i'm lucy grey. we start with brutally high temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere. a number of southern european countries are in the grip of a heatwave. red alerts, which indicate risks even for healthy people, have been issued for 16 italian cities, including rome and florence. wildfires are burning in the canary islands. numerous us cities are also braced to break records, under a relentless heat dome, which has baked parts of north america all week. our correspondent simonjones reports. how big is that? you can see it over the fence! battling to save homes in the sweltering heat. in this town near alicante in spain, wildfires have been breaking out. one man from bristol, on holiday at his grandparents�*, was forced to tackle the flames himself. i was inside trying to get away from the heat and my brother came to me, rather nonchalantly going, "hey, do you want to see a fire?" he didn't really realise how

bad the situation was, so we both go outside. the fire just started spreading. as a collective family we were attempting to try and hose it down. on the spanish island of la palma, at least 500 people have had to leave their homes, and the warning is there's more extreme hot weather on the way. in greece, the temperature could reach as high as 47 degrees in the coming days. it's forcing the country's most popular tourist attraction, the acropolis in athens, to close during the hottest hours, to protect visitors. but for some, it's proving too much. the red cross has been offering first aid, plus refreshment and a little bit of shade, for those who need it. we're here again to give people water and also to give leaflets concerning the high—temperature period here in greece. this climate scientist told me he's concerned. so what we're seeing

at the moment in much of europe, is that the new norm for the summer? whilst of course having a heatwave in the summer isn't unheard of, what's really becoming unusual is the collection of these events, so the frequency and also the simultaneous occurrence around the globe. so unfortunately this is not surprising, what we're seeing. it's exactly what we expect from shifting the baseline temperature towards a higher level and therefore shifting the odds towards more extreme heat events. in rome, one of 16 cities under a red alert from the italian health ministry, people are advised to avoid direct sunlight. in venice, umbrellas and hats are a must, but it's still proving challenging for businesses. translation: the heat is really harmful for us, | because the heat in the gondola gets as high as 50 degrees. temperature records could be broken in the coming days. scientists say the heatwave covering much of europe is another reminder of the need to act on global warming.

simon jones, 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.

i think there is more the authorities can do, whether it's to do with climate mitigation, reducing emissions and hitting zero targets or beyond, or hitting climate adaptation and nature —based solution. fir adaptation and nature -based solution. ~ , ., ., adaptation and nature -based solution. ~ ., solution. or like you are saying, legislation- _ solution. or like you are saying, legislation- i — solution. or like you are saying, legislation. i know— solution. or like you are saying, legislation. i know parts - solution. or like you are saying, legislation. i know parts of- solution. or like you are saying, legislation. i know parts of the i legislation. i know parts of the middle east and outdoor workers would be expected to work more in the evening, so they shift the patterns just because of how hot it is there. these might be things we have to see in the rest of the world in the coming years but i think it's about us all working together and consulting workers on what would be best for their health and livelihoods. 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 twenty 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.

let's return to the record temperatures in the us now. we can cross live to our north america correspondent north america correspondent david willis. nearly a third of americans under heat advisories. talk us through what's going on there. , ,, ., there. yes indeed. the us weather service is warning _ there. yes indeed. the us weather service is warning of _ there. yes indeed. the us weather service is warning of extremely - service is warning of extremely dangerous conditions over the next few days, over the course of this coming weekend, because of this unprecedented heatwave. they are talking about in the region of a third of the population, more than 100 million people, being under what are known as acute heat advisories. to give you some idea of the temperatures, the city of phoenix in arizona is expected to see temperatures of around 43 celsius for the 16th day in a row. another desert city, las vegas, is expected to hit its own record of 47 celsius.

and as far as california's death valley is concerned, traditionally always one of the hottest places on the earth, that is expected to see temperatures of 54 celsius. every yearin temperatures of 54 celsius. every year in this country about 700 americans are thought to die of heat —related causes. hospitals here in some parts of the country are already reporting a rise in admissions.— already reporting a rise in admissions. ., ., ., ., , admissions. what are authorities advisina admissions. what are authorities advising peeple _ admissions. what are authorities advising people to _ admissions. what are authorities advising people to do? _ admissions. what are authorities advising people to do? it's - admissions. what are authorities advising people to do? it's one l advising people to do? it's one thing for people on holiday to stay out of the heat during the day but it is so difficult for people who are trying to do their work and go about their normal days. absolutely. the advice. — about their normal days. absolutely. the advice, which _ about their normal days. absolutely. the advice, which is _ about their normal days. absolutely. the advice, which is very _ about their normal days. absolutely. the advice, which is very localised, l the advice, which is very localised, is really not to stay outdoors for as long as you possibly have to. but of course some people have to do that, people have to work outside, a lot of contractors have been braving

the heat over the last few days. but it is going to be quite prolonged this time around. the forecasters are saying there is no respite in sight particularly in the west and south—west of the country. at least not for another few days, maybe for as long as a week.— not for another few days, maybe for as long as a week. thank you, david willis in washington. _ 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 has been defence secretary for four years, helping to lead britain's response to russia's invasion of ukraine. he had been considered as a potential successor to nato secretary generaljens stoltenberg but mr stoltenberg's contract has now been extended by another year. our political correspondent ione wells told me his departure will be quite a loss for the conservatives. that's right. i think this will come as a bit of a blow to some

in the conservative party. he has said to the sunday times that he will stand down as defence secretary at the next reshuffle. we don't know when that will be but there is a lot of speculation that rishi sunak will look to reshape his top team in september, in the autumn, looking ahead to a possible election next year. ben wallace has also said he will be standing down as an mp at the next general election. he has ruled out doing that prematurely, so he will not trigger a by—election in his seat, but he will certainly not be running to be an mp in a different seat at the next general election. that's what we know from him so far. allies of his this evening have tried to insist that this is not a reflection on rishi sunak. he has said himself in the interview that he has been in politics in some form now for 24 years, suggesting that he feels he no longer wants to be in front line politics. he has already spoken publicly about the fact he is out of the race

to be the next head of nato, so his future is quite unclear but there is also a big vacancy at the top of government now. i wonder how the news will be received in kyiv because he has played a big role in the uk's response to the war in ukraine, although we saw him a few days ago talking about wanting to see a bit more gratitude from president zelensky perhaps and saying we are not an amazon service. but you wonder what the reaction will be in ukraine to this. that's right. i think one significant challenge for rishi sunak is appointing a replacement for ben wallace when he does his reshuffle because ben wallace is someone with a lot of experience, he has been defence secretary under three different prime ministers and has been leading the uk response to the war in ukraine. he did attract some criticism at their most recent nato summit when he said that people wanted

to see more gratitude for western aid and that the uk wasn't an amazon, when he was talking about more requests for weapons and supplies. rishi sunak later tried to i think wash over that particular incident saying ukraine had shown gratitude on multiple occasions, but i think you are right, this is a significant moment really because there will be questions about who will now lead to the uk's about who will now lead the uk's response to ukraine, who has that level of experience in government, but also military experience too because ben wallace was a soldier before going into politics. ione wells. 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 1% 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. the experts are saying australia is having a problem israeli 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. this is what mr netanyahu had to say in a video released by his office. 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 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. 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 bulletproof 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 president yoon 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 explained 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. tennis now, and history was made at wimbledon earlier. czech player marketa vondrousova became the first—ever unseeded player to win the women's singles title in the professional era. she claimed the trophy with a straight—sets victory over tunisia's ons jabeur. it was a tough loss forjabeur, the sixth seed — it's the second year in a row that she's finished runner up at the wimbledon tournament. sara menai is a french—tunisian sportsjournalist who watched the final at wimbledon. she says there was a "complete contrast" between the two finalists, vondrousova and ons jabeur. vondrousova looked way more relaxed, way more confident than ons jabeur. we know ons jabeur�*s biggest mistake, i would say, during this tournament has been the stress that she has, and we found out she is really struggling mentally. and i think that's one

of the big things she has to work on in the future because vondrousova, the difference was really, really, you could tell that she was so much more relaxed than ons jabeur with all the pressure. we have to say the pressure is also because it's her second consecutive wimbledon final for ons jabeur, so obviously everybody was a bit expecting her to win this one, so the pressure was really on her rather than marketa vondrousova, who made it to the final but it was quite a surprise for young vondrousova. so yes, she's a wonderful and very talented tennis player, the czech republic player, and she made it, which is absolutely unbelievable. she made history today. do you think there's too much expectation put on ons jabeur�*s shoulders in terms of everyone talking so much about whether it would be the first time that an african and an arab woman had won a grand slam? do you think that's what it was, itjust got too much? you saw her shaking her head at herself, didn't you, throughout, and she seemed not to have resilience, perhaps. yes, exactly, not the resilience.

maybe that's what she was missing today. but that's what she has been missing in the last, let's be honest, in the last couple of years in her career. and she says it, she says she's working on it from a mental aspect, to know how to cope with pressure, with stress. she's an anxious player. she said it in the press conference a few minutes ago. she said, look, i've been through a lot in my head during this game against vondrousova and i'm really trying to cope with it but it's difficult for her. and i definitely think the pressure is maybe a bit too much on her. she is 28 now and we are really expecting her to win her first grand slam. argentine football legend lionel 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. hello there. our spell of rather unsettled mid—july weather is set to continue through the weekend. this was the picture in north berwick, east lothian with some vivid rainbows around and we could see more on sunday with a mix of some sunshine and further heavy and blustery showers. they will not be as frequent as they were on saturday. edging towards the

north—east, isobars, a fairly blustery day with quite a bit of cloud. gusts of wind at 30, 40 mph and even mum and that in exposed coasts and hills. the wind easing away on sunday evening with some late sunshine. more cloud as we head into monday. a few splashes of light rain. overnight lows had we could see single figures in one or two rural spots. a fresh start on monday morning. monday sees higher pressure trying to nudge in from the south with not as many isobars on the map and not such a windy day on monday. fewer showers compared to the

weekend with a few bubbling up through the day across wales and northern ireland. a bit more sunshine and scattered showers. temperatures similar to recent days around 14—22 stop feeling warmer because we have lost the breeze. moving ahead into tuesday and an of low pressure moving on from the atlantic. initially a dry started tuesday for many with early sunshine and the rain creeping in across northern ireland, perhaps western parts of england and england and wales and southern scotland. the northern half of scotland seeing sunshine and showers on tuesday with east anglia and the south—east, likely to stay dry for a good part of the day and perhaps a touch warmer, up to 23 degrees or so. as you can see from the outlook, the next five days or so, through much of the week ahead, still unsettled with sunny spells and heavy showers.

this is bbc news. the headlines: dozens of cities in southern europe remain on red alert — as temperatures continue to soar across the continent. the defence secretary, ben wallace, says he won't be standing at the next election. he told the sunday times he didn't want to step down prematurely, and trigger another by—election, but he confirmed he would resign as defence secretary at the next cabinet reshuffle. and in tennis marketa vondrousova, has beaten ons jabeur at wimbledon.

the czech is the lowest—ranked women 5 singles player to win