the man accused of stabbing sir salman rushdie has appeared in court charged with attempted murder and assault. the attack in new york state has left the author of the satanic verses on a ventilator, with people in shock over what happened.

you know, the guy has a price on his head from 1989 and of all the places he might be attacked, hurt or god forbid, die, chautauqua and be the last place i would think of. and in the last hour, president biden has issued a statement condemning the attack — and reaffirming his belief in freedom of expression. also tonight: the ravaging effects of climate change — we report from france, where exhausted firecrews have spent weeks battling wildfires. the ground around me is smoking. there's smouldering embers here which very easily can be whipped up into yet another fire. more disruption for train passengers in england, scotland and wales with the latest in a series of rail strikes. gold to great britain. and it's been a successful day for great britain at the european championships in munich.

good evening. the man accused of stabbing the author sir salman rushdie has appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault. sir salman remains on a ventilator in hospital, after being attacked at an event in new york state yesterday. he's been the subject of death threats ever since the publication in 1988 of his controversial book, the satanic verses, which some muslims consider blasphemous. tonight president biden added his voice to the authors and world leaders who have condemned the attack, and who have defended the right to freedom of expression. our correspondent nomia iqbal is outside the hospital in pennsylvania where sir salman is being treated. nomia.

yes, in the last hour president biden— yes, in the last hour president biden has_ yes, in the last hour president biden has released a statement on behalf_ biden has released a statement on behalf of— biden has released a statement on behalf of himself and the first lady saying _ behalf of himself and the first lady saying they were shocked to hear of the attack _ saying they were shocked to hear of the attack on sir salman rushdie and pay tribute _ the attack on sir salman rushdie and pay tribute to the people who rushed and jumped pay tribute to the people who rushed andjumped into pay tribute to the people who rushed and jumped into action to help him. he also— and jumped into action to help him. he also praised the author for what he describes as his refusal to be intimidated and silenced. as for the alleged assailant, 24—year—old hadi matar, he appeared in court wearing handcuffs and prison clothing. he also had a medicalfacemask on handcuffs and prison clothing. he also had a medical facemask on as well. as for sir salman rushdie, there has been no further update yet on his condition. sir salman rushdie remains on a ventilator inside this hospital, after undergoing emergency surgery. his agent has said the author is in bad shape. he faces losing an eye, the nerves in one of his arms are severed and his liver is damaged.

sir salman was flown here from the neighbouring state of new york. it was there at a literary event that the attack happened in full view of a large audience. a man in a black mask jumped onto the stage, stabbing him at least once in the neck and several times in the abdomen. guests held the suspect down as others tried to help the author, who lay injured on the stage. i've been coming here for 31 years. this is one of the most peaceful, quiet places i have ever been in my life. you know, the guy has a price on his head from 1989. of all the places he might be attacked or hurt or god forbid, die, chautauqua would be the last place i would think of. the suspect in custody is 24—year—old hadi matar from newjersey, whose parents migrated from lebanon. reports say a law enforcement review of his social media accounts found he was sympathetic to the causes of the iranian revolutionary guards, a major military and

politicalforce in iran. it was in 1989 when iran's spiritual leader at the time placed a death sentence on sir salman. his book, the satanic verses, was considered an insult to islam and led to global riots which killed 45 people. he went into hiding for nearly a decade. questions are now being asked about the level of security precautions at the event where sir salman was attacked. but in recent years he expressed discomfort about high levels of security, saying he wanted to be able to live his life freely. nomia iqbal, bbc news, pennsylvania. 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.(ani)the

the drought announcement covers much of the south west, and parts of southern, central and eastern england. angus crawford reports. no more summer paddling here for debbie, brian and anne. water levels on this part of the basingstoke canal in surrey are just too low. it's going to be hard work because we've got to load the boats onto trailers or onto cars and take them and find somewhere else to go. it is frustrating, yes. in the winter, the water comes up to the top of the rust line. in a normal summer, halfway up. but now it's completely dry and there's so little water in the main channel that, from monday, all boats are going to be banned. this drought — changing lives and landscapes. ladybower reservoir in derbyshire, now half full. | i think we've got forecast extremes of weather and that's the thing that we're now seeing become the new normal with - the climate emergency. and in west wales, fields of crops threatened by wildfires. in may, the perfect playing

surface, but look now. the outfield burnt yellow. odiham in hampshire has gone more than a0 days without a drop of rain, longer than anywhere else in the country. it's dangerous. they slip when they're bowling. they can fall over trying to field a ball and it's dangerous. so we've gone from having to water our square maybe once a week, twice a week to keep it in good nick to now doing it at least once a day. rain is on the way, but the authorities warn the drought could be with us for months to come. angus crawford, bbc news. several european countries have seen a wave of deadly wildfires, triggered by record temperatures and drought across the continent. here you can see there a currently major fires in much of western europe. officials are concerned that windy conditions could make the situation worse. firefighters in france are continuing to battle

what they're calling a "monster" fire south of bordeaux, which has forced thousands to evacuate their homes. bethany bell reports from the gironde. the woods near bordeaux are still burning. this area was hit by a massive fire injuly and another blaze this week. fire crews from across europe have come here to help their french colleagues, many of whom are exhausted. the pine forests and the peat—rich soil are like a tinderbox. even when the big fires are out, the danger still remains. as you can see, the ground around me is smoking. there's smoldering embers here, which very easily can be whipped up into yet another fire. the blaze breaks out in the bushes. firefighters rush to put it out... ..but it's a constant struggle. last night, the flames reached the edge of this village,

threatening several houses. we met the mayor as he supervised a truck spraying water into the woods. translation: we've never known a summer like this. | it's a catastrophe, an environmental catastrophe, and also a climate catastrophe. the sun and wind need to be replaced by clouds and rain as quickly as possible. 10,000 people have been evacuated from their home region. at a shelter in the town of salle, christian told me it's the second time he's had to flee this summer. translation: i'm fed up with it, mentally and physically. - it's time to go home, but itjust doesn't stop. it's a very serious fire, the first time there's been such a big fire in our region. christian hopes he'll be able to go home soon. cooler temperatures are forecast for next week. but he, like everyone here, is worried about the future. bethany bell, bbc

news in the gironde. the labour leader sir keir starmer is expected to call for the energy price cap to be frozen in the autumn to help deal with the cost of living crisis. he is due to deliver a speech on monday. with me now is our political correspondent, nick eardley. nick, what more can you tell us? the cost of living crisis is going to be the dominant political issue of the next few months. on monday we get keir starmer�*s strategy, something he says will be fully costed. and as the observer is reporting tonight, a key part of that will be saying the price cap should not go up in the autumn. remember, analysts think it could go up remember, analysts think it could go up to as much as £3500 a year for the typical household. so keir starmer says it should stay under £2000. there are questions over that would be funded but the liberal democrats have already been calling, so it will increase the pressure on

the two people vying to be prime minister to come up with big, bold ideas. rishi sunak is saying he will spend billions more to support people. liz truss is saying she will cut tax. and then look next next month at what support might be available. w' . , month at what support might be available. ., , ., ~ railway passengers across england, scotland and wales have been experiencing severe disruption today as the result of the latest in a series of rail strikes. members of the aslef union, which represents around 6,500 train drivers at nine rail companies, have walked out for 2h hours in a row overjobs, pay and conditions. further action is planned for next week. ramzen kermali reports. a sight 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 strike, so i'm going home on tuesday instead. it's annoying that the general public has to get inconvenienced, but i understand where they're coming from. i'm trying to get back to the town of buckingham so i can— resume my studies like next monday, but i didn't know that euston's - completely closed right now. nine train companies are impacted by today's strike — avanti west coast, crosscountry, greater anglia, great western railway, hull trains, lner, london overground, southeastern and west midlands trains. aslef have consistently said this dispute centres on pay and the rising costs their members are facing. we didn't ask for pay. we didn't ask for anything during the pandemic. they worked on the front line, you know, as key workers. and now it's, you know, people are saying the cost of living crisis is engulfing them, too, and they want a fair pay rise. disruptions from today's action are likely to spill over into tomorrow, but the train companies insist that any agreement over pay will have to wait until reforms are fully implemented. we can look at reform

when we can see what type of reform we're able to get. that then frees up money. we do want to give our staff a pay increase. it's not that we don't want to do that. but we need to generate money to be able to do that. 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 this summer of strikes is going to come any time soon. ramzen kermali, bbc news. with all the sport now, here's karthi at the bbc sport centre. good evening. it is only be the second weekend of matches in the new premier league season but we've already had some pretty remarkable results. it is time to pop out of the room though if you don't want to know today's scores as match of the day and sportscene follow soon on bbc one. there was a humiliating 4—0 defeat for manchester united at brentford.

all four of brentford's goals came in the first half. while two defeats from two matches leave united bottom of the table at this early stage. by contrast, champions manchester city and arsenal have won both of their opening games of the season and both put four goals past their opposition today. aston villa beat everton 2—1. the other day's games ended in draws. there was a third consecutive win at the start of the scottish premiership season for rangers. they had a comfortable 4—0 win over stjohnstone. motherwell beat aberdeen 3—2 and there were also wins for livingston and st mirren. the multi sport european championships might have started straight after the commonwealth games but great britain's athletes are continuing their impressive podium place finishes. they have moved to the top of the medal table tonight with 15 medals overall, five of which are gold. nesta mcgregor reports on today's

successes in munich. the end of day three at the european championships, but it was the number four that proved to be golden for great britain. great britain! four goal medals, the first won by the women's four. a european title to go with their world cup crown. not long after, the men's fours secured another. they barely had time to get out of the water before gb�*s women's quad sculls were topping the podium. and they weren't done yet. way ahead with clear water. the most dominant performance of all came in the men's eight. great britain coming through. cue a boat party. well, sort of. but could it prove to be inspirational? come on, kieran riley. he definitely wanted that in that first run. there we go. kieran riley came close. in the bmx freestyle, he put on a dazzling display. his reward was silver, the second of the day for the gb cycling team. has to swing these legs faster. over at the gymnastics arena,

alice kinsella, vying for her second medal of the championships, led a strong challenge. but in the end, the team had to settle for silver. and what a performance. as for the dance moves that followed... well, point deductions for not being in sync! this has been the most successful day for the gb team so far and they are top of the medal table. but with eight days of competition left, if they want to stay there, it is hardly time to relax. nestor mcgregor, bbc news, in munich. and there was also british success at the european aquatics championships in rome. the women's 4x100 metres freestyle relay team won gold to retain their title. while luke greenbank and freya colbert claimed bronze medals in the 200 metre backstroke and 400 metre medley respectively. there's more on the bbc sport website including news of british number two, dan evans who is about to play in only his second atp masters singles semi final. evans faces spain's pablo carrenyo busta in the next few

minutes in montreal. and emma raducanu will play serena williams for the first time in her career tomorrow. they will face each other in the first round of the cincinnati open. thank you. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. that's all from me. goodnight.

hello, this is bbc news. 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, and completed it this afternoon. here's more about his motivation. being with my wife is very challenging because she does know me, but onlyjust. when your partner has alzheimer's,

the problems are very severe. it has helped me 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. i wasjoined by nick gardner a little earlier this evening along with craig jones, the chief executive of the royal osteoporosis society. yes. i can't believe all the attention

i've been getting. it's marvellous. well, i can. i think it's richly deserved. this means that you are now a munro bagger. as the title goes. tell us what that means. yeah. the word bagging i'm not very happy with. yes, i've climbed them all, but i'm not ticking them off in that sense. i just love climbing mountains. and so i thought, right, we'll climb all of them and then try and increase the awareness to these charities. yes. and one of them, of course, the royal osteoporosis society. craig, tell us about the work you've done and how grateful you are for the money that nick's raised. oh, it's a huge thing. and the reason for that is that two thirds of people are missing out on the osteoporosis care that they need in the nhs at the moment. the pandemic has created a situation where there's record demand on health charities

because of the situation in the nhs, but it's a very difficult environment for funding. so the donations which nick has raised have been extraordinary. they will make sure there are specialist nurse helplines can answer every call that comes through to it and that we can commission research into the next breakthroughs for osteoporosis. so it's one of the most impressive fundraising campaigns we've ever seen. what's your wife's name, nick? janet. and janet, obviously, sadly, suffers from this and alzheimer's, as you were saying in that little film that we were just watching a few moments ago. why did you want to raise money for these two charities in particular in this way? well, to support janet when i could no longer look after her. itjust blew me apart. and i knew i had to get something,

as i've said, to focus on. and since i love mountains, i thought, right, that's the one where i can get maximum enjoyment and hopefully that will enable me to cope with these emotional problems. so you could argue that the absolutely initial spark was me. i needed something to help me. and then i was pretty sure that climbing the munros would help me. but then, very soon after making that decision, i realised that as a challenge i can go public with it and hopefully get loads of sponsors. and you've certainly done that. beforejuly 2020, how many mountains or munros had you climbed? 0h... i'd climbed a lot, but not systematically. all the munros. i'd probably climbed a quarter

of them, but i wasn't actually ticking them off or collecting them or bagging them. ijust loved being in mountains. nick's obviously explained there, craig, how important it was for him to try to find a focus when he was finding it difficult to look afterjanet and the fact that she needed to go into a home. you must see that a lot with people who have done their absolute best to try to care for those closest to them. well, we really do. and we know that conditions like alzheimer's and osteoporosis can be very challenging for families and carers. and i think what nick's done isn't just about the funding for two good charities. it's also about the example that he's setting, which i think will set a ripple effect to lots of other fundraisers at this very challenging time for for health charities, because i think he's shown us that anything is possible when you've got the determination and the resolve. and he's taken something which is a source of pain and channelled it into something that will improve countless lives. and i think that's a real

example to us all. and he's a real role model for us all. i don't suppose that the osteoporosis society is one that many people sadly immediately think to support, but this should really have raised your profile. well, i hope so. i mean, half of women over 50 will suffer osteoporosis and a fifth of men. it's an underrated condition. but if we get this right as a society, we can transform the quality of life for older people and make sure that they've got the independence they need. they can avoid fractures. they can keep their social connections. that's what we'll be using. the funding that nick has created for the two charities for, and we hope that lots of fundraisers will follow his example in raising awareness. i believe you have four grandchildren, nick. how many of them came with you on any of these climbs? yeah. none of them think of the mountains in the same way as i do. i'm seen as a little unusual in that

i get an awful lot of strength from being in the mountains. it means so much to me. so cairngorm was your last summit today? this afternoon? i mean, i almost hesitate to ask, but i must ask you, what next? you've climbed all 282 munros. you're not going to stop there, are you? not hanging up your boots? no, no, no. i've discovered i like the action of fundraising, so i'm not stopping. i won't be climbing any more. i won't be ticking off boxes to climb more because it involves too much driving. but i will be climbing and raising funds. i'll probably go public and announce mountains that i want to climb and invite people to come with me.

that sounds like a great idea. craig, i think you might be co—opted. do you think you'll go with nick? well, nick has been telling me about all of the therapeutic qualities of climbing and something it also gives all of us who have osteoporosis to think about when we get older. it's very good for stopping that because weight bearing exercise like walking keeps your bones strong. so i feel that i need to be on the next climb with nick putting this into practice. i think you're absolutely right. you've got a great role model and guide. how much money have you raised so far, nick? it might might have gone up after you've spoken to all the journalists. i'm telling it is over 60,000 now. absolutely fantastic. time for a look at the weather with susan powell. hello. it is hot and it is dry and for some parts of the uk it feels like it has been hot and dry now for a very

extended period of time. the start of the new week, things change and eventually it becomes cooler by tuesday.— cooler by tuesday. extreme heat still the story _ cooler by tuesday. extreme heat still the story for _ cooler by tuesday. extreme heat still the story for much _ cooler by tuesday. extreme heat still the story for much of- cooler by tuesday. extreme heat l still the story for much of england and wales to the remainder of the weekend. very warm light across england and wales, low is in some areas 20 degrees, a few isolated showers for the south—west of england, showers by the end of the night pushing into northern ireland, clyde, mr murk pushing into the coasts of eastern scotland and the north—east of england, this burns back on sunday and these showers get excitable, heavy thundery downpours surging across into western scotland and spreading their way northwards. isolated showers across wales and the south—west of england, still looking at temperatures in the mid 30s wildly, but there you see the heat using as we move into the week

ahead. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are emma woolf, author and broadcaster and kate maltby, columnist for the... tomorrow's front pages, starting with... the observer leads with �*britain�*s parched summer'. meanwhile, the sunday express devotes its front page to formally endorsing liz truss to be the next prime minister.

her rival rishi sunak is on the front of the sunday telegraph