sir salman rushdie — author of the controverisal book the satanic verses — has been stabbed during a literary event in america. he was attacked on stage before being rushed to hospital and is tonight undergoing surgery. he is an individual who has spent decades speaking truth to power,

someone who has been out there, unafraid, despite the threats. a man has been arrested. we'll have the latest. also on the programme. drought is officially declared across large parts of england after the driestjuly in 50 years. there's no cheer in the latest economic figures which show the economy has shrunk slightly. people don't seem to be coming out eating as much, or coming out drinking as much, because they can't afford it. train drivers strike this weekend over pay and the cost of living — disrupting people's ability to get to sporting and social events across the country. and the shortlist of uk cities that could host next year's eurovision song contest has been revealed, with seven left in the running. coming up on the bbc news channel,

gold in herfinal major race for britain's n triathlete non stanford who sprinted to the line to win the european championships in munich. good evening and welcome to bbc news at ten. the author sir salman rushdie has been stabbed on stage at a literary event in new york state while preparing to give a lecture. he was flown to hospital by helicopter and earlier his agent confirmed he was in surgery. police said a suspect was arrested at the scene and taken into custody. salman rushdie received death threats after writing his book, the satanic verses in 1988 and went into hiding for nearly a decade. our north america correspondent john sudworth has more. there was confusion and panic.

the attack happened in full view of the audience. sir salman was left injured, lying on stage, and eyewitnesses in deep shock. there was nothing audible from the attacker. we just saw him move on stage very quickly and, repeatedly and with vicious determination, stabbed salman rushdie. people were rising up out of their seats, gasping, crying and screaming and this unheard—of thing was happening on stage. salman rushdie was taken to hospital by helicopter. he had been due to speak at the chautauqua institution, a centre for arts and learning in western new york state which has long celebrated freedom of expression. a value, many observers pointed out, embodied by mr rushdie himself. here is an individual who has spent decades speaking truth to power, someone who has been out there, unafraid despite the threats that

have followed him his entire adult life, it seems. the motive for the attack is not yet known, but the threat of assassination that sir salman has long lived under will be a key focus of the investigation. his book, the satanic verses, published in 1988, was condemned as blasphemous by the then supreme ruler of iran, ayatollah khomeini. the fatwa, or religious ruling, was accompanied by a bounty in exchange for his death. now, a country that holds free speech in such high regard is contemplating the shocking sight of the author, wounded for his work, being wheeled into hospital. video footage shows a man taken into custody by police shortly after the attack. john sudworth, bbc news, washington. in a moment we will talk tojohn sudworth in washington, but first... our religion editor aleem maqbooljoins me. aleem, people may be surprised sir salman has been attacked so many years

on from when the book was published? you have to remember the levels of did an area there was around this book when it was published. he expected some kind of backlash from clerics perhaps because of some of the themes he was broaching in the book, for example questions as to whether the koran was the word of god. he said he never expected this. we had protests around the world, people dying in those protests, we had the banning of the book in many countries, then this fatwa which was a degree that offered a reward not just for the death of salman rushdie but anybody associated with the publication of the book. even though salman rushdie has evaded physical harm for the last 33 years, others haven't. the norwegian publisher of the book, for example, was shot, a translator in japan the book, for example, was shot, a translator injapan was stabbed to death. and some muslim clerics who spoke out against the fatwa were shot and killed in places like saudi

arabia and tunisia. it wasn'tjust salman rushdie�*s life that was irrevocably altered by this kind of extremism, it was the alliance of many others, and incidentally iran never rescinded that fatwa. thanks very much- — let's cross over to washington now to speak to our north america correspondentjohn sudworth, john tell us about the correspondentjohn sudworth, john tell us about the reaction to this attack, and what's the latest? just as this programme came on air, the new york state police were due to hold a press conference. we expect that begin at any moment now. we may hear more details, in particular about the person arrested. at the moment we don't anything, we don't know their age, nationality or possible motive. we may also hear more about salman rushdie himself. other than the fact he has undergone surgery at hospital, there has been no official

update on his condition. what there has been, of course, is an outpouring of concern on social media. we heard from cathy ho choi earlier. she said she was heartbroken at this news. boris johnson said he is appalled and said salman rushdie had been exercising a right we should never cease to defend. others have pointed to something else and that is salman rushdie's bravery, the fact he continued to write, speak in public despite these threats. american pen, an organisation of which he was once president, saying he neverflinched orfaltered. at pointing president, saying he neverflinched or faltered. at pointing to salman rushdie's own words. one human rights organisation quoting him as having once said, free speech is life itself. . ~' , ., having once said, free speech is life itself. ., ~ , ., g ., a drought has been declared across many parts of england, amidst the driest summerfor 50 years. as you can see here, the areas affected include much of the south west, parts of southern and central england, and the east of england. a met office and the weather warning is in place for some parts of

england and wales until midnight on sunday. with temperatures as high as 36 degrees expected over the weekend. the announcement covers much of the south—west, parts of southern and central and eastern england and means more hosepipe bans are likely and water companies could bring in even stricter measures including a ban on nonessential water use. our correspondent helena wilkinson has more. near the village of creswell, a fire earlier this afternoon. it started in fields and spread to a neighbouring farm. people had to leave their homes. this is west bridgford in nottinghamshire. they were still trying to put out fires. this is studland, dorset. dried out from the heat, desperate for water and reservoir is low, like this one in derbyshire. after nearly six weeks of dry conditions, a drought has been declared for parts of england.

southern, central and eastern areas are affected, including devon and cornwall, kent, london and the east midlands. water companies can now bring in stricter measures to save water. when you turn on a tap or have a shower, that water comes out of rivers like this, that means we are taking it away from the environment or a farmer who could be using it to irrigate or harvest crops we need for food, so it's about signalling this is something beyond normal and we all play a role in thinking about where our water comes from and to use water wisely. there are already hosepipe bans in place, with more on the way. from today, nearly 1.5 million south east water customers in sussex and kent, are banned from using them. in some areas, there are exemptions. rule—breakers could be fined £1000. one of the areas banned is haywards heath in west sussex. this allotment has suffered after nearly six weeks with little

rain and dry conditions. plots are bare, crops and flowers are drying. murray owns an allotment here. it has meant a poorer harvest and a depressing time of the year when we should be bringing in lots and lots of crops. i do have that longer term worry that it is going to put people off the idea of gardening. in fife, in scotland, farmers are being temporarily banned from using water from the river eden on theirfields from midnight tomorrow. although not officially declared a drought area, in barry island in south wales, the warm weather has been good for business. financially, it's helped immensely. when we see weather forecasts like this, hitting 30 degrees, we can cope. we are now halfway through this extreme and there is forecast for some rain early next week but the environment agency says

we will need weeks of rain to stop the drought affecting parts of england. helena wilkinson, bbc news, surrey. so which parts of the country are being affected and what more can people do to conserve water? our climate editorjustin rowlatt is here to give us the details. thanks, tina. this is where drought has been declared — look at that — more than half of the country. and the environment agency says two other big english regions — yorkshire and the west midlands — are likely to be declared in drought by the end of this month. this gives you an idea of why the decision has been made. these are the areas where hosepipe bans are already in place — and we are being told that more bans are very likely on their way. raising the dial to drought sounds dramatic — and that is the point. i hope you enjoy the and that is the point.

the government wants to encourage us all to use the country's scarce water supplies more wisely. so what can we do? don't have a bath have a shower — and a short one. don't leave taps on — even when you're brushing your teeth. don't put on a small wash, wait till you've got a full load. and finally, fix any leaks. a leaking toilet can waste 400 litres a day! and of course, we should also be asking what the water companies are going to do. a plant that takes water from the river thames in london and makes it drinkable could go into operation. and as well as additional hosepipe bans, if things get worse they could order you to stop washing your car. remember 1976 — the water industry is saying it is very unlikely that we'll see the standpipes in the streets and water rationing the uk experienced during the famous drought back then.

look at this experiment from the university of reading. this shows just how long it takes for water to soak into parched ground. look, the wet grass has absorbed it all already, but the water level of the cup at the far end there on dry ground has barely changed! what does that tell us? it shows why heavy rain forecast for next week is likely to lead to some flash floods. the water will run off. and the weather extremes we've seen unfolding across europe this week are going to become more common. the climate science is very clear. it says heatwaves will become more frequent and more intense as our atmosphere continues to warm. and spare a thought for the arctic. look at this. it shows how much more rapidly the arctic has warmed than the rest of the world since the industrial revolution. it is blushing red at the top.

new research suggests it is warming four times faster than the global average yet another warning showing why it is so important the world cuts carbon emissions and quickly. for more information on the rules on hospeipe bans, and what drought means for you go to the bbc website at this address. tina? thanks very much. the uk economy shrank slightly between april and june — adding to concerns about a darkening economic outlook. gross domestic product figures — that's the total value of all goods and services in the uk — fell by 0.1% in that period according to the office for national statistics — smaller than some analysts predicted. and the gdp figures just for the month ofjune showed the economy shrunk by 0.6%. here's our business editor, simonjack.

here in chester, it's notjust the drinks that are on ice. the whole economy has started to cool. the owner of this bar, kingdom thenga, told me hopes of a post—covid boom had been dashed. we're just surviving right now. it's not about making money, it's not about trying to expand or trying to grow our business, it's just about stabilising the business, especially after the pandemic over the past two years. we thought, we'll get through the pandemic and we'll come back and there will be a massive surge and the roaring �*20s, here we come. the reality is that it's the opposite. judging by your own business, do you think we are already in recession? i would say yes. from energy bills to people not going out to the cost of living. itjust seems like that's where we are heading. a few miles away at the airbus factory in north wales, the current chancellor admitted times were tough, but said that £37 billion of support already

announced by his predecessor, rishi sunak, split between tax cuts and direct support for bill payers, would help — and more could be on the way. there is no doubt that these are challenging times. but of course, what we need to do is make sure we do two things. one, dealwith the spike in gas prices. the way we do that is to get the £37 billion out of the door. we are midway through that. there's more to do. and then to work up the options available for more help later in the winter, in december and january. one of the clearest signals yet that the person the chancellor is backing to succeed borisjohnson, liz truss, is accepting more direct support — what she was previously called hand—outs — will be needed. meanwhile, the labour leader said families needed detail of any new help coming sooner rather than later. had the government acted more quickly on the windfall tax, then for many more months families would have been protected under a better scheme by labour.

if the government had acted on labour's idea for vat to be reduced, to be eliminated on energy bills, many people would be better off. just a few miles from airbus, greenacres animal park care for creatures that like high temperatures all year round, which means heating bills this winter are a serious concern. we have a lot of exotic animals on site. lemurs, crocodiles, etc, and it's expensive now to look after them. if the prices are going to increase, as is predicted, it's a real worry how we are going to get through the winter. inflation stoked by these extraordinary energy price rises is sapping the life out of the economy. any hopes of a post—pandemic animal spirits recovery is being crushed by a cost of living and a cost of doing business crisis. companies are seeing their own costs soar while their customers' incomes dive. whoever becomes the next prime minister will have the formidable task of preventing millions feeling financial hardship and thousands

of companies from going under. visitors here said they were cutting back. for this summer we've all looked for more free places to go to. we're going to have to start tightening our belts a bit because times are getting harder — everything apart from wages are going up. the economy has not fallen off a cliff — it's only shrunk slightly. but consumer fears are rising and business confidence is falling. simonjack, bbc news, north wales. across the country increases in energy, food and fuel prices are already affecting many people. it's peak holiday season in ilfracombe in north devon but people there are already feeling the squeeze. jenny kumah reports from a town already worried about the months ahead. the sun is shining and the town is busy with holiday makers. but ilfracombe is a place where housing is expensive, many people earn lower wages and now they are also dealing with rising inflation.

chester sleeps at the bottom... and my bed is at the top of the triple bunk. this family of six are living in one room in grandma's two—bedroom bungalow. it's very cosy, very loud and very hot. mum, lisa, is a mental health nurse whose contract ends in october. she and her husband sold their house last year, and they can't afford to buy or rent locally. we've got one of those smart meters in there and all of the energy prices obviously are increasing ridiculously, so we are constantly monitoring it and constantly seeing it and trying to find new ways to do things. it's just really sad. i've got my husband, who earns a good wage, and yet we still have to think about these things and worry about these things. and then ijust think, oh, my goodness, all these people that aren't in the position that we are in. how do we help them? the town's employment is based on low—paid seasonal work. the average weekly wage here is just over £1100. that's around £100 below

the national average. michelle works just up from the harbour. she has lived here all her life and has a 14—year—old daughter at home. while it's busy, she's taking on as many extra shifts as possible. i'll probably have to try and get an extra job to try and get some extra money. and how easy will that be? well, it won't be very easy. not here. because it is a summer town, that's when you make the money. in the winter it's going to be very hard. we are all having to pay more. brian, who owns this shop, says his wholesale prices have gone up by up to 30%. he is trying not to pass those costs on. but he has noticed a change in shopping habits. last year's heatwave, we were selling an average of 20 big fans a day. this year we were selling three big fans a day. a lot of people just think, we can't

actually afford to run that fan, to leave that fan on all night. we can't afford the electricity. people here tell me they are trying to make the most of the sunshine and the trade the summer brings. but they say they are increasingly worried about the months ahead. jenny kumah, bbc news. the prime minister has acknowledged the support available for people with energy bills already is not enough — and he expects more will be on offer in october and january. let's go to our political correspondent nick eardley at westminster. borisjohnson boris johnson admitting, then, borisjohnson admitting, then, that the government isn't doing enough and people need more help with the cost of living. and people need more help with the cost of living-— cost of living. exactly. the prime minister seen _ cost of living. exactly. the prime minister seen that _ cost of living. exactly. the prime minister seen that package - cost of living. exactly. the prime - minister seen that package announced three months ago is not going to be enough, more cash is going to be needed to help people with bills. what boris johnson needed to help people with bills. what borisjohnson cannot and will not say is where that money should go. instead, the treasury is drawing

up go. instead, the treasury is drawing up some ready to go options for whoever the next prime minister is. that lack of immediate action infuriates some. labour have talked about a zombie government. keir starmer will set out his own plans next week, although he has been criticised for not doing that earlier. whatever the options on the table are, the decision will be for the next prime minister. remember, rishi sunak saying he will spend billions to help people with their bills, liz truss has been a lot quieter about that. she wants to talk about tax cuts, which are popular with tory members. there is a big debate playing out in the conservative party and until that is overin conservative party and until that is over in three and a half weeks, the big decisions are on hold. thank ou, nick big decisions are on hold. thank you, nick eardley, _ big decisions are on hold. thank you, nick eardley, in _ big decisions are on hold. thank i you, nick eardley, in westminster. in the us federaljudge has ordered the unseating of a warrant used to search the home of the former president donald trump at mar—a—lago in florida. gary o'donoghue is in

washington. tell us, what is in it. this is an unprecedented move by the fbi searching the home of a former us president. what were they looking for and what did they take away? we know some of that information now. they were looking for information related to top—secret documents that may have been taken from the white house when the president left office. what they found was four sets of top—secret information, the highest classification, that can cause exceptionally grave consequences for national security. they found other classified documents as well, photographs, they found material relating to presidential pardons and curiously some information related to the president of france. what were they looking for in connection with? this was in connection with three separate potential crimes, the espionage act, the handling of government documents, and the obstruction ofjustice. no charges

or indictments have been handed down in this case. we are a long way off that but all of those crimes, potentially, have the possible jail terms of anything between 3—20 years. donald trump has come out and said he declassified all these documents, he was preparing to hand them over but he had been subpoenaed earlier in the year and he didn't do so. but all this does is fuel his political base and gives him a shot in the arm politically, and i think we are going to hear a lot more from this president because this gives him a platform on which to launch a potential run for the presidency in 2024. 11 people have been killed in a mass shooting in montenegro. reports suggest a man opened fire during a family dispute in the former capital, targeting first his relatives and then people on the street. apparently at random. a further six people were wounded

before police shot 34—year—old man dead. the government has declared three of mourning. —— three days of mourning. thousands of train drivers are striking tomorrow in a dispute over pay and working conditions. the train drivers' union aslef said the strikes were a last resort — but the rising cost of living meant workers are facing a real—terms pay cut. let's speak to our business correspondent caroline davies. can you run us through the services affected? can you run us through the services affected? i can you run us through the services affected? .., . , can you run us through the services affected? ., , , ., can you run us through the services affected? .,, i. , affected? i can, as you can see behind me _ affected? i can, as you can see behind me some _ affected? i can, as you can see behind me some of _ affected? i can, as you can see behind me some of the - affected? i can, as you can see behind me some of the last - affected? i can, as you can see - behind me some of the last passenger is a before the last, file services, people here would have been trying to get away before that strike happens tomorrow. this is a strike for the train drivers and it is over pay, and terms and conditions. these are the nine train companies that are the nine train companies that are affected. you can see avanti whiskers, and some of these will be running reduced services, some

running reduced services, some running those of us at all and the implication is that some services will be disrupted into sunday as well. that's the not the only disruption you will see over the weekend. avanti west coast are also reducing their timetable from sunday. that is because it relies quite heavily on train drivers volunteering to work on rest days, about 400 services rely on that but avanti say that the numbers volunteering have effectively dropped off a cliff, so they don't have enough people to be able to run those services. that means that they would be on the reduced timetable from sunday but at the moment we do not know until when, so at the moment it is looking like a rather disrupted summer on the railways. thank you, carolyn davies at euston for us. an extra 7,000 nhs hospital beds are to be created, as the health service in england prepares for what's expected to be a tough winter. it comes after government scientific advisers warned that "high numbers of beds may be needed for respiratory patients". i'm joined by our

health editor, hugh pym. senior health officials are worried about winter. we have seen how strict the nhs is in the middle of summer. the devolved administrations will set out their plans. hhs will set out their plans. nhs encland will set out their plans. nhs england has _ will set out their plans. nhs england has written - will set out their plans. nhs england has written to - will set out their plans. hhs england has written to the health system urging them to make plans for now in august, for this winter and one part of that is creating the equivalent of 7000 extra beds. some of them will be encircled virtual wards, patience and their own homes being monitored remotely by doctors, freeing up beds for others, and there will be mobile stand—alone units in hospital property, next to hospitals, creating yet more space. the question is, will that be enough, in terms of dealing with the threats ahead? will there be enough workforce? there is a likely covid wave ahead, who has been quite low in the uk in the past couple of years, but this time round, based on

what we have seen in australia it could be quite nasty which is why experts are saying even in an optimistic scenario, there will be a high demand for beds.— high demand for beds. thank you, huh high demand for beds. thank you, hugh pym. _ high demand for beds. thank you, hugh pym. our — high demand for beds. thank you, hugh pym, our health _ high demand for beds. thank you, hugh pym, our health editor. - at the european athletics championships in munich, non stanford has won the first gold medalfor great britain. racing in a british vest for the very last time, she followed up her commonwealth team silver, with gold in the women's triathlon. stanford is retiring from the sport in october to become assistant coach of the great britain team. seven uk cities have been named to compete to host next year's eurovision song contest. it's coming to britain after we came second in this year's contest — and organisers decided it wouldn't be safe for the winning country, ukraine, to host. our arts correspondent david sillito is in liverpool — one of the cities on the shortlist. fanfare katie boyle, 1960. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. on behalf of the bbc, i'd

like to welcome you all to the fifth annual eurovision song contest. europe thinks the british are reserved! the uk has a long history of staging the eurovision song contest. london, edinburgh, brighton, harrogate and birmingham have all played host. ok, so we know there are seven cities... and on today's shortlist, announced on radio 2, birmingham was — alphabetically — top of the list. glasgow, which recently hosted the cop climate conference, is also there. it's very, very exciting for the city. it's fantastic news. glasgow from the early days had been down as one of the favourites, but you never know until that shortlist appears. so, too, leeds, manchester, newcastle, sheffield and liverpool — much to the joy of one eurovision star. i am over the moon. my fingers are so crossed that it comes to liverpool. i mean, we tick all the boxes. we've got the arena, we've got the beautiful city. everything's on the doorstep. you know, we'rejust going

to have the biggest party ever. and, of course, liverpool does have a little bit of a musical heritage. there is romance to their bid. but the winner will be determined much more by practicalities. eurovision is, these days, huge. the event is two or three times the size of what it used to be in the �*90s. a cash—strapped bbc will have to bear much of the cost, but there will also be conversations with the government, sponsors and potential host cities — none of whom have much in the way of spare cash, but this year's host, turin, is understood to have spent around £10 million, and feels with the payback in tourism and exposure, eurovision was a good investment. david sillito, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's stav da naos.