, and we have a very dry summer. forest destroyed, and we have a very dry summer-— dry summer. france is synonymous with food, quality _ dry summer. france is synonymous with food, quality of— dry summer. france is synonymous with food, quality of food, - dry summer. france is synonymous with food, quality of food, and - with food, quality of food, and consumers being very picky about food. how is what is taking place in your field food. how is what is taking place in yourfield is food. how is what is taking place in your field is affecting what consumers are seeing in their supermarkets? {iii consumers are seeing in their supermarkets?— consumers are seeing in their su ermarkets? .., , ..,, consumers are seeing in their suermarkets? , ., supermarkets? of course the cost of roduction supermarkets? of course the cost of production will _ supermarkets? of course the cost of production will increase _ supermarkets? of course the cost of production will increase because - supermarkets? of course the cost of production will increase because we | production will increase because we do not feed the animal with produce on the farm but we are forced to buy on the farm but we are forced to buy on the farm but we are forced to buy on the world market, the horn, sunflowers, the sawyer, —— the corn, and all of this increase the cost and all of this increase the cost and we expect the price and the supermarket will grow also. france,

is also, like — supermarket will grow also. france, is also, like parts _ supermarket will grow also. france, is also, like parts of _ supermarket will grow also. france, is also, like parts of europe, - is also, like parts of europe, having to contained with wildfires that have sprung up over this summer. how critical is it for a farmer to keep an eye out for a risk of a fire? farmer to keep an eye out for a risk ofa fire? ~ ., farmer to keep an eye out for a risk of a fire? ~ ., ., ., farmer to keep an eye out for a risk ofa fire? ., ., ., . farmer to keep an eye out for a risk of a fire? ~ ., ., ., . ., of a fire? who do not catch the old crass, of a fire? who do not catch the old grass. because _ of a fire? who do not catch the old grass, because we _ of a fire? who do not catch the old grass, because we are _ of a fire? who do not catch the old grass, because we are afraid - of a fire? who do not catch the old grass, because we are afraid that i of a fire? who do not catch the old l grass, because we are afraid that we can start a fire with our machine, we are always waiting for some humidity in the air, like in the morning or the evening, but during the day we are more quiet than usual. ., ., , ., ., the day we are more quiet than usual. ., . , ., ., ., usual. how are you doing with water su--hes? usual. how are you doing with water supplies? our— usual. how are you doing with water supplies? our water _ usual. how are you doing with water supplies? our water supplies, - usual. how are you doing with water supplies? our water supplies, water resources, supplies? our water supplies, water

resources. are _ supplies? our water supplies, water resources, are not— supplies? our water supplies, water resources, are not a _ supplies? our water supplies, water resources, are not a problem - supplies? our water supplies, water resources, are not a problem but. resources, are not a problem but usually, we use water storage to spray water to irrigate fields, but, it is very difficult to create new storage, and it is the fact that we have with ngos at this time, we need to organise for mediterranean weather now, and we have to change our way of doing things, and we need storage. our way of doing things, and we need storaue. ., ~ our way of doing things, and we need storaue. ., ,, i. , our way of doing things, and we need storaue. ., ~ ,, , . ., storage. thank you very much for shafinu storage. thank you very much for sharing your _ storage. thank you very much for sharing your story, _ storage. thank you very much for sharing your story, merci. - storage. thank you very much for sharing your story, merci. and i storage. thank you very much for. sharing your story, merci. and you have a nice — sharing your story, merci. and you have a nice day. _ satellite images show extensive damage to a russian airbase in occupied crimea that was hit by a series of explosions on tuesday. eight warplanes appear to have been damaged or destroyed. several craters are visible, and a large area has been scorched by fire. ukraine has not officially acknowledged that it was responsible for the explosions but there is growing speculation over its involvement. russia has blamed an accident

at an ammunition store, and denied that any planes were destroyed. the first image here shows what the airbase looked like before the explosions. the pictures are the first independent confirmation of the damage at the airbase and seem to contradict russian claims that no aircraft were destroyed. in his latest address, president zelensky again said ukraine would recapture all of the territory lost to russian forces, including the crimean peninsula. translation: we expelled the russian army from the northern regions. - we expelled the invaders from snake island. - they already feel that the time has come to flee from kherson - in the south of our country. the time will come when they will fleej from the kharkiv region, - from the donbas and from crimea, and everyone who can help in this

should do so _ our correspondent hugo bachega gave us the latest from kyiv. these are the first independent images to confirm the extent of the damage caused by these explosions on tuesday. they have been released by the us —based company, planet labs, and they seem to contradict russia's account of what happened. moscow has denied that any aircraft that, there was damage to any aircraft there, after those explosions, and moscow also denies that these explosions were caused by any attack. now, there has been growing speculation in recent days about whether the ukrainians had any involvement in these explosions. yesterday there were several media reports quoting unnamed ukrainian officials suggesting ukrainians had an involvement in these explosions, and that would raise all sorts of questions. crimea is a truly significant both

for and any attack by the ukrainians on crimea could be seen as a significant development, significant escalation of hostilities, by russia. the chief inspector of constabulary has criticised the police's response to burglary, robbery and theft, calling it "unacceptable". andy cooke says forces in england and wales are in danger of losing the public�*s confidence. he warned most victims are not getting justice. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the details. because of the — physically where the car was, they were able to creep down the side of the car without triggering the camera. on the 14th of february, stefan borson's car was stolen outside his london home. he was inside the house and knew immediately it had gone.

although his camera missed most of the crime, there was one picture and an exact time, and the street was full of cctv, and the car had a tracker. i received, two days later, a letter dated the 15th of february. but the next day the police sent him this letter, saying they were closing the case. they hadn't been around, they hadn't called. they, as far as i know, they hadn't done a kind of site visit without me being aware. i think it's unlikely that they would have done that without at least knocking on the door. so i'm not sure on what basis they could have said that they'd investigated all potential leads. and this is not a cheap car that we're talking about. you know, this car had a retail value of around about £82,000. a new report by the inspectorate of constabulary into how police forces in england and wales respond to burglary, robbery and theft, has said that the low number of people being charged is unacceptable. only 4.2% of reported thefts results in a charge. people see these offences happening. they know about them.

the neighbours tell them about them. policing, to maintain confidence and trust, has got to be seen to be doing something about them. and at the moment, with the low charge rates that we are seeing, the public, i'm sure, do not have that perception. the inspector said the police response everywhere could be improved by simple things, like reminding people not to tidy up after a crime, to preserve evidence. officers actually visiting the scenes of burglaries. and keeping victims updated on the outcomes of their cases. daniel sandford, bbc news. votes are being counted in kenya where a new president is being elected to succeed uhuru kenyatta. the veteran opposition leader, raila odinga, is competing with deputy president william ruto. polling day was largely peaceful, but turnout was low amid voter apathy and frustration over rising food prices. our correspondent merchuma is in nairobi.

a warning for viewers that her report contains flash photography. it's a very, very tight race between deputy president william ruto and former premier raila odinga. the provisional results that are coming in show the two are just exchanging the lead, similar to what was happening when the votes were being counted. and the number of votes between the two is very minimal. so, as it is now, kenyans are not sure who is going to take this between the two of them. and the electoral commission has tried to be very transparent and very cautious this time. anybody can log into the portal and access the forms that are being sent from the polling station, and that's what the local media is doing right now. so very many tv stations in kenya are showing how this is going. and this led to the media council of kenya picking up just concerns among the people as to what results are being shown, because different stations are showing different

people being in the lead. there are stations that are saying raila odinga is in the lead, there are solutions that are saying william ruto is in the lead and this is because there is a difference in the way they are downloading the forms from the electoral portal and the way they are doing their analysis and their tallying. but the electoral commission has assured kenyans that it will not say among the two who is going to take this until it receives all the physicalforms from the 46,000 polling stations spread across the country. and this morning, it says that the forms have just started coming in, so it will take a while. and as much as the voter turnout was not that much, it will definitely take some time before these results are presented. but, definitely, the electoral commission chairman said it will not take all the seven days because, again, the voter turnout was not as high as compared to 2017. merchuma there, in nairobi. donald trump has declined to answer questions under oath

as part of an investigation into his family's business practices. the former us president described the inquiry by the new york attorney general, as "a witch hunt". the former president's deposition comes just days after the fbi carried out an unprecedented search at his florida home, as part of a separate investigation. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, reports. staying mum. former president trump heads home without answering a single question. he had been forced to testify under oath as part of a long—running investigation into the trump family business. but donald trump exercised his right, under us law, to say nothing. how do you feel, mr trump? how do you feel? he pleaded the fifth, apparently sitting for hours repeating the words "same answer" to every question. the trump organisation is accused by new york state officials of misleading the authorities about the value of its assets, like golf courses and skyscrapers,

in order to get favourable loans and tax breaks. invoking the fifth amendment's protection against self—incrimination is a constitutional right of every american. it is not an admission of guilt. in the past, donald trump has questioned the need to do it. you see, the mob takes the fifth. if you are innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment? fifth amendment, fifth amendment, fifth amendment. horrible, horrible. but now the former president says he understands why the fifth is used. he released this statement... the office of the woman leading the investigation, new york attorney general letitia james, also released a statement,

confirming that the interview had taken place. the case is just one of several legal battles currently being waged by the former president. it's been quite a week. crowds gathered outside his home in florida, and it has emerged that federal agents executed a search warrant at the mar—a—lago estate. mr trump has vented his anger about it on social media, suggesting that the fbi could have been "planting evidence". the search is believed to be part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents. some senior republicans have said that the justice department should give a full explanation of its actions. peter bowes, bbc news. more now on that extreme weather warning that has come into force across england and wales.

with temperatures forecast to hit 36 celsius in some areas, the met office has issued an amber warning which will remain in place for the next four days. the heat expected to affect water supplies, farming and wildlife. abi reader — a dairy farmer in the vale of glamorgan — and also deputy president of the national farmers' union in wales — told me the challenges she was facing. on the farm here at the moment, the grass has stopped growing. any grass that was there has burnt off, so leaf that was on the ground has just dried away to nothing, so there's very little for the livestock to eat. what this means is that as farmers, a lot of us are having to break into our winter feed rations to make sure, whether it's cows or our sheep, to make sure that they've got enough food to eat. so those winter rations are getting used up. what will you do come winter? everybody�*s going to be looking

for winterfodder, aren't they? yeah, this is the big question and the pressure is on for hopefully some rain shortly and maybe we can make a bit of a recovery, to make up for what we've already used up. but it's very much in the balance at the moment. it's not just livestock farmers, either. i mean, there are plenty of people who are growing fruit and veg — those are going to feel a huge impact if there's not enough water to irrigate these really reliant crops on water. so potatoes, they're not growing up to size. we've got in our sheep flocks at the minute, they will be approaching a critical breeding season and if the sheep, the ewes, aren't getting enough nutrition, then it's going to be a struggle to get them in lamb. so we're looking at the next year's sort of crop of lamb. here in wales, it will be our welsh lamb. there's going to be a lot of pressure on that, so everyone in all different farming sectors is feeling this pressure. we're hearing a lot about water supplies in this particular dry spell. we were just speaking to stav danaos, and he was explaining that we're likely see showers rather than the frontal rain.

looking at the state of your ground, it is important, isn't it, how that rain falls? what's better — the showers and a gentle soak, building up to heavy rain, orfull on, full rain — what would farmers appreciate more? yeah, absolutely, it needs to be the showers and a gentle soak because, if we get that full on rain, the ground is so dry and it's compacted quite a lot, that rain could just hit the ground and run off and hit watercourses very quickly and disappear. and obviously put pressure on some instances of flash flooding in certain areas further downstream. so, you know, nice showers, building up, having time to soak in, probably lots of people have been walking out and seeing lots of cracks in the ground. the ground is preparing itself for rain, it's getting ready, so if we've got all of these cracks, we just need time for water to just percolate downwards. ok, let's look at the business side of things. you're farmers, this is a business. contractually, you spoke about the potatoes not getting enough water and the quality

of these crops. how do you stand — are there protections in place for farmers when it comes to contracts and suppliers, and customers, rather? are they working with suppliers like yourself to support you, do they understand the position that you're in? well, there'll be two key things here. frist of all, definitely dialogue with those who are buying our produce is really important. so they can understand our challenges. they may not be able to do a huge amount to help but at least they can organise their buyers further down that supply chain, so that we all know what to expect. but the other key thing really is this is why agriculture has farm support payments, to make sure that we can weather these storms. this is a particularly bad situation at the moment. that farm support payment may be short of what it has got to do. but this is critical why agriculture needs the support payment, to get through the troughs and ride

the peaks, over time, and that is what we are trying to do. that was the dairy farmer abi reader from wales speaking to me earlier. it's difficult to calculate accurately how many people have been killed since russia invaded ukraine. the challenge of identifying and repatriating the bodies of soldiers means that, according to kyiv, only about 400 fighters have been returned home. wyre davies reports from eastern ukraine on the efforts to find ukraine's fallen. at the very start of this war, russian soldiers were filmed entering the suburbs of kharkiv. gunfire some of the fiercest fighting took place in and around this eastern city. while the russian troops were eventually repelled, kharkiv came under relentless shelling and rocket attack. some occupied villages between kharkiv and the nearby russian border have been liberated. there was an unexploded flare sticking out of the ground right in the middle of the road. but the road to momotove, littered with the detritus of war,

is still too dangerous for most civilians to return. and before people come back, there's important work to be done. momotove has to be made safe and bodies, many of them buried at haste in shallow graves, have to be recovered. well, this village was deep inside russian occupied territory. it's still a live firing zone, as you can probably hear in the background, but what these guys are doing now, the locals, they're digging up the bodies of russian soldiers who've been killed in the fighting. after they've been bagged, they'll be taken away for dna sampling and, eventually, they'll be repatriated to russia itself. piled on top of each other, the bodies of six russian soldiers. yuri, the gravedigger, takes this grim work in his stride. and even though these men, when alive, were fighting to defeat ukraine, he feels for theirfamilies. translation: it's not difficult, l

but it's not pleasant work either. these men have people waiting for them at home — mothers, fathers and children. i understand that because i used to serve in the soviet army myself. it's russian police, national guard. russian. little giveaways, like unit badges, help with identification. some of these men fighting for russia may have even come from pro—moscow regions of ukraine. it's messy and dangerous work. even as more bodies are uncovered, reminders that this is an active war zone. explosions ukraine says it's meticulously trying to identify those killed. a railway goods yard their resting place for now. the repatriation of war dead does happen, but it's sporadic. "we find plenty of russians", says

this lieutenant colonel oleksandr from the repatriation unit. "recently, we did a 160 for 160 body swap in the south, "but most of those were found here in the kharkiv region." the bodies we saw being dug up have now been repatriated. but with no end in sight to this war, the number of dead will inevitably go up, and more bereaved families on both sides will anxiously await the return of the fallen. wyre davies, bbc news. since russia invaded ukraine, doctors say premature births have been notably higher in regions where active military operations are conducted. getting the right support to babies born early has been a huge challenge. the bbc�*s mark lobel reports. air raid siren wails another day, another air raid siren, at this children's hospital in the west of ukraine.

it's not an unusual sight to see children and mothers hunkered down in the bowels of the building here. earlier in the war, over 100 mothers and children crammed into this bomb shelter in the capital — a makeshift maternity ward for those giving birth and their new arrivals. but the stress of war is having a profound effect on expectant mothers, too. the war increases levels of stress in pregnant women, which leads to an increase in the number of premature births reported — up to three times more than before the war. babies that may find it harder to breathe, digest and function normally and if not helped, will struggle to survive. there can be up to three enforced trips to this shelter a day, so doctors in kiev are now transforming it into an intensive care neonatal unit for premature births —

reliant on innovative life saving british—made equipment donated by the government ofjersey. it can provide also an observation for the baby and adequate climate for the baby. this is for the children under 1500 grams. so far, at least 26 incubators have been delivered to ukraine, with 30 on the way, but it's estimated up to 400 may be needed to meet demand. they are transportable. so as and when a hospital is shelled, children can be taken underground very quickly. fergus, in areas where incubators haven't yet arrived, what other life—saving methods are being used to keep premature babies warm? so, really, you're going back to being able to do skin—on—skin and really close support from the health community. but that's very, very hard and challenging.

so these are the different parts of this cpap device. the other thing these premature babies desperately need to survive is breathing support, as demonstrated here. in other words, oxygen. the un has provided over 200 of these portable nasal devices in 25 locations across ukraine, supplying pure oxygen for less than $500 each. having very portable devices that can function offline is absolutely critical. these are the war babies — all born at this hospital since russia invaded ukraine. for their mothers, bundles ofjoy in a situation full of anything but. help is on its way, but the situation remains critical. marc lobel, bbc news. we will bring you an update on some

breaking news that has been developing here in the uk. aine davis, who is 38, is alleged to have been a member of the islamic state group knows as the beatles terror cell, has been remanded in custody after appearing at westminster magistrates court on thursday accused of terror offences. we have been getting updates from our security correspondent frank gardner and we will get more on this later right here on bbc news. moving on... north korea has declared victory in the battle against coronavirus, after he ordered the end of restrictions imposed in may. kim jong—un said the country had suffered 74

deaths, which he described as an "unprecedented miracle" compared with other countries. observers say the figures from pyongyang are unlikely to reveal the true picture. north korea has not rolled out any vaccination programme, relying instead on lockdowns and homegrown treatments. his sister, kim yojong, blamed leaflets from south korea for causing the outbreak. more than 100 e—sports players representing 20 different nations took part in the inaugural commonwealth championships in birmingham. it was only a test event, but the president of the commonwealth games federation has told the bbc she believes e—sports will be an official sport in future games. the move is being welcomed by video game lovers but questioned by some sport fans. our cyber reporterjoe tidy has this report. and there is your champion. yeah, massive achievement for malaysia... for the players, it didn't matter that this was just the test event.

you can see the emotion. haikal is a gold medalist! this is for my country. this is my dream. for five years, i waiting this. the commonwealth e—sports championships had everything you look for in traditional sports. the highs... ..the lows and the rivalries. these two teams are at each other�*s throats. for well—known welsh rocket league player euan ingram, aka tadpole, taking gold here was the perfect end to the 24—year—old's playing career. to represent wales is something i've waited for for a long, long time. it's my final game as a player. i've retired now and to retire on this note is obviously incredible. 100 players from 20 different commonwealth countries travelled to birmingham for the inaugural championships. hey guys, we're representing jamaica. team australia. india. representing south africa. team england. singapore.

really well played from singapore. i'm just really, really happy it's moving to something so, so much greater and it's gaining its reputation, it's gaining a bigger name and people are recognising e—sports as, like, actual sports. medals were contested by male and female teams in dota2, rocket league and efootball — three games with hundreds of millions of players and fans the world over. audiences online and in the arena weren't huge, but this was about testing out the format and how to put on a commonwealth event like no other. and the president was very enthusiastic. there are a lot of young people who don't play sport per say out in the playing field or something like that, but they are playing sport on a games console and there's a lot of those people we need to capture. we think this is a place for our young people. going forward, this will be a sport within the games. that's my personal opinion. so it seems highly likely that full commonwealth medals will be contested in e—sports at the next games, with potential inclusion trinidad and tobago. officials seem convinced that

e—sports have a place in the biggest sporting events. but what about the general public? lots of people play them as much as people like play outdoor sports, as well. so i guess it's a skill, isn't it? for me, it's not a sport. it's not the same thing. provided we keep the physical part of the game in the commonwealth games, i think, yeah, why not? even for some of the players, the experience of being compared to commonwealth athletes has been odd. i would consider myself an athlete, but not in the same regard as the actual professional athletes. i would probably say an e—athlete. so although e—sports inclusion is closer than ever, the idea will definitely take some getting used to. joe tidy, bbc news, in birmingham. well, let's hear from another medal winner now — emily huxley — known online as gimmick. emily won silverfor

team england playing in a team of five in dota2. huge congratulations, what would you like to be known as, gimmick or emily? like to be known as, gimmick or emil ? , , like to be known as, gimmick or emily?_ 0k. - like to be known as, gimmick or emily?_ 0k. game i like to be known as, gimmick or i emily?_ 0k, game on, emily? emily is fine. 0k, game on, as they say- — emily? emily is fine. 0k, game on, as they say- huge _ emily? emily is fine. 0k, game on, as they say. huge congratulations, | as they say. huge congratulations, emily. he sports, many people are saying what exactly is that? i mentioned it fairly late on when i spoke to the viewers, what is it? it is really simple. everyone is familiar with games, computer games, video games. e—sports refers to games being played competitively against other people at a professional level, so that top tier of gaming performance is what we refer to as e—sports. bud of gaming performance is what we refer to as e-sports._ of gaming performance is what we refer to as e-sports. and how do you feel bein: refer to as e-sports. and how do you feel being referred _ refer to as e-sports. and how do you feel being referred to _ refer to as e-sports. and how do you feel being referred to as _ refer to as e-sports. and how do you feel being referred to as an - feel being referred to as an athlete? it feel being referred to as an athlete? , ., , feel being referred to as an athlete? , . , ., athlete? it is an interesting one, isn't it? we _ athlete? it is an interesting one, isn't it? i've been _ athlete? it is an interesting one, isn't it? i've been a _ athlete? it is an interesting one, isn't it? i've been a field - athlete? it is an interesting one, isn't it? i've been a field hockey| isn't it? i've been a field hockey player my whole life as well, so i have always been on both sides, as a

gamer and more traditional athlete. in my mind, there is really no substantial difference between them. when i think about a dota, a strategy game, it's a traditional way of thinking of a traditional spot. i consider myself an athlete in both are and e athlete. but i think i've always been an advocate for breaking down the gap, the perceived gap between traditional sports and e—sports and i think bringing them together is a wonderful thing, such as we did in this event. wonderful thing, such as we did in this event-— this event. e-sports, gaming, let say gaming. _ this event. e-sports, gaming, let say gaming. is — this event. e-sports, gaming, let say gaming. is very _ this event. e-sports, gaming, let say gaming, is very lucrative. i this event. e-sports, gaming, let| say gaming, is very lucrative. you don't even need the profile of the commonwealth games. ida. don't even need the profile of the commonwealth games.— don't even need the profile of the commonwealth games. no, it's a huge indust . i commonwealth games. no, it's a huge industry- i think _ commonwealth games. no, it's a huge industry. i think there _ commonwealth games. no, it's a huge industry. i think there is _ commonwealth games. no, it's a huge industry. i think there is often - commonwealth games. no, it's a huge industry. i think there is often a - industry. i think there is often a misconception that it is still a bit niche but the reality of is it the biggest industry there is, bigger than movies and music combined.

worth over $1 billion. it's something i can't stress how huge it is particularly to the younger generation. everyone grew up playing games and it is just a generation. everyone grew up playing games and it isjust a part generation. everyone grew up playing games and it is just a part of life, really, a part of culture. i've attempted to break down the stereotypes that gaming is just for certain people, the stereotypes surrounding that and show it's for everyone and that it's actually supernormal and a lot of fun. emily, ou sa supernormal and a lot of fun. emily, you say that. — supernormal and a lot of fun. emily, you say that. very — supernormal and a lot of fun. emily, you say that, very quickly, _ supernormal and a lot of fun. emily, you say that, very quickly, when i supernormal and a lot of fun. emily, you say that, very quickly, when you were there with the other gamers, what did you make of it? thinking, gosh, here we are at the commonwealth games! what were you saying? it commonwealth games! what were you sa in: ? ., , commonwealth games! what were you sa im? . , , commonwealth games! what were you sa inc? . _, ., saying? it was incredibly surreal, the most surreal— saying? it was incredibly surreal, the most surreal week _ saying? it was incredibly surreal, the most surreal week of - saying? it was incredibly surreal, the most surreal week of my i saying? it was incredibly surreal, | the most surreal week of my life. but it was just fantastic to get the opportunity to meet so many other fellow female gamers in particular, as well as get all this coaching and expertise from the really professional guys who are there for dota. it is fantastic in the sense of community and belonging, it was

brilliant. , , �* �* brilliant. emily huxley, aka gimmick, — brilliant. emily huxley, aka gimmick, huge _ brilliant. emily huxley, aka. gimmick, huge congratulations brilliant. emily huxley, aka- gimmick, huge congratulations again and thank you for your time on bbc news. ., ~ and thank you for your time on bbc news. . ,, , ., and thank you for your time on bbc news. . ,, i. ., ., | news. thank you for having me. i ho -e ou news. thank you for having me. i hope you saw— news. thank you for having me. i hope you saw the _ news. thank you for having me. i hope you saw the medal- news. thank you for having me. i hope you saw the medal around l news. thank you for having me. i l hope you saw the medal around her neck as well! new research by the bbc has shown that dozens of swimming pools have closed across the uk in the past three years. the local government association has warned that families on limited budgets are disproportionately affected by the closures, as opportunities for learning to swim and taking exercise, disappear. the government says it has provided £1 billion to ensure the survival of grassroots and professional sport. the bbc�*s emily unia reports. learning life saving skills on the beach. great in fine weather, but in winter, the water's too cold. and falmouth now has no public swimming pool. we're surrounded by water. we should, you know, it's really critical in cornwall that kids can learn to swim,

because a, obviously in terms of future lifeguards, but, b, just having the confidence and knowing what to do in the water is so critical. i was tiny when i started swimming. and it used to be my favourite place to go for swimming. so it means a lot to me to have a swimming pool nearby. it's quite a shame, because it's. quite a big part of our community. and for people who can't swim i in the ocean, because of maybe the waves, it's quite sad. if you're not safe in the water, maybe you could drown. do you like swimming? yeah. now you can't go? this group of disabled swimmers are making do with other activities, but they miss the falmouth pool. and alternatives are too far away or too expensive. well, it's good exercise. like, jumping around in the pool. i think it's a shame, i really do. i know how much it meant to them. i know. you know, the staff as well would come back and say, "oh, "they had a brilliant time today. "so—and—so, you wouldn't believe what he's done, what she's done."

and itjust became part of what we did. and i don't think they should lose it. this is falmouth's ships and castles leisure centre. it closed permanently in march, and it's not the only example. the bbc asked all the councils across the uk how many sites offering public swimming there were in march 2019, and how many there were in march this year. more than one in six local authorities had lost a pool. some were shut permanently, some temporarily. overall, 56 local authorities in the uk lost access to at least one public pool since 2019. it's a familiar story around the country, from eastleigh and portsmouth, to the wirral, to runcorn. i remember meeting parents who'd lost children and... devastating. absolutely heartbreaking. former olympian greg whyte, like many involved in swimming, is shocked. the closure of swimming pools is an absolute health and welfare disaster.

one person drowns every 20 hours in the uk, so actually learning to swim, which is just one element of swimming pools, is absolutely fundamental. and of course the removal of swimming will reduce physical activity in an already poorly active population. the government said it's provided £1 billion of public money to ensure the survival of the grassroots, professional sport and leisure sectors. and there is sometimes hope. so this is it. this is our 25 metre training pool. wadebridge pool was threatened with closure, but the community are about to take it over. it's absolutely amazing. i'm really, really excited that it's genuinely going to be a centre that helps the whole community. it's a success story campaigners across the country would love to repeat. emily unia, bbc news in wadebridge, in cornwall.

after a strong quarter of growth, disney has overtaken netflix to become the world's biggest video streaming company. disney staked its future on the move to online viewing, when it launched disney+ in 2019. now the gamble is paying off — as the bbc�*s michelle fleury, reports from new york. on wednesday, walt disney said its streaming service, disney+, had gained 14.4 million new subscribers in the three months tojuly — far higher than had been forecast. most of them came from outside north america. disney now has a total of 221 million subscribers, if you also include its other streaming services, hulu and espn+, surpassing its rival netflix, which has 220.7 million. the numbers suggest that fears of a global slowdown in how much people are willing to spend on video streaming services, particularly when inflation is high, appear overblown. still, given the economic uncertainty, the company lowered its guidance for how many

subscribers it thinks disney+ will have by the end of 2024. it also announced that it was raising the price of its streaming products in the united states, all part of an effort to make its streaming business more profitable. the strong performance stands in stark contrast to some of its rivals. netflix said it lost nearly a million accounts in the second quarter. the number of subscribers to nbcuniversal�*s peacock service stayed flat, while the owners of hbo max and discovery+ recently announced a change in strategy. adding to the good news at walt disney, well, increased spending at its theme parks also helped boost the bottom line. michelle fleury there. lego is celebrating its 90th birthday this week — and has marked the occasion with a rotating cake made up of more than 94,000 lego bricks. it has nine layers representing the nine decades since it was founded in 1932 — and is on display at its

headquarters in the danish town of billund. you are watching bbc news. plenty more coming up. hello there. temperatures have been increasing day by day and now we're in a heatwave for much of england and wales. temperatures well above the seasonal norm both by day and by night. so the next few days, hot, dry and sunny for many areas. and the heat will also be pushing northwards into much of southern and eastern scotland and northern ireland. the heat source is coming from the near continent. it's especially hot across parts of france over the next few days, temperatures here into the low 40s celsius. but it is no surprise the met office have issued an amber extreme heat warning for a good swathe of england and wales for the next four days. that heat as far north as leeds and manchester. now through the day today, we'll see plenty of sunshine around, that is away from the far north west

of scotland where we'll see some rain for the northern and western isles, a bit more of a breeze here. so temperatures mid to high teens. but elsewhere across scotland, northern ireland, the high 20s, england and wales will be seeing temperatures between 28 and 34 or 35 degrees. so a very hot afternoon. it takes us to a hot evening for all areas. could see a little bit of low cloud and fret rolling in off the north sea for parts of eastern scotland, eastern england tonight. but it's going to be uncomfortably warm in the south, a little bit better further north. friday, a similar story. we have that weather front bringing more cloud to the north west of scotland, a bit of low cloud and fret and haar just affecting north sea coasts, tending to burn back to the coast, mind you. again, much of the country dry, sunny and hot again, even hotter, a little bit hotter across southern scotland, northern ireland. we could be up to 35, maybe 36 degrees across central, southern, western england. saturday is probably the peak of the heat, a sunny day for all areas. we could be up to 36, 37 degrees in the hottest spots.

so a really hot day for england and wales and hot for central, southern, eastern scotland and parts of northern ireland. by sunday, subtle changes, a bit more cloud rolling in as low pressure starts to dig in. so temperatures not as high, but still very hot. but the theme is, as we move out of sunday into the start of next week, low pressure wants to take over. weak areas of low pressure and there isn't any substantial rain in the forecast, but we could see increasing showers and thunderstorms as we head into next week. and certainly one thing you will notice — it will be feeling a lot cooler for all areas.

this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 11: the body representing water companies says it's increasingly inevitable that a drought will be declared in britain as another extreme heat warning for parts of england and wales comes into force. as we look at the data on river flows — as we look at the data on river flows it — as we look at the data on river flows it looks increasingly inevitable and probably that is going — inevitable and probably that is going to — inevitable and probably that is going to be the right decision given some _ going to be the right decision given some of— going to be the right decision given some of that pressure on the environment we are seeing at the moment — energy bosses will meet the government this morning, to discuss plans to help customers struggling with soaring bills. ministers are promising more help in the coming months. a british man accused of being a member of the islamic state group is remanded in custody charged with terror offences. the police watchdog finds officers in england and wales are failing the victims of bulgaries,

robberies and theft. and the crisis of local swimming pools — the bbc finds more than 60 have closed across the uk in the past three years. good morning and welcome to bbc news. the body representing water companies says it's increasingly inevitable that a drought will be declared in britain. water uk says firms are working tirelessly to repair leaks to prevent water wastage. last month, the national drought group moved england into "prolonged dry weather" status, the stage before a drought. it comes as an extreme weather warning has come into force

across large parts of england and wales, with temperatures forecast to hit 36 degrees celsius in some areas. a met office amber warning is in place for the next four days, with the heat expected to affect water supplies, farming and wildlife. frances read reports. a dog locked in a sweltering hot car, rescued by police in the nick of time. come on. it's now making a good recovery, but underestimating the heat can pose the most danger to humans and animals. wildlife charities say hedgehog populations are struggling, coming out in the day to try to find water. and in the fields the grass cattle would usually eat has dried out. leaves have shrivelled, with yields down 20%. fortunately, we've got a yield, but unfortunately we haven't got

the size of potatoes we need, because these potatoes should all be that size. and far too many are that size. and so therefore, that's where the lost yield is. of course, some are making the most of the hot weather, but extreme heat warnings have been issued to protect people from the risks. this week's amber status for high temperatures extends across the south of britain, into the lower part of the north of england. we're being told to stay hydrated and eat foods with high water content, limit travel and exercise, and shower in cool water to lower body temperature. but water has also been an issue. canals starting to dry up, with locks closed off near woking in surrey, because the levels are so low. and in some places like oxfordshire, there have been problems with both leaks and supplies, with tankers sent out to replenish them. hosepipe bans are already in place in parts of the country, with more planned.

and rivers running low, or dried out completely, not helped by more hot weather on the way. frances read, bbc news. stuart colville is from water uk. we have seen some extraordinarily low flows _ we have seen some extraordinarily low flows particularly in rivers in the centre — low flows particularly in rivers in the centre and south of england. water_ the centre and south of england. water companies have been taking action— water companies have been taking action to _ water companies have been taking action to try to help matters. choosing _ action to try to help matters. choosing different sources of water to relieve _ choosing different sources of water to relieve pressure on hard—pressed areas, _ to relieve pressure on hard—pressed areas, moving water around to relieve pressure on hard—pressed areas, moving wateraround in different— areas, moving wateraround in different ways, sharing water with farmers _ different ways, sharing water with farmers where we are able to because we understand agriculture is being impacted — we understand agriculture is being impacted. and helping the environment by sending pulses of cold water out of reservoirs back into rivers — cold water out of reservoirs back into rivers to rehydrate them and cool temperatures to protect fish stock~ _ cool temperatures to protect fish stock. plenty of action being taken but we _

stock. plenty of action being taken but we are — stock. plenty of action being taken but we are seeing pressure particularly on the environment but not solely— particularly on the environment but not solely in the south of england. our weather presenter stav danaos has been explaining how the current heatwave doesn't quite bear the same hallmarks as the one we had injuly. this one is different, it has been gradually building. our air source has been coming up as our heatwaves do, from the near continent. it is very hot again across central and western portions of france. they are experiencing an even hotter summer than we are and drier conditions as well. it has been coming in on a south—easterly, easterly direction. highest temperatures over the next few days will be towards central, western england, and eastern parts of wales. it is to the west of london over the next few days where we could see 36, maybe 37 degrees. still very hot but nowhere near as intense as it has been. no surprise the met office have issued their amber extreme heat warning for most of england and wales, as far north as leeds and manchester.

it comes into force today and lasts until sunday. you will notice the nights are getting more uncomfortable, warmer over the next few days. we have had a few cool nights but the heat has been building. with no respite in the heat, plants can't recover, the ground can't recover, which is why we hear so much from farmers. when is this expected end? it will, we have autumn, but when will we see a breakdown in this weather system? there are signs of four days of lower pressure. it is tinder dry because it comes off the back of a very dry winter and dry spring, and very dryjuly, the driest on record for southern areas. no surprise it is tinder dry. but into next week even later on sunday into monday, low pressure works its way in, we will see more cloud, showers, we are not expecting frontal rain

which will bring hours of persistent rain which is what we need to replenish the ground water and river levels. it will form more in showers and thunderstorms. some areas might get a downpour, others might stay dry which is not what we want. anything is better than and what we do need is relief, some rainfall. one thing we are noticing, it will turn cool into next week as well, with more of an atlantic air. our reporter alexis green has been at a farm in north norfolk and has been telling us about the impact of the heatwave on crops there. here at holkham estate in norfolk this reservoir is normally ten metres deep but at the moment it is just a series of paddles and holkham estate relies on reservoirs like this to feed crops such as potatoes. it has been an extremely dry year so far. here in norfolk bar february they have had below average

rainfall each month. let us now talk to harry barnett who is the manager at holkham emerald. this is one of your four empty reservoirs. how concerned are you? of course it is concerning for us at the moment. all of east anglian primary food producers will be in agreement the dry weather that has persisted from january through to now has been very challenging. when you combine that with the hot weather it has made growing high—value vegetable crops a challenge this year. talk us through how vital these reservoirs are for the land and crops here? without the water infrastructure in the reservoirs on the holkham estate we would not be able to grow high—value potato crops. they are essential for what we do. we are in a dry climate and on a sandy loam soil where water is essential. how long does it take to fill and how much water do you need to fill these reservoirs? that is the daunting prospect we face. this reservoir will hold 230,000 cubic metres of water. as you can see it is completely empty. if we don't see significant rainfall through the autumn and winter months and the rivers do not recharge sufficiently, it will be very challenging to get this reservoir

full again for 2023. which puts the potato crop in jeopardy for next year. harry, thank you. let us talk to james beamish about the sugar beet crop here at holkham estate. it is suffering at the moment. it is, our sugar beet crop has only received 70 millimetres of rain since it was planted in early april. some of the roots are well behind where they should be in size and yield. august and september and early october are probably the busiest months where they put the most yield on. with no rain it is a big concern. how are other crops faring? we grow a broad range of crops, autumn crops like autumn cereals, they have done pretty well, made use of the good autumn and winter rainfall. but spring crops with spring malting barley for brewing and distilling, 20% down on yield. we are harvesting spring beans today and they are only at 50% yield. in terms of rainfall, there is none in the forecast, are you worried? absolutely. we should be establishing next year's oil seed

rape crop at the moment, multi—seed cover crops used to condition our soil and recover nutrients. the ground is so dry we can't do any of that. your crops are suffering but also your livestock. absolutely. we have 2,000 head of sheep on the estate, 1,000 head of cattle. we have no grass. there is no grass for grazing. we have already started using some of our winter forage, produce we have got ready for feeding our livestock over winter, we have started to use that. and marketing some of our cattle as well. six weeks earlier than we normally would. fingers crossed you get that much—needed rainfall. it has been very dry right across the country particularly in southern england and here in eastern england. no rainfall in the forecast this week, there is an extreme amber heat warning in force from today through until sunday and as i said perhaps maybe some showers next week but that won't amount to the very much—needed rainfall.

talks between energy bosses and the government will take place this morning, amid fears over the soaring cost of gas and electricity. average annual bills are expected to rise to more than £3,500 in october — but ministers say no extra support will be announced until a new prime minister is in place next month. our business correspondent, caroline davies, has been looking at the impact of the energy crisis on customers. this is what my normal food cupboard is like, i haven't had food in there since i can't remember. that is what is in my cupboard that is meant to last me for another 15 days. she says to keep paying bills and a roof over her head she has sold the

rest. a couple of months ago, dallas says her gas bill went from £30, up to £150. she says she has tried to cut back but has still built up £500 of energy debt. i don't have massive appliances taking up lots of energy. my flat is empty. i don't know how i can possibly make any more adjustments or changes to try to satisfy this gas bill that they are expecting me to relentlessly pay and prioritise that over my rent and other bills. dallas is on universal credit and should be eligible for extra government payments but she says much more help is needed and sooner and she is worried about further price rises. it is making me feel very, very anxious all the time, just switching anxious all the time, just switching a light on, worrying about where i am going to be in anotherfew months. the amount of money energy companies are allowed to charge the average

household has rocketed. experts estimate the price cap could exceed £3500 a year in october and more than £4200 byjanuary. ofgem has said it is possible for suppliers to raise direct debits in advance of the price cap. several energy companies say given the rising prices the government needs to offer more support. more customers are contacting companies for help. we know our team has seen an increase — we know our team has seen an increase in— we know our team has seen an increase in calls of 140%. we have put our— increase in calls of 140%. we have put our care — increase in calls of 140%. we have put our care team in place to deal with the _ put our care team in place to deal with the most vulnerable. in most cases— with the most vulnerable. in most cases it _ with the most vulnerable. in most cases it is, — with the most vulnerable. in most cases it is, i— with the most vulnerable. in most cases it is, i haven't got any money _ cases it is, i haven't got any money it— cases it is, i haven't got any money. it is terrible to listen to some _ money. it is terrible to listen to some of— money. it is terrible to listen to some of the plights of consumers and it is only— some of the plights of consumers and it is only going to get worse. some — it is only going to get worse. some energy companies are due to meet ministers today to discuss measures over the cost of living but it has been made to any big

decisions will wait until a new prime minister is chosen. the chancellor has stressed there is already money in place to help but the pressure is rising. it used to be full in here with furniture but i have had to sell that to try to keep up with the rise in cost of living. dallas fears the price rise could take what little she has left. let's talk to our political correspondent david wallace lockhart who's in downing street. there will be a meeting between the chancellor and bosses of energy companies. the question is what will come out of this meeting. the treasury are stressing this is to find out if there is anything electricity generators can do that will make consumers's bills easier

to handle. there may be some talk about windfall taxes. there will be about windfall taxes. there will be a windfall tax for oil and gasp produces in the not—too—distant future. but that could theoretically be extended to electricity generators but i don't think there is any real desire in government to do that. anyone expecting a big policy from today to help consumers might be disappointed because this won't be discussions about radical policy changes because the current government believes those sorts of changes especially relating to taxing and spending are for rishi sunak or liz truss, whoever is the next prime minister. but there are calls for more action saying there is a put in place is not good enough for what people are currently facing, that was put to mark spencer, a government minister, leader of the house of commons, a rishi sunak supporter in the

leadership contest, he stressed there was support already out there. there is already a package in place that has been delivered. there is another one coming very soon, which has already been organised and already set out by the treasury. once we know where the price cap is going to be and once we get into the autumn months then of course the government will look to try and support people. but we need to be in possession of those full facts before we can decide how best to support them. what are we looking at depending on who becomes prime minister? rishi sunak has said he wants to provide more payments to the most vulnerable in the form of energy rebates but crucially we don't know who would get them and how much it would be. less detailfrom liz get them and how much it would be. less detail from liz truss, the foreign secretary, who says nothing is off the table when it comes to helping people, but she favours tax cuts over what she sees as hand—outs

but the question is what does that mean for people who already don't pay much tax or any tax at all. thank you. joining me now is paul massara who was a member of the government's fuel poverty committee and is the former ceo of npower. welcome to the programme. picking up on a question our correspondence through out in his update, that is, what will come out of this meeting, but realistically will come out of the meeting? unfortunately the meeting? u nfortu nately i the meeting? unfortunately i am not expecting much at all because as your correspondence said, you have a hiatus before the next leader and prime minister is appointed. at that stage they will make decisions. unfortunately for people in need who are worried about their bills now, that will be too far away. they are getting concerned now when they hear

bills going up to £3500, and £4200 ljy bills going up to £3500, and £4200 byjanuary next year. by january next year. you are a former ceo of npower, and watching very closely to what the two candidates have been saying. are they making business and policy sense in what they are proposing? you know the industry. the answer is there is a short—term problem which is due to the global price rise from the ukraine war, we are now suffering massive price inflation. unfortunately that is hitting everyone. it is hitting the poorest the most. we have limited capability of funding that. the question is how do we use that limited firepower or money to help those most in need? how do we do that? the problem with tax cuts is they are very broad. they don't go to the people who need them most. what we really need is

less talking about tax cuts, all more money focused instead around targeted support for those most in need. in fact, we are at the time when we need to talk about having a social tariff where we have a special tariff for those people who are on benefits, to help them through this difficult period. when you say a social tariff, how would that look like in their bank accounts and be applied? effectively, the retailers, the energy retailers would apply a special price, a lower price, say, the price we have now, or back in summer, and say that is the price for people on credit, universal credit. the difference between the market price and that has to be met by the government, and the government should look carefully at how much they fund and how much they can gain through a windfall tax on oil and ask companies. if you are still ceo of npower, and

invited to this meeting currently taking place, would you have listened, how far across the table when you have met the government, and what options realistically would you have had in your tool box? the issue is the inner g retailers themselves are not making excess profits at this stage —— energy retailers. forthem profits at this stage —— energy retailers. for them to step up is difficult. it is the upstream businesses which are making it. the other thing i would be saying is we need programmes to invest in energy efficiency to reduce demand, reduce fuel poverty and reduce climate change. the government cannot and that, they need to put more money into energy efficiency. it won't solve the problem this winter but it sets us up for the next winter and after when we need to be energy. thank you very much.

the headlines on bbc news. the body representing water companies says it's increasingly inevitable that a drought will be declared in britain — as another extreme heat warning for parts of england and wales comes into force. energy bosses will meet the government this morning, to discuss plans to help customers struggling with soaring bills. ministers are promising more help in the coming months. a british man accused of being a member of the islamic state group is remanded in custody charged with terror offences. the number of people in england waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high. let's just take you through those figures. a total of 6.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end ofjune, nhs england said.

that's up from 6.6 million in may and is the highest number since records began in august 2007. our health correspondent katharine da costa is with me. that was a simple breakdown of the rise reported, how significant is this? that is looking at the impact on elective care which has been rising throughout the pandemic. this week, we had the nhs has been tackling a two year weights and has virtually eliminated those figures up to the end ofjuly. the headline figure todayis end ofjuly. the headline figure today is about emergency services which are under immense pressure. the key thing is the nhs saw the highest number of fabulous call—outs for the most life—threatening incidents on record last month. category one call—outs, the most serious, affecting people suffering from cardiac arrest. the target is to reach patients in seven minutes

but the latest figures show the average response was 9.35 minutes, on a par with march this year. category two call—outs are for patients with heart attacks, stroke, severe burns, the target is 18 minutes. these figures forjuly show the average time was 59 minutes, more than three times as long. a&e waiting times have been deteriorating, 29% of patients waited more than four hours, nearly 30,000 patients waited over 12 hours to be admitted, a huge increase from pre—pandemic levels when it was 450 injuly 2019. the heat pre—pandemic levels when it was 450 in july 2019. the heat wave last month may have contributed to some of that. we might be in the midst of another heatwave but these figures are what you might expect in the peak of winter. a&e and ambulance

response times are a barometer for how the nhs is coping. they are affected by pressure, things on primary care, social services. patients can't be admitted to hospital if the hospitals are full. six out of ten patients couldn't leave hospital even though they were ready to leave injuly, about 13,000 patients spent more time in hospital than they should have up 11% on the previous month. health experts say the challenges in the nhs can't be solved without addressing social care. so it sounds doom and gloom. there is a glimmer of light in that because of the efforts of the nhs staff, the two year times for elective surgery had been virtually eradicated. the focus is on trying to cut 18 month waiting times, that target is to be met by april next year. an even bigger challenge

because there are more patients waiting in that bracket. the nhs has to cut 54,000 patients, down to zero, injust eight to cut 54,000 patients, down to zero, in just eight months. a british man accused of being part of an islamic state cell known as the beatles because of their british accents, has been charged with terror offences. aine davis was held by counter terrorism officers last night when he arrived in the uk at luton airport. he was deported from turkey after serving a seven—and—a—half—year jail sentence. he's been remanded in custody after appearing at westminster magistrates this mornoing. we can cross there now to our correspondent helena wilkinson. could you give us a background to this case?

as you mentioned, the defendant aine davis, he is 38, he was arrested at luton airport yesterday by officers. he had been deported from turkey, to england, and there were swift charges brought by the metropolitan police after the crown prosecution service authorised for those charges to be brought against mr davies. at westminster magistrates, a relatively short hearing as is usual when it is a first court appearance, he appeared in the dock wearing a grey prison issue tracksuit, he stood for most of the hearing. he was asked to confirm his name and he replied aine lesliejunior davis. these are the charges, he is accused of asking for and receiving money

for terrorist purposes. he is also accused of possessing a firearm for terrorist purposes after he was allegedly photographed holding one alongside militants in syria. the court heard aine davis did not wish today at westminster magistrates to indicate any plea. and therefore, the case will now be sent up to crown court, the central criminal court, the old bailey, where aine davis will appear on the 2nd of september. he has been remanded in custody. in terms of him being in turkey, it is in that country where aine davis had served more than seven years in a turkish prison for being a member of isis. he had also been alleged to have been the forth member of the islamic state group that tortured and murdered western hostages in iraq and syria, something he had denied. but he has

appeared here on those three charges in the uk, in westminster magistrates court. the chief magistrate remanded the 38—year—old in custody and he will next appear in custody and he will next appear in court at the old bailey on the 2nd of september. thank you. two people have died and a child has been seriously injured after five people were hit by a car in ramsgate yesterday evening. kent police said they were all members of the same family. a 30—year—old man from ramsgate was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and leaving the scene of a collision. a man who died in a shooting in skye and wester ross on wednesday is being named locally asjohn mackinnon. the 47—year—old died at the scene of the second incident on skye. four people are in hospital as a result of several linked incidents, which took place across three separate locations. a 39—year—old man has been arrested.

he is currently in hospital. the chief inspector of constabulary has criticised the police's response to burglary, robbery and theft, calling it "unacceptable". andy cooke says forces in england and wales are in danger of losing the public�*s confidence. he warned most victims are not getting justice. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the details. because of the — physically where the car was, they were able to creep down the side of the car without triggering the camera. on the 14th of february, stefan borson's car was stolen outside his london home. he was inside the house and knew immediately it had gone. although his camera missed most of the crime, there was one picture and an exact time, and the street was full of cctv, and the car had a tracker. i received, two days later, a letter dated the 15th of february. but the next day the police sent him this letter,

saying they were closing the case. they hadn't been around, they hadn't called. they, as far as i know, they hadn't done a kind of site visit without me being aware. i think it's unlikely that they would have done that without at least knocking on the door. so i'm not sure on what basis they could have said that they'd investigated all potential leads. and this is not a cheap car that we're talking about. you know, this car had a retail value of around about £82,000. a new report by the inspectorate of constabulary into how police forces in england and wales respond to burglary, robbery and theft, has said that the low number of people being charged is unacceptable. only 4.2% of reported thefts results in a charge. people see these offences happening. they know about them. the neighbours tell them about them. policing, to maintain confidence and trust, has got to be seen to be doing something about them. and at the moment, with the low charge rates that we are seeing,

the public, i'm sure, do not have that perception. the inspector said the police response everywhere could be improved by simple things, like reminding people not to tidy up after a crime, to preserve evidence. officers actually visiting the scenes of burglaries. and keeping victims updated on the outcomes of their cases. daniel sandford, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. it has been getting hotter and sunnier and now we are in heatwave conditions across england and wales until sunday. the next few days are hot and sunny, hot by day, uncomfortably warm by night. the rest of the afternoon will be dry and sunny and very hot and to

the west of scotland there are outbreaks and the western isles. the rest of scotland and northern ireland is in the high 20s and the low to mid 30s in england and wales. that leads into a very warm and muqqy that leads into a very warm and muggy night with clear skies. cloud to the north west of scotland and temperatures no lower than 18 or 19 in the south. the peak of the heat is on friday and into saturday. on sunday there is a bit more cloud next week it will turn cooler with showers. hello this is bbc news with lukwesa burak. the headlines... the body representing water companies says it's increasingly inevitable that a drought will be declared in britain as another extreme heat warning for parts of england and wales comes into force. as we look at the data on river flows it looks increasingly inevitable and probably that is going to be the right decision given some of that pressure on the environment we are seeing at the moment.

energy bosses will meet the government this morning to discuss plans to help customers struggling with soaring bills. ministers are promising more help in the coming months. a british man accused of being a member of the islamic state group is remanded in custody charged with terror offences. and the crisis of local swimming pools — the bbc finds more than 60 have closed across the uk in the past three years. sport and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. paul scott is there for us. good morning. after saying she's ready to start "evolving away" from tennis, serena williams was back in action at the canadian open in toronto overnight, but suffered defeat to olympic champion belinda bencic, the swiss player coming through in straight sets in the second round.

in a recent interview, williams says she didn't like the word retirement, but made it clear she'll be calling time on her career, which has seen her win the most singles grand slam titles of anyone in the open era. canada said goodbye to her in the early hours of this morning and it will fittingly be the united states where she plays next and probably finally at the us open later this month. it was a lot of emotions. obviously, i love playing here, i've always loved playing here. and, yeah, it was... cheering. i wish i could've played better but belinda played so well today. but ijust, yeah, it's been a pretty interesting 24 hours. you know, like i said in my article, i'm terrible at goodbyes but, uh, goodbye. it was a great night for british men at the event in montreal. jack draper pulled off a huge shock, beating the world number five stefanos tsitsipas. the 20—year—old is

the british number four and ranked 82 in the world. it was his first time against the greek who hadn't played since wimbledon and it showed as he went down in straight sets for draper's first top ten win. dan evans also knocked out one of the top seeds, andre rublev. he beat the russian who's ranked eighth in the world in straight sets in an hour and a half. slightly less of a surprise but still showing the good form that saw him make the semi—finals at wimbledon, cam norrie comfortably made it through to the last sixteen. the british number one beat dutchman botick van de zandskhulp in straight sets in just over an hour. the european championships are under way in germany. we'll see nine different sports over the next eleven days. it's taking place in munich and rowing is one of the first to get going. britain's rowers had a disappointing olympics but will be hoping to repeat their 2021 european success when they topped the medal table with 12 in total,

including five golds. the men's four won their heat. you can follow it on the bbc sport website, along with all of the other action. these are live pictures. this is the latest big event getting under way. this is the latest big event getting under way. away from those games is the european aquatics championships which got under way in rome this morning. james wilby and greg buttler are through to tonight's semi—finals of the 100 metres breaststroke. wilby beat adam peaty to gold in this event at the commonwealth games and is enjoying competing at the venue, which hosted the 1960 olympics. we had a very short turnaround from

the commonwealth to hear. coming into this just really excited to race here. an unbelievable venue, extremely historic. we are having quite a lot of fun here and we will see how it goes this morning. putting in an effort to blow off the cobwebs from the last four days because they accumulated pretty quickly. and then the next round. and then the next round. and eve muirhead has announced her retirement from curling. the gb skip guided the british women's team to gold at this year's beijing winter olympics. it was her fourth games, having first led the team at vancouver in 2010. muirhead took to social media to thank her teammates, friends and family for their support, saying she was looking forward to exploring more opportunities and getting her golf clubs out. that's all the sport for now. see you later, paul. thank you very much. thank you very much. new research by the bbc has shown that dozens of swimming pools have closed across the uk in the past three years. the local government association has

warned that families on limited budgets are disproportionately affected by the closures as opportunities for learning to swim and taking exercise disappear. the government says it has provided a billion pounds to ensure the survival of grassroots and professional sport. emily unia reports. learning life—saving skills on the beach. great in fine weather, but in winter, the water's too cold. and falmouth now has no public swimming pool. we're surrounded by water. we should, you know, it's really critical in cornwall that kids can learn to swim, because a, obviously in terms of future lifeguards, but, b, just having the confidence and knowing what to do in the water is so critical. i was tiny when i started swimming. and it used to be my favourite place to go for swimming. so it means a lot to me to have a swimming pool nearby. it's quite a shame, because it's. quite a big part of our community. and for people who can't swim i in the ocean, because of maybe the waves, it's quite sad.

if you're not safe in the water, maybe you could drown. do you like swimming? yeah. now you can't go. this group of disabled swimmers are making do with other activities, but they miss the falmouth pool. and alternatives are too far away or too expensive. well, it's good exercise. like, jumping around in the pool. i think it's a shame, i really do. i know how much it meant to them. i know. you know, the staff as well would come back and say, "oh, they had a brilliant time today. "so—and—so, you wouldn't believe what he's done, what she's done." and itjust became part of what we did. and i don't think they should lose it. this is falmouth's ships and castles leisure centre. it closed permanently in march, and it's not the only example. the bbc asked all the councils across the uk how many sites offering public swimming there were in march 2019, and how many there were in march this year.

more than one in six local authorities had lost a pool. some were shut permanently, some temporarily. overall, 56 local authorities in the uk lost access to at least one public pool since 2019. it's a familiar story around the country, from eastleigh and portsmouth, to the wirral to runcorn. i remember meeting parents who'd lost children and... devastating. absolutely heartbreaking. former olympian greg whyte, like many involved in swimming, is shocked. the closure of swimming pools is an absolute health and welfare disaster. one person drowns every 20 hours in the uk, so actually learning to swim, which is just one element of swimming pools, is absolutely fundamental. and of course the removal of swimming will reduce physical activity in an already poorly active population. the government said it's provided £1 billion of public money to ensure

the survival of the grassroots, professional sport and leisure sectors. and there is sometimes hope. so this is it. this is our 25—metre training pool. wadebridge pool was threatened with closure, but the community are about to take it over. it's absolutely amazing. i'm really, really excited that it's genuinely going to be a centre that helps the whole community. it's a success story campaigners across the country would love to repeat. emily unia, bbc news in wadebridge in cornwall. emma tudge, who you will have seen in emily unia's report, heads up wadebridge's pool campaign. the town's pool wil shortly transfer into community ownership. thank you, emma, forjoining us on bbc news. how have you managed to rescue your leisure centre? itruiith bbc news. how have you managed to rescue your leisure centre?— rescue your leisure centre? with a lot of hard — rescue your leisure centre? with a lot of hard work _ rescue your leisure centre? with a lot of hard work and _ rescue your leisure centre? with a lot of hard work and an _ rescue your leisure centre? with a

lot of hard work and an amazing i rescue your leisure centre? with a i lot of hard work and an amazing team and will from the council to lose as few facilities as possible across cornwall. ., , ., , ., . cornwall. you must have put forward a business case. _ cornwall. you must have put forward a business case. a _ cornwall. you must have put forward a business case. a lot _ cornwall. you must have put forward a business case. a lot of— cornwall. you must have put forward a business case. a lot of these i a business case. a lot of these companies are saying they can't afford to run it. what was your business case? share your secrets so more centres can be rescued. yes. business case? share your secrets so more centres can be rescued. yes, we learn from _ more centres can be rescued. yes, we learn from others _ more centres can be rescued. yes, we learn from others who _ more centres can be rescued. yes, we learn from others who have _ more centres can be rescued. yes, we learn from others who have been i more centres can be rescued. yes, we learn from others who have been in i learn from others who have been in this position before. this is not a pandemic issue. historically we had centres that were threatened with disclosure over the past couple of decades and we worked very closely with others in community ownership to learn from them. i would be happy to learn from them. i would be happy to share anything that would help others in the same place. for us it was a case of trying to address what the community needs and hopefully we can get enough footfall through and

attract enough revenue through either direct payments of memberships or investments that come through, things like the public health initiatives, that are so important, and through education thatis important, and through education that is so important to make it stack up. but i will not lie, the energy costs will be a challenge. well highlighted. when you said highlighting the community needs in terms of building your business case to save your leisure centre, why were you able to do that but previous operators were not? i think the laruer, previous operators were not? i think the larger, national— previous operators were not? i think the larger, national operators- previous operators were not? i think the larger, national operators have i the larger, national operators have success in a way that they have got a model that is working elsewhere in the country. it is not always the best fit for a specific area especially in a rural area like cornwall. you have got a large

number of sports clubs that want to use the pool. we have got 11 local primary schools that need to use the pool for their education purposes. sometimes the national model that has been applied down here has not really reflected what is needed locally. really reflected what is needed locall . ., locally. the government said it has su lied a locally. the government said it has supplied a £1— locally. the government said it has supplied a £1 billion _ locally. the government said it has supplied a £1 billion figure - locally. the government said it has supplied a £1 billion figure to i locally. the government said it has supplied a £1 billion figure to helpl supplied a £1 billion figure to help with a grassroots sports centres and professional sports. with a grassroots sports centres and professionalsports. do with a grassroots sports centres and professional sports. do you think leisure centres and swimming pools have got any of that money?- have got any of that money? where has it all gone? _ have got any of that money? where has it all gone? we _ have got any of that money? where has it all gone? we have _ have got any of that money? where has it all gone? we have not - have got any of that money? where has it all gone? we have not seen l have got any of that money? where | has it all gone? we have not seen or heard of any of it locally. i would love to know who to apply to for that sort of grant. absolutely, it will need to be invested at the grassroots level to see people to continue to come through and to be

able to get into those training regimes for future olympians, etc. congratulations on saving your local leisure centre. goodbye. the headlines on bbc news. the body representing water companies says it's increasingly inevitable that a drought will be declared in britain as another extreme heat warning for parts of england and wales comes into force. energy bosses are meeting the government to discuss plans to help customers struggling with soaring bills. ministers are promising more help in the coming months. a british man accused of being a member of the islamic state group is remanded in custody charged with terror offences. donald trump has declined to answer questions under oath as part of an investigation into his family's business practices. the former us president described the inquiry by the new york attorney general, as "a witch hunt".

the former president's deposition comes just days after the fbi carried out an unprecedented search at his florida home as part of a separate investigation. our north america correspondent, peter bowes reports. staying mum. former president trump heads home without answering a single question. he'd been forced to testify under oath as part of a long—running investigation into the trump family business. mrtrump, can i have a word, sir? but donald trump exercised his right under us law to say nothing. how do you feel, mr trump? how do you feel? he pleaded the fifth, apparently sitting for hours repeating the words "same answer" to every question. the trump organisation is accused by new york state officials of misleading the authorities about the value of its assets, like golf courses and skyscrapers, in order to get favourable loans and tax breaks. invoking the fifth amendment as protection against

self—incrimination is a constitutional right of every american. it is not an admission of guilt, but in the past donald trump has questioned the need to do it. you see the mob take the fifth. if you are innocent why take the fifth amendment? shouting. fifth amendment, fifth amendment, fifth amendment. horrible, horrible. but now the former president says he understands why the fifth is used. he released this statement. the office of the women leading the investigation, new york attorney general letitia james, also released a statement confirming that the interview had taken place.

the case is just one of several legal battles currently being waged by the former president. it has been quite a week. crowds gathered outside his home in florida when it emerged that federal agents had executed a search warrant at the mar—a—lago estate. mr trump has vented his anger about it in social media, suggesting that the fbi could have been planting evidence. the search is believed to be part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents. some senior republicans have said thejustice department should give a full explanation of its actions. peter bowes, bbc news. more than 100 e—sports players representing 20 different nations took part in the inaugural commonwealth championships in birmingham. it was only a test event, but the president of

the commonwealth games federation has told the bbc she believes e—sports will be an official sport in future games. our cyber reporterjoe tidy has this report. and there is your champion. yeah, massive achievement for malaysia... for the players, it didn't matter that this was just the test event. you can see the emotion. haikal is a gold medalist. this is for my country. this is my dream. for five years, i waiting this. the commonwealth e—sports championships had everything you look for in traditional sports. the highs... ..the lows and the rivalries. these two teams are at each other�*s throats. for well—known welsh rocket league player euan ingram, aka tadpole, taking gold here was the perfect end to the 24—year—old's playing career. to represent wales is something i've waited for for a long, long time. it's my final game as a player. i've retired now and to retire on this note is obviously incredible.

100 players from 20 different commonwealth countries travelled to birmingham for the inaugural championships. hey guys, we're representing jamaica. team australia. india. representing south africa. team england. singapore. really well played from singapore. i'm just really, really happy it's moving to something so, so much greater and it's gaining its reputation, it's gaining a bigger name and people are recognising e—sports as, like, actual sports. medals were contested by male and female teams in dota2, rocket league and efootball — three games with hundreds of millions of players and fans the world over. audiences online and in the arena weren't huge, but this was about testing out the format and how to put on a commonwealth event like no other. and the president was very enthusiastic. there are a lot of young people who don't play sport per say out who don't play sport per se out in the playing field or something like that, but they are playing

sport on a games console and there's a lot of those people we need to capture. we think this is a place for our young people. going forward, this will be a sport within the games. that's my personal opinion. so it seems highly likely that full commonwealth medals will be contested in e—sports at the next games, with potential inclusion as early as next year at the youth games in trinidad and tobago. officials seem convinced that e—sports have a place in the biggest sporting events. but what about the general public? lots of people play them as much as people like play outdoor sports, as well. so i guess it's a skill, isn't it? for me, it's not a sport. it's not the same thing. provided we keep the physical part of the game in the commonwealth games, i think, yeah, why not? even for some of the players, the experience of being compared to commonwealth athletes has been odd. i would consider myself an athlete, but not in the same regard as the actual professional athletes. i would probably say an e—athlete. so although e—sports inclusion is closer than ever, the idea will definitely take some getting used to.

joe tidy, bbc news, in birmingham. are you a fan of eurovision? well, tomorrow we'll get closer to finding out where in the uk next year's contest will be held. here are the towns and cities hoping to host the event, but a shortlist will be announced on friday. it will be the first time the competition has been hosted here since 1998. so what does it mean for the city that wins? daniel rosney�*s been to turin, the scene of this year's eurovision, to find out. glitz. glamour. and glory. three months ago, at the world's largest live music event, where sam ryder gave an out of this world performance, rocketing up the leaderboard, coming second to ukraine. 183 points.

the country that wins normally gets to put on eurovision the following year. but the uncertainty of what the situation will be in ukraine meant it was offered to the bbc instead. a uk city will now take on the role after turin's success this year. our city has been known all over the world. we had an increase of the visitors, and especially we had a 40% increase of visitors from abroad. and we also know that our city has been followed by 161 million people in the world. turin spent more than £10 million on the event, but officials acknowledge rising costs we're seeing globally would make that more difficult to justify now. could turin host another international event? well, it's actually difficult because of the war in ukraine. the global economy is slowing down. it was a positive event of very good vibes, but it would be difficult

for every single city in the country. a venue will be needed for at least six weeks before the contest, for the production and for the 40 countries who take part to rehearse in. it's a mammoth undertaking for any broadcaster, and the bbc will want to show to the 160 million watching at home that it can put on a show. the competition's evolved from this 1982 edition. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. coming to you from the conference icentre at harrogate in yorkshire. i now the host city needs an arena that can fit 10,000 people, and enough hotels. birmingham was the choice 25 years ago, and says it wants it again. hold it down to a dull roar. but the competition from cities like newcastle, liverpool, leeds and glasgow is fierce. and the winner will throw the biggest party in europe. so i lived all the days like from 6am to 3am. i guess it was like venue, party, venue, party, so please do it. so it was cool.

i mean, i really enjoyed everything from that week. for me, it was actually being in the venue, i because like being where i they are recording something that is going worldwide i is an incredible experience. here we are! with laura, you know. ciao. buena sera tutti! make some noise, torino! in the uk now there is a lot of speculation about who's going to host now that the bbc is the broadcaster next year. could you give any advice to any broadcasters who are thinking about it? i hope it will be dermot — dermot o'leary — because i'm a i'm a friend with him and i hope he's going to host the eurovision. i think he will be perfect for that. cities on the shortlist will need to show they have the funds, infrastructure and passion for one of the most watched shows in the world. we'll find out exactly where that will be in the autumn,

# i want to go.#. daniel rosney, bbc news, turin. the family of dame olivia newton—john have accepted the offer of a state funeral for the star from officials in australia. the premier of the state of victoria, dan andrews, said the event would be more of a concert than a service. it's expected to be held in melbourne, where olivia newton—john grew up. she died on monday from cancer at the age of 73. lego is celebrating its 90th birthday this week and has marked the occasion with a rotating cake made up of more than 94 thousand lego bricks. it has nine layers representing the nine decades since it was founded in 1932 and is on display at its headquarters in the danish town of billund. lego makes around 100 billion bricks a year.

now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. hello there. temperatures have been increasing day by day and now we're in a heatwave for much of england and wales. temperatures well above the seasonal norm both by day and by night. so the next few days, hot, dry and sunny for many areas. and the heat will also be pushing northwards into much of southern and eastern scotland and northern ireland. the heat source is coming from the near continent. it's especially hot across parts of france over the next few days, temperatures here into the low 40s celsius. but it is no surprise the met office have issued an amber extreme heat warning for a good swathe of england and wales for the next four days. that heat as far north as leeds and manchester. now, through the day today, we'll see plenty of sunshine around, that is away from the far north west of scotland where we'll see some rain for the northern and western isles, a bit more of a breeze here. so temperatures mid to high teens. but elsewhere across scotland,

northern ireland, the high 20s, england and wales will be seeing temperatures between 28 and 34 or 35 degrees. so a very hot afternoon. it takes us to a hot evening for all areas. could see a little bit of low cloud and fret rolling in off the north sea for parts of eastern scotland, eastern england tonight. but it's going to be uncomfortably warm in the south, a little bit better further north. friday, a similar story. we have that weather front bringing more cloud to the north west of scotland, a bit of low cloud and fret and haar just affecting north sea coasts, tending to burn back to the coast, mind you. again, much of the country dry, sunny and hot again, even hotter, a little bit hotter across southern scotland, northern ireland. we could be up to 35, maybe 36 degrees across central, southern, western england. saturday is probably the peak of the heat, a sunny day for all areas. we could be up to 36, 37 degrees in the hottest spots. so a really hot day for england and wales and hot for central, southern, eastern scotland and parts of northern ireland. by sunday, subtle changes, a bit more cloud rolling in as low

pressure starts to dig in. so temperatures not as high, but still very hot. but the theme is, as we move out of sunday into the start of next week, low pressure wants to take over. weak areas of low pressure and there isn't any substantial rain in the forecast, but we could see increasing showers and thunderstorms as we head into next week. and certainly one thing you will notice — it will be feeling a lot cooler for all areas.

this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at midday. the body representing water companies says it's increasingly inevitable that a drought will be declared in britain — as another extreme heat warning for parts of england and wales comes into force. as we look at the data on river flows it looks increasingly inevitable and probably that is going to be the right decision given some of that pressure on the environment we are seeing at the moment. energy bosses have held talks with the government to discuss plans to help customers struggling with soaring bills. ministers are promising more help in the coming months. a british man accused of being a member of the islamic state group is remanded in custody charged with terror offences. the police watchdog finds officers in england and wales are failing

the victims of bulgaries, robberies and theft. and — the crisis of local swimming pools. the bbc finds more than 60 have closed across the uk in the past three years. good morning and welcome to bbc news. the body representing water companies says it's increasingly inevitable that a drought will be declared in britain. water uk says firms are working tirelessly to repair leaks, to prevent water wastage. last month, the national drought group moved england into prolonged dry weather status — the stage before a drought. it comes as an extreme weather warning has come into force across large parts of england and wales, with temperatures

forecast to hit 36 degrees celsius in some areas. the met office amber warning is in place for the next four days, with the heat expected to affect water supplies, farming and wildlife. frances read reports. a dog locked in a sweltering hot car, rescued by police in the nick of time. come on. it's now making a good recovery, but underestimating the heat can pose the most danger to humans and animals. wildlife charities say hedgehog populations are struggling, coming out in the day to try to find water. and in the fields the grass cattle would usually eat has dried out. leaves have shrivelled, with yields down 20%. fortunately, we've got a yield,

but unfortunately we haven't got the size of potatoes we need, because these potatoes should all be that size. and far too many are that size. and so therefore, that's where the lost yield is. of course, some are making the most of the hot weather, but extreme heat warnings have been issued to protect people from the risks. this week's amber status for high temperatures extends across the south of britain, into the lower part of the north of england. more we're being told to stay hydrated and eat foods with high water content, limit travel and exercise, and shower in cool water to lower body temperature. but water has also been an issue. canals starting to dry up, with locks closed off near woking in surrey, because the levels are so low. and in some places like oxfordshire, there have been problems with both leaks and supplies, with tankers sent out to replenish them. hosepipe bans are already in place in parts of the country, with more planned.

and rivers running low, or dried out completely, not helped by more hot weather on the way. frances read, bbc news. stuart colville from the body representing water companies in the uk has been telling us more about the position the country finds itself in. we have seen some extraordinarily low flows particularly in rivers in the centre and south of england. water companies have been taking action to try to help matters. choosing different sources of water to relieve pressure on hard—pressed areas, moving water around in different ways, sharing water with farmers where we are able to because we understand agriculture is being impacted. and helping the environment by sending pulses of cold water out of reservoirs back into rivers to rehydrate them and cool temperatures to protect fish stock.

plenty of action being taken but we are seeing pressure particularly on the environment but not solely in the south of england. let's speak tojess langton is a dairy farmer in derbyshire. she's also a student and a young farmer's ambassador. you are very busy, welcome to the programme. i can see the cows feeding, is that summer or winter fodder? unfortunately fodder? u nfortu nately for fodder? unfortunately for us, that is winter feed. normally at this time of year they would be outside but due to the dry weather we have had to keep them in. they are eating so much, as our grass yields are so down. they are eating one tonne a day less than in winter when it is cold and they would be in all the time, just because there is so little grass because there is so little grass because of the drought.

where are they getting the water from? is there water content in the feed? how are you managing water supplies? it is from a trough on a borehole. they can access that in the shed on both sides. we utilise the water to cool the milk which gets piped into the traps to try to preserve as much water as possible. we are trying to keep them as hydrated as possible because they really suffer with heat stress. this weather is not ideal for them. we are hoping the yields aren't impacted too much by the lack of grass as the cows are now using winter feed and not going out during the day. and they need the water for the milk as well. how are you going to replace that winter feed how are you going to replace that winterfeed if how are you going to replace that winter feed if it is being how are you going to replace that winterfeed if it is being eaten

now? that is something we are not too sure about. we are hoping for some rain. we had a productive first crop, but second and third yields have been severely impacted by the drought. we are hoping for rain which will hopefully make up for the lack of second and third cuts of grass. otherwise we are looking to outsource our feed and buying from other farmers but that will put our cost of production through the roof. in all honesty, we may have a shortage of feed this winter which may mean we have to produce less milk. i don't want to appear condescending, but you are a young farmer. we hear about how the farming industry is under stress with people living it. and people like yourself who are there. going

through this now, does it put you off, when you consider leaving farming? no, definitely not. for me, farming is a way of life and i really enjoy the dairy industry. but times are tough due to the huge inflation we are all experiencing and this drug is not helping our situation. as farmers and growers, we need to play our part in supporting the ongoing drought, to access this funding to build more on—farm reservoirs and invest in irrigation systems to help future droughts due to climate change. yes, we have had so much about the need for better water supply. we had to leave it there for now. jess langton, gary farmer, student and ambassadorfor the young langton, gary farmer, student and ambassador for the young farmers group. thank you.

talks between energy bosses and the government are taking place today, amid fears over the soaring cost of gas and electricity. average annual bills are expected to rise to more than £3,500 in october — but ministers say no extra support will be announced, until a new prime minister is in place, next month. our business correspondent caroline davies has been looking at the impact of the energy crisis on customers. so in my fridge, just got some bottled water and just 19p pop. there's not much left in dallas' one—bedroom flat. a mattress, a microwave, the space where the washer once was. this is what my normal food cupboard is like. that hasn't had food in there since i can't remember. and that's what's in my cupboard. that's supposed to last me for another 15 days. she says to keep paying the bills and a roof over her head, she sold the rest. a couple of months ago,

dallas says that her gas bill went from £30 to £150. she says she's tried everything to try to cut back, but still built up £500 of energy debt. i don't have any massive appliances taking up loads of energy. you know, my flat is empty, so ijust don't know how i can possibly make any more adjustments or changes to try and satisfy this gas bill that they're expecting me to relentlessly pay, and actually prioritise that over my rent and my other priority bills. dallas is on universal credit, and so should be eligible for extra government payments to help. but she says much more help is needed and sooner. and she's worried about further price rises to come. it's making me feel very, very anxious all the time, just switching a light on and worrying about where i'm going to be in anotherfew months. the amount of money energy companies are allowed to charge the average household — the price cap — has rocketed up.

experts now estimate that the price cap could exceed £3,500 a year in october, and more than £4,200 byjanuary. and ofgem has said that it is possible for suppliers to raise direct debits in advance of the new cap on energy prices kicking in. several energy companies have said that given the rising prices, the government need to offer more support. utilita say more of their customers have contacted them asking for help. we know that our extra care team has seen an increase in calls of around 140%. we put our extra care team in place to deal with the most vulnerable. and in most cases it's, "i haven't got any money." it is terrible to listen to some of the plights of those consumers, and it's only going to get worse. some energy companies are due to meet ministers today, to discuss measures to help with the cost of living. but it's been made clear that any big decisions on this will wait until a new prime minister

is chosen. the chancellor has stressed that there is already money in place to help, but the pressure is rising... it used to be full in here of furniture and units and wardrobe and things like that. but i've had to sell all that, to try and keep up with the rising costs of living. ..before the price rise is announced later this month, which dallas fears would take what little she has left. caroline davis, bbc news. joining me now is tessa khan who is the founder and director of uplift which is part of the warm this winter coalition of organisations that are campaigning for affordable energy. affordable energy, what would that look like? well, it looks like energy that does not lead to the sorts of excruciating choices we were hearing about. fuel poverty is when somebody

is spending more than 10% of their income on energy and we are in a position where people have cut and cut and are having to make a choice between paying rent or energy bills. we are in a real crisis. the government has clear options available that it is failing to grasp. its first priority should be to make sure families across the country are getting the support they need to get through this winter without having to make those choices. the one thing it could do right away available to it is to make sure the energy companies that have been making record profits, bp and shelljust announced a £16 billion in profits between them for the last quarter, last week, to make sure we are properly taxing those companies. even with the windfall tax introduced in may this year, those companies are paying below the global average rate of tax on oil and ask, and there is a huge

loophole built into that which means the government is forgoing up to £2.5 billion a year in tax revenue that it could use to help families. before you go on to the second option, can i put to you you mentioned bp and shell, they say they need those profits to reinvest into renewables. bp and shell are not investing in renewables. in the uk for example, we know that the 49 oil and gas companies that extract oil and gazprom the north sea, 80% of them don't invest anything in renewables, of those who do, if abortion is investing in renewables to power their own oil and gas uk, not to go into the grid to help households. let as power through the other

options you started off with, the first was immediate winter support, the short—term option to support customers. could you carry on? yes, at the moment, the government has announced it will accrue £5 million through a windfall tax on oil and gas company profits to help create a pot of money that is redistributed to families and households that really need that money. but there is much more money on the table the government could be tapping into, £16 billion in profits from bp and shelljust last quarter. it is forgoing those profits because of a loophole that has been built into the windfall tax which means up to £2.5 billion a year for the next three years will be left in the pockets of oil and gas companies who are just paying there's profits back to shareholders and paying down their debts and not making investments to help people with the

energy bills that will not only stay high this year but are forecast to stay high into 2025 and beyond. we have run out of time, thank you. talking about the options that could be on the table as part of this meeting being held by ministers and energy suppliers. kathryn porter is an analyst at the independent energy consultancy watt—logic. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. what did you make of what you just heard? i think it is a difficult situation. i think it is a difficult situation. i appreciate the oil and gas producers have been making higher profits this year, the loopholes mentioned were for those profits to be reinvested in production. the only way realistically we will see there is global prices falling which drive what we end up paying ourselves, is if we have higher

production and that is what the rules are designed to incentivise. what should we expect realistically to come out of this meeting? i think what i would like to see and what others in the industry would like to see is the price cap being replaced with a social tariff for energy. the price cap is based on costs suppliers face. it is fair suppliers recover their costs. a social tariff would be set at a—level affordable for people and the difference between the two would be subsidised by the government probably through borrowing initially and subsequently taxation. what do you make on the suggestion in the short term do not apply this cap about to be announced on the 26th? the simple answer is these supplies would be left funding the difference and it was that travel which forced so many suppliers into bankruptcy last year. it is not a sustainable option unless the government is subsidising difference. then we

would be better off with a social tariff which calculates it from the affordability perspective. one criticism coming out of this is we are having to wait until a new prime minister is announced and many are saying that is far too late. how long does it take for policies to work through the system from the moment they are announced. are we leaving it too late? i think this whole leadership election is rather unfortunate timing —wise and i would hope whoever is successful will come forward with an emergency budget as soon as they can. i agree we need action as soon as possible. but we should keep in mind the price rises aren't due to take effect until october so as long as they happen before that, there is time. i appreciate people anxious about what will happen but there is time for that to be dealt with. is it right energy prices are so high? ourwholesale

is it right energy prices are so high? our wholesale price is genuinely high enough to justify what is happening and what people are seeing in their energy bills, what is going on? this is because of what is happening in the global gas market, we have seen everyone wants to replace russian supplies and there is not enough gas available in the rest of the world to do that. the only way that will adjust is when new projects come on stream. it will take a few years for that to happen and in the meantime that pushes up the price of gas because everyone is trying to buy the same gas at the same time which will be worse in winter because in britain we don't have the means to store it. right now through summer we have more gas than we need but in winter we will have to buy it as we needed when prices are highest. unfortunately we prices are highest. unfortunately we price electricity off the price of gas because gas tends to be the last type of generation needed to meet demand, that is how electricity pricing works in most markets. the government is looking at changing that and that is not unreasonable,

if you think about renewable generators receiving subsidies, now also being paid a high gas indexed price, that could definitely be rebalanced. thank you. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's paul scott. good morning. it was a great night for british men at the canadian open in montreal. jack draper pulled off a huge shock, beating the world number five stefanos tsitsipas. the 20—year—old is the british number four and ranked 82 in the world. it was his first match against the greek, who hadn't played since wimbledon and went down in straight sets, for what was draper's first top ten win. dan evans also knocked out one of the top seeds, andre rublev. he beat the russian, who's ranked eighth in the world in straight sets in an hour and a half. cam norrie is also through

to the last sixteen. after saying she's ready to start "evolving away" from tennis, serena williams was back in action at the wta event in in toronto overnight, but suffered defeat to olympic champion belinda bencic, the swiss player coming through in straight sets in the second round. canada saying goodbye to williams in the early hours and it will fittingly be the united states where she plays next and probably for the last time at the us open later this month. it was a lot of emotions. obviously, i love playing here, i've always loved playing here. and, yeah, it was... cheering. i wish i could've played better but belinda played so well today. but ijust, yeah, it's been a pretty interesting 24 hours. you know, like i said in my article, i'm terrible at goodbyes but, uh, goodbye. the european championships

are under way in germany. we'll see nine different sports over the next eleven days. it's taking place in munich and rowing is one of the first to get going. britain's rowers had a disappointing olympics but will be hoping to repeat their 2021 european success when they topped the medal table with 12 in total, including five golds. the men's four won their heat. away from those games is the european aquatics championships which got under way in rome this morning. james wilby and greg buttler are through to tonight's semi—finals of the 100 metres breaststroke. wilby beat adam peaty to gold in this event at the commonwealth games and is enjoying competing at the venue, which hosted the 1960 olympics. and eve muirhead has announced her retirement from curling. the gb skip guided the british women's team to gold at this year's beijing winter olympics. it was her fourth games, having first led the team at vancouver in 2010.

that's all the sport for now. a british man accused of being part of an islamic state cell known as the beatles because of their british accents, has been charged with terror offences. aine davis was held by counter terrorism officers last night when he arrived in the uk at luton airport. he was deported from turkey after serving a seven—and—a—half—year jail sentence. he's been remanded in custody after appearing at westminster magistrates this morning. our correspondent helena wilkinson is following the case. the defendant aine davis, he is 38, he was arrested at luton airport yesterday by officers. he had been deported from turkey, to england, and there were very swift charges brought

by the metropolitan police after the crown prosecution service authorised for those charges to be brought against mr davis. here at westminster magistrates, a relatively short hearing as is usual when it is a first court appearance, he appeared in the dock wearing a grey prison—issue tracksuit, he stood for most of the hearing. he was asked to confirm his name and he replied aine leslie junior davis. these are the charges, he is accused of facing here. he is accused of asking for and receiving money for terrorist purposes. he is also accused of possessing a firearm for terrorist purposes after he was allegedly photographed holding one alongside militants in syria. the court heard aine davis did not wish today at westminster magistrates to indicate any plea. and therefore, the case will now be sent up to crown court,

the central criminal court, the old bailey, where aine davis will appear on the 2nd of september. he has been remanded in custody. in terms of him being in turkey, it is in that country where aine davis had served more than seven years in a turkish prison for being a member of isis. he had also been alleged to have been the fourth member of the islamic state group that tortured and murdered western hostages in iraq and syria, something he had denied. but he has appeared here on those three charges in the uk, in westminster magistrates' court. the chief magistrate paul goldspring remanded the 38—year—old in custody and he will next appear in court at the old bailey on the 2nd of september. two people have died and a child has been seriously injured after five

people were hit by a car in ramsgate yesterday evening. kent police said they were all members of the same family. a 30—year—old man from ramsgate was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and leaving the scene of a collision. a man who died in a shooting in skye and wester ross on wednesday is being named locally asjohn mackinnon. the 47—year—old died at the scene of the second incident, on skye. four people are in hospital as a result of several linked incidents, which took place across three separate locations. a 39—year—old man has been arrested — he is currently in hospital. the number of people in england waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high. let's just take you through those figures. a total of 6.7 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end ofjune, nhs england said. that's up from 6.6 million in may and is the highest number since records began in august 2007. and ambulances took an average of 29 minutes longer to respond to the most urgent cases,

injuly than injune. our health correspondent katharine da costa has the latest. the headline figure today is about emergency services which are under immense pressure. the key thing is the nhs saw the highest number of ambulance call—outs for the most life—threatening incidents on record last month. these are category one call—outs, the most serious, affecting people suffering from cardiac arrest. the target is to reach patients in seven minutes but the latest figures show the average response was nine minutes 35 seconds, on a par with march this year. category two call—outs are for patients with heart attacks, stroke, severe burns,

the target is 18 minutes. these figures forjuly show the average time was 59 minutes, more than three times as long. a&e waiting times have been deteriorating, 29% of patients waited more than four hours, nearly 30,000 patients waited over 12 hours to be admitted, a huge increase from pre—pandemic levels when it was 450 injuly 2019. the heatwave last month may have contributed to some of that. we might be in the midst of another heatwave but these figures are what you might expect in the peak of winter. a&e and ambulance response times are a barometer for how the nhs is coping. they are affected by pressure, things on primary care, social services. patients can't be admitted to hospital if the hospitals are full. six out of ten patients couldn't

leave hospital even though they were ready to leave injuly, about 13,000 patients spent more time in hospital than they should have, up 11% on the previous month. health experts say the challenges in the nhs can't be solved without addressing social care. so it sounds doom and gloom. there is a glimmer of light in that because of the efforts of the nhs staff, the two year waiting times for elective surgery have been virtually eradicated. the focus now is on trying to cut 18—month waiting times, that target is to be met by april next year. an even bigger challenge because there are more patients waiting in that bracket. the nhs has to cut 54,000 patients, down to zero, in just eight months. now it's time for a look at the weather with elizabeth rizzini.

it is too hot for some. quite uncomfortable for many over the next few days and dangerous for some. the heat wave is set to continue. we have this met office weather warning for extreme heat, the second highest level of alert, valid until sunday for these areas. towards the north west of scotland, it is cool and cloudy with outbreaks of rain. for most of us, blue sky and strong sunshine, up to 28 celsius for aberdeenshire. 34 celsius for aberdeenshire. 34 celsius in central and southern england and the midlands. overnight, the weather fronts continue for the north and west with cloud on the eastern coastal areas. temperatures may not drop below 20, a head start on temperatures tomorrow, with cloud on the shore

for north sea facing coasts. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... the body representing water companies says it's increasingly inevitable that a drought will be declared in britain as another extreme heat warning for parts of england and wales comes into force. as we look at the data on river flows it looks increasingly inevitable and probably that is going to be the right decision given some of that pressure on the environment we are seeing at the moment. energy bosses have held talks with the government to discuss plans to help customers struggling with soaring bills. ministers are promising more help in the coming months. a british man accused of being a member of the islamic state group is remanded in custody charged with terror offences. and the crisis of local swimming pools — the bbc finds more than 60 have closed across the uk

in the past 3 years. the body representing water companies says it appears inevitable that a drought will be declared in britain. water uk says firms are working to repair leaks and prevent water wastage. an extreme weather warning has come into force across large parts of england and wales, with temperatures forecast to hit 36 degrees celsius in some areas. our reporter alexis green has been at a farm in north norfolk and told us about the impact of the heatwave on crops. here at holkham estate in norfolk this reservoir is normally ten metres deep but at the moment it is just a series of puddles and holkham estate relies on reservoirs like this to feed crops such as potatoes. it has been an extremely dry year so far.

here in norfolk bar february they have had below average rainfall each month. let us now talk to harry barnett who is the manager at holkham emerald. this is one of your four empty reservoirs. how concerned are you? of course it is concerning for us at the moment. all of east anglian primary food producers will be in agreement the dry weather that has persisted from january through to now has been very challenging. when you combine that with the hot weather it has made growing high—value vegetable crops a challenge this year. talk us through how vital these reservoirs are for the land and crops here. without the water infrastructure in the reservoirs on the holkham estate we would not be able to grow high—value potato crops. they are essential for what we do. we are in a dry climate and on a sandy loam soil where water is essential. how long does it take to fill and how much water do you need to fill these reservoirs? that is the daunting prospect we face. this reservoir will hold 230,000 cubic metres of water. as you can see, it is completely empty. if we don't see significant rainfall through the autumn and winter months

and the rivers do not recharge sufficiently, it will be very challenging to get this reservoir full again for 2023. which puts the potato crop in jeopardy for next year. harry, thank you. let us talk to james beamish about the sugar beet crop here at holkham estate. it is suffering at the moment. it is, our sugar beet crop has only received 70 millimetres of rain since it was planted in early april. some of the roots are well behind where they should be in size and yield. august and september and early october are probably the busiest months where they put the most yield on. with no rain it is a big concern. how are other crops faring? we grow a broad range of crops, autumn crops like autumn cereals, they have done pretty well, made use of the good autumn and winter rainfall. but spring crops with spring malting barley for brewing and distilling, 20% down on yield. we are harvesting spring beans today and they are only at 50% yield.

in terms of rainfall, there is none in the forecast, are you worried? absolutely. we should be establishing next year's oil seed rape crop at the moment, multi—seed cover crops used to condition our soil and recover nutrients. the ground is so dry we can't do any of that. your crops are suffering but also your livestock. absolutely. we have 2,000 head of sheep on the estate, 1,000 head of cattle. we have no grass. there is no grass for grazing. we have already started using some of our winter forage, produce we have got ready for feeding our livestock over winter, we have started to use that. and marketing some of our cattle as well. six weeks earlier than we normally would. fingers crossed you get that much—needed rainfall. it has been very dry right across the country particularly in southern england and here in eastern england. no rainfall in the forecast this week, there is an extreme amber heat warning in force from today through until sunday and as i said perhaps maybe some showers next week but that won't amount to the very much—needed rainfall.

wildfires burning in south—west france in the gironde region. last month was mark places reignited. the conditions may allow the fire iamjoined by i am joined by someone from the emergency management support team at the opinion in's earth observation programme. that was quite a mouthful. thank you very much for joining us. when we talk about monitoring, what are you looking for and what are we finding?—

and what are we finding? satellites rovide and what are we finding? satellites provide open _ and what are we finding? satellites provide open data _ and what are we finding? satellites provide open data that _ and what are we finding? satellites provide open data that are - and what are we finding? satellites provide open data that are used i and what are we finding? satellites provide open data that are used to | provide open data that are used to provide open data that are used to provide services and one of the services is the copernicus emergency management service which has an early warning tools, one for forest fires and one for floods and one for droughts. it produces on demand rapid maps to help first responders and firefighting teams in the current wildfire crisis. we are seeing a drought, the fires, detecting the fires and we provide maps that delineate the fires and also give information about the assets on the ground, destroyed forests, houses, infrastructure, etc. ~ ., forests, houses, infrastructure, etc. ., ., forests, houses, infrastructure, etc. . . , forests, houses, infrastructure, etc. . ., , ., etc. what are you seeing at the moment when _ etc. what are you seeing at the moment when you _ etc. what are you seeing at the moment when you map - etc. what are you seeing at the moment when you map the i etc. what are you seeing at the i moment when you map the wildfires? how instances are they compared last year? to how instances are they compared last ear? ., , ., ., ., , year? to give you an example, we have been — year? to give you an example, we have been activated _

year? to give you an example, we have been activated for— year? to give you an example, we have been activated for a - year? to give you an example, we have been activated for a record . have been activated for a record number of wildfires. we have had an unseen number of wildfires for which we were requested to produce maps. in terms of the total number of activations we are close to the record and we are considering that four months into the year we will beat that record. in terms of burnt surfaces we see in many member states of the european union, in france, spain, etc, a record number of fires and record burnt areas. to give you an example, in spain we monitored a fire that burned 125,000 hectares and this is the second—biggest fire in history in spain. the previous one was 30,000 hectares in the early 2000s. share spain. the previous one was 30,000 hectares in the early 2000s.- hectares in the early 2000s. are you able to extrapolate _ hectares in the early 2000s. are you able to extrapolate back _ hectares in the early 2000s. are you able to extrapolate back to _ hectares in the early 2000s. are you able to extrapolate back to what i hectares in the early 2000s. are you able to extrapolate back to what has| able to extrapolate back to what has caused the fires? brute able to extrapolate back to what has caused the fires?— caused the fires? we cannot attribute the _ caused the fires? we cannot attribute the fires _ caused the fires? we cannot attribute the fires to - caused the fires? we cannotl attribute the fires to anything

caused the fires? we cannot i attribute the fires to anything in particular other than the drought. our colleagues from the copernicus climate change service have underpinned a relationship obviously between the climate change and the drought and between the drought and the fires. , , the fires. very quickly, geographically - the fires. very quickly, geographically are i the fires. very quickly, i geographically are those the fires. very quickly, - geographically are those areas growing or have theyjust moved to different locations? what growing or have they 'ust moved to different locations?— growing or have they 'ust moved to different locations? what we see as the lenath different locations? what we see as the length of _ different locations? what we see as the length of the _ different locations? what we see as the length of the forest _ different locations? what we see as the length of the forest fire - different locations? what we see as the length of the forest fire season | the length of the forest fire season is increasing. sometimes they begin in january is increasing. sometimes they begin injanuary in spain. we see the intensity of them growing. in 2009 intensity of them growing. in 2009 in spain no fire burned more than 10,000 hectares. we have seven or eight this year above that threshold. and the amount of damage is also increasing.— is also increasing. finally, drought- _ is also increasing. finally, drought. north _

is also increasing. finally, drought. north africa i is also increasing. finally, drought. north africa and | is also increasing. finally, i drought. north africa and the southern mediterranean, there is already disconnection with a drought moving northwards. how fast is that progression? can you tell that from your maps? brute progression? can you tell that from your maps?— your maps? we have got a drought observatory — your maps? we have got a drought observatory and — your maps? we have got a drought observatory and its _ your maps? we have got a drought observatory and its latest - your maps? we have got a drought observatory and its latest reports i observatory and its latest reports indicate 47% is under warning status and 17% is on alert. we see an intensification and some of us heard the french prime minister saying the current drought in france is the worst in recorded history. so fascinating. thank you very much for your time. fascinating. thank you very much for yourtime. mr; fascinating. thank you very much for our time. p , .,, after a strong quarter of growth, disney has overtaken netflix to become the world's biggest video streaming company. disney staked its future on the move to online viewing when it launched disney plus in 2019. now the gamble is paying off, as michelle fleury reports from new york

on wednesday, walt disney said its streaming service, disney+, had gained 14.4 million new subscribers in the three months tojuly — far higher than had been forecast. most of them came from outside north america. disney now has a total of 221 million subscribers, if you also include its other streaming services, hulu and espn+, surpassing its rival netflix, which has 220.7 million. the numbers suggest that fears of a global slowdown in how much people are willing to spend on video streaming services, particularly when inflation is high, appear overblown. still, given the economic uncertainty, the company lowered its guidance for how many subscribers it thinks disney+ will have by the end of 2024. it also announced that it was raising the price of its streaming products in the united states, all part of an effort to make its streaming business more profitable. the strong performance stands in stark contrast

to some of its rivals. netflix said it lost nearly a million accounts in the second quarter. the number of subscribers to nbc universal�*s peacock service stayed flat, while the owners of hbo max and discovery+ recently announced a change in strategy. adding to the good news at walt disney, well, increased spending at its theme parks also helped boost the bottom line. we can speak to georg szalai, international business editor with the hollywood reporter. hello. it looks like the gamble paid off. how did they get it so right. disney has managed to get to high global subscriber numbers and streaming very quickly and one of the key things that helped the company is its brands are so well

established and it has established itself as a family of well—known brands like marvel or star wars, and people around the world recognise those brands and the characters and it helps the business and for people looking at streaming services. they recognise some of the characters, the superheroes, animated characters, and that helps the company reach a lot of people very quickly. company reach a lot of people very ruickl . , ., ., ., quickly. there is a lot of competition _ quickly. there is a lot of competition for - quickly. there is a lot of- competition for subscribers, isn't there? ., , competition for subscribers, isn't there? . , . ., there? that is the next challenge. the figures _ there? that is the next challenge. the figures look _ there? that is the next challenge. the figures look good. _ there? that is the next challenge. the figures look good. everybodyl there? that is the next challenge. l the figures look good. everybody on wall street have started talking about where will things go next? especially in north america, it is a mature market instrument and everybody is trying to steal the other�*s subscribers. now the question is how do you react? price increases are maybe more targeted and those will all be part of the

war still going on in terms of streaming. war still going on in terms of streaming-— war still going on in terms of streaminr. ., , ., streaming. how is netflix doing? the have streaming. how is netflix doing? they have had — streaming. how is netflix doing? they have had a _ streaming. how is netflix doing? they have had a very _ streaming. how is netflix doing? they have had a very challenging j they have had a very challenging year. they have had a couple of quarters where they have lost subscribers. they have also stared instead of throwing content at the wall and seeing if people react, they are going to be more specific and pick and choose their battles more. a lot of the streaming and entertainment giants will more selectively put money where they think the big releases are, where the big subscriber numbers can come in. �* ., , the big subscriber numbers can come in. �* . , .., , in. are there any newcomers we should be _ in. are there any newcomers we should be keeping _ in. are there any newcomers we should be keeping an _ in. are there any newcomers we should be keeping an eye i in. are there any newcomers we should be keeping an eye out i in. are there any newcomers we i should be keeping an eye out for, or is that space full and crowded? it is that space full and crowded? it is very crowded. there are some niche streamers, whether it is on the horror side or high end art films, that can fit into a smaller market. they will not compete with

netflix or disney, but a lot of people are predicting there will be three or four people are predicting there will be three orfour big people are predicting there will be three or four big subscription machines so to speak in a few years and everybody who is too small might have to be sold to them. i and everybody who is too small might have to be sold to them.— have to be sold to them. i don't know if you _ have to be sold to them. i don't know if you can _ have to be sold to them. i don't know if you can help _ have to be sold to them. i don't know if you can help me - have to be sold to them. i don't know if you can help me with i have to be sold to them. i don't i know if you can help me with this, where is the largest market for streaming? here in the uk where i am we still have terrestrial tv. right now it seems _ we still have terrestrial tv. right now it seems like _ we still have terrestrial tv. right now it seems like a _ we still have terrestrial tv. right now it seems like a lot _ we still have terrestrial tv. right now it seems like a lot of- we still have terrestrial tv. i1 q�*iii now it seems like a lot of growth is coming out of asia. india is a market that a lot of subscription players are getting a lot of growth from. the problem with those foreign markets is people are not used to spending as much on subscriptions as in the uk or the us. also it is more difficult to get subscribers in the markets abroad but you get less

money from them in a month. it is a real skill to — money from them in a month. it is a real skill to put _ money from them in a month. it is a real skill to put together _ money from them in a month. it is a real skill to put together a _ money from them in a month. it is a real skill to put together a winning l real skill to put together a winning strategy. thank you very much indeed. the headlines on bbc news... the body representing water companies says it's increasingly inevitable that a drought will be declared in britain as another extreme heat warning for parts of england and wales comes into force. energy bosses have held talks with the government to discuss plans to help customers struggling with soaring bills. ministers are promising more help in the coming months. a british man accused of being a member of the islamic state group is remanded in custody charged with terror offences. donald trump has declined to answer questions under oath as part of an investigation into his family's business practices. the former us president described the inquiry by the new york attorney general, as "a witch hunt". the former president's deposition

comes just days after the fbi carried out an unprecedented search at his florida home, as part of a separate investigation. our north america correspondent, peter bowes reports. staying mum. former president trump heads home without answering a single question. he'd been forced to testify under oath as part of a long—running investigation into the trump family business. mrtrump, can i have a word, sir? but donald trump exercised his right under us law to say nothing. how do you feel, mr trump? how do you feel? he pleaded the fifth, apparently sitting for hours repeating the words "same answer" to every question. the trump organisation is accused by new york state officials of misleading the authorities about the value of its assets, like golf courses and skyscrapers, in order to get favourable loans and tax breaks. invoking the fifth amendment as protection against self—incrimination is

a constitutional right of every american. it is not an admission of guilt, but in the past donald trump has questioned the need to do it. you see the mob take the fifth. if you are innocent why take the fifth amendment? shouting. fifth amendment, fifth amendment, fifth amendment. horrible, horrible. but now the former president says he understands why the fifth is used. he released this statement. the office of the women leading the investigation, new york attorney general letitia james, also released a statement confirming that the interview had taken place.

the case is just one of several legal battles currently being waged by the former president. it has been quite a week. crowds gathered outside his home in florida when it emerged that federal agents had executed a search warrant at the mar—a—lago estate. mr trump has vented his anger about it in social media, suggesting that the fbi could have been planting evidence. the search is believed to be part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents. some senior republicans have said thejustice department should give a full explanation of its actions. peter bowes, bbc news. the chief inspector of constabulary has criticised the police's response to burglary, robbery and theft, calling it "unacceptable". andy cooke says forces in england and wales are in danger of losing the public�*s confidence. he warned most victims

are not getting justice. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the details. because of the — physically where the car was, they were able to creep down the side of the car without triggering the camera. on the 14th of february, stefan borson's car was stolen outside his london home. he was inside the house and knew immediately it had gone. although his camera missed most of the crime, there was one picture and an exact time, and the street was full of cctv, and the car had a tracker. i received, two days later, a letter dated the 15th of february. but the next day the police sent him this letter, saying they were closing the case. they hadn't been around, they hadn't called. they, as far as i know, they hadn't done a kind of site visit without me being aware. i think it's unlikely that they would have done that without at least knocking on the door. so i'm not sure on what basis they could have said that they'd

investigated all potential leads. and this is not a cheap car that we're talking about. you know, this car had a retail value of around about £82,000. a new report by the inspectorate of constabulary into how police forces in england and wales respond to burglary, robbery and theft, has said that the low number of people being charged is unacceptable. only 4.2% of reported thefts results in a charge. people see these offences happening. they know about them. the neighbours tell them about them. policing, to maintain confidence and trust, has got to be seen to be doing something about them. and at the moment, with the low charge rates that we are seeing, the public, i'm sure, do not have that perception. the inspector said the police response everywhere could be improved by simple things, like reminding people not to tidy up after a crime, to preserve evidence. officers actually visiting the scenes of burglaries. and keeping victims updated on the outcomes of their cases. daniel sandford, bbc news.

are you a fan of eurovision? well, tomorrow we'll get closer to finding out where in the uk next year's contest will be held. here are the towns and cities hoping to host the event, but a shortlist will be announced on friday. it will be the first time the competition has been hosted here since 1998. so what does it mean for the city that wins? daniel rosney�*s been to turin, the scene of this year's eurovision, to find out. glitz. glamour. and glory. three months ago, at the world's largest live music event, where sam ryder gave an out of this world performance, rocketing up the leaderboard, coming second to ukraine. 183 points.

the country that wins normally gets to put on eurovision the following year. but the uncertainty of what the situation will be in ukraine meant it was offered to the bbc instead. a uk city will now take on the role after turin's success this year. our city has been known all over the world. we had an increase of the visitors, and especially we had a 40% increase of visitors from abroad. and we also know that our city has been followed by 161 million people in the world. turin spent more than £10 million on the event, but officials acknowledge rising costs we're seeing globally would make that more difficult to justify now. could turin host another international event? well, it's actually difficult because of the war in ukraine. the global economy is slowing down. it was a positive event of very good vibes, but it would be difficult

for every single city in the country. a venue will be needed for at least six weeks before the contest, for the production and for the 40 countries who take part to rehearse in. it's a mammoth undertaking for any broadcaster, and the bbc will want to show to the 160 million watching at home that it can put on a show. the competition's evolved from this 1982 edition. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. coming to you from the conference icentre at harrogate in yorkshire. i now the host city needs an arena that can fit 10,000 people, and enough hotels. birmingham was the choice 25 years ago, and says it wants it again. hold it down to a dull roar. but the competition from cities like newcastle, liverpool, leeds and glasgow is fierce. and the winner will throw the biggest party in europe. so i lived all the days like from 6am to 3am. i guess it was like venue, party, venue, party, so please do it. so it was cool.

i mean, i really enjoyed everything from that week. for me, it was actually being in the venue, i because like being where i they are recording something that is going worldwide i is an incredible experience. here we are! with laura, you know. ciao. buena sera tutti! make some noise, torino! in the uk now there is a lot of speculation about who's going to host now that the bbc is the broadcaster next year. could you give any advice to any broadcasters who are thinking about it? i hope it will be dermot — dermot o'leary, because i'm a i'm a friend with him and i hope he's going to host the eurovision. i think he will be perfect for that. cities on the shortlist will need to show they have the funds, infrastructure and passion for one of the most watched shows in the world. we'll find out exactly where that will be in the autumn, when a final decision is made. # i want to go.#

daniel rosney, bbc news, turin. the family of dame olivia newton john have accepted the offer of a state funeral for the start from officials in australia. the premiere officials in australia. the premiere of the state of victoria, dan andries, said the event would be more of a concert than a service. it is expected to be held in melbourne were olivia newtonjohn grew up. she died on monday from cancer at the age of 73. now it's time for a look at the weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello there. the heatwave is set to continue across most of the uk for the rest of this week. these are some of the temperatures we have recorded so far this week. 32 degrees celsius yesterday in usk, south—east wales. also the hottest august day in northern ireland since 2003. those temperatures

will climb further. 37 celsius in a few spots by saturday. this is a sustained period of heat. quite prolonged, intense heat with warm nights in between rather than a record—breaking spike we saw back injuly. if we do see four consecutive days of over 35 celsius, that will be the first time it has happened since the long hot summer of 1976. we now have that met office weather warning for extreme heat, amber, the second highest level of alert, that stretches to much of england, all the way up to manchester and leeds and eastern wales. these will be the temperatures thursday, again, 26—28 celsius in eastern scotland, also northern ireland. 34 celsius maybe somewhere west of london through the west midlands perhaps. but it is not hot everywhere. still some weather fronts out towards the north—west of scotland and outbreaks of rain here. that continues overnight. a warmerfeeling night across the board, may be a tropical night for parts of south—east wales,

mumbles, swansea, lows of19 or 20 degrees celsius, very uncomfortable for sleeping. we are getting all of this hot air on an easterly breeze from the near continent. because of that easterly wind strengthening tomorrow, towards the north sea coast, there could be cloud lapping onshore, but it will generally burn back to the coast. still that when a fan across the north—west of scotland. but for most of us, blue skies, strong sunshine, highs of maybe 36 celsius on friday. again most likely out towards the west midlands, the welsh marches, and central southern england. maybe 37 celsius in the same places by the time we get to saturday. london could see 37 degrees. this is the outlook for our capital cities over the next few days. notice on sunday while it is still hot, there could be more in the way of cloud which will push northwards, heralding a change into the start of next week. we will see some unstable moist air move through. it will be cooler with the chance of heavy, thundery downpours.

crisis talks between government and energy bosses about sky—rocketing prices. it comes as bills are set to reach over £4,000 a year — for the typical household. my my flat is empty. i don't know how i can possibly make any more adjustments or changes to try and satisfy this gas bill. we'll be asking what more can be done to help customers struggling with soaring costs. also this lunchtime... july saw the highest number of ambulance call—outs in england for life—threatening conditions, since records began. extreme heat warnings come into force from today, across the weekend, in parts of england and wales. one in six local authorities right across the country have shut at least one public swimming pool since the pandemic.