equal prize money with the men. hello and welcome to the programme. we begin with the blistering heatwave sweeping the northern hemisphere. large parts of europe are experiencing incredibly high temperatures. in greece — more than 1,000 children have been moved out of holiday camps, which are being threatend by wildfires near athens. in asia — these pictures show the so—called �*flaming mountains�* in xin—jang province in china. as the name suggests, it's often very hot there. now... temperatures are far higher than usual at 52 degrees celsius. and in the us, in death valley — already one of the hottest

places on earth, temperatures reached 53.9 celsius on sunday. in a moment we'll hear from our climate editor justin rowlatt, but first, nick beake reports on the situation in greece. a thick blanket enveloped the hills outside of athens. wildfires powered by heavy winds. the flames rapidly advancing on homes. there were small victories for those fighting from the air, but it's been a constant battle to contain the pockets of fire jumping up, as temperatures reached 44 celsius in some parts of greece. near the capital, more than 1,000 children were forced to abandon their summer camp. "there are about 1,500 kids who need to be bused to safety", a local official explained. "saying they'd been found emergency accommodation for the night." as dark plumes ominously filled the horizon, many decided to escape.

at these stables, a race against time — disorientated and distressed, but all rescued. there wasn't much in it. this is what they left behind. tonight, firefighters across the athens region are on high alert. greece's first major heatwave for the summer has now ended but another is on the way. nick beake, bbc news. and there are wildfires here in spain, too. 4,000 people had to be evacuated as 300 firefighters fought to control a blaze on la palma, in the canary islands. this man says if a friend hadn't phoned to warn him, he would have died in the inferno. it comes as a second blistering heat wave sweeps into europe. temperatures in southern spain are pushing into the 40s, ten celsius hotter than normal in places.

it makes it almost unbearable to work outside. it's been extremely hot this year. like, i normally get up at eight or nine in the morning but i've been getting up at five just to get things done by 9.00 because it'sjust harsh. make you feel a bit better. colin runs an animal sanctuary just inland from the tourist beaches of the costa del sol. there you go. hot animals mean more work for him. you've got sweat all over you. they need to be hosed down to keep them cool and it's too hot for the tourists too — his main source of donations. the only animals that seem to be enjoying themselves are the meerkats. so colin has had to close the place and the cash is running out. i think we'lljust have tojust... bear with itjust now and just see what happens. this year's just been unbearable, it really has. you get no break from it at all. here's why it's so hot. a high—pressure system, held in place by the jet stream, a rapidly moving flow of air

high in the atmosphere, is funnelling heat up from the deserts of north africa and across southern europe. the climate of southern europe is changing, say local people. it's becoming more and more like north africa. the sahara desert is slowly creeping into europe. the weather is being turbo—charged by climate change, say scientists. humans are 100% to blame for the global trend in high temperatures that we are seeing. so all of the observed global warming is because of our burning of fossilfuels. and it's notjust hot in europe. china is reckoned to have recorded its highest temperature ever yesterday — 52.2 degrees celsius. and tens of millions of people are under extreme heat warnings in the us too.

us climate envoy john kerry has been meeting his counterpart in beijing — marking the formal resumption of climate diplomacy between the world's top two greenhouse gas emitters. the meeting comes at a tense time between the two superpowers, but china said these discussion could play a role in improving ties. the talks will continue until wednesday, and are expected to focus on cutting down methane and other non—c02 emissions, as well as the run—up to the cop—28 global climate talks in november. south korea's president has vowed to "completely overhaul" the country's approach to extreme weather from climate change. president yoon suk yeol inspected areas devastated by heavy rains, flooding and landslides — after at least a0 people were killed in recent days. severe floods have ripped through central and southern regions since thursday. the country has received more than the total amount of rainfall typical for annual

monsoons, even though it's only halfway through this rainy season. earlier, i spoke to hyung min kim, a senior lecturer in urban planning at the university of melbourne. the central government has been very passive in investing in disaster preventative measures and establishing climate change actions. the approaches to extreme weather conditions must be considered together with climate change and environmental sustainability. but the government hasn't demonstrated a clear will to do. unless the government prioritizes environmental values over other things like economic prosperity, i'm pretty doubtful that substantial progress will be made by the current government. i mean, this isn't the first time the country has dealt with deadly torrential rains. they had flood mitigation in place, but where did it fall short? it happened in regional towns.

the rural towns were highly affected this time. in the past, rainfall in those impacted areas was less severe. but now everywhere is vulnerable. given such uncertainty, small regional towns are more dangerous because of their lack of other means and fiscal capacities. i mean, there are many things that urban planners can do to prevent flooding such as this. what do you suggest? though authorities may perceive that flooding is a natural disaster out of human control, so simply unlucky and such disaster might not happen next year. this attitude is problematic. the presidential election happens every five years, but flood infrastructure often needs more time than the election cycle. so implementing consistent policies is a big challenge. the seoul metropolitan government has developed city wide policies. one of the short term measures

was the installation of water stop panels for basement houses and underground spaces. and also it investigated conditions for basement housing, trying to relocate those households to underground areas. however, only a few households were actually relocated because of lack of available public housing stock. it also committed to construct underground water storage tunnels to retain rainfalls, but it would take at least four years to complete the construction. russian president vladimir putin says he'll respond to what he called a �*terrorist act�* which crippled the strategically important kerch bridge, which links russia with the annexed region of crimea. he blamed ukraine for the attack. ukrainian media has reported military drones were used. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg reports from moscow.

some call it russia�*s most important bridge, but look, you can see the road�*s split and sloping. russia says ukrainian naval drones struck at night. two people were killed in the explosion. the bridge, linking mainland russia with annexed crimea, is a vital supply route for moscow. president putin promised to retaliate. translation: this is | another terrorist attack by the kyiv regime. it was a pointless crime, from a military standpoint, and a brutal one. russia will, of course, respond. the defence ministry is drafting proposals. same bridge — last autumn. russia accused ukraine of carrying out this attack too. ukraine says the bridge is illegal. the 12 mile long bridge is not only strategically important to the kremlin, it�*s hugely symbolic. when it opened in 2018,

vladimir putin was first to cross — as if to show the world that russia and crimea were now joined for ever. so for the second time in less than a year, the bridge that vladimir putin built, this symbol of russia�*s annexation of crimea, has come under attack. the kremlin says it will respond by continuing with what it still calls the "special military operation", russia�*s war in ukraine. but what the kremlin won�*t be continuing, it said today, is with the deal that it kept global food prices stable. brokered by the un, the agreement allowed ukraine to keep exporting grain via the black sea. moscow, though, says it�*s not getting what it was promised and will no longer guarantee the safety of shipping. the kremlin insists its decision isn�*t connected to the attack on the bridge, but right now, it appears in no mood for compromise.

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. as we�*ve been hearing in that report, russia has refused to extend the grain deal which has now expired. ukrainian president zelensky said kyiv was prepared to continue exporting grain via the black sea despite moscow pulling out. translation: everyone has a right to stability. _ africa has the right to stability. asia has the right to stability. europe has every right to stability. and therefore we must all care about security, about protection from russian madness. and the black sea grain initiative can and should continue to work. if without russia then without russia. the agreement on the exports of grain, this is an agreement with turkey and the un, remains in force. the only thing that is needed now is its careful implementation. around the world

and across the uk. this is bbc news. the chief executive of the post office has apologised for delays in getting compensation to the victims of the horizon it scandal. nick read said what had become clear was the sheer scale of the miscarriage ofjustice — which saw hundreds of sub—postmasters accused of stealing money because of a faulty computer system. 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 graduatejobs. 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 new

disruption on railways. drivers will refuse to work overtime for six days from monday the 31st ofjuly. you�*re live with bbc news. scientists are calling it a breakthrough — an enormous moment of hope. trials of a new drug to treat alzheimers shows it slows the early onset of the disease by up to 60%. the disease gradually destroys key areas of the brain involved in memory and understanding. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh reports. hello. are you all right, mr colley? hi, yes. yes. i�*ve got your donanemab here for you... mike colley has alzheimer�*s disease, yet the 80—year—old feels incredibly fortunate. i'm one of the luckiest people you'll ever meet. just for this. that�*s because he�*s been on the global trial of donanemab for two years. he�*s come with his son for his monthly infusion, at this clinic in london.

i seem to get more confident every day. and i'm sure this is going to be successful. they'll get all the rubbish off the top of my brain and i'll be back to normality. i'm very confident about that. i never thought that i would see my dad just so full of life again. you know, now we have hope and, two years ago, we didn�*t. and, you know, that�*sjust an incredible difference. i'd like you to subtract seven i from 100, and keep subtracting seven from each answer until i tell you to stop. i so what is 100, i take away seven? 93. despite mike�*s optimism, donanemab is not a cure. his memory and ability to process information are still impaired. 86... but full results of the trial show the drug slowed cognitive decline by about a third, enabling many patients

to continue leading independent lives for longer. 60... he chuckles. i've forgotten already now. i've lost the plot, sorry. that's ok. in alzheimer�*s, a rogue protein called amyloid builds up around neurons, destroying connections. donanemab is an antibody which binds to amyloid. this prompts immune cells to attack and clear amyloid from the brain. so, lots of toxic amyloid protein... you can see it clearly in these scans. this patient starts with a lot of amyloid — shown in green, yellow and red — but after six months on donanemab, most of the amyloid has been removed. this is really significant. i mean, this is one of the biggest breakthroughs, insomuch as this disease is a pandemic. it�*s getting more and more common. and being able to both remove the amyloid protein and demonstrate that that

correlates with the slowing, or hopefully steadying of symptoms, is life—changing. so a moment of hope? a moment of enormous hope. this is fantastic. hello. are you ready to come through? yes. all right. donanemab could be licensed here within a year, butjanet north is hoping to get it sooner, as part of the next stage of trials. could you tell me what year it is? oh, dear. she sighs. no. 2004, i was going to say, but it's 2020—something, isn't it? 2024? 0k... janet, who�*s 76, says alzheimer�*s means she no longer remembers how to use a computer or how to cook. i can't make things nice. i can't cook as i want to cook. i have no timing ability, and that's crucial.

erm, itjust drives me potty, because i can't do it. but before any patient gets donanemab, they have to have one of these — a pet scan, a specialised type of brain scan. the problem is, there aren�*t nearly enough scanners. currently, hardly any alzheimer�*s patient has one. there�*s another hurdle. donanemab has potentially serious side effects. it can cause swelling and bleeding in the brain, so patients will need to be aware of the risks and be carefully monitored. but despite safety concerns, there will be huge demand for this new drug, which mike will continue to receive as long as it helps him. after decades of failed trials, the era of alzheimer�*s treatment is upon us. fergus walsh, bbc news

let�*s take a look at some other stories in the headlines.... five people have died after a small plane crashed into a hangar at an airfield near poland�*s capital warsaw. at least seven people were also injured in the crash. a fire brigade spokeswoman said the weather was a "probable cause" for the crash. tunisia and the eu have signed a deal to tackle "irregular" migration — meaning those moving in breach of rules. tunisia has become the main departure point for migrants trying to cross the mediterranean to europe. the deal includes $118 million to stop smuggling, strengthen borders and return migrants. supporters of the prominent afghan education activist, mat00la wesa, have called for his release more than 100 days after he was detained without charge. mr wesa, a well—known

campaigner for girls�* education in afghanistan, was arrested by the taliban government in march. colleagues at mr wesa�*s campaign group he founded say he hasn�*t been allowed to defend himself and there�*s been no contact with his family. the fifa women�*s world cup is nearly here — it kicks off on thursday. and members of australia�*s national team — the matildas — are calling calling for more to be done to level the playing field. the team — which won a landmark agreement in 2019 — sees themselves as global ambassadors in the fight for equal pay. katie silver reports from sydney. in 2015, fifa made us play the world cup on artificial pitches. the grass was fake and the disrespect was real. in 2013, we signed a new deal to make sure we got our laundry done for us. fifa will still only- offer women one quarter as much prize money as men for the same achievement. l members of the home team, the matildas, make their appeal to fifa and football�*s power brokers just days before the world cup kicks off. all: this is our legacy.

the soaring popularity of the women�*s game in australia has been on full display. two billion people globally are expected to tune in to watch this world cup, yet the prize money forfemale players is far smaller than the men�*s. the argument for why we are getting paid so much less is just kind of dwindling, it�*s not really much of an argument any more. if you look at the ticket sales and the interest and the tv viewing and all of that, there�*s just not much of an argument there any more. in some countries like vietnam, the gender pay gap remains huge. that�*s according to former star nguyen thi minh nguyet, who played for the national team until 2016 and is now a professional coach. translation: at the moment, there are players in the team i who have to both play professional football and do other things like selling goods online or, together with theirfamily, open

a restaurant or shop in order to make ends meet. for those that follow the game closely, this world cup is being seen as a watershed moment for women�*s pay. one of the most exciting parts of the 2019 women's world cup was after the final was won by the usa, there were chants of, "equal pay," that rang around the stadium. so this women's world cup coming up, it's a real, another opportunity to be able to talk about these bigger things and equal pay, it's still something that not just women footballers are striving for, it's what women everywhere are striving for. this world cup there have been stand—offs between multiple teams and their football associations, including the uk, south africa, nigeria and canada, and these fights are over everything from basic equal pay to bonuses. some teams are even threatening to boycott matches if their demands are not met. it�*s hoped that with this

momentum, the next—generation�*s battle will be just on the pitch. katie silver, bbc news, sydney. the first space tourists travelling on sir richard branson�*s virgin galactic will launch next month — among those on board are a mother and daughter, and 80—year—old jon goodwin — an 0lympian — who bought a ticket for the virgin space mission 18 years ago — and has been waiting ever since. ellie price reports. the spaceship attached to a mothership... as bucket list dreams go getting into space is a difficult one. when i was two years old, just looking up in the skies, i was like, "how can i get there"? it turns out a raffle ticket will do it. keisha and anastatia from antigua will be the first mother and daughter to blast into orbit together. jon goodwin from newcastle—under—lyme, who�*s 80, has beaten the odds in another way. he�*s got parkinson�*s. i was pretty convinced that they were going to turn

round to me and say, "you're not able to go". but they have been fantastic. the fact that i can defy my parkinson's. three years ago, i climbed kilimanjaro and cycled down just to prove that it wasn't going to get me. and this is the same thing. an olympic canoeist in 1972, he knows a challenge. release, release, release. plane released. but despite this flashy promotional video, john remains pretty down to earth about his trip. even if he did pay $250,000 for a ticket 18 years ago. i think the opportunity to do something that's not been done before by many people at that price is a real bargain. the flight will lift off on august the eighth. ellie price, bbc news. and now to the remarkable story

of an australian sailor who survived two months at sea. they were attempting a 6,000 km solo voyage across the pacific ocean to french polynesia — but their boat was damaged by a storm several weeks later. this meant the sailor and his best friend — were left drifting in the vast and hostile north pacific ocean — for two months! here he is — this is the castaway — tim shaddock — and on his right you can see his beloved dog bella. the pair set off from la pez, along the baja california peninsula in mexico, in april. they survived on a diet of raw fish and rainwater, and the pair were rescued by a trawler this week after a helicopter spotted them. and here is tim now — looking very thin but happy and alive. and don�*t worry — i know you�*re thinking where�*s bella? — i can assure you — even though bella is not in this picture — she survived the ordeal too.

that�*s all we have now, i�*m monica miller thanks for watching. hello. if you�*re wondering whether any of the heat that�*s currently affecting southern europe might head our way, well, the answer is a resounding no, but that is good news, i think, when you look at these temperatures. these temperatures which we recorded in the south of europe on monday, are very dangerous indeed. and this heat shows no real sign of letting up. now, we are stuck in a very different type of weather. the jet stream diving to the south of us that�*s keeping us away from this hot air, instead keeping us in something cooler, and with low pressure in charge, it is quite unsettled. this weather system pushing its way in from the west right now is going to bring some very heavy rain for some through the day on tuesday. that rain through the morning

across parts of northern ireland, then swinging across the irish sea into wales, the north of england, the south of scotland, south west scotland could be very wet for a time. bit of rain into the south west of england. northern scotland seeing sunny spells and the odd sharp shower. the south east of england should hold on to some hazy sunshine and some warmth, 23—24 degrees, but stuck under cloud and rain you may well see temperatures no higher than 14—15 degrees. very wet for a time through the evening, particularly across parts of southern scotland. that rain then tries to pull away eastwards. i think cloud and some patchy rain may linger across south east scotland and northeast england into the first part of wednesday. those are the starting temperatures for wednesday. and then this legacy of cloud still sticking around across parts of northern england, maybe southern scotland, down towards the east of england as well, with the odd spot of rain through wednesday morning. elsewhere, sunny spells and scattered showers. some of those could be on the heavy side. and temperatures of around 18 degrees there for belfast, 23 degrees the high in london.

forthursday, it�*s the sunshine and showers day. most of the showers are likely to be across the north and the east of the uk. not as many showers further west. and those temperatures again in a range between 16—22 degrees for most of us. so any big changes as we head towards the end of the week? well, not really. various weather systems, various areas of low pressure still featuring in the forecast. bit of uncertainty about where it might be wettest over the weekend, just how windy it�*s going to be, but certainly staying unsettled and relatively cool and no change in that story into the start of next week.

china�*s economy barely grows in the second quarter. we look at the second quarter. we look at the implications for financial markets. plus equal pay for all, with the women�*s world cup days away, we focus on the financial battle under way off the pitch. hello, and welcome to asian business reports. i�*m monica miller. we will begin in china, where second biggest economy�*s