good afternoon. the agent for sir salman rushdie says he remains on a ventilator and may lose an eye after he was stabbed repeatedly on stage at an event in new york state yesterday. sir salman — who's 75 — has been the subject of death threats from islamists since the release of his book the satanic verses in 1988. a man has been arrested. nomia iqbal sent this report. the attack happened in full view of an audience. there was panic and confusion,

as sir salman rushdie lay injured on the stage after being stabbed. the suspectjumped onto the stage and attacked mr rushdie, stabbing him at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen. sir salman was rushed to hospital and taken by helicopter to the neighbouring state of pennsylvania. he was due to speak at the chautauqua institute, a centre for arts and learning in western new york, which celebrates freedom of expression — a value many praise sir salman for having. here is an individual who has spent decades speaking truth to power. l someone who's been out there, i unafraid, despite the threats that have followed him his entire adult life. it seems _ prime minister borisjohnson tweeted he was appalled that the author was stabbed while exercising a right that must always be defended. a 24—year—old man named hadi matar was arrested and taken into custody. police have carried out a raid at his home in newjersey.

the motive is not known, but sir salman has long lived under the threat of being killed, and had to go into hiding for nearly ten years. his book the satanic verses, published in 1988, was condemned as blasphemous by many muslim countries. they considered his portrayal of islam insulting. iran's spiritual leader at the time called for sir salman�*s execution, offering a £2.5 million reward. iran has now distanced itself from that — but the bounty remains. sir salman rushdie has spent a major part of his life protecting himself from extremist threats — to only now find himself inside this hospital. in a statement, his agent says the author will likely lose an eye and is currently being supported by a ventilator. nomia iqbal, bbc news, pennsylvania. rail passengers are being warned to expect severe disruption today.

around 6,500 train drivers at nine rail companies who are members of the aslef union are walking out again in a dispute about pay. our business correspondent ramzan karmali reports. a site that has become a familiar one this summer. this time it's the train drivers, members of the aslef union on the picket line at euston station. it's completely shut and it's caught some travellers out. no, i'm not going home today. i was going to go home on thursday but i can't because of the strikes, so i'm going home on tuesday instead. it's annoying the general public has to get inconvenienced, but i understand where they are coming from. i'm trying to get i back to the town of buckingham so i can- resume my studies next monday but i don't know that euston _ is completely- closed right now. nine train companies are impacted by today's strike...

aslef have consistently said this dispute centres on pay and the rising costs their members are facing. they should come to the table and offer a decent pay rise, that's what we do. we talk to our employers about our terms, conditions, ourwages in the context of where the economy is at that point in time. and at this point in time, we know where the cost of living crisis is, and rail workers and all workers deserve a decent pay rise. the train companies say that revenues have fallen sharply and insist that reform is needed first before any pay settlements are agreed to. we can look at reform, when we can see what type of reform we are able to get. that then frees up money. we do want to give our staff a pay increase, its not that we don't want to do that, but we need to generate money to do that. disruption from today's action is likely to spill over into tomorrow. however, formal talks between aslef and the train companies will take place for the first time next week. perhaps a glimmer of hope in this dispute. but on thursday, commuters will face

more industrial action as the rmt and tssa unions begin strike action too. it doesn't look like the end of the summer of strikes will come any time soon. ramzan karmali, bbc news. the environment agency has warned that the drought declared in many parts of england could last into next year. the official declaration yesterday is expected to trigger stricter controls on water use, such as hosepipe bans. yesterday's drought announcement covers much of the south—west, parts of southern, central and eastern england. kathryn stanczyszyn joins me now from hinckley in leicestershire. it's looking rather dry there. it is indeed. it's looking rather dry there. it is indeed- the _ it's looking rather dry there. it 3 indeed. the impact of it's looking rather dry there. it 1 indeed. the impact of the drought to already being felt on farms like this one. the cattle are fast getting through their stored winter rations because there just isn't the grass to feed them. eight areas are now officially declared as experiencing drought, areas in the

south—west, south—east, east anglia, lincolnshire and east midlands. it is also expected of the places will follow suit fairly quickly, particularly the west midlands and yorkshire, with more water restrictions on the way. large swathes of countryside look scorched and yellow at the moment, after the driest summer in decades. eight areas of england have now been officially designated as being in drought. some, like the south—east, already with water restrictions in place. others expecting them to be brought in soon. even where hosepipe bans aren't yet being enforced, companies are asking users to be more mindful of their water consumption as reservoirs slowly but steadily recede. and for some farmers, it means a much tougher year than expected. it's just like the sahara desert out there. we're having to feed the winter rations, silage, to the cattle now. and by the end of the summer, we'll be halfway through that and we're going to have to source it from somewhere else — and i don't know where yet.

hopefully it'll rain very soon. the extreme dry weather brings another risk — fire. services across the country are dealing with tinder dry conditions that are more difficult to control if a blaze breaks out. and that means a usual favourite hot weather pursuit poses a threat. we've had some stories of some reckless incidents, some disposable barbecues that fortunately some of the main retailers have stopped selling now, which we're extremely grateful for. because that will hopefully reduce the risk. but things like disposable barbecues and bonfires in back gardens that can spread onto sheds and fences and houses, so please, please don't do things like that. the national drought group says essential water supplies are safe and moving to drought status means action can now be stepped up to keep it that way. experts say we will need at least average rainfall this autumn to restore levels to where they should be and prevent the same happening next year. kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news.

court documents indicate that papers marked "top secret" were taken during an fbi search of donald trump's home in florida on monday. the search warrant shows that the former president is being investigated for allegedly breaking espionage laws — and removing government records. he denies doing anything wrong. chichi izundu reports. this has been quite the week for the former president of the united states. monday started off with an unprecedented search of donald trump's primary residency in florida, mar—a—lago, by fbi agents. what they were looking for was only made public today, through the unusual move during an ongoing investigation of unsealing the warrant used to enter the property. receipts attached gave little detail, but did indicate the kinds of things removed — including several miscellaneous top secret papers, information regarding the french president, and various classified documents labelled "sci", which stands for "sensitive compartmented information" which could be exceptionally grave

for us national security. mr trump, can we have a word? even though donald trump didn't oppose the unsealing, he issued a statement accusing the fbi of playing politics, and claiming the documents were all declassified and in secured storage with an additional lock. presidents can declassify information, but they have to follow a procedure. they have to fill out forms, they have to give certain authorisations. they can't simply say, "these documents are declassified," they have to follow a process — it's not clear that was followed here. the second thing, of course, is that a president can declassify documents — but a former president cannot. the removal of classified documents or materials is prohibited by law — a crime for which donald trump increased the penalties while in office. whilst this kind of investigation would be uncomfortable for some, for donald trump it could potentially politically work in his favour.

chi chi izundu, bbc news. the welsh secretary sir robert buckland has switched his support from rishi sunak to liz truss — becoming the first cabinet minister to publicly change sides in the conservative leadership race. he told the daily telegraph that after "deep" reflection, he'd decided ms truss was the best person to take the country forward. great britain's rowers thave won seven medals at the european championships in germany this morning, including four golds. there are high hopes for the british women's gymnastics team later today. our sports correspondent nesta mcgregor can tell us more. we must start on the water because it has been a great morning for great britain. as you mentioned, seven medals in rowing, four gold.

the rush was started by the women's four, then a few minutes later the men's four and certainly one of the performances of the morning had to be the women's quad sculls. they make their win look easy, they led from the start, never looked back and in the end with three seconds ahead of the netherlands. it means great britain are top of the medal table. really impressive stuff so far. gb have proved to be heroes on the water, can the gymnasts match that when they take flight because behind me the teams have just been introduced, the women's team final is about to take place. gb featuring alice kinsella, who won gb�*s says medal on thursday. during qualifying that was a few falls and stumbles, the team can't afford to do that today. if they do so they can wave goodbye to a medal. we are still waiting for the performances are safer now it is the buy from munich. thank you. that's it for now.

the next news on bbc one is at 6:40. bye for now.

a your watching bbc news, i'm olly foster with the latest from the bbc sport centre. the first of today's seven premier league fixtures is underway. aston villa are facing everton both

teams lost on the opening weekend. they are approaching halftime at villa park, villa lead i—o. danny ings with the goal. natalie aspinall will be running the line at wolves fulham today. doubling of worked hard to do. sol think_ doubling of worked hard to do. sol think when— doubling of worked hard to do. sol think when i was given the opportunity and i knew that i had a good _ opportunity and i knew that i had a good season, for me it was about controlling — good season, for me it was about controlling the controllable so making — controlling the controllable so making sure i presented myself the best way— making sure i presented myself the best way to the interview, making sure i_ best way to the interview, making sure i was— best way to the interview, making sure i was prepared for the fitness test, _ sure i was prepared for the fitness test. and — sure i was prepared for the fitness test. and i— sure i was prepared for the fitness test, and i knew that as long as i had done — test, and i knew that as long as i had done all of the things i needed to be _ had done all of the things i needed to he the _ had done all of the things i needed to be the best version of myself. coventry city have had to postpone their championship match against wigan on tuesday because their pitch is still unplayable. it's the third game that has had to be postponed or moved because of the state of the playing surface at the coventry building society arena. 65 games of rugby sevens were played there during the commonwealth games. in a statement, coventry

city chief executive dave boddy said... that is something that is disputed by the wasp�*s landlord. there have been more medals for great britain at the multi—sport european championships in munich. four of them gold in the rowing, the men's eight, the women's quadruple sculls and the men's and women's fours all made it onto the top of the podium in the rowing. the women's four held off ireland with romania finishing third. that was the first gold of the day and the first for britain at the europeans

since it was revived in 2007. the womens four team just missed out on a medal, finished 4th in tokyo. " let's get "let's get to the front of the pack this year." the atmosphere is really, really positive. and i think that has just helped us improve this year and just not waste the first year and just not waste the first year of the olympiad. get stuck in and get going straightaway. oliver wynne griffith and tom george looked really strong in their semi—final yesterday but could only take silver in the men's pair behind romania. they blamed a poor start on them missing out on gold. and benjamin pritchard couldn't match his silver medal from last year's europeans as he won bronze in the pri men's single sculls final. he finished behind double paralympic champion roman poliya nski from ukraine. giacomo perini won gold.

there's more on the bbc sport website, including the latest from the hundred. there are two double headers today at old trafford and sophia gardens. manchester originals womens chasing 120 for victory against trent rockets. both welsh fire teams are playing birmingham phoenix later this afternoon. i'll have updates for you throughout the afternoon as well. see you then. back to you in london. at least one person has died and dozens more are injured when high winds caused part of a stage to collapse at a dance music festival in spain. other infrastructure was also damaged when gusts battered the medusa festivale in cullera, a beachside town south of valencia. the electronic music event which is held over six days has now been suspended. us democrats have celebrated a major legislative victory for president biden, after congress passed a landmark

bill to battle climate change and institute health care reforms — despite complete republican opposition. mr biden said people would now see lower drug and energy costs, and big corporations would finally start to pay their fair share. the $430 billion package — officially known as the inflation reduction act — should enable the us to meet 80% of its carbon emission targets by 2030. the house passed the measure by 13 votes. the senate previously approved the bill on the casting vote of the vice president. after nhs paramedia joe cartwright lost several friends who took their own lives and attended many other tragic deaths as part of his job, he decided to start raising money for a suicide prevention charity. now he's in training to cross the english channel on a paddleboard in the hope of sharing an important message. the bbc�*s james burridge went to meet him.

ifi if i want to achieve something big in life. _ if i want to achieve something big in life. this — if i want to achieve something big in life, this is how to do it.- in life, this is how to do it. luton paramedic _ in life, this is how to do it. luton paramedic joe — in life, this is how to do it. luton paramedic joe cartwright - in life, this is how to do it. luton paramedic joe cartwright is - in life, this is how to do it. luton| paramedic joe cartwright is taking paramedicjoe cartwright is taking on an enormous challenge in september. he is paddle boarding across the english channel. paddle boarding helped changejoe's lie. the ambulance service is under immense strain and has pushed him and many others to the brink. aha, and many others to the brink. a couple of years ago, i was diagnosed with ptsd— couple of years ago, i was diagnosed with ptsd after dealing with a horrendous suicide in my place of work_ horrendous suicide in my place of work at _ horrendous suicide in my place of work at the — horrendous suicide in my place of work at the ambulance service. it left me _ work at the ambulance service. it left me with some horrendous visuals of this— left me with some horrendous visuals of this one _ left me with some horrendous visuals of this one particular person i saw every— of this one particular person i saw every day— of this one particular person i saw every day wherever i was. i couldn't wake _ every day wherever i was. i couldn't wake up _ every day wherever i was. i couldn't wake up in — every day wherever i was. i couldn't wake up in the morning without seeing — wake up in the morning without seeing him, go to bed in the evening without— seeing him, go to bed in the evening without seeing him. he was everywhere. to the point where i knew _ everywhere. to the point where i knew that — everywhere. to the point where i knew that the only thing i could do to stop _ knew that the only thing i could do to stop this visual image was to end my own _ to stop this visual image was to end my own life — to stop this visual image was to end my own life. and it got to the stage where _ my own life. and it got to the stage where i_

my own life. and it got to the stage where i think i was probably only days away— where i think i was probably only days away from doing it. joe�*s days away from doing it. joe's channel crossing _ days away from doing it. joe's channel crossing is _ days away from doing it. joe's channel crossing is raising - days away from doing it. ire" channel crossing is raising money for suicide prevention. the training is arduous, though. it wasn't long before he had fallen in. the first of many. what he is taking on here is fairly daunting. this is one of the busiest stretches of water in northern europe. carferries, pleasure boats, sailing boats to contend with. and it is a lot more tough that he is expecting. this is exhausting stuff. this isn't anywhere near as tough as it is going to be in september when he takes on the english channel. struggle to get back on the board. when _ struggle to get back on the board. when i _ struggle to get back on the board. when i know i've lost control of it completely, you have that few seconds — completely, you have that few seconds of sheer fear before hitting the water — seconds of sheer fear before hitting the water. ., ., ., , ., ., , seconds of sheer fear before hitting i the water._ that the water. how tough was today? that was my hardest _ the water. how tough was today? that was my hardest crossing _ the water. how tough was today? that was my hardest crossing so _ the water. how tough was today? that was my hardest crossing so far. - the water. how tough was today? that was my hardest crossing so far. he - was my hardest crossing so far. he will was my hardest crossing so far. will continue was my hardest crossing so far. he: will continue his training over the next few weeks. a story is gaining traction around the world, raising money and awareness for those who have been too afraid to talk.

climbing all of scotland's munros, or mountains, is a rite of passage for some hill walkers. but can you imagine scaling all 282 summits at the age of 82? nick gardner from the highlands set himself the challenge after his wife was taken into care. let's hearfrom him. being with my wife is very challenging. because she does know me, challenging. because she does know me. but— challenging. because she does know me, but onlyjust. when your partner has alzheimer's, the problems are very severe. it has helped me to deal with those problems. when i could no longer look after her, that was the game changer. that one really knocked me over.

and i thought, "i have got to get a focus on life that was going to last a while." just doing, say, a marathon wouldn't be sufficient. once i had done it, the challenge is over. i had to have a challenge that lasted. mr gardner spoke to the bbc as he prepared to scale the final peak, cairn gorm. i can't believe it's happening. yeah, i'm just an old man who loves wandering in the mountains. and i'm getting all this publicity, it's wonderful. i will be thinking of her, but the mountains themselves are very powerful and they give me sustenance. so, yes, i'll be thinking about her, but then being in the mountains

enables me to cope with those problems. it perhaps seems strange coming from an 80—year—old, but i feel fitter than i ever have done in my life. i can't believe it. i've been a climber all my life but i've not climbed to the intensity to which i've climbed just recently. i thought £10,000 would be the maximum that i could possibly get. but with the help of social media and all my friends, then we've managed to raise the awareness and the money is coming in, rolling in. in fact, the hour before we set out to come here, there were five donations in that hour. so it's still rolling in. and we must be up to about 55,000 now. remember, in the scottish mountains, the weather can be very, very fickle, and at this point i would like to quote billy connolly.

"if you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes." that was a nick gardner climbing mountains at the age of 82. 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. translation: the first time i rode a bike, it felt amazing. _ ifeltlikea 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: when the taliban returned to power, _ i thought my dream was over. translation: i never thought i would be a refugee. - i never imagined i would have to leave my country. but along with three team—mates, they have navigated a new home, new country and a new language. quindici, sedici, diciassette... despite a warm welcome, it's not been easy. translation: when i remember my family, i feelvery sad. _ it is very, very difficult to be away from your mum and your family.

they wouldn't be here without former world champion cyclist alessa nd ra ca ppellotto. her charity helps female cyclists from developing countries. translation: they asked for help. their lives were in danger. so it's the natural thing to do to help them. the simple act of 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're embracing their new lives in this rural town. one of the locals is their coach, maurizio. they affectionately called him the "capitano". translation: we never had a coach in afghanistan. - when i arrived, ifelt 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 cyclists to ever represent their country at the olympics. translation: | want| to go to the olympics. i want to win. i want to show the world what afghan women can achieve. we want to be noticed. translation: | don't think- all of them can become champions, but i believe some of them can do it. cycling is a sport where willpower, the desire to work hard and passion count for a lot, and these girls definitely have all three. they're miles away from home, but these girls are hoping this place can give them the opportunities that afghanistan never could. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah. temperatures have been building to the course of this week and they will continue to do so through the

weekend as well. we could see highs of 36, possibly 37 celsius. hot and sunny for most of us through the course of the weekend. we are expecting a few showers to develop later, particularly for northern ireland and scotland during sunday. we could really do with some rainfall further south. the isle of wight, 40 rainfall further south. the isle of wight, a0 days since we last saw any rainfall. and we have still got an amber extreme heat warning in force from the met office across parts of central and southern england, into east wales where there could be implications to heat —related illnesses as well as transport impacts. a little bit of low cloud across parts of north—east scotland, the odd shower towards the northern i ask. for the vast majority of the uk, clear blue skies, light winds and feeling hot. the mid 30s for england and wales. a little cooler around some of those north sea coasts. into the evening, warm to

end the day, warm overnight for most of us as well. more low cloud and mist and murk around the coast and east of scotland. temperatures between about 11—18 to start your sunday morning. still fairly uncomfortable for sleeping. those temperatures are going to shoot up quickly in that hot sunshine. a bit of a change as we start to see some heavy showers for northern ireland and western scotland. frequent lightning and large hail. one or two starting to develop across western parts of england and wales late in the day, but before they do another really hot day. mid to high 30s in the south. we could well see things becoming a bit more widely unsettled as we head through the course of next week as low pressure starts to move in from the south and the west. but as is the nature with these showers, they are going to be hit and miss. a few do catch some of these heavy and thundery downpours, there could be the risk of some localised flooding. still looking

hot in the south—east on monday. those temperatures starting to come down from the north—west. a cooling trend for the week ahead. some showers, but do watch out, if they are heavy there could be some localised flooding. goodbye for now.