this is bbc news — i'm rich preston. our top stories: the acclaimed author sir salman rushdie suffers serious injuries, after being stabbed on stage in the state of new york. his agent says he's on a ventilator and can't speak and is likely to lose an eye. in other news, it's been revealed the search warrant for donald trump's florida home was partly based on suspicion of violations of the us espionage act. ukraine and russia have again accused each other of risking catastrophe by shelling europe's largest nuclear power plant. and the eurovision host contest — the shortlist is announced for the cities who may stage the famous celebration of song.

hello and welcome to bbc news. the agent for the internationally acclaimed british author, salman rushdie, says the novelist has sustained serious injuries to an eye and his liver, during a knife attack in new york state. he was stabbed repeatedly by an assailant who pounced on him as he took the stage at an arts centre in new york, police naming the attacker as hadi matar, a 24—year—old man from newjersey. our north america correspondent john sudworth reports. 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. with me is our reporter azadeh moshiri. what is the latest on salman rushdie was my what is the latest on salman rushdie was my condition? what is the latest on salman rushdie was my condition? we have an rushdie was my condition? - have an update from his literary agent andrew wylie who released a statement before 7pm local time in new york and it reads: he also added that

salman rushdie at 75 years old is currently on a ventilator. this follows surgery that he has had to local trauma centre near the event and it follows descriptions that we had of the attack, descriptions from both new york state police and witnesses who say that salman rushdie was stabbed several times, the police said once in the neck and at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen so clearly in a serious condition.— the abdomen so clearly in a serious condition. what more do we know about _ serious condition. what more do we know about the _ serious condition. what more do we know about the attacker? - serious condition. what more do l we know about the attacker? new york state police _ we know about the attacker? ii? york state police were very clear in the day don't have a specific motive yet, they do have a suspect. they don't know his nationality that they have released a name, his name is hadi matar, he is 2a ideas from fairview, newjersey. in terms of the way he went about this attack, he had bought a ticket to this literary festival in the town and he rushed onstage just as salman rushdie was being introduced and proceeded

to attack him and stabbed him several times. witnesses from the audience then said they rushed onstage. several people restrained the attacker and several people helped salman rushdie, who had fallen backwards while he was trying to get away from the assailant, a police officer also then afterwards intervened to handle hadi matar, the suspect, so clearly it was a very serious attack, it was planned, but the organisers were very clear in that they had not received any threats of an attack beforehand. �* . ~ , beforehand. azadeh moshiri, thank you — beforehand. azadeh moshiri, thank you very _ beforehand. azadeh moshiri, thank you very much. - joining us now is the writer, lecturer and broadcaster, kenan malik. thank you forjoining us on the programme, sorry about the circumstances. what is your reaction? it circumstances. what is your reaction?— circumstances. what is your reaction? , , , reaction? it is truly shocking. one can only _ reaction? it is truly shocking. one can only hope _ reaction? it is truly shocking. one can only hope that - reaction? it is truly shocking. i one can only hope that salman rushdie recovers as well as he

can, and that report you just run doesn't sound very hopeful in terms of injuries that he suffered. it's particularly shocking that having survived all those years in hiding after the fatwa, ten years almost in hiding, and then being able to come out, move freely, give talks, right, relatively freely, that should happen now 33 years after the fatwa. it's a price that many writers and artists and cartoonists have to play to break taboo, challenge blasphemy. it's what writers face daily in many islamic countries, in russia and china and even india these days. you mentioned _ and even india these days. you mentioned this _ and even india these days. you mentioned this fatwa, the years in hiding, and that goes back to the 1980s. many may have hoped that times would have changed.

hoped that times would have chan . ed. ~ hoped that times would have chanced. ~ ., , hoped that times would have chanced. ~ . , , changed. well, in many ways, the kinds _ changed. well, in many ways, the kinds of _ changed. well, in many ways, the kinds of views _ changed. well, in many ways, the kinds of views that - changed. well, in many ways, the kinds of views that the - the kinds of views that the protesters had back in the 19805 protesters had back in the 1980s have become more mainstream, in this sense. they lost the battle and the satanic verses continues to be public —— published but they won the war in the sense that the argument at the heart of their claim, that one should not give offence to other cultures or pupils or religions, is much more widely accepted now in the mainstream of many societies. when the fatwa was first issued, salman rushdie spent nearly a decade in hiding but he did end up making light of the situation. he appeared in curb your enthusiam and bridget jones's diary. are you

surprised that this has happened now? it surprised that this has happened now?- surprised that this has happened now? it is both surprising _ happened now? it is both surprising and _ happened now? it is both surprising and shocking l happened now? it is both i surprising and shocking that happened now? it is both - surprising and shocking that at a time when salman rushdie felt that he was free enough, he has been writing and talking freely for about 25 years now, that this should happen. at the same time, we know that there has been a rise in the sense of terror in the sense of people taking revenge for blasphemy, for people, in cages ——in cases such as the charlie hebdo killings, so these kinds of incidents are not new, they are not surprising, but there are quite a few of them, the past ten, 15, 2o quite a few of them, the past ten, 15, 20 years.— ten, 15, 20 years. this is brought _ ten, 15, 20 years. this is brought up _ ten, 15, 20 years. this is brought up the _ ten, 15, 20 years. this is brought up the whole - ten, 15, 20 years. this is - brought up the whole question of freedom of speech. is it

possible to go too far with freedom of speech? the point is, if you _ freedom of speech? the point is. if you live _ freedom of speech? the point is, if you live in _ freedom of speech? the point is, if you live in a _ freedom of speech? the point is, if you live in a plural- is, if you live in a plural society, you have many different groups with deeply held views, many of which conflict. if you were to live in a plural society then, you have to allow for certain people to be offended by other groups. there are many people who are offended by islam, for instance, who wants the koran band. we should not countenance that any more than we should countenance banning the satanic verses or not allow salman rushdie to have his say. irate rushdie to have his say. we will have — rushdie to have his say. we will have to _ rushdie to have his say. we will have to leave it there, we are very grateful for your time, i know it will be a difficult day for you, thank you very much kenan malik. the warrant used to search donald trump's home in florida on monday has revealed he's being investigated for allegedly breaching us espionage laws. the warrant, which was unsealed by a judge a few hours ago,

also 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. what more do we know? well, we have seven _ what more do we know? well, we have seven pages _ what more do we know? well, we have seven pages of _ have seven pages of information, not that much detail being released in the warrant between the fbi and the department ofjustice. what we do know is the fbi say they went to mar—a—lago, which is the primary residence of donald trump, and searched 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, across the 17 acres of estate. they said they looked everywhere including the former president's private office, known as the 45th office, as well as other storage areas where documents could be kept and i took away a large number

of different documents including ones that had the title miscellaneous secret documents and miscellaneous top secrets and ts and sci documents. ts stands for top—secret and sci stands for secret comp parted information and it is that one that is causing concern because that is the type of documentation that is only read in sealed rooms and only very few people can see it and it is really highly damaging, potentially if it gets in the wrong hands, to us security. has gets in the wrong hands, to us securi . �* , , ., , security. as there been any response — security. as there been any response from _ security. as there been any response from donald - security. as there been any i response from donald trump security. as there been any - response from donald trump or his representatives?— his representatives? donald trum - his representatives? donald trump agreed _ his representatives? donald trump agreed to _ his representatives? donald trump agreed to the - his representatives? donald i trump agreed to the unsealing of these documents when the attorney general yesterday, merrick garland, asked the court to unseal the documents, unusually, because this is an ongoing investigation. other

than that, there has been no response officially from donald trump. this is a really unusual step because it is an ongoing investigation. donald trump hasn't actually been charged with anything but it's interesting that the fbi have gone into his home and searched the home of the former us president which is unprecedented, never happened in us history before and we've come to this point in history where now, we are finding out exactly what the fbi claim they have taken from donald trump's mar—a—lago home. i{hi have taken from donald trump's mar-a-lago home.— have taken from donald trump's mar-a-lago home. chi chi izundu in washington, _ mar-a-lago home. chi chi izundu in washington, thank _ mar-a-lago home. chi chi izundu in washington, thank you - mar-a-lago home. chi chi izundu in washington, thank you very - in washington, thank you very much. let's get some of the day's other news. us lawmakers have adopted president biden's sprawling climate, tax and healthcare plan. it's a major win for the president and includes the biggest ever american investment in the battle against global warming. the house of representatives approved the measure by a 220—207 vote along party lines, following its adoption in the senate on sunday.

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, set—in—yeh, targeting first his relatives and then people on the street, seemingly at random. a further six people were wounded before police shot the assailant dead. the government has declared three days of mourning. for the first time in years, lionel messi is missing from the shortlist for the prestigious ballon d'or award after an underwhelming first season with paris saint—germain. the argentine superstar had been a constant presence amongst the nominations since 2006. france's karim benzema who plays for real madrid is tipped to win this year's. ukraine and russia have again accused each other of risking catastrophe by shelling europe's largest nuclear power plant. conflict near the zaporizhzhia plant has intensified this week leading to western countries

to call on moscow to withdraw troops from the facility. there's been no sign so far of russia agreeing to that with some analysts predicting the region will become one of the next big front lines of the war. john spencer is a retired us army major and now chair of urban warfare studies at the madison policy forum. what is your analysis of the current situation around the zaporizhzhia region? clearly the russians _ zaporizhzhia region? clearly the russians turned - zaporizhzhia region? clearly the russians turned to - zaporizhzhia region? clearly the russians turned to the i the russians turned to the military power plant into a military power plant into a military base. they have put their systems and shelling from within the basis so it's become a precarious position because ukrainians are having gains in kherson and other regions and this is likely to be a big front of conflict soon. we have to get ahead of this in turn

the power plant into a demilitarised zone and get away from it. ., ., , ., , from it. how does one turn this into a demilitarised _ from it. how does one turn this into a demilitarised zone? - into a demilitarised zone? firstly, investigators are asking to get in there, to determine health of it today. you get both parties to agree there are no forces and no munitions, you basically draw a circle around it and extend that a little ways. it's pretty simple and logical, but there is one party we know that doesn't act like that, and that is russia. doesn't act like that, and that is russia-— is russia. elsewhere in the country. — is russia. elsewhere in the country. it's _ is russia. elsewhere in the country, it's been - is russia. elsewhere in the country, it's been a - country, it's been a while since we've seen russian strikes in the north and the west. does that mean russia is content with what they have in the moment or being lulled into a false sense of security? i think the donbas in the east is

russia's main concern. we can't say it is safe, focusing on the south, and having lots of advancements, russia thinks it can gain this big win in donbas but four weeks and weeks, they haven't moved barely kilometres, if at all. what do ou see kilometres, if at all. what do you see as — kilometres, if at all. what do you see as being _ kilometres, if at all. what do you see as being the - kilometres, if at all. what do you see as being the next - kilometres, if at all. what do i you see as being the next stage in this conflict. that you see as being the next stage in this conflict.— in this conflict. at this stage. _ in this conflict. at this stage. it _ in this conflict. at this stage, it will - in this conflict. at this stage, it will be - in this conflict. at this stage, it will be the i stage, it will be the liberation of kherson as ukraine continues to liberated and the possible avenues of reimbursement. we saw the strike into crimea which just put the black sea fleet at great risk because they were surviving russian air force, and it's important to the south so you will see a major battle in the south as there is a holding position east and ukrainians are gaining ground

and in military speak we see the initiative it could turn to the initiative it could turn to the ukrainians even in the next couple of weeks.— let's bring you some breaking news and the supreme court and the us state of idaho says it won't block the implementation of a near total abortion ban that was due to take effect on 25 august. the court reject a bid by planned parenthood to prevent the band. this comes after the us supreme court decided injune to overturn the 1973 decision roe v wade recognising the nationwide constitutional right to abortion. you're watching bbc news. a reminder of our top stories: the acclaimed author sir salman rushdie suffers serious injuries — after being stabbed on stage in the state of new york. it's been revealed the search warrant for donald trump's florida home was partly based on suspicion of violations of the us espionage act.

europe continues to bake under extreme temperatures. there have been huge wildfires in france and portugal. and severe drought conditions across nearly half of the continent. this has been the scene in central portugal, where 16,000 firefighters are battling a wildfire that's been raging for a week. it's burned through more than 37,000 acres of land so far. in south—western france firefighters are arriving from hungary and other european countries to help tackle fires around bordeaux. firefighters there have largely managed to contain this one, but more hot temperatures and worsening conditions could trigger more fires. meanwhile in the uk, a drought has been declared in many parts of england — conditions are so dry the scorched land can be seen from space. 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 rhine. 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 can't get through. translation: we are approaching levels where ships can enter- —— can't 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

the river before his eyes. translation: it's no joke, . we have one metre 50 of water and our boat sits 1.2 metres deep. so we have 30 cm of water left beneath us. it means he cannot sail fully laden. that means less coal 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 and altered landscape represents nothing less than a warning. the hollywood actress anne heche has died after her life support was turned off. she was 53 years old. anne heche had been in a coma

and in a critical condition after being involved in a car crash a week ago. she will be remembered for her roles in films such as donnie brasco, volcano, i know what you did last summer, and six days, seven nights. lizo mzimba looks back on her life, and i should warn you it contains flash photography from the start. she's been a familiar face in tv and film for more than three decades. but in the first week of august, her car crashed into a house in the west of los angeles. both the home and her car caught fire. anne heche had a succession of small parts before being cast opposite johnny depp in mob drama donnie brasco. since when does sherry have a boyfriend? i didn't ok this, maggie. you didn't ok it? what do you think... shouting. i put food on that table! what do i get for christmas, huh? i'm here. that was quickly followed by her first big starring role, alongside harrison ford in the romantic comedy

six days, seven nights. well, i want my $700 back. what? you heard me. my $700? i want it back. you said you were going to take me to tahiti. you didn't. give it back. at the same time, she was in a relationship with us tv presenter ellen degeneres. heche said that her openness about their relationship cost her her hollywood career. over the next 20 years, she said she was only offered smaller film and tv roles. in 2020, she competed on america's version of strictly come dancing, dancing with the stars, her most high—profile appearance in years. she'll be remembered as a gifted actress who never quite achieved the success that her talent deserved. anne heche, who has died at the age of 53. 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. before we go, a story to bring you from rome, where an eight—hour endeavour has been brought to an end for a suspect robber trapped in a tunnel. he was believed to have been burrowing towards a nearby bank. police say the man in his 30s is now in hospital and has been arrested along with three others. dozens of emergency workers had to dig a second shaft to free him after the tunnel collapsed, bringing disruption to the roads around the vatican. you can get much more on the stories on the bbc news website, or the bbc news app, news website, or the bbc news app, including all the latest on the condition of salman rushdie and the investigation into donald trump in the united

states. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. hello there. it's turning even hotter this weekend with temperatures reaching 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. it's southern parts of britain that really could do with rainfall, for example odiham 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 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 throughout saturday, any low cloud and mist in scotland will burn back to the coast, maybe a slight chance of a shower across the scottish hills, maybe snowdonia, high 20s in the north, 35 to 36 degrees across england and wales. through saturday night it will stay dry for most, a bit of low cloud, mist and murk across eastern scotland, northeast england. temperature wise, again the low to mid teens in the north, 17 to 20 degrees further south, really could be quite warm and uncomfortable 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 or two across western england and wales later in the day. the vast majority will stay dry and sunny and very hot again,

30 to 35 or 36 england and wales, maybe 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, so it could be quite uncomfortable for a while sunday into monday, but you will see the shower and thunderstorm activity increase. initially northern and western areas and migrating towards the east. you will see temperatures very warm to start the week across the south—east 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. ukraine and russia have again accused each other of risking catastrophe

by shelling europe's largest nuclear power plant. conflict near the zaporizhzhia plant has intensified this week