hello, i'm lucy grey. we start with the dangerous heatwaves which have set in in southern europe and around much of the northern hemisphere. red alerts — which indicate risks even for healthy people — have been issued for 16 cities across italy for the coming days. they include tourist favourites like rome and florence. meanwhile almost a third of americans are under extreme advisories, with warnings that scorching temperatures in the west could be deadly to anyone without effective cooling and hydration. leigh milner has the story. it's hot, very hot, and it's only going to get hotter. as temperatures rise across the world, so do concerns for people's health. in italy, red alerts have been issued for 16 cities, with temperatures expected to reach 47 celsius on tuesday.

translation: you physically suffer from this heat, - which also lasts a long time. it doesn't stop after a few days, like it did a few years ago. now this heat lasts for more than a month, we really feel the effects. in athens, greece's most popular attraction, the acropolis, is being closed during the hottest hours of the day to protect visitors. but for some, the heat won't stop them. the heat, it's hard but we are going to push through it and, you know, i don't know if we'll ever be back so we have to take advantage of the day. meanwhile, greek medics have been busy working alongside the red cross. we are here again to give people water and also to give leaflets concerning the high—temperature period here in greece. in croatia, this man lost his home to wildfires, which have swept along the west coast. how big is that? you can see it over the fence. over in spain, this family were lucky. the field next to us

is completely burned. there are a few bits of grass here and there towards the edges that have been able to survive. the vast majority of it is just black and ashes. luckily, both ourselves and the neighbour that we were helping were able to sort of save our gardens, just by working as a collective. but it is notjust europe feeling the heat. across the united states, temperatures are breaking record highs that have stood for decades. in el paso, texas, temperatures have soared to above 37 degrees for 27 consecutive days, overtaking a record set in 1994. experts sayjune was the hottest month on record globally. we can only expect more hot weather to come over the coming days. leigh milner, bbc news. chloe brimicombe is a climate scientist, at the university of gratz in austria. she's been telling me that heatwaves historically have been relatively uncommon.

the heatwaves were quite rare especially in europe until recent years and in the last couple of recent years, we have had consecutive heatwaves year—on—year in the summer and records being broken. this is also the case this year in southern europe and also up into central europe and in the next couple of days, again, we have the risk of those temperatures being broken which is of course causing massive infrastructure and health impacts to people in the region. just explain what those health impacts are because these warnings that have been sent out today in southern europe are saying that even healthy people are at risk. yes, people are more at risk of heat—related illnesses and dehydration during heatwave periods and they will have put this out because of real concern related to record—breaking temperatures. we know in this region as well that pregnant women if they are exposed to levels of extreme heat, they can go on to have preterm birth

but in some cases they can also have stillbirth and this is also the case in the us where we are seeing the heat at the moment. that group is really important to stay cool as well as the elderly, children, those with pre—existing medical conditions and outdoor workers. actually, in the us and texas, they were going to pass a bill which meant that outdoor workers wouldn't be allowed water breaks which is really quite worrying given the temperatures they are experiencing there at the moment. rescue workers in south korea are trying to reach people trapped by flooding inside their cars in an underground tunnel. floods and landslides have killed more than 20 people over the past three days. in the latest rescue operation, one person is reported to have died and at least nine have been rescued so far. it's not clear how many people are inside the vehicles. south korea's annual rainy season has become more intense in recent years as a result of rising temperatures. our reporterje seung lee

gave us this update. so a few hours ago, officials gave a press conference updating the progress of this rescue operation. in south korea right now, it is well into the night, but rescue officials said they will continue this operation throughout the night, and thatjust tells how dire the situation is. now, it is important to say, it is not entirely clear how many vehicles are trapped under there, in this underground tunnel which has been completely submerged underwater, as well as exactly how many people are in these vehicles, but officials said after analysing footage from surveillance cameras, there appears to be about 15 vehicles, and out of those 15, they said they believe one is a bus and two are trucks and the rest, 13 of them, are cars. so far, one person is reported to have died from this and at least nine people have been rescued, and ii more reported to be missing, but that figure is expected

to rise as it continues throughout the night. there is growing criticism as to why officials did not restrict access to the tunnel sooner, because a heavy rain alert was issued in this area four hours before the tunnel was completely submerged underwater. and i've seen footage when this accident occurred. it was just a matter of seconds, it was just a few seconds until the whole underground tunnel, the roadway, was completely submerged underwater, so there is going to be a lot of criticism over the next few days as this unfolds. the uk defence secretary ben wallace has told the sunday times newspaper he will leave cabinet at the next reshuffle and will not stand again at the next election. mr wallace's constituency of wyre and preston north is disappearing under a redrawing of the electoral map but he told the newspaper he would not be seeking a different seat. there's been speculation for several

days that he had been considering standing down from government. sources have told the bbc they expect the prime minister rishi sunak to reshape his top team in september. disposable vapes should be banned from sale according to councils in england and wales, who want them off the shelves by next year. the local government association says more than a million disposable vapes are thrown away every week, and claims they appeal too strongly to children. but the uk vaping industry association argues they help smokers give up the habit and can be recycled. angus crawford has more. cheap to buy, simple to use and littering our public spaces. more than 1.3 million disposable vapes are thrown away every week. now the lga wants the government to ban all single—use vapes as soon as next year. so, what is the problem? it's not just that they litter our high streets. each one of these contains a tiny lithium ion battery wrapped

in plastic and that is difficult to recycle. if it gets crushed in a bin lorry or waste disposal centre, it can catch fire. they are technically recyclable but there is a real difference between what is technically recyclable and what happens in practice. and we know that what happens in practice in the uk is less than i% of these things are actually being recycled. it's not very economical to recycle them, they are always going to be really difficult and as a result, most of them are being thrown away or even worse, they're being littered. but that's only half the story. garish colours and sugared flavours appeal to children, giving a gateway to nicotine. a growing epidemic, says the british medical association, which wants a ban on flavoured vapes and the rest to be sold in plain packaging. the industry disagrees. it claims sales are already regulated and vaping actively reduces smoking. the key thing is it's illegal to sell vaping products to under 185

like any age restricted category, so from our perspective these are doing a really good job at helping smokers move across to vaping because they are so simple to use. but what do the vapers and non—vapers think of a ban? they shouldn't ban the vapes at all. why? _ think about the people smoking cigarettes. would you rather have cigarettes or vapes? think about that. they're not great for- the environment, are they? and especially with - the lithium batteries too. also, because so many children are smoking them now- as well, it's not great. i don't know about total ban though, maybe more regulation? _ in england, the government is reviewing vaping regulations, scotland is weighing up a ban and france may bring one in later this year. could the days of the disposable vapes be numbered? angus crawford, bbc news. i spoke to environmental activist laura young, who told me why she wants disposable vapes banned. ultimately there is a wide range of issues associated with these. i came across this from the environmental perspective.

they are a single use electronic device that are wasting precious resources, like lithium and cobalt, they're creating vast amounts of waste, they are also dangerous if disposed of incorrectly, with a fire hazard associated with the battery. they're being littered and just causing havoc when we get rid of them, and they are being sold in vast quantities. we have about 1.3 million of these disposed every single week in the uk, but of course we have public health issues as well, and lots of young people and nonsmokers taking this up, and it is because the marketing is very good, it is very clever, and it is put across as a lifestyle accessory, something that is fun and harmless. but we know that this is not harmless and it should not be taken up by kids, by children and by nonsmokers. what about the concern that there is that if you ban them outright, it then leads to this black—market dealing. there could be lethal concerns. one of the problems we have right

now is a black—market and there was research done by the bbc itself looking into confiscated vapes from a school that found deadly chemicals like lead inside them. we already have that problem and by banning all disposable vapes, it gives our trading standards officers a minimised amount so that they can deal with these problems. it's about minimising harm, it's about taking away these very problematic devices and then looking at some of the black markets and other loopholes that are there. ultimately we need to address the problem for the wide variety of issues that it has. it's great because we get to learn lessons from countries that are going ahead of us, australia, probably the furthest out front looking at this problem, and then france and the eu. laura young there, environment activist. now it's time for a look at today's sport with lizzie greenwood—hughes: hello from the bbc sport centre. lots of sport for you today and we're starting at wimbledon

where we have a new women's champion — but it's not ons jabeur. she was beaten in the final again — this time by the unseeded marketa vondrousova. the world number 42 from the czech republic is the lowest—ranked player to win the wimbledon women's singles title in the professional era. she's barely played on grass having only ever won four but while jabeur�*s game fell apart, vondrousova excelled and she won in straight sets 6—4, 6—4. after everything i have been through, it's amazing that i can stand here and hold this, you know? it's crazy! i want to thank my box, it's crazy! i want to thank my box, i love you guys. you are amazing. my little sister, she is crying up there, so... it was exhausting but

i'm so grateful and proud of myself. there was british success today as neil skupski won his first wimbledon men's double title. top seeds skupski and his dutch partner wesley koolhof beat marcel granollers and horacio zeballos in straight sets for their first grand slam together. skupski, who's won the mixed title for the last two years, is the first briton to have won both the mens and mixed doubles at wimbledon for nearly a century. starting off a young boy and palmerston tennis club in liverpool... palmerston tennis club in liverpool. . ._ liverpool... cheering yeah, liverpool... cheering yeah. going _ liverpool... cheering yeah, going out - liverpool... cheering yeah, going out there | liverpool... cheering | yeah, going out there as liverpool... cheering - yeah, going out there as a liverpool... cheering _ yeah, going out there as a small boy with my dad and then obviously growing up with my brother, he has been very influential in my career growing up. but this feeling at the moment, it doesn't get better. me

and wesley came together 18 months ago and this year, this was one of our goals, to win a grand slam. and now we've done it it feels very special. there was also british success in the men's wheelchair doubles when alfie hewett and gordon reid won theirfifth wimbledon title together. in front of a packed court 1, the top seeds had to fight back from a set down to beat japan's takuya miki and tokito oda in three sets. on match point i think we were both tearing up a little bit because the atmosphere was electric. my first wimbledon was in 2008, out on court 53 or something in front of three men and his dog and my mum and sister. if you told me then we would be on court number one in front of a nearly full stadium with the crowd going absolutely berserk, i would never have believed you. cheering and applause _ in cycling, denmark'sjonas vingegaard still leads the tour de france, gaining just a second on stage 1a

in the alps, to extend his lead over tadej pogacar to ten seconds. the stage was won by carlos rodriguez who moves up to third overall. but defending champion vingegaard still wears the yellow jersey, benefitting from pogacar�*s bad luck after the slovenian was blocked by a photographer's motorbike when he was on course to take an eight—second time bonus for being first up the last climb. instead vingegaard overtook him to take the bonus himself. arsenal have confirmed the signing of england midfielder declan rice from west ham for £100 million, plus £5 million in add—ons. rice captained west ham to the europa conference league title last season. in a letter to fans the 24—year—old thanked west ham supporters and the club for so �*many great memories and highlights�*. but he says his decision is ultimately about his "ambition to play at the very highest level of the game." and lionel messi's move

to inter miami hasjust been confirmed though we have known for a few weeks that he would be moving there from psg. and that's all the sport for now. some breaking news to bring you from israel where prime minister benjamin netanyahu says he is feeling "very well" after experiencing dizziness and being rushed to hospital. as he was taken to sheba medical centre near tel aviv, his office said he was in "good condition and undergoing medical evaluation". the preliminary assessment is that he was dehydrated. but he's being kept in overnight and an israeli cabinet meeting is being postponed from sunday to monday. well, this is what mr netanyahu had to say in a video released by his office a short while ago: translation: yesterday i spent time at the sea of galilee _ with my wife in the sun, without a hat, without water. not a good idea. i'd like to thank all of you for the concern and to thank the excellent team here that examined me. here in sheba who examined me.

but i have one request of you — we are undergoing a heatwave in the country so i ask of you to spend less time in the sun and drink more water. the news comes as israeli protesters have been back on the streets of tel aviv, demonstrating against the government's plans to overhaul the judiciary. the latest demonstration in tel aviv comes despite the bill, which would limit the powers of the supreme court, securing initial approval in parliament last week. the us called on israel to respect the right of peaceful assembly, after israeli police arrested more than 70 protesters opposed to the judicial changes on tuesday. now to iran, where the issue of the headscarf is still front and centre. in the latest act of defiance, women ignored the mandatory hijab rule during a cultural festival. this comes off the back of iran's "hijab and chastity week" where officials staged gatherings and rallies across the country. let's cross now to our news reporter azadeh moshiri. tell us about the latest incident.

it is worth going straight to the pictures because the images are simply so symbolic. you will see that during a cultural festival in the capital tehran in a landmark building in the city, women started celebrating the performance by taking off their hijabs, dancing and singing. as you mentioned, this is off the back of hijab week, and authorities and officials certainly don't want to see these sorts of incidents so they literally started dimming the lights until they eventually turned them all off. the reason it is so symbolic is because hijab we only ended three days ago, where state media broadcast wall to wall coverage of rallies organised across the country by the government of pro—hijab supporters. in full transparency we would show you images of those rallies as well but because they were broadcast on iranian state media which simply don't have the rights. but it shows

women are still defying the compulsory hijab law in iran ten months after the death of mahsa amini in september. the protests have been going _ amini in september. the protests have been going on _ amini in september. the protests have been going on for _ amini in september. the protests have been going on for nearly - amini in september. the protests have been going on for nearly a i amini in september. the protests i have been going on for nearly a year now. is there any sense that they are having an impact? what is the stance now from the government on the hijab? the stance now from the government on the hi'ab? , , , ., the hijab? the issue is that initially when _ the hijab? the issue is that initially when mahsa - the hijab? the issue is that| initially when mahsa amini, the hijab? the issue is that i initially when mahsa amini, at the hijab? the issue is that - initially when mahsa amini, at 22 years old was detained by morality police and subsequently died in their custody, protests really concerned the islamic republic and initially they started throwing more moderate language around, suggesting perhaps they wouldn't enforce the hijab as strictly. that has certainly been a complete reversal. since then you have tens of thousands of protesters who have been arrested. you have some who have been executed. we have reported that on the bbc. they are now talking about in the iranian parliament putting in place a stricter bill that would further criminalise this. and yet if you

look at the streets of iran, we are showing some of those pictures now, you will see that women are walking around without the hijab much more so than before. i have spoken to people who have come back from iran in the last year who told me you wouldn't see women display this kind of courage to this extent a year ago. there is still a push and pull where women are determined to keep defying a trend that has become far more authoritarian. in new york, a man has been charged with a series of murders dating back over a decade — and he's also being treated as the prime suspect in at least one other unsolved killing. rex heuermann, who's 59, was arrested in manhattan late on thursday evening. he's a prominent architect, who lived in the area where the bodies of the victims were found. all of the women were in their 20s, and were sex workers. our north america correspondent david willis told us more about the case. it became known as the gilgo beach murders, and it galvanised

the attention of people on long island, to the east of new york city, back around 2010 and 2011. four of the victims — all women, all in their 20s and all sex workers — were found buried in a similar location, in a similar way, in that area, and based on data received from cell phones and also evidence, dna evidence, that was captured from, would you believe it, a pizza crust following a surveillance operation, detectives have, now more than ten years later, arrested this local man, 59—year—old rex heuermann, an architect who lived in the gilgo beach area. and he is said to have conducted hundreds of internet searches into the investigation into those murders, searching such things, detectives say, as "why hasn't

the long island serial killer been caught?" south korea's president, yoon suk—yeol has said he will expand his country's military and humanitarian aid support to ukraine. he was speaking during a surprise visit in kyiv. he confirmed seoul would continue to supply much needed military equipment, including bullet—proof vests and helmets. south korea has one of the largest stockpiles of ammunition in the world and a thriving defence industry. but government policy prohibits arms deliveries to countries at war. ukraine and its allies have been urging seoul to make an exception. let's hearfrom him and president zelensky now. translation: south korea - will continue to provide military supplies that ukraine needs. following last year's military supplies such

as bulletproof vests and helmets, we will support military equipment on a larger scale this year. translation: i can happily state that the agreement to transfer i the transport and special equipment, including demining cars, is already being executed. it helps us to save lives. our diplomatic correspondent james landale has been telling us about the significance of a visit to kyiv from an asian leader. we don't often see them there. the president of indonesia went last year. the japanese prime minister was earlier this year. china has sent an envoy early this year, but that's few and far between. kyiv is a sort of conveyor belt of european and american politicians visiting almost on a daily basis. so it is unusual and therefore, i think diplomats will take some comfort for this because one of the great failures of the west, europe and the united states in this war, has been to try and convince the rest of the world that it matters to them as well. the large parts of the world sees this war as a european issue,

and they're frustrated that the war continues because it's disrupting their own economies. and europe and ukraine and the united states has gone out to the world saying, actually, no, we think this matters to you as well, because it matters about sovereignty, territorial integrity. those are universal concerns. and i think having a country like south korea visit ukraine, i think it's the first time ever that a south korean leader has ever been to ukraine, is significant because essentially the message is, look, south korea of all countries, is concerned about the threats to its territorial integrity to a neighbour. they have something in common with ukraine and the russian situation. so i think diplomatically it is symbolically significant. a little more on that breaking football news now. argentine legend lionel messi has found a new club to call home in the us. messi has signed for american side inter miami on a deal that runs until 2025. messi departed former club

paris st—germain at the end of the 2022—23 season. inter miami is part owned by another football great, david beckham, who's described the signing as a "dream come true". mls — major league soccer — the country's professional soccer league — confirmed the news in a tweet, saying simply, "the goat is officially here. welcome to mls, lionel messi", stay with us here on bbc news. summer holiday season in full swing but the weather is certainly not playing ball at the moment. take a look at denbighshire a few hours ago. some of the shower is really quite torrential and they have been quite torrential and they have been quite widespread as well across the country. we are now midway through july and you are writing and thinking it has been a wet month. in fact, all of us have seen above—average rainfall,

and there is little to indicate that we are going to see any significant change, certainly through this week. take a look at this. this is rainfall accumulation for the next few days, the darker blues denoting where we are going to see the heaviest of the rain. at least another 50 millimetres to come for many of us over the next few days, adding to the totals we've already seen this month. low pressure is with us, then, to the north—west and circling around that low like a catherine wheel are these weather fronts that have been driving in plenty of showers, driven along by some blustery south—west winds. so some of the showers, you can see, have merged together in bands, organised lanes, so showers or longer spells of rain throughout the day. some of those showers will fade through the evening and overnight, but there's still the risk of the odd rumble of thunder in those showers and more widespread rainfall, perhaps, across the north—west of scotland. overnight lows between 12 and 1a degrees. into sunday, the low pressure finally pulls away off to scandinavia. the winds will start to ease a touch and a north—westerly direction will be more of a feature in scotland. that's going to continue to feed in rain across north and west—facing coasts.

elsewhere, still the risk of some showers, but hopefully lighter and not quite as widespread as the last couple of days. the winds will be a feature, but not as strong either. so gusts of winds generally at around 35, maybe just ll0 miles an hour, but certainly easing down as the day continues. top temperatures for sunday afternoon still a little bit subdued for this time of year — 17 to 21 celsius the high. looking further ahead, as we go into monday, a little ridge of high pressure quietens things down for a time before more wet weather set to arrive on tuesday, pushing in from the west. so if you start off dry, it is not going to last. and the outlook continues with sunny spells and scattered showers and those temperatures a little bit below par for this time of year.

this is bbc news. the headlines: dozens of cities in southern europe remain on red alert — as temperatures continue to soar across the continent. rescue workers in south korea are battling to reach drivers trapped inside their cars submerged in an underground tunnel, as deadly floods sweep the country. councils in england and wales have called for a ban on the sale of disposable vapes by next year. the local government association says the colourful packaging and fruity flavours appeal too strongly to children. lionel messi has completed his move to inter miami on a deal running to 2025.

the 36—year—old argentina star revealed last month he had decided