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. what europe's heatwave has done to the river rhine: we report on the economic impact of this record summer. and the bear that was sure of a big surprise: we'll find out why this animal was a little tired and emotional.

hello and welcome to bbc news. the acclaimed british author sir salman rushdie has sustained serious injuries to his liver and an eye after being stabbed while taking to the stage at an arts centre in new york. the 75—year—old is currently on a ventilator and unable to speak. police have named his attacker as hadi matar, a 24—year—old from newjersey, who is currently in custody. 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. our correspondent nomia iqbal is outside the hospital where the author is now being treated and has sent us this update. says salman rushdie was brought to this hospital in pennsylvania by helicopter to from the neighbouring state of new york where he was stabbed. doctors perform surgery on him, and we did get an update on his condition in a statement from his agent who said the author

is likely to lose and eye, he said the in one arm are severed and he is unable to speak and is currently on a ventilator. a 24—year—old man from newjersey called hadi matar has been arrested, he is in custody at the moment, a raid has been carried out on his home. motive has yet been established but says salman rushdie has spent a major part of his life protecting himself from extremist attacks following the publication of his book the satanic verses. earlier i spoke to writer, lecturer and broadcaster, kenan malik — he gave me his reaction to the attack on salman rushdie. it is truly shocking. one can only hope that salman rushdie recovers as well as he can, and though that report you've just run doesn't sound very hopeful in terms of the injuries that he suffered. i think it's particularly shocking that having survived all those years in hiding

after the fatwa, ten years almost in hiding, and being able to come out, move freely, give talks, write relatively freely, that this should happen now, 33 years after the fatwa. it's a reminder of the price that many writers and artists and cartoonists have to pay to break taboos, to challenge blasphemy. it's what writers face daily in many islamic countries, in russia and china, 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. well, in many ways, the kinds of views that the anti—rushdie protesters had back in the 1980s have become more mainstream, in this sense. in a sense, they lost

the battle in that the satanic verses continues to be 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 peoples 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 bridgetjones�* diary. are you surprised that this has happened now? yes and no. yes, it is both surprising and shocking that at a time when salman rushdie felt that he was free enough, to be able to...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 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, 20 years. this has 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 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 banned. we should not countenance that any more than we should countenance banning the satanic verses or not allow salman rushdie to have his say. kenan malik speaking earlier. 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 earlier on, 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. our correspondent in washington, chi chi izundu, has more details.

well, we 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 i7—acre estate. what they said is 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 they took away a large number of different documents, including ones that had the title of miscellaneous secret documents and miscellaneous top secret documents but more interestingly, ts and sci documents. ts stands for �*top secret�*

and sci stands for �*sensitive compartmented 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 is really highly damaging, potentially if it gets in the wrong hands, to us security. chi chi, has there been any response from donald trump or his representatives? well, donald trump actually agreed to the unsealing of these documents when the attorney general yesterday, merrick garland, asked a court to unseal the documents, unusually, because this is an ongoing investigation. other than that, there has been no other 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 a 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. 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. 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 cetinje, 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 award. 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. and 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 heartlands. 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�*t enter the upper rhine. many of the bigger ships already can�*t go there. it�*s likely the upper rhine will be closed to traffic completely. captain kimpel is used

to troubled waters. the river level does drop most years, but these days, he tells us, it�*s more frequent. the climate changing the river before his eyes. translation: it's no joke, | we have 1.5 metres of water and our boat sits 1.2 metres deep. so we have 30 centimetres of water left beneath us. few here can now sail fully laden. that means less coal for germany�*s power stations but 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 warn 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. jenny hill, bbc news.

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. the hollywood actress anne heche has been declared legally dead, but will remain on life support to allow for a possible organ donation. she was 53. she�*d been in a coma and in critical condition after being involved in a car crash a week ago. she�*ll 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 mzimbo 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 oppositejohnny depp in mob drama donnie brasco. since when does sherry have a boyfriend? i didn�*t ok this, maggie. you didn't 0k 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. it�*s been one year since the taliban returned to power in afghanistan. with their return, women were banned from playing any sport, putting female athletes in danger. but with the help of a former world champion cyclist, five young women from the national cycling team managed to escape to a town in northern italy. some of them are now hoping to become the first cyclists to represent afghanistan at the olympics. the bbc visited them to find out how they�*re

settling in to their new lives. the first time i rode a bike, it felt amazing. i felt like a bird. ifelt like i could fly. training in the foothills of the dolomites. it is a cyclist�*s dream. but for these sisters, it has come at a great cost. translation: ~ ., translation: when the telegram returned to power, _ translation: when the telegram returned to power, i _ translation: when the telegram returned to power, i thought - translation: when the telegram returned to power, i thought my i returned to power, i thought my dream was over. translation: i dream was over. translation: ., translation: i never thought i would have _ translation: i never thought i would have to _ translation: i never thought i would have to leave _ translation: i never thought i would have to leave my - translation: | never thought | j would have to leave my country. but the long with three teammates, they have navigated a new home, new country and a new language. we a new home, new country and a new language-— a new home, new country and a new language. we need to get to safe . new language. we need to get to safety- despite — new language. we need to get to safety. despite a _ new language. we need to get to safety. despite a warm _ new language. we need to get to| safety. despite a warm welcome, it has not been _ safety. despite a warm welcome,

it has not been easy. _ it has not been easy. translation: ~ , , translation: when i remember my famil , i translation: when i remember my family. ifeel— translation: when i remember my family. i feel very _ translation: when i remember my family, i feelvery sad. _ it is very, very difficult to be away from your mum and your family. be away from your mum and your famil . , ., �* , family. they wouldn't be here without former _ family. they wouldn't be here without former world - family. they wouldn't be here | without former world champion cyclist alexandra oh. her charity helps e—mail cyclists from developing countries. translation: i from developing countries. translation:— from developing countries. translation: ., ,~ ., , translation: i asked for help. their lives _ translation: i asked for help. their lives were _ translation: i asked for help. their lives were in _ translation: i asked for help. their lives were in danger. - translation: i asked for help. their lives were in danger. so i their lives were in danger. so it is the natural thing to do to help them.— it is the natural thing to do to help them. it is the natural thing to do to hel them. , , ., to help them. the simple act of clina is to help them. the simple act of cycling is banned _ to help them. the simple act of cycling is banned for— to help them. the simple act of cycling is banned for women - to help them. the simple act of cycling is banned for women in | cycling is banned for women in afghanistan, but these girls are determined to continue the dream they started back home, here in the italian hills. they are embracing the new lives in this rural town. one of the

locals is their coach, maurizio. they affectionately called him the oh. translation: ~ ., ., translation: we never had a coach in afghanistan. - translation: we never had a coach in afghanistan. when - translation: we never had a coach in afghanistan. when i. coach in afghanistan. when i arrived, ifelt i had coach in afghanistan. when i arrived, i felt i had a coach in afghanistan. when i arrived, ifelt i had a lot coach in afghanistan. when i arrived, i felt i had a lot to learn. i needed to learn the basic techniques. it was a shock. it was like i didn�*t know anything about cycling. they still have mountains to climb, but these sisters want to make history as the first cyclist to ever represent their country at the olympics. translation: i country at the olympics. translation:— country at the olympics. translation: ., ., ., ., translation: i want to go to the olympics- _ translation: i want to go to the olympics- i _ translation: i want to go to the olympics. i want - translation: i want to go to the olympics. i want to - translation: i want to go to the olympics. i want to win. l translation: i want to go to the olympics. i want to win. i | the olympics. i want to win. i want to show the world what afghan women can achieve. we want to be noticed. translation: i want to be noticed. translation: ., �* 4' want to be noticed. translation: ., �* ~ ., translation: i don't think all of them can — translation: i don't think all of them can become _ translation: | don't think all| of them can become champions but i _ of them can become champions but i believe some of them can do it _ but i believe some of them can do it. cycling is a sport where willpower _ do it. cycling is a sport where willpower and desire to work hard — willpower and desire to work hard and _ willpower and desire to work hard and passion count for a lot, — hard and passion count for a lot, and _ hard and passion count for a lot, and these girls definitely have —

lot, and these girls definitely have all— lot, and these girls definitely have all three.— lot, and these girls definitely have all three. they are miles away from _ have all three. they are miles away from home, _ have all three. they are miles away from home, but - have all three. they are miles away from home, but these . have all three. they are miles i away from home, but these girls are hoping this village can give them opportunities that afghanistan never good. —— could. seven british cities have been named to compete to host next year�*s eurovision song contest. the uk came second in this year�*s contest, but organisers decided it wouldn�*t be safe for the winning country, ukraine, to host the event. 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. all right, 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. for park rangers in turkey, coming across a wild bear cub is not exactly an unusual event. but for one team in the north—east of the country, their latest encounter was a little out of the ordinary. the animal they came across was a tiny bit under the weather, as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. never has the phrase "bear with a sore head" seemed more appropriate.

this is one animal that looks like it had quite a rough night. the female bear cub — a little worse for wear — was rescued from the forest in a province in north—east turkey. wobbling and whining, the animal looked... well, it looked like she was high. but why would she be in such a fragile state? time for a quick science lesson. these flowers are called rhododendron luteum and these are rhododendron ponticum. both of them contain a substance called grayanotoxin, which has hallucinogenic properties. add some bees to the equation and you end up with something called mad honey, a delicacy that really packs a punch. the somewhat disoriented bear was taken to a nearby vet to receive treatment. she�*s said to be in good condition and will be released back into

the wild in the coming days. white rabbit by jefferson airplane plays but this was one bear that sure had a big surprise. she may be a little more discerning on her next picnic. tim allman, bbc news. poor wee thing. before we go, there�*s a story to bring you from rome where an eight—hour endeavour has been brought to an end for a suspected 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. much more on all those stories on the bbc news website. you can get a hold of me on

twitter. drop me a note. from all of us here in london, thank you for your company. we will see you next time. i —— buy buy. —— bye—bye. hello there. it�*s turning even hotter this weekend with temperatures perhaps reaching 35, maybe 36 degrees. so, 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. now, it�*s southern parts of britain that really could do with the rainfall, for example, odiham in hampshire hasn�*t seen any measurable rain for 42 days — so the ground is parched here, we really do need some rainfall. of course the met office amber extreme heat warning remains in force for large parts of england and wales up until around sunday. again, with those temperatures reaching 35, maybe 36 degrees in the hottest spots on saturday afternoon. widespread sunshine then throughout saturday,

any low cloud and mist in scotland and north—east england will burn back to the coast, maybe a slight chance of a shower across the scottish hills, maybe snowdonia, otherwise most places dry. high 20s in the north, 30 to 35 or 36 degrees across england and wales. now, through saturday night, it will stay dry for most, bit of low cloud, mist and murk rolling back across eastern scotland, north—east 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. it�*s a sunny start, mist and low cloud burning back to the coast, but then it�*s a greater 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, though, will stay dry and sunny and very hot again, 30 to 35 or 36, england

and wales, maybe something a touch cooler for scotland and northern ireland, around the mid 20s there. we start to see changes into next week, things turn a bit cooler and we will start to see more in the way of showers and thunderstorms. that�*s because we�*ve got 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 then you�*ll see the shower and thunderstorm activity starts to increase. initially, northern and western areas, and then 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. us lawmakers have adopted president biden�*s 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 on party lines, following its adoption in the senate.