we'll hello, i'm matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, 3 hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. we start with events in greece — and these latest pictures of a wildfire to the south—east of the capital athens. they have taken hold in the last couple of hours. this is the village of kouvaras, where buildings can be seen burning. 1,200 children have been evacuated from holiday camps in the capital. and several seaside resorts have also ordered evacuations. in this particular village... up to 150 firemen, a0 fire engines and 11 aircraft are attempting to control the flames amid gale—force winds. greece has been gripped

by a heatwave since last week, with temperatures reaching 44c in the centre of the country. these are the pictures from the stables were horses had to be taken out and evacuated. some live pictures now, but they are still coming into us from another part of greece and you can see just the smoke over the valley there of another town. we are seeing so many different areas like this with the authorities battling, and the last few seconds i was watching these pictures with helicopters dropping water. of course they have been dealing with these extreme temperatures and that is sparked these wildfires that are now throwing up in several different parts of greece. as i was mentioning, taurus have been twirled to evacuate certain areas —— tourists. don't know exactly where the children have been evacuated

from but the word was from holiday camps near the capital. as we are still trying to find out a little more of the detail. but in the last little while have been talking to the athens —based journalist... daphne tolis, who gave us the latest. the authorities have ordered the evacuation of the towns. these are areas near the kouvaras region in east of athens, where the fire started this morning, around 12am local time. this wildfire began, and now it has spread over these other areas which are by the coast, most of them. they are around 70,000 residents in these three small towns, but in the summer they get much busier because of the coasts. many go there for summer holidays, and tourists visit there. there are 150 firefighters with a0 vehicles operating,

there are some aircraft flying, but it is difficult to operate. they are near gale force winds at the moment. we've had an update from the fire service spokesperson, and we will have another one soon. they say it is a difficult situation, the conditions are indeed difficult because of the winds, the high force winds. when we are looking at the pictures we are seeing evacuations in this town, but the tourists more generally, what is the device? anyone who was around or near these regions will receive a message to evacuate and go to evacuation point so they will be led by the authorities somewhere in a safer area. the roads have closed so no one can visit or go towards this area because the authorities have blocked

the roads in order to avoid more people coming over where there are fires. they will have received this message saying you need to evacuate. if you are in a hotel or summer camp, children were evacuated from summer camps in another area 80 kilometres south of athens. they were evacuated for safety reasons. no one... there is no indication there are people trapped. the fire service spokesperson said. i was told the coastguard has some coastguard boats to remain in the area in case an evacuation operation by sea is required. events in greece come amid a global picture of extreme weather. temperatures in china hit 52.2 degrees celsius in the northwest

of the country over the weekend. that's shattered the historic heat record forjuly. these pictures are from what are called the �*flaming mountains�* in xinjang province. as the name suggests, it's often very hot there , it's often the hottest place in china — but temperatures are far higher than usual. across the globe extreme temperatures are commonplace at the moment. europe could record its hottest—ever temperature on the italian islands of sicily and sardinia where a high of 48 degrees is predicted. the us national weather service has warned a "widespread and oppressive" heatwave in southern and western states is expected to peak, with more than 80 million people under heat warnings. in asia, japan has issued heatstroke alerts affecting tens of millions of people, as near—record high temperatures hit several parts of the country. there have been fatal

mudslides in south korea. and china — as we mentioned recorded its highest temperature ever on sunday. going back to the pictures coming from greece, that picture there, it gives you an absolute snapshot and what they are dealing with. the fire, the helicopter, the dropping of water as the mist in smoke just moves away. you can see those flames continuing. it is a real battle with so many air crafts being involved. that is just one place in one so many air crafts being involved. that isjust one place in one part of one country as europe deals with this heatwave that has seen wildfires in spain as well. we were talking there and giving you a global feel of what is going on. so many different places recording these really, really high

temperatures. you can see it as a real battle to try and contain a fence on the ground. we were seeing similar things fence on the ground. we were seeing similarthings in fence on the ground. we were seeing similar things in the us with the wildfires there. it is a battle at the moment to just contain the source of fires and their spread, they spread so quickly. that is why those areas where tourists have been involved, so quickly have been evacuated. those to some of the pictures, we will keep an eye on that increase, it is clearly moving rapidly. let's turn to the wider issues, perhaps. carbon emissions contribute to global warming which scientists say has made these heatwaves much worse. the us climate envoyjohn kerry has begun a series of meetings in beijing with the talks aimed at trying to revive co operation on reducing greenhouse gases. china and the us are the world's two biggest carbon emitters. beijing has been praised for becoming a world leader in renewables but is also still hugely reliant on coal

for its energy needs. thomas hale, professor of global public policy at blavatnik school of government, says the meeting between the two men is hugely important. this meeting taking place in the baking heat of the beijing summer is critical for both the climate and for the action of these two largest emitters and economies. what are the key areas they need to be addressing? we all think there's a lot of issues to go through but at the top of the agenda is two of the most potent drivers of climate change. one is methane emissions, which are a powerful source of gases. 0ne one the us is leading a global coalition to address. last year, trying to set the methane target but has not said the number. that is expected to be on the agenda in beijing.

the second agenda issues will be more challenge on the continuing efforts in china to build energy security by relying on coal, the most polluting sources. thinking about how china can accelerate its goal of facing down coal emissions. what do you think is within grasp to make quick progress on? the most important thing is the meeting is happening because for the last year, china and the us have not been speaking to each other about climate change or anything else. that sent a chilling effect of the whole world. if they aren't working together, why should the world come together? this is a powerful signal to the rest of the countries, but also to the upcoming un climate change negotiations, cop 28 taking place in dubai this fall. that'll be an important political breakthrough to try accelerate action. of course, we've seen a flurry of us, china meetings,

so some progress but it comes with a backdrop of all those areas they've been in such dispute about, around security, about all those areas where there has been real contention. is there enough space within that fraught relationship to make progress on climate change? i think what has changed is the us and china both understand cooperation on climate change has a place, but so does competition. we have seen every major economy when the race for the new green technology that will dominate the future. the us has its inflation reduction act, china has been pursuing a similar agenda for decades. this competitive dynamic will be part of the talks take place, but it doesn't preclude the opportunity for cooperating or coordinating on key issues. like methane. it will be a mix of competition and cooperation. the fact the meeting is taking place

is an important step for creating the process for greater progress. that was professor thomas hale talking to me earlier as we returned to the pictures in greece of the wildfires in the ongoing operation. as we were listening to the professor there, a line coming from us from the afp, the parties have arrested a man suspected of starting the ongoing wildfires. that is what has been reported on the afp news agency that they have made an arrest of someone suspected of actually starting those wildfires that the authorities are dealing with around this area and the other villages and towns we were showing you pictures of a short while ago. so people keep an eye on that we will often sleep to it. let's turn to another important story that has emerged

today. ukraine says it's prepared to carry on exporting grain, despite russia declaring that it has withdrawn from a un—brokered agreement. it says ukrainian ships are ready to sail without russian approval — provided the turkish authorities let them leave the black sea. the un secretary—general antonio guterres gave his reaction to the news earlier. today's decision by the russian federation will strike a blow to everyone in need everywhere, but it will not stop our efforts to facilitate the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilisers from both ukraine and the russian federation. i particularly want to recognise the efforts of the government in turkey in this regard. looking ahead, we must continue to be advancing global security, food security and global food price stability. this will remain the focus of my efforts, taking into account

the rise in human suffering and that will inevitably result from today's decision. steve rosenberg has more — from moscow. today, dmitry peskov, the kremlin spokesman said that its decision not to continue participation in the black sea grain deal had nothing to do with the attack on the kerch bridge linking the russian mainland with the crimean peninsula. and it comes really as no surprise. in recent days, the russian authorities have been strongly hinting they wouldn't continue in the grain deal. just a few days ago, president putin was shown in an interview on russian televion saying "enough is enough." he said that russia would suspend its participation in this deal, until its demands are met. what are those demands? russia has been complaining

for some time that there are obstacles to the export of its own grain and fertiliser. that is number one. number two, the russians have been demanding that a russian bank that handles agricultural payments should be reconnected to the global swift payment network. these are some russia's demands. what the russians are doing is saying, "0k, we are pulling out and suspending for the moment." but they have left a way open to go back. they are saying, "as soon as our demands are met, we "will go back to the deal." interestingly, there were also some comments today from president erdogan, the turkish president, also suggesting that president putin would be interested in returning to the deal, and hopes to speak to him about this. so overfor the moment, but there is still some hope this could be revived. news of the exploration of that green deal comes after an attack... on the strategically important kerch bridge linking russia with occupied—crimea.

russian media says the bridge was hit by an unmanned craft on the water's surface. it also says two people in a car were killed. sources in the ukrainian security services have told the bbc they carried out the attack. these are some of the latest pictures from the scene, showing the damage. the video appers to have been taken from the railway track which runs alongside the bridge. the rail line hasn't been impacted. investigators are now surveying the damage on the bridge, video released by the committee investigating the attack shows debris being picked up. the bridge was temporarily shut last year after it was severely damaged in another attack. well video is circulating on social media claiming to show the moment of explosion on the bridge. but our teams at bbc verify have established — that video is old and features an unrelated incident. for more now on what our teams are learning about the bridge, those the latest detail we have on those attack earlier in the day.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. lets take a look at some other stories making headlines across the uk. people who've been injured in terror attacks have condemned the government's compensation scheme. in a survey carried out by the support group survivors against terror, more than half of those who responded said the process was unfair. the ministry ofjustice says it's reviewing the support available. more on that in 20 minutes. universities in england will be forced to limit the number of students they recruit onto courses deemed as underperforming, as part of government plans announced today. the prime minister says he wants to crack down on what he calls "rip off" degrees that don't lead to graduate jobs. labour has described the plan as "an attack on the aspirations of young people". the train drivers�* union, aslef, has announced a third ban on working overtime, which will see fresh disruption on railways. drivers will refuse to work overtime for six days from mondayjuly 31. it comes as the union begins its second overtime ban

in three weeks, in a dispute about pay, jobs and conditions. separately, members of the rmt union will strike on thursday and saturday this week. you�*re live with bbc news. a new drug has been called "a turning point" in the fight against alzheimer�*s, after the results of a major trial were published. the drug was found to slow cognitive decline by about a third among patients in the early stages of the disease. it still needs to be approved by regulators. let�*s go live now to hilary evans, who, as well as being the chief executive of alzheimer�*s research uk, is also the co—chair of the uk government�*s dementia mission. she has just been listening to the findings of the study in the last 60 minutes. grateful for you onjoining us on the programme.

0nly you onjoining us on the programme. only in recent times, research in this whole area was being dissuaded, was it not, because people were putting down to old age. so your reaction to reaching a moment like this? �* , ._ reaction to reaching a moment like this? �* , , ., reaction to reaching a moment like this? �* , ., ., , this? it's the day we have all been waitin: this? it's the day we have all been waiting for. _ this? it's the day we have all been waiting for, that _ this? it's the day we have all been waiting for, that proof _ this? it's the day we have all been waiting for, that proof point - this? it's the day we have all been waiting for, that proof point that l waiting for, that proof point that diseases like alzheimer�*s can be treated effectively. as you said, for many decades, this area has been one where we have not had the kind of breakthroughs in the things he wanted to see but it all so has been associated with old age and a disease that we cannot treat it and the shows we can treat it�*s a huge excitement in the conference centre where we heard some of the detail on how well this truck has worked in clinical trials. tell how well this truck has worked in clinical trials.— how well this truck has worked in clinical trials. tell me more about that. clinical trials. tell me more about that how — clinical trials. tell me more about that. how much _ clinical trials. tell me more about that. how much did _ clinical trials. tell me more about that. how much did it _ clinical trials. tell me more about that. how much did it slow- clinical trials. tell me more about i that. how much did it slow progress and what did that actually translate to meet in real terms for people?

it's to meet in real terms for people? it�*s slowing down the development of alzheimer�*s by about the third. 0bviously that means for individuals as the ability to live a more independent life or a little bit longer than they would have. so being able to make themselves a coffee, live at home, look at finances, and proved cognition, essentially. that is really important. at the moment it is a small amount, important. at the moment it is a smallamount, i important. at the moment it is a small amount, i would say. but actually it is a proof point and what we need to know to understand over a period of time, what being on the strike could do. i think the trial was around 18 months. so not too long these people have been on these drugs, looking at the doses on seeing staying off of the disease. it also shows that the earlier the drug is given so giving it during early or mild alzheimer�*s before symptoms are shown it will have huge

effect and that is a huge breakthrough. fin effect and that is a huge breakthrough.— effect and that is a huge breakthrough. effect and that is a huge breakthrou:h. ., , , breakthrough. on that point because our medical editor— breakthrough. on that point because our medical editor was _ breakthrough. on that point because our medical editor was with - breakthrough. on that point because our medical editor was with us - our medical editor was with us earlier making the point in terms of that early diagnosis, pet scans are so crucial when you compare the uk with competitors like germany, we do not stack up in terms of, we have far fewer. not stack up in terms of, we have farfewer. that not stack up in terms of, we have far fewer. that is to be a problem for government, is it not? it is far fewer. that is to be a problem for government, is it not?- for government, is it not? it is a real problem- — for government, is it not? it is a real problem. from the - for government, is it not? it is a j real problem. from the moment for government, is it not? it is a - real problem. from the moment the way we detect the alzheimer�*s is often too late, it takes a huge amount of time. so we are only diagnosing about 60% of cases of alzheimer�*s self order for people to benefit from the treatments we need to diagnose earlier and we need to have a more accurate diagnosis. to do that we need to have pet scans, we did not have enough here in the uk. at the same time developments and how we might use others things to diagnose the disease which would be much quicker and cheaper. so our organisation is doing a big piece of

work and looking on how we can playing a blood test to the nhs because that could access a new generation of treatments. obsolete needs to be — generation of treatments. obsolete needs to be regulated _ generation of treatments. obsolete needs to be regulated here - generation of treatments. obsolete needs to be regulated here in - generation of treatments. obsolete needs to be regulated here in the i generation of treatments. obsolete l needs to be regulated here in the uk but it appears it will quite soon get to patients in real numbers. but where are we in terms of the step to actually stopping it, not to slowing it? , ., , , , ., , , it? this tops the disease in his truck so it's — it? this tops the disease in his truck so it's the _ it? this tops the disease in his truck so it's the first _ it? this tops the disease in his truck so it's the first disease . truck so it�*s the first disease we have ever seen, one of two that could be available in the uk —— stops the disease in its tracks. so there are some hurdles but could be actually delaying the symptoms and stopping the disease in its tracks is something we would want to see. grateful that you have taken time away from that conference to speak to us live on bbc news. thank you very much, it really significant story. now let�*s talk tv and something i never knew was a thing — people watching their favourite

shows on double speed. a new poll from yougov and the sunday times say nearly a third of people sometimes watch netflix speeded up. before we talk about why — and what it tells us about how we�*re viewing — have a look at what the our weather bulletin at double speed. and at times further rain this week,... and at times further rain this week-"— and at times further rain this week,... . ., week, . .. that was matt taylor finally getting _ week, . .. that was matt taylor finally getting back _ week, . .. that was matt taylor finally getting back to - week, . .. that was matt taylor finally getting back to normall finally getting back to normal speed. with more on this, i am nowjoined by tv critic scott bryan. genuinely i did not know this was a thing, what are people doing? i5 thing, what are people doing? i3 quite simple, you can do it on quite a lot of different stream including bbc iplayer, the fact that you are able to have speed to 1.5, two time speed and even faster than that. the way that you would do that is i have the iplayer behind me, you can click

on any show, start watching it that you have it as an option on the right—hand side over there. i won�*t start playing any content in case you have not actually got the right support. but i think there are several reasons why viewers are starting to really use this function. i think part of it is trying to keep up with the zeitgeist. there is an awful lot of contact being released, think that would have been films a few years ago are now eight hour series will stop think viewers are trying to catch up on that. then there is the fact that some viewers may be unhappy with some shows. maybe the plotting is a little bit too slow for them, plotting is a little bit too slow forthem, maybe plotting is a little bit too slow for them, maybe they want to get to a key scene everyone is talking about. but i also think it is down to the culture that we now live. the fact that there are many of us who really want to be up—to—date with the latest programme. i think what this research shows which is interesting to me, along with some of the research by a company called stage tax, a charity that looks into accessibility on tv, they

highlighted how many more people are using subtitles. she can actually read subtitles on the screen throughout your programmes as well. so now of course you can have the double, you could speed up content to get through the show quicker and be able to understand what everyone is saying as well. i�*m be able to understand what everyone is saying as well-— is saying as well. i'm sure it is data that _ is saying as well. i'm sure it is data that is — is saying as well. i'm sure it is data that is driving _ is saying as well. i'm sure it is data that is driving directors . is saying as well. i'm sure it is l data that is driving directors and not because they pour over dialogue and narrative in character development and nuance in all of thatis development and nuance in all of that is on double speed, triple speed. so does tell us anything about perhaps things been too long, and the change in way that we are watching? and the change in way that we are watchin: ? ~ ., , and the change in way that we are watchinu? ~ ., _ . and the change in way that we are watchinu? ~ , . , and the change in way that we are watchin? _ . , and the change in way that we are watchin? ,_ , , watching? was in sync these days is that tv shows _ watching? was in sync these days is that tv shows tend _ watching? was in sync these days is that tv shows tend to _ watching? was in sync these days is that tv shows tend to be _ watching? was in sync these days is that tv shows tend to be shorter. . watching? was in sync these days is that tv shows tend to be shorter. if| that tv shows tend to be shorter. if you look at a streaming series something that could be really popular with a lot of people might only be there for 8—10 episodes when of course, if it is in the us, they used to have 22 episode series. i think it really comes down to the individual creator. how will they feel if people are really blasting through their episode rather than action taking the time to have to consider to perch that may be the

director, editor or writers and actors wanted. i think part of me thinks maybe they are just happy people are watching their content to start off with. particularly in a competitive market. that people have the freedom do so. i competitive market. that people have the freedom do so.— the freedom do so. i need you on double speaks — the freedom do so. i need you on double speaks running _ the freedom do so. i need you on double speaks running out - the freedom do so. i need you on double speaks running out of- the freedom do so. i need you on i double speaks running out of time. thank you so much. hello. the weather�*s very temperate across the uk right now, and many would say, "long may it last." and indeed the computer models are suggesting that for the next week to ten days, very little change is expected with, at times, unsettled weather as southern parts of europe endures that extreme heat wave. and here�*s a schematic of what�*s been happening. with the jet stream generally to the south of us, fresher air coming in from the north and that heat contracted to the south of all of that sunshine, whereas we get the weather systems. and this is the next one heading our way, bringing rain and wind for tomorrow. but let�*s concentrate on that heat. and it looks as though it will be

the peak of the heat wave — for the central med, at least — on tuesday. in sardinia, temperatures could reach 46 degrees celsius, give or take. now, not completely unprecedented. these temperatures have happened before across the mediterranean and are becoming more frequent. the highest temperature ever recorded in europe, officially recognised by the world meteorological organization, is 48 degrees celsius in greece, in athens in 1977. but it�*s rather telling that in the 20005, we�*re getting those values of 47 and more, more frequently. so let�*s have a look at the forecast, then, for our neck of the woods through tonight and into tomorrow. clearer skies across some eastern areas of the uk, and then this low pressure swings in brings cloud and rain and freshening winds to some western areas of the uk. but i think some early sunshine for northern and eastern and southern parts of the country. now, it�*s quite a small area of low pressure propelled by that jet stream. you can just get a hint of it here. these wind arrows show that jet stream aloft, pushing this area of low pressure.

quite a small low, but the rain will be persistent and quite heavy in some areas, from northern parts of wales, through lancashire, into the lake district and also south—western parts of scotland. maybe 20 or even 30 millimetres of rain in the fells. but either side of this weather system, it�*ll be much brighter and some sunshine — for example, in london, around 23 degrees. so the jet stream pushes the low pressure and its weather fronts further towards the east on wednesday, and then the weather improves. not a completely dry day on wednesday, because we will have some showers. and, again, it�*s that fresh north—westerly breeze with the jet stream generally to the south of us. and here we have it, those modest temperatures which many of us do enjoy. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. let�*s turn to our main headlines this half hour. the us and europe swelter in extreme heat. china sees record temperatures, over 52 celsius. these are the live pictures from greece as the authorities there continue to fight wildfires. three ijy continue to fight wildfires. three by elections across england, a major test for rishi sunak, this week, which could have big consequences for british politics. and a new drug to combat alzheimer�*s is hailed as a turning point. we will hear