dies at age 76. hello, welcome to the programme. we begin in the us, which is seeing record temperatures, with nearly a third of the country under heat advisories. an all—time high of 48 degrees celsius, or 118 degrees fahrenheit, was recorded yesterday in arizona. dangerous levels of heat are expected to run into next week. our west coast correspondent sophie long has more. in las vegas, it is extremely hot. we are told is on course to become the hottest day ever recorded, with the mercury poised to hit 47 celsius. we're told it's not there yet but pretty hard to imagine it being any hotter. not much cooler in places like phoenix, arizona. they had temperatures above 43 for the past two weeks now. and there is still no end in sight. i think that is one of the problems, notjust that we are experiencing these dangerous high temperatures

but there is no respite. in el paso in texas, temperatures above 38 celsius for more than a month and still no end in sight. at the moment we are expecting 38 cities across the us expected to have record breaking temperatures today. some 100 million americans are under what they call an extreme heat warning. as you can see, people are heeding the advice. i am on the strip of las vegas which is much busier at this time of day. the advice here is very simple and very clear, stay at home. don't come out between the hours of nine and 6pm. and most people seem to be taking that advice. not everybody can of course. not everybody has homes. and authorities say they are doing their best and cooling centres have been set up around las vegas where people can go and have some air—conditioning and collect free water. the authorities and policemen are also going around less affluent neighbourhoods and handing out water bottles there. the advice very clear, reduce your exposure to the heat if you can and stay indoors. sophie longer reporting. ——

sophie longer reporting. —— sophie long. dangerous storms are continuing to slam parts of the us that aren't already under threat by scorching heat. so far, the national weather service has issued flood warnings or watches for at least six states, including parts of new york, massachusetts and maine. by sunday afternoon more than 1,300 flights had been cancelled and the severe weather prompted ground stops at airports in new york and newjersey. the destruction left by the heavy rains has stunned many including connecticut governor ned lamont. it's extraordinary. this was overflowing with water at 10:00 this morning. public works got here almost immediately. i'd like to think, in the next two to three hours, this, one of the most busiest roads in bristol, will be working again. but these storms are biblical in terms of the torrential rainfall you get and they're happening more and more frequently. meanwhile, in southern europe, a second heatwave is forecast to hit this week. 0n the spanish island of la palma, fires are continuing to burn out of control. and in italy, there are warnings to stay indoors.

sofia bettiza has the latest. this wildfire in one of the spanish canary islands has forced at least 4,000 people from their homes. the blaze in la palma so big it can be seen from space. translation: i have seen many wildfires but none i like this one. this is terrible, horrible. in italy, an anticyclone could push temperatures above 45 degrees. it's been named charon — the one who carries the dead in mythology. there have been red alert heat warnings in 16 italian cities today. the italian weather agency say they've never seen anything like this in terms of intensity, duration and number of areas affected. locals and tourists here are being urged to take this seriously, to stay indoors

in the afternoon, stay hydrated and take care of the elderly. and it's notjust europe. in the us, millions of americans have been experiencing extreme temperatures too. this is the death valley in california. it's one of the hottest places on earth and it could be about to set a new record. the official record is 134 degrees fahrenheit. that was all the way back in 1913. there is some controversy around that but it is still recognised as the hottest reliably recorded temperature on earth. but we haven't hit 130 here in death valley for over, really, for over 100 years we didn't hit it. and then in 2020 we got 130. in 2021 we got 130. and then we might hit it again this weekend. last year more than 60,000 people died across europe because of soaring temperatures. and with this heatwave expected to continue well into next week, there is no respite in sight. sofia bettiza, bbc news, rome. the last ship to sail under a soon—to—expire, un—brokered grain deal has left the ukraine's black sea port of odessa. the deal, agreed to by russia, allows ukraine to export crucial grain through the black sea. it is set to expire on monday evening. russia says it will not extend the pact unless restrictions on its own food exports are lifted.

those include the relaxation of western sanctions to enable its own producers to export more food and fertiliser. lastjuly, the un and turkey brokered the agreement to help alleviate a global food crisis that worsened after moscow sent forces into ukraine and blockaded ukrainian ports. since the deal was reached, the un says 30 million tons of grain and other foods have left ukraine. 47% of ukraine's grain has gone to "high—income countries" including spain and italy. 26% to "upper—middle income countries" such as turkey and china, and 27% to "low and lower—middle income countries" such as egypt and sudan. meanwhile, president putin says russia will use controversial cluster bombs in ukraine, if kyiv deploys its own supply which was given by the united states. putin told russian state media on sunday that the country has a "sufficient stockpile" and warned that it "reserves the right to take reciprocal action." cluster munitions are banned in more than 100 countries because they typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area.

bomblets can also fail to explode, posing a danger for decades after launch. kyiv says it would only use such weapons against russian soldiers in ukrainian territory and not in russia. joining me from kyiv to talk about all of this, is michael bociurkiw, senior fellow at the atlantic council's eurasia center. thank you forjoining us. i want to start off by talking about this controversial grain deal. we have heard similar rhetoric from russia on this deal but many people are worried that this time it seems a bit different. what do you think the chances are that this grain deal is approved again, thatis grain deal is approved again, that is renewed?— that is renewed? festival, it has been — that is renewed? festival, it has been threatened - that is renewed? festival, it has been threatened for - that is renewed? festival, it has been threatened for a i has been threatened for a while. i can tell you for the past couple of weeks if not more the flow of ships has really gone down to a trickle. normally we see five or six on the horizon. 0n normally we see five or six on the horizon. on a good day i see perhaps one or two. secondly what's happening here,

and i'm a former unicef spokesperson, i have worked for the un for quite some time, it is really sad to see what is happening out there. it is basically the un has buckled under pressure, from russia, to keep this still alive and the way they are going to be doing that, reportedly, is by lifting some of the sanctions on russian banks. this is essentially the end of the day awarding the blackmailer for weaponising food. what should happen, i think, weaponising food. what should happen, ithink, is not weaponising food. what should happen, i think, is not for the western nations to give in to mr putin's blackmail but to regard this as an issue of global food security and do things, for example, like get armed flotilla is if need be to escort these ships the black sea because at the end of the day... sea because at the end of the da , ,., , , day... let me 'ust popping here because .— day. .. let me 'ust popping here because i was— day... let me just popping here because i was going _ day... let me just popping here because i was going to - day... let me just popping here because i was going to ask - day... let me just popping here because i was going to ask you | because i was going to ask you about a potential plan b. what would happen if the grain deal is not approved? would there be ways to get this food of ukraine?—

ways to get this food of ukraine? . ., _, , ., ukraine? there are a couple of wa s. ukraine? there are a couple of ways- one _ ukraine? there are a couple of ways. one would _ ukraine? there are a couple of ways. one would be _ ukraine? there are a couple of ways. one would be for- ukraine? there are a couple of ways. one would be for the - ukraine? there are a couple of| ways. one would be for the un and western nations to have some kind of arrangement where if need be these ships are escorted through the black sea. these are international waters with an armed flotilla. the other thing that can happen, and it is already happening to and it is already happening to a smaller extent, is the danube river, other rivers, can be used to ship grain to world markets. thirdly, neighbouring countries have to move a lot quicker to loosen the long, kilometres long lines of lorries exporting foods just out of ukraine. a number of things it can be done there. i want to turn out to these cluster munitions and we heard vladimir putin saying russia was not going to hesitate to use cluster munitions if ukraine interned used them. this of course was a controversial decision by the united states to provide them in the place. could those statements from vladimir putin change the military calculus here for ukraine? i change the military calculus here for ukraine?— change the military calculus here for ukraine? i don't think

so. we here for ukraine? i don't think s0- we know _ here for ukraine? i don't think so. we know very _ here for ukraine? i don't think so. we know very well - here for ukraine? i don't think so. we know very well that . so. we know very well that russia has been using cluster munitions since 2014. i know that, i was with the special monitoring mission mash —— mission and we actually found them. ukraine has been using them. ukraine has been using them as well. about 24 hours ago, two children their first son was badly injured from these cluster bombs. —— near kherson. i know that ukraine needs ammunition very, very badly but had to the west moved earlier to supply ukraine with what it needs we wouldn't be in this position.— this position. you are currently _ this position. you are currently in _ this position. you are currently in kyiv - this position. you are currently in kyiv and l this position. you are i currently in kyiv and you this position. you are - currently in kyiv and you have beenin currently in kyiv and you have been in ukraine many times throughout the past weeks and months. it the discussion there when it comes to the counteroffensive which from all signs we have been saying is not progressing as quickly as ukraine would have hoped. a, ukraine would have hoped. couple of things there. kyiv is also suffering economically. it

is notjust also suffering economically. it is not just a also suffering economically. it is notjust a military war, it is notjust a military war, it is also an economic one. this is also an economic one. this is also an economic one. this is a city can best described in being in an induced coma. a lot of businesses have closed. as for the counteroffensive, the gap in timing that i mentioned, supplying ukraine with what it needsis supplying ukraine with what it needs is allowed essentially russia to dig in, for very seriously: that 1000 kilometre frontline but also to put up a lot of barriers. we're talking about five or six or seven lines of barriers. dragon tea, minefields, that is really going to slow the ukraine offensive stop so they have a real problem there. even with the most moderate tanks and things like that, it is very difficult. and it is really important to help them with airpower, thejets, that sort of thing so they can overcome those barriers. we of thing so they can overcome those barriers.— those barriers. we have also heard reports _ those barriers. we have also heard reports from - those barriers. we have also heard reports from the - those barriers. we have also i heard reports from the ukraine that these wagner mercenary groups have been entering belarus. there are reports they are beginning to train the

belarusian army or there is some training going on there. how much are worry is said that this could be some sort of conflict from the north of the country? conflict from the north of the count ? , _, . country? there is concern. i think the — country? there is concern. i think the ukrainians - country? there is concern. i think the ukrainians have i country? there is concern. i l think the ukrainians have had country? there is concern. i i think the ukrainians have had a lot of time to strike to the north of kyiv where the border with belarus is but i think what you are going to be seeing is wagner group turning more to continuing that they have been doing for quite some time in places like africa. 0perating as an extension, russian foreign policy, but also keeping the putin money mission going by generating billions of dollars in revenue by mud diamonds, gold mining, that sort of thing. there is also a bit of concern, by the way, about wagner group �*s taking part in, causing trouble along the border with belarus and lithuania. we are watching that very carefully. we have by no means seen the end of this mercenary group and their menacing activities. michael

bociurkiw, _ menacing activities. michael bociurkiw, non-resident - menacing activities. michael i bociurkiw, non-resident senior bociurkiw, non—resident senior fellow at the atlantic council's erasure centre. thank you for your insights. the biden administration remains concerned about north korea's nuclear ambitions, but says it is open to talks. white house national security adviserjake sullivan told cbs's "face the nation" on sunday that the administration is willing to negotiate with north korea "without pre—conditions" about its nuclear program.but, sullivan says there are concerns about a potential seventh nuclear test. the comments comes after north korea confirmed it had test—fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on wednesday. the launch was condemned by the united states, south korea and japan. north korean state media released this video of the launch, being overseen by the country's leader, kim jong—un. pyongyang said the test was meant to build the country's nuclear capabilities and serve as a warning to its enemies. several african leaders have been meeting in nairobi

for the african union's fifth mid—year co—ordination meeting. the annual meeting was hosted by kenya's president william ruto who called for a reform of the au focusing on the body's financial autonomy. one of the main goals of the summit is to address critical issues of african integration and division of labour. president ruto also highlighted the burden of debt many countries on the continent carry, and called for a fairer financial system. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. voice-over: bringing you different stories i from across the uk. what will the future look like? here in south yorkshire, they are designing it. technology behind tomorrow's planes, trains and automobiles have a home here along with one of the world's biggest companies. learning how to produce, safely, more sustainable aircraft at lower cost. the government believes investment zones will boost the wider regional economy. companies based here may benefit from grants to pay

staff wages or build new buildings. some firms will get tax cuts and in total, eight investment zones will be created across england. we think it will attract £1.2 billion of investment, 8000 jobs. the institute for government says investment zones have a history of not always delivering the benefits they claim. but as the threat of a recession looms, all investments in our region's economy will be welcomed. voice-over: for more - stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. jane birkin, the anglo—french actress and singer, whose style came to symbolise the swinging 60s, has died. she was 76. famous for her on and off relationship with the late singer—songwriter, serge gainsbourg, president macron tweeted that she "embodied freedom." here's david sillito. #je t'aime. # moi non plus.

je t'aime had originally been written for bridget bardot, but the version that was released in 1969 was recorded by a singer who was, in her own words, a shy english girl, who had grown up in chelsea and met the songwriter and actor serge gainsbourg on the set of the film slogan. the heavy breathing near the song's "climax" was too much for the bbc and the catholic church, but it helped turn jane birkin into a star, who epitomised a certain racy french bohemian cool. i think the vatican and the bbc banned itjust because of the heavy breathing, without realising the beauty of serge's text, which was, "i love you, nor do i." couldn't you give usjust a couple of minutes? her first film role that had made an impact was blow—up in the �*60s. can we come back this afternoon? after that, a long award—winning career, largely in france. she and her on—off partner serge gainsbourg were

the couple of french society. france was the last place i imagined myself in. i always thought it was sexy bombshells doing well in france and vamps and things. it would never be me. leading the tributes today, france's president macron. jane birkin, actor, singer, campaigner, a very english french star. #je t'aime. # 0h, oui, je t�*aime.# the actress and singer jane birkin, who's died at the age, of 76. the big news in tennis, world number one carlos alcaraz has defeated novak djokovic in the men's final at wimbledon. the spaniard becomes one of the youngest men to lift the trophy. from wimbledon, our sports reporter chetan pathak has more. all the talk going into these championships was about

whether novak djokovic would win a roger federer—equalling eight wimbledon mens singles title and a 24th grand slam total overall, bringing him level with margaret court. he went into this final as the heavy favourite. his 35th at a grand slam against carlos alcaraz, a man only playing in his second major final and the first on centre court. the first set went the way of novak djokovic. he never lost a match at wimbledon where he won the opening set but then he has never played carlos alcaraz who steadied his nerves, harnessed the adrenaline and took the next two sets. just as he was making the 16—year age difference show, djokovic, at 36, reset like he so often does and won the fourth set with the momentum now with him. and so to the showdown, a winner—takes—all deciding set and carlos alcaraz cramped and lost to djokovic at the french open last month but no nerves, no anxiety here as the 20—year—old from spain kept his focus to win the match at the first time of asking.

and after 20 years of federer, djokovic and nadal and murray being the name on the trophy, world number one alcaraz adds his. the youngest winner since becker in 1985. novak djokovic�*s pursuit of more historic numbers will have to wait for now. and with marketa vondrousova winning the women's final against 0ns jabeur, we have new wimbledon winners on both saturday and the sunday and after all the rain and the high wind and the disruptive weather during these championships, these finals have suddenly made it feel worthwhile. that five set epic on sunday in particular between djokovic and alcaraz left everyone watching on centre court and on henman hill to the right of me wanting more and already looking forward to next year's championships.

earlier i spoke to news editor at the athletic, lukas weese about what we can expect in the tennis world after this historic final. i was watching this match. this was thrilling. it began looking like carlos alcaraz was dead in the water. 6—1 to djokovic. what happened to change the tide and put this young kid into victory? thank you for having me on. novak djokovic looked amazing to start the match, like you said, winning the first set 6—1 and it was not like alcaraz played badly but djokovic took it to the 20—year—old and i think what happened is that as the match went on, alcaraz started to limit the mistakes, reduce the number of unforced errors and really get into his game more.

this is someone who has explosive groundstrokes, breathtaking defence and just a fighting spirit that makes him such a fan favourite. there were so many times where alcaraz could have lost the match like in the second set tiebreaker. novak djokovic came into this match with 14 in a row tiebreaker victories at slams. alcaraz wins that tiebreaker and then in the third set, 27 minutes, alcaraz up 3—1 gets a double break to lead 4—1 against djokovic, slamming the door on the third set to the 23—time slam champion. and then djokovic, the experienced player, alcaraz playing in his second grand slam final, novak knows how to win these five setters but alcaraz was able to do it. but alcaraz was able to do it.

that is why he won the match at wimbledon. djokovic was a big favourite coming in, but let's talk more about carlos alcaraz. he's only 20, a teenager a few weeks ago, what does this big win mean for him and for his career? it is seismic. alcaraz won the us open one year ago and now before the age of 21 with his wimbledon victory on sunday, he has two slams. he is the fifth man in the open era to have multiple grand slam titles before the age of 21, joining the likes of rafael nadal, bjorn borg and boris becker. so for alcaraz the sky's the limit because he has this all—round game. he has a combination, if you will, of the big three, federe, nadal and djokovic. if alcaraz can stay healthy this is someone who can compete in multiple grand slams over years. it will be challenging...

i wanted to ask about this, we talk about the big three, could carlos alcaraz be the guy who finally comes in and starts to break up this triumvirate of amazing players? do you think he could go on and be that guy? time will tell but i think that this was a real seismic shift. we have been waiting for the changing of the guard. lleyton hewitt was the last man not named roger federer, rafael nadal or novak djokovic or andy murray to win wimbledon back in 2002, so if alcaraz can stay healthy and continue to play and showcase his all—round game this is someone who can definitely take that mantle. it definitely felt like a changing of the guard on sunday. how about novak djokovic? what comes next for him? he is 36 years old, does not look 36, obviously, but this tends to be an age where you see tennis superstars

begin to think about retirement. father time is undefeated. eventually novak djokovic will hang up the racquet but this is someone who is very motivated. he wants to finish his career atop the list of being the all—time men's singles grand slam champion. so he does have 23 now, he is still healthy and i think as the slams continue to happen, novak djokovic, if he is in them he is still going to be tough to beat and hopefully we get more of these epic battles between djokovic and alcaraz. looking ahead, the us open starts next month. is djokovic the favourite for that grand slam as well? i would say so. he had great success on hard courts but alcaraz is the defending champion. you cannot also count out the likes of casper ruud

orjannick sinner or stefanos tsitsipas, so there are guys in the mix but certainly the two favourites are the two players we saw in the wimbledon final on sunday. thank you so much for your thoughts on a very exciting wimbledon final. and before we go, it may have been raining in miami but that didn't stop inter miami from unveiling their newest signing — argentine star lionel messi — during a ceremony on sunday. messi received his new number ten jersey and told fans at the team's packed stadium that he wants to help the team compete. on saturday, messi finalized his 2.5 season contract to join major league soccer worth up to $150 million. he could make his debut as soon as friday against the mexican team cruz azul. stay with us here on bbc news. that's all from us here in washington. we leave you with these live pictures of london as we hand off

to our colleagues there. hello. 0ur spell of fairly unsettled sort of mid—july weather continues. temperatures not doing great for the time of year, but we will have some sunshine around over the next couple of days. showers as we head through the week at times, temperatures a little below average for some of us. but the driest weather will be found towards the south—east because we're closer to high pressure sitting across europe at the moment. but low pressure across scandinavia drifts its way northeast with fewer isobars on the map on monday, certainly compared to what we've seen through the weekend. so not as breezy first thing monday morning. few showers from the word go for western parts of england and wales as they drift eastwards.

could be the odd thunderstorm, the odd sharp one in the east during the afternoon. scotland will see the cloud breaking up to leave sunny spells and a few scattered showers. and just the odd shower for northern ireland, too. temperatures somewhere between about 14 to 22 degrees north to south. and most of those showers do tend to ease away later in the afternoon from the west. so some late sunshine for many of us. 0vernight, though, the cloud increases from the west as this area of rain moves in to northern ireland, to wales, perhaps by the early hours of tuesday morning. ahead of that, quite a cool fresh night, particularly across parts of scotland. temperatures down into mid single figures in places. but through the day on tuesday, i think the weather will be dominated by this feature, slowly moving in from the atlantic, bringing that cloud and rain earlier on to parts of northern ireland and wales. but it'll drift into northern and western england, southern scotland where it could be quite heavy through the day. to the north of that, sunny spells and a few scattered showers, but across south—east england and east anglia, it could well stay dry with some sunshine lasting through the day. so temperatures here up to about 24 degrees, whereas if you're stuck under the rain, typically about 16 or 17. now looking towards the middle part of the week in that area of low

pressure clears to the east. could be a bit of rain in the south—east overnight into wednesday. wednesday, we're left with the airflow once again coming from west or north—westerly direction. not a particularly warm direction, but it should bring some sunshine and just a few showers. the showers for parts of eastern england and eastern scotland could be quite sharp. so perhaps the odd rumble of thunder, probably more likely to stay dry for the likes of wales, northern ireland, south west england too — temperatures 16 to 23. so up a little bit by this stage in the middle of the week and then towards the end of the week it's staying unsettled. further spells of rain. there will be some sunshine thursday into friday, but looking fairly unsettled as we head towards the weekend. not particularly warm for the middle ofjuly. bye for now.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. what is art for? well, there's no easy answer but maybe it has something to do with enabling us to see ourselves and the world around us in a new way, firing up our imagination, revealing new possibilities.