this is bbc news. the headlines at six... a group of charities and community organisations have called the rises in energy bills a national emergency as labour is to call for the energy price cap to be frozen in october. the energy minister says their plan won't work. i think we have to be a little bit careful on some of these — labour's seemingly magical solution to just wish it all away, that will have consequences. the son of author sir salman rushdie says his injuries are life—changing but that his feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact after he was stabbed at an event in new york state. egyptian health officials say at least 41 people have died and a0 injured in a fire at a coptic church in north—west cairo.

a powerful explosion has rocked a shopping centre and caused a fire in armenia's capital, yerevan, leaving one dead and 20 injuried. prosecutions for breaching covid restrictions have been dropped for six people who attended a vigil in london for sarah everard last year. a warm welcome to viewers in the uk and around the world. 70 charities and community organisations in the uk have written to the two conservative party candidates vying to be its next leader and the next prime minster, urging them to show compassion and leadership in dealing with the cost of living crisis. tomorrow, labour is expected to call on the government to freeze

the energy price cap this autumn to help people deal with the rising cost of living. here's our political correspondent, david wallace—lockhart. with energy bills expected to continue rising, 70 charities have written to the two candidates to be the next prime minister, calling for £1,200 of government support to help low income families make ends meet this winter. throughout history, it has been government's role to provide support to households who need it in a time of crisis. we saw it during the pandemic using the furlough scheme and the £20 uplift to universal credit per week and we need to see that again now. we need to see that the government at least doubles that support to low—income households right now, or we are going to be facing a winter of truly terrifying circumstances. a source of many of these concerns are predicted rises in the energy price cap — the maximum that can be charged for a unit of energy. last october, a typical family could expect to pay about £1,200

a year for electricity and gas. this 0ctober, it will be closer to £2,000. forecasts now suggest the figure could go up to £3,500 later this year and to more than 4,000 injanuary. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, is expected tomorrow to call for 0ctober�*s energy price cap rise to be scrapped — a position already suggested by the snp and the lib dems. the current energy minister insists this is not a realistic proposal. we would have to find a way to compensate people by effectively trying to abolish that price rise, and that would inevitably lead to higher taxes, so i think we have to be a little bit careful on some of these, like labour's seemingly magical solution to just wish it all away. that will have consequences. the treasury is collating cost—of—living policy options for the next prime minister to consider. rishi sunak has said he will provide more direct support to vulnerable households.

liz truss has not ruled out more support but prefers the idea of tax cuts. one of her key supporters, the chief secretary to the treasury, simon clark, has questioned the universal nature of some of the support offered so far, suggesting a preference for more targeted intervention. the new prime minister will take office on the 5th of september, just a month shy of another rise in bills — an immediate challenge for a new leader. david wallace—lockhart, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent, nick eardley, says energy costs are at the top of the political agenda at the moment. the question that all politicians are grappling with is what can the government actually do to help people with the cost of living crisis? and what labour is coming up with is a big offer. it's going to cost a lot of money, but the calculation that keir starmer is making is that it needs to happen, quite frankly, that the risk of not freezing energy prices is so great and could be

so severe on people who can't afford it that the government needs to intervene in a big way. now, this is a policy that i think is gaining traction. it was suggested by the liberal democrats on wednesday. the snp have said they're onside as well. so there is a bit pressure on the two candidates to be prime minister to look at this policy. now, neither of them is going this far at the moment. rishi sunak is saying, yes, i'llspend billions on targeted support. liz truss is saying tax cuts. but we have to wait to figure out what we're going to do when it comes to specific support on energy bills. but it does feel like this debate is just attracting more and more ideas. and increasingly, people, particularly opposition parties, are saying the ideas that the two candidates for prime minister have aren't going far enough. and i've got to say, i've heard that privately from some tory mp as well who think

that the leadership debate so farjust hasn't grasped the scale of the crisis. let's speak to the political editor of the sunday mirror and sunday people newspapers, nigel nelson. the nigel nelson. opposition labour party is due to the opposition labour party is due to set out its plan, keir starmer due to make a speech, how much do we know about what he is proposing? we know about what he is proposing? - know about what he is proposing? - know that he wants to see a freeze at the present rate, in other words, keeping energy bills at the current £1970. what we don't know is quite how he will pay for it. one way would be through an increased windfall tax on the oil and gas giants, and he said that in the sunday mirror this morning. but again... if you want to actually freeze energy prices you are talking about something between 30 to £40

billion, and at the moment the current windfall taxes raising about 5 billion, but it does seem that the idea of freezing rather than giving hand—outs is now gaining traction, that would appear to be the way to go. it that would appear to be the way to . o, , ., , that would appear to be the way to a o. , . , . . that would appear to be the way to a 0, , ., , . ., ., go. it is all very well calling for the rice go. it is all very well calling for the price cap — go. it is all very well calling for the price cap to _ go. it is all very well calling for the price cap to be _ go. it is all very well calling for the price cap to be frozen, - go. it is all very well calling for the price cap to be frozen, but| go. it is all very well calling for. the price cap to be frozen, but the reality of it is there unless that is funded and the suppliers, the company is in the middle, are somehow compensated for the extra costs they are facing for buying the energy at higher wholesale prices, won't we just see more of those go under, as we saw within the last year? under, as we saw within the last ear? , ., , , under, as we saw within the last ear? , . , , ., year? yes, that is why the whole thin has year? yes, that is why the whole thing has got _ year? yes, that is why the whole thing has got to _ year? yes, that is why the whole thing has got to be _ year? yes, that is why the whole thing has got to be properly - year? yes, that is why the whole i thing has got to be properly thought out. which is why i think keir starmer has not rushed into this one to do that. there are interesting ideas around that would fund it. the boss of scottishpower has come up with an idea where you could have a ten year freeze right now, and the

suppliers' shortfall would then be covered by loans, and they would be repayable over a 15 year period, and you would either try to recoup that money by gradually raising bills rather than the sudden shock that customers are facing at the moment, or you might do it through taxation, but that is the idea where you could freeze prices. —— to year. whatever happens people can't suddenly be hit with four or 5000 bills next year, which is the way things are going. when we talk about the price cap, this only applies to domestic bills. i speak to a lot of businesses, especially for small businesses, who say their energy bills are going up by even more because they are not capped and they are really worried, if they can't miss —— meet those costs on the other way, it means higher prices for customers, so is

anything being proposed to help the small business is feeling the pressures?— small business is feeling the ressures? , , ., �* pressures? -- five bills. i don't know whether _ pressures? -- five bills. i don't know whether keir _ pressures? -- five bills. i don't know whether keir starmer - pressures? -- five bills. i don't know whether keir starmer has pressures? -- five bills. i don't- know whether keir starmer has any plans about, he will unveil more long—term measures, things like better insulation for homes, but that takes time, but that could save domestic customers £1000 a year, but he has not revealed whether he has any plans for business. you're absolutely right, businesses suffer as well from something like this. we have got to look at the inflationary effect also of energy price rises. if you were to actually have a freeze on them rather than doing hand—outs, that would keep inflation a little bit lower. hand-outs, that would keep inflation a little bit lower.— a little bit lower. nigel, thank you very much. _ a little bit lower. nigel, thank you very much, political— a little bit lower. nigel, thank you very much, political editor- a little bit lower. nigel, thank you very much, political editor of- a little bit lower. nigel, thank you very much, political editor of the l very much, political editor of the sunday people in the mirror. —— and the mirror.

sir salman rushdie has been taken off a ventilator and has spoken for the first time since he was stabbed several times his son, zafar rushdie, has in the last hour described his injuries as lifechanging but says his usual feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact. chautauqua county jail have released a picture of the alleged attacker, 24—year—old hadi matar. 0ur correspondent, nomia iqbal, is at the hospital where the satanic verses author is being treated. what more do we know about his condition? the what more do we know about his condition? ., , ., , condition? the details of his condition — condition? the details of his condition have _ condition? the details of his condition have come - condition? the details of his| condition have come through condition? the details of his - condition have come through that statement from his son. he released it on twitter and said his father is still in a critical condition inside the hospital, he has been taken off the hospital, he has been taken off the ventilator, he is able to breathe unaided and he did say a few words. he did go on to say that the injury is a life changing and just

to repeat what you said there, he said that his father's usual and defiant sense of humour remains intact, he also paid tribute to their audience members who jumped into action and that day on friday at the literary event where mr rushdie was due to speak and helped mr rushdie. he was taken from the new york event and helicopter tear to the hospital, where as his son has said he remains in critical condition. earlier, mr rushdie's agent confirmed to us that mr rushdie was on the long road to recovery. rushdie was on the long road to recove . ~ ., ., rushdie was on the long road to recove .~ ., ., , ,, recovery. what of the suspect? 24-year-old — recovery. what of the suspect? 24-year-old hadi _ recovery. what of the suspect? 24-year-old hadi matar - recovery. what of the suspect? 24-year-old hadi matar has - recovery. what of the suspect? - 24-year-old hadi matar has already 24—year—old hadi matar has already appeared in court, accused of attempted murder and attempted assault of mr rushdie, he has

pleaded not guilty to those charges. there is a lot of speculation and reports that are coming out about him, including his alleged sympathies with iran's revolutionary guards, this is a major political and military force in the country, and military force in the country, and of course it was iran's spiritual leader in 1989 who issued this death sentence on mr rushdie for his book which many muslims consider blasphemous. having said that, though, it is worth emphasising that the suspect�*s motives have still not been officially established. thank you very much- _ officially established. thank you very much. our— officially established. thank you very much. our correspondent l officially established. thank you | very much. our correspondent in very much. 0ur correspondent in philadelphia. egyptian health officials say at least 41 people have died and 40 are injured in a fire at a coptic church in north—west cairo. several children are believed to be among the dead. the blaze in the abi—seyfen church

in the capital's working—class district of imbaba is reported to have been caused by an electrical fault in an air conditioner. president abdel fattah al—sisi has said that all state services have been mobilised to help and the fire is now reported to be under control. a powerful explosion has rocked a shopping centre and caused a fire in armenia's capital, yerevan. the armenian emergencies ministry says one person has died and 20 people have been injured in the blast. local media report that the explosion occurred at a fireworks warehouse. video of the incident showed large clouds of black smoke in the sky and people running away as a building collapsed. the area has been sealed off and teams of rescuers are at the scene. the uk government is going to delay a railfare increase. the department for transport says it wants to reduce the impact of inflation on rail fares and will temporarily freeze fares.

our business correspondent, vishala sri—pathma, says the fares usually go up injanuary. they're based on the inflation figures forjuly. that's due out this week. we'll find out on wednesday what the inflation figures are. they're expected to be around 11.9%, which clearly is pretty high. if you think about your rail commute prices going up by that much, that's quite a significant chunk. so the department for transport say that it's not going to go up by that much. so we don't know what the specific figure is going to be, but it's not going to be 11.9%. it will be lower than that. so that's sort of looking to help people with their cost of living, really. a new timetable has come into force on the uk rail west coast main line today. the operator, avanti, has been forced to reduce services because of what it called severe staff shortages. trains between glasgow, edinburgh, liverpool, manchester, birmingham and london euston are affected.

the headlines on bbc news... a group of charities and community organisations have called the rises in energy bills a national emergency as labour is to call for the energy price cap to be frozen in october. the energy minister says their plan won't work. the son of author sir salman rushdie says his injuries are life—changing but that his feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact after he was stabbed at an event in new york state. egyptian health officials say at least 41 people have died and 40 are injured in a fire at a coptic church in north—west cairo. firefighters say a huge fire which tore through a popular nature reserve at studland heath in dorset and forced the evacuation of a beach was most likely caused by a disposable barbecue. the hot weather and drought conditions have led the met office

to issue its highest alert forfire severity over the weekend, warning there is an exceptional risk of blazes spreading. will batchelor reports. the true cost of a disposable barbecue. firefighters say this huge blaze which tore across studland heath in dorset was almost certainly caused by picnickers trying to cook food on the tinder dry beauty spot. after battling the flames all night, they found a disposable barbecue among the ashes. we really are appealing to members of the public to consider what you're doing. if it's going to potentially start a fire, try to avoid it if you possibly can. this field fire was one of 75 in essex. it covered 91 acres, and containing it required the help of local farmers. if you were downwind, you wouldn't have kept up with it running. luckily, the wind direction was away from the houses,

and so it wasjust a question of stopping it spreading back towards the houses again but, when the wind changed direction, suddenly, it would move towards you and, yes, it's frightening. in north london, this grassfire billowed smoke across the busy m25 motorway. in surrey, a different problem. near guildford, residents queued up for bottled water after their taps ran dry. thames water said there were technical issues at one of its treatment works and that fixing it was taking longer than they'd hoped. and it isn'tjust humans who need hydration. 0ne farmer in suffolk has been filling 70 water troughs a day to make sure the wildlife have enough to drink. an amber heat alert is still in place today and the drought in parts of england could potentially last into next year. five days after kenya's presidential election, frustrations continue to grow over

the delay in announcing the results. almost half the results have been confirmed with vice—president william ruto taking a slight lead of 51% — 3% more than his rival, raila 0dinga. the slow count is adding to growing tension among kenyans, as we heard from people in the western city of kisumu. right now we are very tired because we are... people are not going to work. the students are in the house. and, right now, when we cannot go to work to look for men. we are not happy because, number one, all the businesses are stuck. the way that we have been getting money in the normal days has really gone out, so we are suffering. several european countries have seen a wave of deadly wildfires triggered by record temperatures and drought across the continent. here you can see there are currently major fires in much of western europe.

officials are concerned that windy conditions could make the situation worse. in france, officials in the south—western gironde region have said a major fire there has been brought under control and 8,000 people can return to their homes, but another wildfire in south—central france has reignited, forcing more than 1,000 people from their homes. 0ur correspondent, bethany bell, is in the gironde region. firefighters have brought the big blaze under control but have warned the fire is not extinguished yet and if you look behind me back there in which you can see what they mean, there wisps of smoke which is a sign that they are still burning embers on below the ground but could in the wrong circumstances be whipped up into another fire.

wrong circumstances be whipped up into anotherfire. but wrong circumstances be whipped up into another fire. but there is very good news for the 10,000 people that were evacuated from near here. they have been told that they can now go home after days of staying in emergency temporary housing. president zelensky says any russian soldier who fires at the zaporyzhzhia nuclear plant or uses it as a base to shoot from will become a target for ukrainian soldiers. he said russians involved in what he called nuclear blackmail should be tried by an international court. the bbc�*s hugo bachega is in the ukrainian capital, kyiv, and told us more about the significance of the nuclear plant. tensions remain high around the nuclear power complex. for days, russia and ukraine have traded accusations of who's to blame for shelling the complex. now, russia has occupied this site since the beginning of march, even though ukrainian technicians are still operating the facility. now, ukraine accuses russian troops

of essentially turning this nuclear facility into a military base, using it as a shield to launch attacks against ukrainian targets. knowing that ukrainian troops are unlikely to retaliate. now, russian officials reject those accusations. they say russian troops are there to protect this facility. now, calls are growing for international monitors to be allowed into the site. the un secretary general, antonio guterres, has called for the creation of a demilitarised zone around this facility. but so far, there are no signs that any kind of deal is likely to be reached, at least for now. elsewhere in the south, ukraine says it hit a bridge used by the russians in the occupied region of kherson. if this is confirmed, it means that all four bridges used by the russians to supply troops

on the western bank of dnipro river have been damaged or destroyed. the ukrainians have been attacking russian positions, supply lines, infrastructure in this region for weeks now. the russians have been sending troops and military equipment to reinforce their positions. the ukrainians have said that they are going to launch a counteroffensive to retake kherson from the russians. the russians have been there since the very beginning of the war. but for now it doesn't seem that the ukrainians have the capacity, the weapons, to go ahead with this massive operation. almost six months ago, thousands of ukrainian civilians joined the military to fight invading russian forces. among those who signed up were members of one of ukraine's top rock bands, antytila. they became army medics in kharkiv, helping to treat wounded soldiers. the bbcjoined them as they headed to the front line. it is russian mortarfire. come on, come on, come on. yeah. here. we're here, it's ok.

come on. listen. i'm 0k. i'm taras topolya, the frontman of antytila, a popular band in ukraine. now me, with my friends, serving in territorial defence forces. we are a paramedical team — paramedical squad. singing we've been playing for more than 12 years. we've released seven albums. so we had a lot of big ukrainian tours, and we had three american and canadian tours. here, it is a front line. this is our position. this yard was destroyed

by russian mortar fire. it's far away. you know, blood smells disgusting for me. and also, when this smell compares with the smell of the shelling, with the smell of the explosion, it's the most disgusting smell of my life. after doing my duties, i call my wife and my kids. i have no tears any more. i'm tired to cry. ijust can't wake up, like a dream.

i'm in a dream. and i want to wake up. wake up in my home. i don't want to lie that sometimes the sadness defeats me. i want to create a new album, a new antytila album after the war. we will need a new kind of songs. songs of happiness. with a smile on our face. if we will survive, we will do this, of course. china is well—known for its ancient practice of acupuncture as a way to promote the healing process and general well—being. now, increasingly, pet owners are turning to the method to help

soothe the aches and pains of their beloved cats and dogs. in this beijing clinic, pets of all shapes and sizes are being signed up for treatments — care that their masters say is less invasive and comes with fewer side effects than conventional treatments. recordings of gentle bamboo flute music and birds chirping are played to help the animals relax. today is the last of four days of intense heat which has lead to an amber weather warning for much of southern england and wales. while there are concerns about drought and the impact the heat has on the elderly and vulnerable, many people have simply been taking the opportunity to enjoy it. coastal resorts have been packed but, as emma simpson has been finding out, labour stortages and rising energy costs in hospitality mean not all businesses are willing or able to cope with the extra trade.

it's boom time if you're selling food and drink at the beach — if you've got the staff to do it. i need somebody to go in the kitchen. i need waitresses, bar staff. louise runs this pub and it's missing out on lost sales. we could certainly be taking more than we are if we were doing food seven days a week and i had got more staff so we could put the facilities out there. we are not putting the tables out on monday and tuesday at the moment, purely because i haven't got the staff to do so. it's even worse for this award—winning restaurant. trading is on pause. they have struggled to get staff since brexit and covid. the owners are now abroad, trying to hire chefs and waiting for a special government licence to bring them over. many sleepless nights. this business is a family business so it's me and my partner, so this is our only income. this is all really we live for, and to be closed is really

heartbreaking, to be honest. there is no shortage of customers in this town — just staff. across the uk, there's something like 176,000 vacancies in hospitality. that's double the number before the pandemic. so this is a mock—up restaurant. you won't find a customer in here. the boss of this suffolk hotel chain shows me the training centre he started in march to help recruit and retain staff. you have to do something about it yourself because no one _ is going to give you these people and, if you want them to stay, i you have got to give them the skills and the confidence to be with you. i labour shortages now, but could that tide be about to turn? at the alex cafe, they are open all week — three days only, though, upstairs. but the owner is in no rush, with rising energy costs for him and his customers. i've done the job for over 40 years and it has never been like this. you know, you have always been able to see a path, however steep that path is,

or how difficult. at the moment, it is almost like an abyss. we could be looking at £100,000 per year extra — extra — on energy. you know, that's £2,000 per week. he's trying to keep it simple in a sector that is bracing itself for bumpier times ahead. emma simpson, bbc news, felixstowe. now it's time for a look at the weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello there, good afternoon. big changes weatherwise as we head into the start of next week. low pressure will move in from the south, it's going to be very unsettled, with the chance of some heavy, thundery showers for many, welcome rain, of course, and it will also be turning cooler, too. but one more day of that extreme heat, the weather warning is in place until the end of the day today, at midnight, and that covers much of england and eastern wales as well, as far north as the pennines, down into parts of devon and cornwall, too. for the rest of the day today, there are already some thundery showers out there across scotland and northern ireland, moving eastwards, quite a few

lightning strikes already. eastern scotland should stay mostly dry, we do have some cloud out towards north sea—facing coasts. elsewhere, dry, lots of blue sky, some high cloud towards southern england, temperatures rising readily into the low 30s in celsius, maybe 34, perhaps 35, once again, uncomfortable for many. 0vernight tonight, it is still going to be very difficult for sleeping, i think it is warm and humid, some showers around, creeping into western wales and the south—west of england as well. but elsewhere, it should be mostly dry, overnight lows of 16—19 celsius, perhaps a tropical night towards southern coasts again. on monday, that low pressure is firmly with us, it will help to spark off some thunderstorms. some more organised rain with a bit of thunder perhaps, for northern england and parts of scotland as well, that could be quite heavy and persistent for a while. elsewhere, we will see some blue skies and sunny spells at times, although a cloudier start to the day. thunderstorms breaking out in the afternoon

but they will be hit or miss, and it is still warm towards that south—eastern quarter of the uk as well, 30 celsius maybe for some. and then, on tuesday, the details on this are likely to change but this is where we think most of the wet weather will be, very persistent rain across much of scotland, northern england, some high rainfall totals from this and some thunder on the leading edge as well. what a temperature contrast, still 26—28 c out towards parts of east anglia, much cooler further north and west, this is where most of the rain will be, and then that rain is going to move southwards and eastwards on wednesday. still a thunderstorm warning for most of england and wales on wednesday. then it is looking mostly dry, particularly for eastern areas, as we head through the rest of the week, temperatures returning to the seasonal average.

70 organisations come together in a fresh warning on energy prices, saying rising bills are a national emergency. it comes as labour looks set to call for the energy price cap to be frozen. a government minister says that's not the solution. we would have to find a way to compensate people by effectively trying to abolish that price rise, and that would inevitably lead to higher taxes. we'll be looking at today's letter from charities and community groups to the two candidates for prime minister. also coming up: salman rushdie is off a ventilator and said to be on the road to recovery after he was stabbed at an event in america. more than 40 people are killed

after a fire breaks out inside a packed church in egypt during morning worship. sun, sea and a shortage of labour — why some businesses who should do well in a heatwave aren't. and erin kennedy coaxes great britain to a gold in rowing at the european championships three months after a breast cancer diagnosis. good evening. 70 charities and community organisations have written to the two conservatives vying to be prime minister in three weeks' time, urging them to show �*compassion and leadership" in dealing with the cost of living crisis. they say rising bills are a national emergency and called for more support.

the government has already pledged up to £1,200 to help the poorest houeholds. labour is set to call for the energy price cap to be frozen at its current level ofjust under £2000 a year for a typical household. in england, scotland and wales, it's expected to go up to around £3500 in october. 0ur political correspondent david wallace—lockhart reports. with energy bills expected to continue rising, 70 charities have written to the two candidates to be the next prime minister. they are calling for £1,200 of government support to help low income families make ends meet this winter. throughout history, it has been government's role to provide support to households who need it when you are in a time of crisis. we saw it during the pandemic, using the furlough scheme and the £20 uplift to universal credit per week, and we need to see that again now. we need to see that the government at least doubles their support to low—income households right now, or we are going to be facing a winter of truly

terrifying circumstances. a source of many of these concerns are predicted rises in the energy price cap. that's the maximum that can be charged for a unit of energy. last october, a typical family could expect to pay about £1200 a year for electricity and gas. this 0ctober, it will be closer to £2,000. forecasts now suggest that the figure could go up to £3,500 later this year, and to more than 4,000 injanuary. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, is expected tomorrow to call for 0ctober�*s energy price cap rise to be scrapped, a position already suggested by the snp and the lib dems. the current energy minister insists this is not a realistic proposal. we would have to find a way to compensate people by effectively trying to abolish that price rise, and that would inevitably lead to higher taxes, so i think we have to be a little bit careful on some of these kind of... like, labour's seemingly magical

solution, just wish it all the way, that will have consequences. ——away, that will have consequences. the treasury is collating cost—of—living policy options for the next prime minister to consider. rishi sunak has said that he will provide more direct support to vulnerable households. liz truss hasn't ruled out more support but prefers the idea of tax cuts. one of her key supporters, the chief secretary to the treasury, simon clark, has questioned the universal nature of some of the support offered so far, suggesting a preference for more targeted intervention. a new prime minister will take office on the 5th of september, just a month shy of another rise in bills, an immediate challenge for whoever takes over here at number ten. david wallace—lockhart, bbc news, downing street. there's been an update this afternoon on sir salman rushdie, after he was stabbed repeatedly on stage at an event in new york state on friday. 0ur correspondent nomia iqbal is at the hospital where the writer is being treated. nomia, statements from both

his agent and his son in the last few hours — what have they said? yes, his son released a statement, and in it he said that his father is in a critical condition in the hospital but he has been taken off the ventilator and was able to say a few words. he described his father's injuries as life changing, after being stabbed several times, but he said: his usual, feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact. he also said that the family are so grateful to the audience members who jumped on stage that day at the literary event in new york state where mr rushdie was stabbed to try and help him. earlier in the day, mr rushdie's agent confirmed to us that the road to recovery was a long one. as for the 24—year—old suspect, american hadi matar, he has pleaded

not guilty already in court. he is a call —— accused of attempted murder and attempted assault of mr rushdie. a lot of speculation swirling about him in the american media, particularly allegations that he was sympathetic to iran's revolutionary guard, the country's major political and military force. iran in 1989 issued the fatwa on salman rushdie over his book, the satanic verses. the suspect�*s motive has not been officially established. in egypt, at least 40 people have died — many of them children — and dozens more have been injured in a fire at a church where thousands of worshippers had gathered for morning mass. it's reported an electrical fire broke out at the coptic church in giza, outside cairo. our correspondent sally nabil sent this report from the scene at the abu sifin church. a sunday church service

that ended in tragedy. behind these windows, egyptian christian worshippers died. the abu sifin church was in a packed, busy neighbourhood of giza. the fire killed dozens, including many children. we've been told many of the victims suffocated to death as thick smoke covered the area. people rushed into the building, trying to save as many lives as possible. this woman lost her sister—in—law. translation: she had five children. three daughters who are three, five and seven years old. and two boys. my heart is on fire for all these victims. the people i've spoken to here are clearly very angry. they want to know exactly how and why their loved ones died. there will be questions, too, for the church itself and for the emergency services. could they have acted more quickly?

initial reports suggest the fire was caused by an electric fault. people here told us there was a power cut and the church was on a generator. when the electricity was turned on again, there was an overload. translation: fire was coming out of the air condition, _ then spread to the rest of the church. it was on the third and fourth floors. many worshippers fainted and could hardly breathe. a major investigation is now under way. inspectors from the public prosecutors' office already checked the scene. there is nothing to suggest there are any criminal motives behind this incident so far. but the christian community here say they have had enough. many of their churches have been targeted by militant attacks in recent years. bereaved families will be eagerly waiting for the results of the investigation. this might bring them a bit of solace, but nothing can make up for their terrible losses. sally nabil, bbc news, cairo.

at least eight people have been injured after a gunman opened fire on a bus near the western wall ofjerusalem's old city. the eight include a pregnant woman who was seriously wounded. a man has been arrested. israel's prime minister has said security in thejerusalem district is now being reinforced. a new, reduced timetable has come into force on the west coast main line today after the train operator, avanti, said it was having to cut services because of "severe staff shortages". our correspondent phillip norton is at manchester piccadilly station. phillip. yes, this is a case of a timetable being ripped up by one of the country's main rail operators. avanti west country's main rail operators. ava nti west coast operates country's main rail operators. avanti west coast operates long distance services from london, up to scotland, glasgow, edinburgh, and

also serving the midlands, manchester, liverpool and birmingham. recently, it has been plagued by staff shortages and last—minute cancellations. in one week alone, almost 300 services were scrapped. it has come up with changes to help it cope. the company extended many advance ticket sales to date until september when the advanced timetable is finalised. services have been cut from three an hour to an hourly services. it says the amended timetable will be in place untilfurther the amended timetable will be in place until further notice. there is finger—pointing as well. the company says this is due to staff sickness, but also says it is due to the majority of drivers making themselves unavailable for overtime in a coordinated fashion, and the current industrial relations climate. the driver is�* union, aslef, says the company is lying and simply needs to recruit more staff.

the company has been relying on the goodwill of drivers, clearly, to work extra hours and work on days off to provide those services, and without that, they can't do that, and it is apologising to passengers for the disruption it will cause. philip, thank you. legal action against six protesters for attending a vigil for sarah everard has been dropped after the crown prosecution service said the "legal test" for prosecution had not been met. the six were accused of breaking covid lockdown rules by attending the vigil in march last year following the abduction, rape and murder of sarah everard by police officer wayne couzens. there were clashes with police after several hundred people attended the unofficial gathering. a—level grades in england, wales and northern ireland today is the last of four days of the intense heat which sparked an amber weather warning for much of southern england and wales. concerns about drought and the impact on vulnerable people continue, but many have tried to make the most of it and head to the coast. however, as emma simpson's been finding out, labour shortages mean not all businesses are in a position to benefit from the extra trade.

it's boom time if you're selling food and drink at the beach — if you've got the staff to do it. i need somebody to go in the kitchen. i need waitresses, bar staff. louise runs this pub and it is missing out on lost sales. we could certainly be taking more than we are if we were doing food seven days a week and i had got more staff so we could put the facilities out there. we are not putting the tables out on monday and tuesday at the moment, purely because i haven't got the staff to do so. it is even worse for this award—winning restaurant. trading is on pause. they have struggled to get staff since brexit and covid. the owners are now abroad, trying to hire chefs and waiting for a special government licence to bring them over. many sleepless nights. this business is a family business so it is me and my partner, so this is our only income. this is all really we live for, and to be closed is really heartbreaking, to be honest.

there is no shortage of customers in this town — just staff. across the uk, there's something like 176,000 vacancies in hospitality. that is double the number before the pandemic. so this is a mock—up restaurant. you won't find a customer in here. the boss of this suffolk hotel chain shows me the training centre he started in march to help recruit and retain staff. you have to do something about it yourself because no one is going to give you these people, and if you want them to stay, you have got to give them the skills and the confidence to be with you. labour shortages now, but could the tide be about to turn? at the alex cafe, they are open all week — three days only, though, upstairs. but the owner is in no rush, with rising energy costs for him and his customers. i've done the job for over 40 years and it has never been like this. you know, you have always been able to see a path, however steep that path is, or difficult. at the moment, it is

almost like an abyss. we could be looking at £100,000 per year extra — extra — on energy. you know, that's £2,000 per week. he is trying to keep it simple in a sector that is bracing itself for bumpier times ahead. emma simpson, bbc news, felixstowe. great britain have had another successful day at the european championships in munich. 17—year—old jessica gadirova won gold on the floor in the women's gymnastics and there was a rowing gold that came in remarkable circumstances. our sports correspondent nesta mcgregor reoprts from munich. erin kennedy, part of a crew of five, but today the centre of attention. a european champion on an emotional day. herjob, guiding the para mixed coxed four, a boat unbeaten in over a decade and today another convincing victory. remarkable considering after being diagnosed in may, the 30—year—old is receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer. i'm just really proud.

not for my myself, to be honest, just for the team. it's a lot for me to take, but it's also a lot for them and like they've just... picked me up every time. there was even more success as the munich regatta centre, this time thanks to the lightweight women's double sculls pair of imogen grant and emily craig. great britain top of european rowing once again. back at munich's olympic park, the next medal hopes for gb rested on the shoulders of twins. thankfully not these two! you knowjess will give this everything. in the gadirova sisters, britain had two shots at gold and it wasjessica... wow, what a routine. who under the pressure of performing last delivered a first class routine. you can hear a pin drop — it's14! jessica gadirova retains her title! speechless, i guess, i i'm just over the moon, with the result i think this now the decision on the _

commonwealth was the right decision. talk about watching your sister perform in that final routine. oh, just so nerve—wracking. but ijust knew deep down she had it. because i know she loves to perform with the crowd and adrenaline, she just always pulls it off and i'm just so proud of her. no signs here of sibling rivalry, in fact sharing is caring! there was another medal in that session for gb, a silver on the balance beam. if yesterday was super saturday, i guess today was super sunday, if that is a thing. either way, more magical moments in munich. back to you. now before we go, most of england and wales has been waiting a long time for some much needed rain — some places up to six weeks. well, if you're struggling to remember what it looks like — here it is. this is inverness this afternoon.

so far it's only been raining in scotland and northern ireland, where there's a yellow weather warning for severe thunder storms and possible flash flooding. but much of the uk is expected to see some rain — and possibly thunderstorms — by the middle of the week. that's it for now. i'll be back with the news at ten. now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are.

hello. this is bbc news. nearly 50,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the uk every year, and survival rates are low, with about 16% of patients living for five years after diagnosis. early detetction can make a difference — and now there's new hope from a clinical trial at the royal papworth hospital in cambridge, where they're using a simple test to find new cases sooner. kate bradbrook reports. what's in this solution could be life—changing. even life—saving. a liquid substance which is hoped can help detect lung cancer at an early stage. here at royal papworth hospital, it is being trialled for the first time in the world. and one of the first patients on the trial, 70—year—old wendy tait. my mother died of lung cancer, my father died of lung cancer,

my grandmother died of lung cancer and, actually i was quite a heavy smoker for quite a long time. it's what people did and ijust had a feeling that, what with my family history, that i could develop lung cancer, which i have. wendy's cancer is early—stage. it was only discovered by chance when she had a ct scan ahead of back surgery. now she wants to help others. first, the liquid is given via a drip and then it is a 15—minute wait followed by a series of breath tests. we take a simple substance which we call the probe and this probe has a special type of alcohol in it. we know from our previous research that if you have a lung cancer, the probe goes

around the body and the lung cancer processes the probe and releases the alcohol onto the breath. if you have lung cancer, we should be able to detect the probe and if you have not got lung cancer, we should not see any alcohol on the breath. at the moment, these tests involve coming into hospital and being put on a drip. it's a fairly lengthy process. the hope is that in the future, if these trials are successful, that the test could be simplified and done at a gp practice or even at home. these early detection approaches, whether it's a breath test like we're trying to develop or a blood test, yes, if they work and we can roll them out into everyday clinical practice, it will save lives, absolutely. we want to push up lung cancer survival. it's welcome news for wendy who is having surgery tomorrow to remove her tumours. she hopes this research may give others

in the future that same chance. kate bradbrook reporting. time for a look at the weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello there, good afternoon. big changes weatherwise as we head into the start of next week. low pressure will move in from the south, it's going to be very unsettled with the chance of some heavy, thundery showers for many, welcome rain, of course, and it will also be turning cooler, too. but one more day of that extreme heat weather warning. it's in place until the end of the day today, at midnight, and that covers much of england and eastern wales as well, as far north as the pennines, down into parts of devon and cornwall, too. for the rest of the day today, there are already some thundery showers out there across scotland and northern ireland, moving eastwards, quite a few lightning strikes already. eastern scotland should stay mostly dry, we do have some cloud out towards north sea—facing coasts. elsewhere, dry, lots of blue sky, some high cloud towards southern england, temperatures rising readily

into the low 30s in celsius, maybe 34, perhaps 35 — once again uncomfortable for many. overnight tonight, it is still going to be very difficult for sleeping, i think it is warm and humid, some showers around, creeping into western wales and the south—west of england as well. but elsewhere, it should be mostly dry, overnight lows of 16—19 celsius, perhaps a tropical night towards southern coasts again. on monday, that low pressure is firmly with us, it will help to spark off some thunderstorms. some more organised rain, with a bit of thunder perhaps, for northern england and parts of scotland as well, that could be quite heavy and persistent for a while. elsewhere, we'll see some blue sky and sunny spells at times, although a cloudier start to the day. thunderstorms breaking out in the afternoon but they will be hit or miss, and it is still warm towards that south—eastern quarter of the uk as well, 30 celsius maybe for some. and then on tuesday, the details on this are likely to change but this is where we think most of the wet weather will be, very persistent rain across much of scotland, northern england, some high rainfall totals from this and some thunder on the leading edge as well.

what a temperature contrast — still 26—28 out towards parts of east anglia, much cooler further north and west, this is where most of the rain will be, and then that rain is going to move southwards and eastwards on wednesday. still a thunderstorm warning for most of england and wales on wednesday. then it's looking mostly dry, particularly for eastern areas as we head through the rest of the week, temperatures returning to the seasonal average.

this is bbc news. the headlines at seven... a group of charities and community organisations have called the rises in energy bills a national emergency as labour is to call for the energy price cap to be frozen in october. the energy minister says their plan won't work. i think we have to be a little bit careful on some of these — labour's seemingly magical solution to just wish it all away, that will have consequences. the son of author sir salman rushdie says his injuries are life—changing but that his feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact after he was stabbed at an event in new york state. egyptian health officials say at least 41 people have died and 40 injured in a fire at a coptic church in north—west cairo. warnings in the uk over the use of disposable barbecues as tinder dry conditions continue after a weekend of wildfires

in parts of england.