welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: firefighters from across europe offer help to france as it struggles to tackle "monster" wildfires near bordeaux. the us attorney general says he personally approved the decision to search donald trump's florida home and would make the court documents public. first, i personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter. second, the department does not take such a decision lately. amid more shelling around the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the un security council meets on the crisis and calls for urgent access to the site.

and the restored mural in an english bar — painted as payment by a local artist and drinker. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. heatwaves, wildfires and drought are continuing to affect large parts of europe. in the south—west of france, a thousand firefighters have been mobilized. rescue workers have described the blaze as a monster. a number of european countries are sending equipment and help. it's prompted increasing concern about the effects of climate change, as our correspondent mark lowen reports. a cloak of fire shrouding south—west france. a landscape of beauty,

turned to horror. as flames tear through the gironde, destroying almost 7,000 hectares, fanned by winds, searing heat and france's worst drought on record. a tranquil village last week, a ghost town this one, with 10,000 people evacuated. firefighters and planes have come from across europe to help france manage a nightmare that keeps recurring. translation: we must continue more than ever to fight _ against climate change, and we must continue to adapt to it. we will begin debates on a new climate change plan this autumn. elsewhere in europe too, fires rage. in spain, galicia is one of a dozen regions battling them. while in portugal, flames have destroyed more than 10,000 hectares of forests, scarring the night sky. how quickly our earth is drying up. this was france a year ago. and now look — lush land

turned to waste land, forests and fields barren. paris may be looking glorious in the sunshine, delighting its tourists, but we are, of course, facing a very serious situation. crops across europe are dying, worsening the global food crisis linked to the war in ukraine. extreme droughts and heatwaves that were freak events are now becoming more common and progressively worse. france's fourth successive heatwave is being lapped up by some, but despite the pleasure, they know the pain is deepening. i think if this summer has taught people anything, it's that this is happening and it is happening now. these temperatures are extreme, and if people don't start to act, it's only going to get worse, by the looks of it. because we are the new generation, we have to live on this planet. it is going really bad. we are a little worried about our future. france is taking the heat of what we are doing to our world. the postcard beauty may look stuck in time, but the planet is changing,

and there is fear of what is to come. that was mark lowen reporting on that story for us. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk, which is also feeling the effects of climate change. a drought could be declared in some parts of england as early as tomorrow, with temperatures expected to reach the mid—to—late 30s in places over the next few days. an amber extreme heat warning is already in force. a british man accused of being part of an islamic state cell known as the beatles — because of their british accents — has appeared in court charged with terror offences. aine davis was arrested yesterday at luton airport after being deported from turkey. he's always denied being part of the group. britain's chancellor nadhim zahawi says energy firms have agreed to work closely with the government to help people struggling to afford soaring energy bills. ministers, including outgoing pm borisjohnson, met with representatives of the electricity industry today.

mrjohnson said any significant financial decisions would be a matter for his successor. accident and emergency departments in english hospitals had one of their worst months ever injuly, according to latest figures from nhs england. record numbers of patients waited more than 12 hours to be admitted. response times for ambulances dealing with emergency cases were also much longer than the target time. the us attorney general, merrick garland, has defended thejustice department's decision to seek a search warrant for donald trump's residence at mar—a—lago earlier this week. mr garland said he had personally approved the move, noting that upholding the rule of law meant applying the law evenly without fear or favour. he said the department ofjustice would make the warrant public,

because of the substantial public interest. from the us department ofjustice, our north america correspondent john sudworth has more. well, in the week that we have had that news of the unprecedented search of a former president's home by the fbi, another highly unusual intervention, a press conference by the attorney general merrick garland taking place in the building behind me, and in which he made it clear that he was going against long—established president by speaking out against long—established precedent by speaking out on an ongoing legal issue. his motivation — donald trump's own public statements and that full—barreled assault by the former president's supporters, in which they are accusing the fbi and mr garland's own department of engaging in politcised justice. mr garland said he was seeking to have the search warrant and the list of items taken from mr trump's home made public, something that will, in a way, put the ball firmly back in mr trump's court, because were he to oppose

that motion, of course, it may look as if he has something to hide. there's been no real response from donald trump yet, other than a few social media posts in which he has, for example, accused the fbi of going through the former first lady's clothes during their search, but nothing engaging with the substance itself and merrick garland's main point, which, far from an attack on the principles ofjustice, the search represented justice taking its true and rightful course. that wasjohn that was john sudworth reporting that wasjohn sudworth reporting on that story for us. i'm joined now by donald ayer, former united states deputy attorney general, serving under president george bush. it is great to get you on the programme. ijust want it is great to get you on the programme. i just want to start by saying, obviously there's a lot we don't know yet, but what you know is how the justice department works, so give us a sense of whether you found this unusual? it is not standard protocol, is it, for the attorney general to come out like this and

publicly comment on an ongoing investigation?— investigation? that's right. i appreciate — investigation? that's right. i appreciate the _ investigation? that's right. i appreciate the chance - investigation? that's right. i appreciate the chance to - investigation? that's right. i appreciate the chance to be | investigation? that's right. i- appreciate the chance to be with you today. we have a tradition which i think the british certainly understand, where we have great respect for the rights of the potentially accused, and so the practice that is almost completely uniform is that government investigators, fbi, people involved investigators, fbi, people involved in investigating criminalisty, don't comment on the ongoing process. the time comes, if it comes, when they are ready to bring charges, and then there's a public announcement, but generally speaking, does not discussion as it goes forward. he sense is, it's really quite unfair to people when the government say, we are going to charge you, we will prosecute you, we will ta ke

take you to trial if we need to, it is unfair. the usual practice is not to talk, but here we ran into not surprisingly an amazing situation of a huge amount of commentary and really misleading information as a result of this search, and the republican politicians, in large numbers, were complaining, they were demanding an explanation, and lots of people have attended over the years to believe things donald trump said, whether they are true or not, no doubt were influenced by that. so the response here was not the response of, i'm going to tell you about what we know, the response was essentially a very quick statement indicating how the process works, something that would give reasonable people comfort, and then as you indicate, bottom line is, we are at

a point here with this particular search that we are ready to let it be released if the court is willing and... i be released if the court is willing and... . , ., , and... i am so sorry to “ump in, donald, — and... i am so sorry to “ump in, donald. but i and... i am so sorry to “ump in, donald, butjust h and... i am so sorry to “ump in, donald, butjust on _ and... i am so sorry tojump in, donald, butjust on that, - and... i am so sorry tojump in, donald, butjust on that, what i donald, butjust on that, what do you think that tells us, the fact they are ready to make this public, in terms of the evidence they might have? it in terms of the evidence they might have? ., , , , ., in terms of the evidence they might have? ., , , have? it only tells you something, i think, about — have? it only tells you something, i think, about the _ have? it only tells you something, i think, about the particular- have? it only tells you something, i think, about the particular instance| think, about the particular instance of involving the search warrant. sometimes when you have an investigation going on, it is important to keep stuff quiet because it is secret and people would be disclosed, and there's bad things that might happen if it were disclosed. 0bviously things that might happen if it were disclosed. obviously this is not one of those situations, and so i think the department made the judgment that the public�*s interest here in knowing what's going on outweighs any other considerations, so it essentially said, look, we are happy to disclose this, which includes the warrants, the affidavit and the list

of materials that were released, so i don't think it tells you, oh, the government is ready to file charges against donald trump, i think it simply means that with regard to this particular search, they are perfectly happy to have the public see what went on.— perfectly happy to have the public see what went on. great to get you on the programme, _ see what went on. great to get you on the programme, donald - see what went on. great to get you on the programme, donald ayer, l on the programme, donald ayer, former united states deputy attorney general. thanks forjoining us on newsday. general. thanks for “oining us on newsda . . ~ general. thanks for “oining us on newsda . ., ~ back to our top story — the wildfires in france. for more on this, i am joined now by bruno maestracci, who's head of fire and rescue in the seine—et—marne region near paris, though he's actually in prague at the moment. it is great to get you on the programme, i imagine that all of your colleagues and your teams are extremely busy and i do hope they are safe, butjust from your experience, give us a sense of how bad these fires are? have you seen

hires like this before? this bad these fires are? have you seen hires like this before?— hires like this before? this is the first time france _ hires like this before? this is the first time france is _ hires like this before? this is the first time france is exposed - hires like this before? this is the first time france is exposed in i hires like this before? this is the i first time france is exposed in this kind of manner. we have different measures for that. i am not only in the south of france, but the whole territory, as you remember last month, injuly, we had fires, and these fires you have grass fire in uk and london, so the climate factor is one. the second factor is, there's not enough water in the air. the third factor is when. we have a wind, and with this one, it is quite difficult. with the specific case of the bordeaux fire, the fire, more than 5000, 6000 hectares, a fire

like that creates its own wind, and thenit like that creates its own wind, and then it is very difficult for firefighters on the ground, because it is changing, the tactics is always changing, and even if we are using water and whatever... sorry. sorry, reno, ijust wanted tojump in there and get a sense from you, as you were describing, just how bad the situation is at this point in time, in your view? the situation, there is not _ time, in your view? the situation, there is not enough _ time, in your view? the situation, there is not enough let's - time, in your view? the situation, there is not enough let's go i time, in your view? the situation, there is not enough let's go to there is not enough let's go to the basic rules for a fire in france. we extinguished 97% of fires in less than three hectares. 3%, let's say, we don't have the control, but we go back to basics, back to the principles. as soon we

know there is a fire, we need to combine action of ground forces and aerial means, and these planes are in the south of france, the ways we are doing is progressing, but with heat waves, in the north of france, they don't have aerial means. bruno, 'ust they don't have aerial means. bruno, just briefly. — they don't have aerial means. bruno, just briefly. just _ they don't have aerial means. bruno, just briefly, just how _ they don't have aerial means. bruno, just briefly, just how well-equipped l just briefly, just how well—equipped are your teams at this point in time? just give us a sense of what kind of help you need. the time? just give us a sense of what kind of help you need.— time? just give us a sense of what kind of help you need. the help we need, we kind of help you need. the help we need. we have _ kind of help you need. the help we need, we have six _ kind of help you need. the help we need, we have six planes - kind of help you need. the help we need, we have six planes coming l kind of help you need. the help we . need, we have six planes coming from italy, from greece, from sweden, and these six planes are in the european union civil aviation mechanism, and we decide where we send lanes. the

two swedish planes, they are going straight to brittany, and other planes from italy and greece, they are going to bordeaux, 0k, planes from italy and greece, they are going to bordeaux, ok, but at the same time, they send us ground forces from four countries, germany, austria, poland and romania... if; austria, poland and romania... ic. i'm so sorry, bruno, i am so sorry. we are running out of time for joining us —— running out of time on the segment. thank you so much for joining us. bruno maestracci, thank you. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we have a special report coming up right after this on ukraine. the big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached.

as the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a huge job of crowd control. idi amin, uganda's brutalformer dictator, has died at the age of 80. he's been buried in saudi arabia, where he lived in exile since being overthrown in 1979. 2 billion people around the world have seen the last total eclipse of the sun to take place in this millennia. it began itsjourney off the coast of canada, ending three hours later, when the sun set over the bay of bengal.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines: firefighters from across europe offer help to france as it struggles to tackle "monster" wildfires near bordeaux. the us attorney general says he personally approved the decision to search donald trump's florida home and would make the court documents public. the united nations secretary general antonio guterres has urged both russia and ukraine to cease all military operations around the main nuclear plant. the nuclear complex was reportedly struck by artillery shells five times on thursday, including near the site where radioactive materials are stored. the head of the un nuclear watchdog, rafael grossi, said the agency must be allowed to inspect the plant — which is the largest in europe. he warned that fighting near the site has sparked a "grave" crisis. russian forces currently occupy the plant, and it has been the subject of a number of artillery strikes throughout the war. so just how serious is the situation

at the nuclear power plant? for more on this, i am joined now by elizabeth shackelford, a former us department of state official until december 2017 and now senior fellow at the chicago council on global affairs. it is great to get you on the programme. ijust want it is great to get you on the programme. i just want to get your thoughts on, is there anything at this point that international institutions like the un and the ie a can—do i think there's a lot they need to be doing. the a can-do i think there's a lot they need to be doing.— need to be doing. the question is how effective _ need to be doing. the question is how effective it _ need to be doing. the question is how effective it is _ need to be doing. the question is how effective it is going - need to be doing. the question is how effective it is going to - need to be doing. the question is how effective it is going to be. it | how effective it is going to be. it is in the hands of people we don't control, like president putin of russia, but we need to continue to put multilateral pressure on russia to allow inspectors in. we need to ensure that the un puts those inspectors there as well. russia has been claiming that the united nations and the iaea have been the block. there has not been a palatable military solution to this current standoff, so we all need to

come —— we all need to come every country needs to... to militarise this area. how big is the risk right now in your view of some sort of accident happening at that separates a nuclear power plant or something even worse? —— at that power plant? it is hard to they're shelling in that vicinity, the higher risk of an accident. the risks of anyone intentionally blowing up the plant is exceedingly low, because the costs are so high to all sides, but the risks of an accident, some sort of leakage, is getting higher by the day. the sad risk is, though, that risk does not need to be high for it to be exceedingly serious. so need to be high for it to be exceedingly serious. need to be high for it to be exceedinul serious. ., exceedingly serious. so where do we no exceedingly serious. so where do we to from exceedingly serious. so where do we

go from here. _ exceedingly serious. so where do we go from here, elizabeth? _ exceedingly serious. so where do we go from here, elizabeth? how- exceedingly serious. so where do we go from here, elizabeth? how do i exceedingly serious. so where do we| go from here, elizabeth? how do you see this playing out? i go from here, elizabeth? how do you see this playing out?— see this playing out? i think we need to use _ see this playing out? i think we need to use all _ see this playing out? i think we need to use all the _ see this playing out? i think we need to use all the diplomatic. see this playing out? i think we i need to use all the diplomatic tools at our disposal. that means engaging through the united nations but also the united states has opportunity to do diplomacy, 1 degrees removed. we are not going to do anything at this stage to persuade putin or russia directly. wejust stage to persuade putin or russia directly. we just don't have that kind of leverage and we have thrown a lot on the table, in terms of the leverage that we have, with sanctions and our military support to ukraine, so at this stage, we need to look at who we have leverage over, who has some leverage over putin? there are some indications that china for example does not feel particular comfortable with the situation, and that is the kind of nation that could have influence on putin. it needs to be a full court press by all nations who do not want to see a nuclear disaster. b5 press by all nations who do not want to see a nuclear disaster.— to see a nuclear disaster. as you have described, _ to see a nuclear disaster. as you have described, elizabeth, i to see a nuclear disaster. as you have described, elizabeth, we i to see a nuclear disaster. as you i have described, elizabeth, we have had so many competing narratives up to this point. is it impossible to say who has the upper hand in the

conference right now? i say who has the upper hand in the conference right now?— say who has the upper hand in the conference right now? i think that's ve hard conference right now? i think that's very hard to — conference right now? i think that's very hard to stay — conference right now? i think that's very hard to stay at _ conference right now? i think that's very hard to stay at this _ conference right now? i think that's very hard to stay at this stage, i very hard to stay at this stage, and i would hate to protect anything, but we do anticipate is going to continue to be long and drawn out. i think morale is going to play a big part. seeing the vulnerabilities of crimea, for example, with what has been happening this week, certainly is not quite to help russian morale and he and he might really help boost ukrainian morale, but it is going to be a question of who has the support, the materials that they need to continue for the longer period of time, unfortunately, so i think we are dug in for a long conflict. . , think we are dug in for a long conflict. ., , ,, ., . ,, ., conflict. elizabeth shackelford, thank ou conflict. elizabeth shackelford, thank you so — conflict. elizabeth shackelford, thank you so much _ conflict. elizabeth shackelford, thank you so much for- conflict. elizabeth shackelford, thank you so much forjoining l conflict. elizabeth shackelford, l thank you so much forjoining us conflict. elizabeth shackelford, i thank you so much forjoining us on the programme, former us department of state official. it's impossible to accurately know how many people have been killed since russia invaded the country. the challenges in identifying and repatriating soldiers killed, on either side, means that, according to the ukrainian government, only around 400 fallen

fighters have been returned home. as wyre davies reports from eastern ukraine, when occupied villages are taken back, its a painfully slow and difficult process to recover the dead. a warning, his report contains some distressing images. at the very start of this war, russian soldiers were filmed entering the suburbs of kharkiv. 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 one 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 is 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. this village was deep inside russian occupied territory. it's still a live firing zone, as you can probably hear in the background. what with these guys doing now, they're locals, they're digging up the bodies of russian soldiers who have been killed in the fighting. after they have been bagged, they will be taken away for dna sampling, and eventually they will be repatriated to russia itself. piled on top of each other, the bodies of six russian soldiers. yuri, the grave digger, 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. loud explosion 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 is sporadic. "we find plenty of russians", says lieutenant colonel 0leksandr kutsenko, 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 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 wait the return of the fallen. wyre davies, bbc news. finally, i want to tell you about this story. how about this for a unique work of art? this pub mural was painted byjohn gilroy, a post—world war ii artist. he liked a drink or two — and this unique mural in the bar of a hotel in england's county durham is an indirect result. all the characters in the mural were staff or customers at the time. he painted it as a way of paying his bill. and now his work has been lovingly restored by specialists after years of cigarette smoke damaged the original.

what a mural indeed, and that takes us to the end of the programme. thanks so much for watching. hello. we've seen the heat intensify day by day so far this week, and for many of you, the heat is set to peak, even through friday or indeed saturday. most places on both days sitting under sunny skies yet again. the main risk areas, of course, of the highest of the temperatures, the greatest impacts for health and transport, covered by the met office amber extreme heat warning, still in place all the way through to sunday across a good part of england and east wales, where we start with the highest temperatures on friday morning. a little bit fresher on the countryside, particularly northern england, scotland and northern ireland. and, here, a very pleasant start, a few mist and fog patches dotted around. for most of you, they will clear. and for the vast majority, again, it's going to be another day of blue

skies from dawn till dusk. a few exceptions, though. eastern coasts of england, from lincolnshire northwards, we could see some mist and see fog patches just drift ashore — not many of them. certainly more for eastern coasts of scotland, and in the far north of scotland, our weather front�*s still there. not producing as much rain or drizzle and the better chance of some brightness, so maybe a little bit warmer compared with thursday. but elsewhere, away from these eastern coasts, where the mist and fog rolls its way in every now and again, it's going to be an even warmer day — temperatures 36 celsius potentially through parts of the midlands. and then into the evening, a warm evening in store. most will be under clear skies again, but mist and low cloud becomes more of an issue, eastern scotland and through the central belt, towards the glasgow area. it means temperatures won't drop as much here compared with what we see into friday morning. and a warm night elsewhere, particularly so west wales and parts of west cumbria, to the west of high ground. we'll see really temperatures hold up. could see temperatures above 20 degrees for some. and that sets us off to a very warm start to saturday, lots of sunshine again, but again there's that risk of some mist and low cloud across the eastern coasts.

bit more sunshine developing across the north of scotland. temperatures across england and wales peaking at around 35—37 degrees. probably the highest temperature in and around the london area by this stage. but there are signs of a change. through into sunday, an area of low pressure pushes out of france, which will then sit in place for the start of next week. splotches of blue, yes, they are indeed the chance of rain, potentially some quite nasty thunderstorms as well. and with the ground dry, that could lead to some flooding in one or two spots. but, being thunderstorms, they're going to be very much scattered around, hit—and—miss. most places still dry and sunny until late in the day, still pretty hot. temperatures drop as we go into next week, only slowly. the nights stay warm, but there is that potential here and there of some missing out of some storms.

this is bbc news, the headlines the us attorney general merrick garland says he personally approved the decision to search donald trump's florida home — and would make the court documents public. he said upholding the rule of law meant applying it without favour. at a meeting of the un security council, the united states and china have both called for un experts to be allowed urgently to visit the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in russian—occupied southern ukraine. european nations are sending firefighters and equipment to france — to help tackle a resurgence of wildfires in the south west of the country. more than a— thousand french firefighters are tackling what they've called a monstruous blaze there.

new research suggests the arctic is warming significantly