this is bbc news — i'mjames reynolds — with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. acclaimed author sir salman rushdie is undergoing surgery — after being stabbed on stage in the state of new york. people rising up over their seats and gasping and crying and this on heard of thing was happening on the stage. and this on heard of thing was happening on the stage. police say the suspect — hadi matar — is a twenty—four year old man from newjersey. in other news... it's revealed the search warrant for donald trump's florida home was partly based on suspicion of violations of the us espionage act. a drought is officially declared across large parts of england after the driestjuly in half a century.

and eurovision host contest — the shortlist is announced for the cities who will stage the famous celebration of song. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. the author salman rushdie has been stabbed on stage at a literary event in new york state while preparing to give a lecture. his agent says he has been going under surgery for the police that he suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck and a man has been taken into custody. the 75—year—old novelist has received death threats and it release of his book satanic verses in the late 80s many muslims view that focus blasphemous.

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. the new york state police say they have confirmed the identity of the attacker. the suspect has been identified

as hadi matar, age 2a from fairview newjersey. earlier today at approximately 10:47am guest speaker salman rushdie, age 75 and ralph henry reese, age 73 had just arrived on stage at the institution. shortly there after the suspect jumped onto the stage and attacked mr salman rushdie, stabbing him at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen. just to bring you in update. we've been hearing from salman rushdie's agent saying salman rushdie's agent saying salman rushdie isn't surgery. according to reuters agency there is more information from there is more information from the agent. i will read it to you. the news is not good, salman rushdie will likely lose what i've come at the nerves in his arms were severed and his liver was stabbed in damage. that's according to salman rushdie's agent. there is one of the line, brought to us by

reuters news agency quoting salman rushdie's agent saying that everyone is on a ventilator and cannot speak the fragment of the information we have just been given, passed on by roadies news agency in wake of both the attack and surgery —— reuters. as we get more information on the details of the authors condition we will bring it to you. in other news... in other news... the warrant used to search donald trump's home in florida on monday has revealed that he is being investigated for allegedly breaching us espionage laws. the warrant, which was unsealed by a judge this evening, shows fbi agents removed 11 sets of classified documents during the raid — including some marked �*top secret�*. the former president says he's the victim of a witch hunt by his democratic opponents. our correspondent in washington, gary o'donoghue, has more details. this was an unprecedented move by the fbi, searching the home

of a former president of the united states. what were they looking for are and what did they take away? we now know some of that information. 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 were four sets of top—secret information, the highest classification that can cause exceptionally grave consequences for national security. they found other classified documents is well, photographs, they found material relating to presidential pardons and curiously, information related to the president of france. now what were they looking for in connection with? this was in connection with? this was 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 indictment handed down on this case, where a long way off that. but all those crimes potentially have the possible jail term of anything between

three and 20 years. donald trump is come out and said that he declassified all these documents, he was prepared to hand them over but of course, he'd been subpoenaed earlier in the year and he didn't do so. all this does is fuel his political base, it gives him a shotin political base, it gives him a shot in the arm politically and i think you'll be hearing a lot more from this president. this gives him a platform on which to launch a potential run at a presidency in 202a. to launch a potential run at a presidency in 2024.- presidency in 2024. gary o'donoghue _ presidency in 2024. gary o'donoghue reporting. l a drought has been declared across many parts of england, amidst the driest summerforfifty years. temperatures as high as 36 degrees are expected 0ur correspondent helena wilkinson reports. near the village of creswell, a fire earlier this afternoon. it started in fields and spread this is sidelin and dorsett, dried out from the heat desperate for water. and reservoirs load like this one in derbyshire. 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. vast parts of the country now look like this. dried out from the heat, desperate for water. and reservoirs are low, like this one in derbyshire. water companies can now bring in stricter measures to save water. ~ , ., ., ., , water. when you turn on her tap or have a _ water. when you turn on her tap or have a shower, _ water. when you turn on her tap or have a shower, that - water. when you turn on her tap or have a shower, that water - or have a shower, that water comes out of rivers like this. that means you can taking it from the environment, were taken away from a farmer who can i think it's about signalling something beyond normal. and actually couple we all play a role in thinking about where water comes from and use water wisely.— about where water comes from and use water wisely. there are already hosed _ and use water wisely. there are already hosed by _ and use water wisely. there are already hosed by bands - and use water wisely. there are already hosed by bands in - and use water wisely. there are already hosed by bands in place with more on the way. from today nearly one and a half million south—east water

customers in sussex and kent are now banned from using them. in some areas there are exemptions. rule breakers could be fined £8,000. 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 waether 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. it's notjust the uk that's suffering drought — much of europe has also had weeks with little or no rain. in germany the lack of water is starting to have significant economic impacts asjenny hill reports now from the river rhine. this is the river bed of the mighty ryan. if you walked here in normal times you'd be underwater. it's a working river, one of europe's most important. barges fetch and carry goods and materials

through germany's industrial heartland. but the water is now so low that some of the larger vessels cannot get through. we are vessels cannot get through. - are approaching levels where ships can enter the upper rhine. many of the bigger ships already can't go there. it's likely the upper right will be closed completely. this captain is used to troubled waters. the river level does drop most years but these days he tells us it is more frequent. the climate changing _ us it is more frequent. the climate changing the - us it is more frequent. the climate changing the river before his eyes. translation: it's no joke. _ before his eyes. translation: it's no joke. we _ before his eyes. translation: it's no joke, we have _ before his eyes. translation: it's no joke, we have one - before his eyes. translation: it's no joke, we have one metre it's nojoke, we have one metre 50 of— it's nojoke, we have one metre 50 of weter— it's nojoke, we have one metre 50 of water and our boat sits want — 50 of water and our boat sits want me _ 50 of water and our boat sits want me to 20 d. we have 30 cm of water— want me to 20 d. we have 30 cm of water left beneath us. if of water left beneath us. if you of water left beneath us. you hear of water left beneath us. if you hear kent now sail fully laden. that means less coal for germany's power stations for germany's power stations for germany's power stations for germany's power stations. this country is relying on them to get through the winter after russia reduced its gas supply. this couldn't happen at a worse time for germany. there's a

looming energy crisis, high inflation, no wonder analysts warned it could do significant economic damage. there is a novelty here for some. the low water exposed this old footbridge. but for so many here this new land, altered landscape offers nothing less than a warning. eleven 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 the thirty—four— year old dead. the government has declared three days of mourning. stay with us on bbc news — still to come... who will host next year's eurovision song contest? a shortlist of seven uk cities is announced.

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 brutal former 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. two 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 bbc world news, the latest headlines... acclaimed author sir salman rushdie is undergoing surgery — after being stabbed on stage in the state of new york. we had heard earlierfrom the authors agent that solomon rusty was in surgery. several hours later —— salman rushdie. we've now got a statement, salman rushdie statement and that statement says the news is not good. salman rushdie will likely lose one i. the nerves in his arms were severed, his liver was stabbed in damage. the agent also adds that salman rushdie is currently on a ventilator and cannot speak. of course you'll hear all that and he is alive. we do not know how

long that surgery lasted but we are getting those details in a written statement provided by his agent. as we get further information, possibly from the doctors who carried out the operation we will bring that information write to you. in the meantime we will look at the meantime we will look at the background to sir salman rushdie and the book satanic verses that he published in 1988. i've been talking about that book with our religious affairs editor. the immigrant experience but it does look at the religion from the outside, it does question the outside, it does question the kind of divine nature of religious text, whether they really did come from the word of god. the title itself alludes to some of what caused offence, it's about satanic verses which some scholars think, most muslims don't believe there was some verses withdrawn from the quran because the profit. they had been revealed by the devil and

not by the angel gabriel. so that in itself was something that in itself was something that offended others. some portrayals of a character that appears to be the prophet muhammad in book and his wives, for example of things that it ended but marco want talked about the fact that he thought that some might be offended by this, he had no idea they would be the strength of feeling that it was in the late 80s where you had protests first in the country of his birth in india where it was first banned and then more and more countries and then it was taken to another level by this fact while that was issued in iran. why did iran play such a big role in this?— why did iran play such a big role in this? ., ., _, , role in this? you had countries like i say. _ role in this? you had countries like i say, india, _ role in this? you had countries like i say, india, non-muslim. like i say, india, non—muslim countries also banned the book by the then you have the issue that came along with a huge reward to kill, notjust salman

rushdie but anyone associated with the publication of this book. suddenly it wasn'tjust the author himself who was in the author himself who was in the firing line, quite frankly. it was others. actually, he may have evaded physical harm until this point, others didn't. the publisher in norway, this was all during a period of years where there was a really febrile atmosphere around this, which mercifully dissipated over the years. but those years were when a publisher in norway was attacked, he was shot three times and seriously wounded. a translator in japan times and seriously wounded. a translator injapan was stabbed to death. it changed salman rushdie's life but to change the lives of a lot of people associated with the book. that fact while you _ associated with the book. that fact while you are _ associated with the book. that fact while you are talking about issued by ayatollah khomeini just before he died, was it everformally khomeini just before he died, was it ever formally revoked? no. at some stage the iran said

that episode was finished. but it wasn't formally read scented. the fatwa was not formally rescinded ostensibly because you cannot read send a fatwa, the only way you can resent is the person who issued it and ayatollah khomeini had passed away by that point. the truth of the matter is that there was strength of feeling before the fatwa was issued. their approach is around before it and actually whether it was formally rescinded or not for some people, although a lot of resentment has dissipated, clearly this, and we don't know the motivation of the attacker here. but for some people that strength of feeling is still there. ., ., ~' strength of feeling is still there. ., ., ~ . strength of feeling is still there. ., ., 4' ., ., there. looking at what generated _ there. looking at what generated 2022, - there. looking at what l generated 2022, salman there. looking at what _ generated 2022, salman rushdie, has he been an object of conversation and some of the countries in which he was reviled back when the satantic verses was published? database for the most _ verses was published? database for the most part _ verses was published? database for the most part people - verses was published? database for the most part people have i for the most part people have moved on from. they were

around, we are can roll 33 years ago. —— that debate. by the way, there was not universal support for him in this country from non—muslims to about of expression. in 1988 there were non—muslims taking part, some politicians taking part, some politicians taking part in some of the protests against that book. those days have long past but clearly for some the strength of feeling, like i say, the passion has remained. 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 per cent 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, 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. 0ne, deal with 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 decemberand 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. 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. 0ur 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 about 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.

good luck to everyone on that shortlist. a tip from me. see you in a bit. hello there. it's turning even hotter with temperatures 35, maybe 36 degrees. dry, sunny, hot for most this weekend but in northern and western areas you could start to see a few showers developing, particularly through the day on sunday. southern parts of britain that really could do with rainfall, for example 0dium in hampshire hasn't seen any measurable rain for 42 days the ground is parched here, we really do need some rain. the met office amber extreme heat warning remains in force for large parts of england and well up until around sunday. those temperatures reaching 35, maybe 36 degrees in the hottest spots on saturday afternoon. widespread sunshine

through saturday any low cloud and mist and will burn back to the coast, maybe a slight chance of a shower across the scottish hills, may be snowdonia, high 20s in the north, 35 to 36 degrees across england and wales. saturday night it will stay dry for most, a bit of low cloud, mist and work across eastern scotland, northeast england. temperature wise, again the low to mid teens in the north on 17 to 20 degrees for the south, really could be quite warm and comfortable across the south coast of england. sunday we do it all again. a sunny start, mist and low cloud burning back but a chance of showers and thunderstorms developing across northern ireland, scotland into the afternoon, maybe one two across western england and wales later in the day. the vast majority will stay dry and sunny and very hot again, 30 to 36 england and wales for the a touch cooler, scotland and northern ireland around the mid 20s. we start to see changes into next week of the things

sort of a cooler and we will start to see more in the way of showers and thunderstorms low pressure pushing up from the south as we move out of sunday. that will introduce more humid air it could be quite uncomfortable for a well sunday into monday but you will see the shower and thunderstorm activity such increase. initially northern and western areas and migrating towards the east. you will see temperatures very warm to start the week across the southeast and then showers, thunderstorms rattle their way through, things will be turning cooler, closer to the seasonal average by the time we reach the end of the new week.

this is bbc news — the headlines. the agent of the british writer — sir salman rushdie — has given details of his condition after he was stabbed on stage in the state of new york. the author is on a ventilator and can't speak. he also suffered injuries to his eye, his arm and his liver. the search warrant executed on donald trump's florida home on monday has been unsealed by a judge — after the former us president made no objection to the move. it shows the search by fbi agents was partly based on suspicions of violations of the us espionage act. a drought has been declared across large parts of england. water companies are now allowed to put stricter measures in place to conserve water supplies. the environment secretary — george eustice — has insisted there is "no reason for people

to be alarmed" and the uk's water supply "remains resilient".