unprecedented high temperatures are being reported across the world, breaking records on multiple continents. these pictures are from panakto in greece, which is close to athens, and you can see the wildfires fires still burning there. lets go to chris fawkes, who's at the bbc weather centre. we have the extreme heat, of course. these are the current temperature records. temperatures have been up to 47 degrees in both spain and portugal, but europe is machias temperature currently stands in sicily, at 48 .8 celsius. right now,

the latest temperatures we have sicily are up to 43, but temperatures will rise. the next relocation during sardinia where we are also seeing temperatures into the low 40s and we would expect those temperatures to rise by five celsius so before we get the highest temperature of the day. why is it so hot in europe? it is down to the jet stream pattern. we have a trough to the west of europe bringing lots of showers and unsettled conditions. it is this ridge across southern europe thatis is this ridge across southern europe that is the important factor. it is pushing air downwards to the atmosphere and that encourages temperatures to really sore because it traps the heat near the surface of the earth. that is what we are staying at the moment. as far as the highest temperatures we are expecting, the peak of the heatwave today and tomorrow. we will see

temperatures quite widely getting into the low to mid 40s. some localised areas of extreme heat. in the south of sardinia, 46 is on the cards. some of the towns and cities will be quite so hot here. there is a similar story in sicily. there is a similar story in sicily. the heat is quite localised. 46 degrees on the church for wednesday, but in some of the bigger cities in sicily, temperatures in the upper 30s, which of course are still plenty hot enough. these heat often kill tens of thousands of people, thatis kill tens of thousands of people, that is why we need to take them so seriously. tell that is why we need to take them so seriousl . , ., , that is why we need to take them so seriousl . , . , ., , , seriously. tell us what is happening in the united _ seriously. tell us what is happening in the united states. _ seriously. tell us what is happening in the united states. some - seriously. tell us what is happening in the united states. some very - seriously. tell us what is happening l in the united states. some very high temperatures there, as well.- temperatures there, as well. that's ri . ht. temperatures there, as well. that's riuht. one temperatures there, as well. that's right- one of— temperatures there, as well. that's right. one of the _ temperatures there, as well. that's right. one of the things _ temperatures there, as well. that's right. one of the things with - temperatures there, as well. that's right. one of the things with the - right. one of the things with the heatwave we have across the south of

the united states isjust heatwave we have across the south of the united states is just how long it has been around. phoenix has already broken its run of consecutive days above 110 fahrenheit and with little change in those temperatures forecast through the rest of this week and into the weekend, that kind of record is going to be smashed. as far as the peak temperatures go, yesterday in death valley we had temperatures of 126 fahrenheit, not too far away from the all—time record of 134 fahrenheit, set 110 years ago. as for the forecast in the next few daysin for the forecast in the next few days in death valley, they will stay above 120 fahrenheit, but probably not getting higher than 126. so really extreme heat, but probably not quite getting the all—time record here.

more than 100 current and recent mcdonald's workers have told the bbc about a toxic culture of sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying at the company's uk outlets. the uk equality watchdog, the equality and human rights commission, said it was "concerned" by the allegations and that in response to the bbc�*s findings, it was setting up a new email hotline for those affected. mcdonald's said it had "fallen short" and that it "deeply apologises". this report is from our employment correspondent zoe conway, and a warning you may find some of the content distressing. shelby was 16 when she started working at mcdonald's last year. she says that the workplace felt toxic. one senior manager was openly racist and mocked disabled employees. managers warned her to stay away from certain older men, including one man in his 50s. i was just speaking to one of my friends and he grabbed me by my hips and pulled me onto his groin area and held me there. i felt disgusted.

he was so much older, as well. shelby says she complained to the management, but nothing was done. she quit in may. mcdonald's said it was investigating why any issues that she raised were not formally escalated at the time. mcdonald's uses a franchise system that means individual operators are licensed to run the stores and directly employ the staff. this lady is employed by a franchise in cheshire and she is 17. last year, she was repeatedly sexually harassed by a much older male colleague. the man was also racially abusive. he often showed me his penis in the freezer. he referred me as a monkey, and would not stop repeating it. even though the other seemed uncomfortable with the situation. i could not handle it at this point and ijust broke. why didn't you go

to the store manager? to the man in charge? i didn't think i would be believed. i think they would have seen my story as an exaggeration. her stepfather complained to mcdonald's corporate headquarters, the franchise and the police and after this intervention, the man was fired. macdonald's said her experiences were abhorrent and unacceptable. it apologised unreservedly and said swift action was taken and the man was dismissed within three days. in february, macdonald's signed a legal agreement with the equality watchdog in which it committed to doing more to prevent sexual harassment from taking place, including online training. mcdonald's workers have told the bbc the training is not being taken seriously and one employee described balancing an ipad next to a drinks machine and flicking through the online course whilst doing the drinks. other workers have told us that they have not been offered any training at all. in a statement, alister mcrae, the ceo of mcdonald's

uk and ireland said... that was zoe conway with that report. in the last hour, a downing street spokesperson has described claims of sexual assault and other forms of bullying and harassment at mcdonald's as "deeply concerning." a reminder, if you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, information and support is available via the bbc action line, you'll find that online or via the bbc news app. a world—leading child protection charity is calling on britain's prime minister to make the threat of ai—generated child sexual abuse imagery his top priority when the uk hosts the first

global ai summit later this year. the internet watch foundation is one of only three charities in the world licensed to actively search for child abuse content online — they specialise in finding and removing abuse content from the web. our cyber correspondentjoe tidy has been investigating. these days, anyone with a laptop can be an artist. with al and an idea the sky's the limit. by typing in a few words, you can create any image that you like. so, for example, a cat holding a banana in the style of van gogh. let's try that. the only real limit is your imagination, but there are some safeguards put in place. many of these tools have banned words or phrases to stop people creating illegal or offensive imagery, but we now know that hasn't really worked. in this highly secured facility in cambridge, the internet watch foundation finds, removes and logs child sexual abuse material online.

their trained analysts say they're increasingly seeing content made with artificial intelligence. we're the first people outside of the charity to be shown redacted versions of some of the pictures being shared by predators. so in the first image i want to show you is more of a cartoony style of image of a girl on the beach. i'd say she's probably about three to six—years—old. obviously, the pose is disgusting, and that would instantly make me question whether or not it's real, but it's hard to know. so this location is a bedroom, and that's quite classic of real images that we see of children posed in the bedroom. so you see that type of image... children doing that pose for... children that young?

yes, it's a horrible image. just the idea of what she's doing here. i know you've redacted it for me, but it's still. yeah, it's still. it's quite hard to see, actually. it's difficult. absolutely. because these are images of children being sexually abused and we can't get away from that because that's... that's what's happening. sorry. uh, sorry about that. i've never experienced anything like that, and it was a shock. absolutely. and there's no need to be sorry, because these images are shocking. just how bad does it get? it varies. so from kind of that style all the way up to where it's very difficult to tell the difference between that and a real image. last month, for the first time, the iwf started actively logging reports of ai images. analysts discovered galleries on multiple websites,

some containing category a material, the most graphic possible. the team says predators are sharing tips on how to trick the ais into drawing the content. and there's evidence that open source image generators are proving popular with predators. open source software allows anyone to download the source code for free with no restrictions on how they change it or adapt it. stable diffusion is the most popular open source ai image generator. it's been repurposed and repackaged by countless websites and businesses. the researchers who built it say making it open source was key to its success. it's led to hundreds of exciting spin—off academic projects, but the fact remains there are bad actors using it, as well. we found a twitter account belonging to an ai image creator who specialises in making sexualised portraits of pre—teen girls. he says he's aware of the fact that his images do sexualize children, but celebrates that this is the first time in history that ai can allow him to create what he calls cute images of girls without exploiting real children.

dr michael bourque is the former chief psychologist for the united states marshal service, specializing in sex offenders and pedophiles. there's no doubt in my mind that al generated images are going to increase these predilections, are going to reinforce this deviance, and it will lead to greater harm and greater risk of harm to to children around the world. so what can be done? well, very little. in truth, no one is in charge of stable diffusion or any other open source ai generators. and as regulators around the world try to bring some control into a.i. companies and products, it feels like in some cases the cat might already be out of the bag. and joe tidy can join us now. joe, you are the first person to see what this charity has to trawl through as they do their work and it

clearly had a very big impact on you. clearly had a very big impact on ou. . ., , . ., , , you. yeah, it did. i was completely overwhelmed _ you. yeah, it did. i was completely overwhelmed with _ you. yeah, it did. i was completely overwhelmed with emotion. - you. yeah, it did. i was completely overwhelmed with emotion. i - you. yeah, it did. i was completely overwhelmed with emotion. i am l you. yeah, it did. i was completely overwhelmed with emotion. i am aj overwhelmed with emotion. i am a normal millennial man and i have seen some nasty stuff on the internet but nothing like that. the difficulty when you're reporting on something like this, you hear the rumours of these images being out there and you see the discussion of their being sold in forums, but it is hard to test out yourself, how realistic our day and are they as bad as people say. the charity said if you come in we will show you some of these images that we have redacted, they have centred them for me and you will get an idea of how realistic they are. i was shocked, to be honest. i only got to the second picture of 11 before i was overcome with emotion. they did look real to me and i have never seen children in those poses and it was

shocking. the iwf said there isn't a tidal wave of this stuff yet but they are seeing the beginnings of a trickle and we are hearing warnings that this is a growing threat and it is adding to the problem of paedophilia in the country. of course, as my report said there, the issue here is about control because ai image generators, if they are open source they are completely out of control. it is out up to the individual what they do with the source code. not only can you do what you like, you can tweet them and perfect it to do what you want. there is no way to stop that because it is open source.

the speed of development is shocking because if you think about al image generators a few months ago it was almost laughable when you would ask it to draw hands, they would struggle, they would draw six fingers or three fingers and it was very obvious you were looking at the ai image. now that has been solved at the images that you see coming out of these generators are incredible. it has to be said that as well as all of the horrific things we are reporting on, they are being used by designers and graphic designers around the world, those images are being celebrated. but as we have seen, there is a dark side, too. . ~' , ., let us bring you some more pictures from just outside athens. this

wildfire is burning about 30 kilometres north of athens for a second day after it intensified overnight. authorities there have issued evacuation orders for several communities. there are very high winds, which is why these places are spreading so fast. authorities there say this play spread over 12 kilometres in just two say this play spread over 12 kilometres injust two hours. we are keeping an eye on that. these pictures from north of athens as this heatwave spreads across the south of europe. we are expecting it to peak today. we will bring you more as we get it. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. it is the end of five years of intensive medical training, but just the start of their careers in medical practice. it's my pleasure to present to you graduates from the faculty of health, education, medicine and social care. it all began back in 2018, when

the anglia ruskin medical school welcomed its first 100 students. the university vice—chancellor acknowledged that, when it opened, the county had some of the highest patient to gp ratios in the country and things have got more challenging since then. but what did the students make of their course? i remember being with patients who were palliative, which means that they have a terminal illness and they're going to die soon, and it was just a privilege because itjust really made me think about the beauty of life. i've came here, i've trained here. i've been given a lot of opportunity from the area, so i want to give something back to the local community. it's hoped these graduates will be part of the government's recently announced workforce strategy. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. the australian state of victoria has pulled out of hosting the next multi—sport commonwealth games in 2026 because of spiralling costs.

the opposition in the state has called it humiliating. let's speak now to emer mccarthy in the newsroom. what is behind this decision? the victorian premier made this quite shocking announcement on tuesday. he said that after a lot of consideration this state of victoria couldn't afford to host the 2026 commonwealth games. this comes after the state of victoria actually volunteered last year to host it, but they said the costs just spiralled out of control. this was said to be quite a unique commonwealth games. instead of hosting it in a city like melbourne, it was said to be spread across the region in different regional hubs, but premier dan andrew said that what they were quoted was just not

what they were quoted was just not what they were quoted was just not what the costs were looking like. let's take a listen to what he had to say. let's take a listen to what he had to sa . �* . ., ., let's take a listen to what he had tosa. �* . ., ., ., let's take a listen to what he had tosa. . .,.,., m to say. i've made a lot of difficult calls, lots — to say. i've made a lot of difficult calls, lots of— to say. i've made a lot of difficult calls, lots of very _ to say. i've made a lot of difficult calls, lots of very difficult - calls, lots of very difficult decisions in thisjob but calls, lots of very difficult decisions in this job but this calls, lots of very difficult decisions in thisjob but this is not one — decisions in thisjob but this is not one of— decisions in thisjob but this is not one of them. frankly, 6— decisions in thisjob but this is not one of them. frankly, 6- $7 billion_ not one of them. frankly, 6- $7 billion for— not one of them. frankly, 6- $7 billion for e — not one of them. frankly, 6- $7 billion for a 12 day sporting event, we are _ billion fora 12 day sporting event, we are not— billion for a 12 day sporting event, we are not doing that. that is all cost _ we are not doing that. that is all cost and — we are not doing that. that is all cost and no _ we are not doing that. that is all cost and no benefit. what has become clear is _ cost and no benefit. what has become clear is that _ cost and no benefit. what has become clear is that the costs of hosting these _ clear is that the costs of hosting these games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion— these games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion that _ these games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion that was budgeted and allocated, the vast, vast majority of that— allocated, the vast, vast majority of that has— allocated, the vast, vast majority of that has not been spent, but it is actually— of that has not been spent, but it is actually $6 billion and could be a size _ is actually $6 billion and could be a size $7 — is actually $6 billion and could be a size $7 billion. is actually $6 billion and could be a size $7 billion. what has the reaction been like? it has been pretty mixed. on one hand, victoria and the city of melbourne is known as the real sporting and events hub. they host

based really an open grand slam every year. they host a number of golfing events. it is home to the mcg, one of the most iconic sporting arenas in the world. some people think that this decision may tarnish that image. other people think that the state government did make the right decision and the costs just got too out of hand. the commonwealth games federation said it was a hugely disappointing move and now they are looking at what options are on the table. so far, all of the states across australia have said that they are not in a position to host it. new zealand said that they are not going to host it either. it really leaves the federation with their hands tied. it wouldn't be the first time that the city has pulled out of hosting the commonwealth games. last year they were held in birmingham. that came after durban in south africa was stripped of the games in 2017. it is

certainly anyone? guess what will happen next. the first barge secured by the british government to reduce the cost of accommodation for asylum seekers has docked at portland in dorset on the south coast of england. the bibby stockholm will house 500 people. the house of lords, which is the second chamber of the uk parliament, has approved the government's illegal migration bill, which is now on course to become law. it will allow for people arriving in small boats to be detained and deported. earlier we spoke to our correspondent duncan kennedy, who gave us the latest on the migrant barge in portland. well, it went through the final stages of the house of lords last night and will now get royal assent. that law will become law in the next few days and weeks. that will really

give the government power to detain people if they are undocumented and send them back either to their home country or to what they call a safe third country. the problem is, that their country at the moment is rwanda and the courts are so far blocking it. the government are hoping that later in the auction the supreme court will clear that, but until that asylum seekers have to be held in the uk if they get to our shores. this barge behind me is one of the government solutions for that. it is being manoeuvred around the harbour here, probably to birth on another separate location to it first arrived this morning. then it will be plugged in, the electricity will be plugged in, the electricity will be plugged in, the electricity will be connected, the sewage and all the rest of it, man by the end of the month the first asylum seekers will go on board. it will take up to 500 men when it is fully accommodated. the government says this is part of the solution until we can get that third party country

set up. they are saying that at the moment they are spending something like £6 million a day to house asylum seekers in bed and breakfast and hotels and the like, and that is not sustainable. this barge, they say, is one of the solutions to that. they say it is safe, secure. they say it might not be the rates, but it is functional, safe and secure. a lot of people have been protesting against the arrival of this barge. there are two types of protesters really done at the port. antiracism group saying it is inhumane to put anybody on a barge like this said the money would be better spent elsewhere. and local people. let's bring you more now on that breaking story out of north korea. a us national is thought to be in north korean custody after

crossing the inter—korean border during a tour without approval. that's according to the un command — who say the person was taking part in a tour to thejoint security area, the border village in the demilitarised zone separating the two koreas where soldiers from both sides stand guard. let us bring you some more pictures from just outside athens. this wildfire is burning about 30 kilometres north of athens for a second day after it intensified overnight. greece has been great by heatwave since last week, with temperatures reaching 44 celsius in the centre of the country.

stay with us here on bbc news. hello. the weather here in the uk remains fairly static at the moment, but across southern europe it is another day of exceptional heat. temperatures climbing inland away from the coast well into the 40s, peaking across some southern parts of sardinia. how does that compare to what's happening on our shores this afternoon? well, it will be pleasant enough in the sunshine towards the south—east, 24, but where the cloud and rain's in place, just 13 or 14 celsius. there is the cloud. an area of low pressure which has been spilling in so far today. it will be bringing rain fairly erratically through the rest of today across parts of northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england, wales and the north and west midlands. a few heavier bursts mixed in. there will be a few drier moments, as well. north of that, sunshine and a few slow moving heavy showers in the northern half of scotland. the southern half of england should stayjust about dry with a bit of sunshine here.

with light winds and that hazy sunshine it should feel reasonably warm. but, as i said, under that rain band you would be lucky to get to 15 or 16. maybe around 17 or 18 in the brighter spots across northern scotland. so that's how the day finishes. into the night we see outbreaks of rain gradually ease off, for many at least, into the north sea. there will be some drier, clearer moments around. across scotland, northern ireland, with a north—westerly flow developing, it will feel a bit fresher here into tomorrow morning. temperatures in the teens for much of central and eastern england. that's because here we start the day with the cloud. there will be some outbreaks of rain on and off and through the day it's down these eastern counties that we could see some lively, potentially thundery showers. away from that, after some morning sunshine the shower clouds build up, but there will be some staying completely dry. a better chance in southern counties of england, wales and western scotland. where you've got the cloud today sunshine will be a bit more abundant tomorrow in between the downpours, meaning it should feel a touch warmer. a cool night will follow to take us into thursday. shower clouds will develop once

again after a bright start. a bit more cloudy in northern scotland where, with a notable north—westerly breeze, it will feel a touch cooler here. 13 or 14 in stornoway, still getting temperatures into low 20s further south and east. if you're after some prolonged dry weather, look away now because as we go through into the weekend the next area of low pressure spreads its way into the north and the west. that will bring some stronger winds, especially across southern counties of england and wales. there will be rain at times just about everywhere. looking at the temperatures as we go through the weekend into next week, 17 to 22 remains cooler than normal for this stage injuly.

today at one... workers at the mcdonald's chain tell the bbc of a toxic culture — including sexual assault and racist abuse. employees — some as young as 17 — spoke of being groped commonwealth games is in doubt and harassed almost routinely. mcdonald's does, 100%, have a problem with sexual harassment. they'd grope, like, stomachs, waists, bum, probably thighs as well, i'd say, like, and hips. mcdonald's said it had "fallen short" and it "deeply apologised" — we'll bring you all the details of our investigation. also on the programme... a barge to house asylum—seekers docks in portland in dorset — downing street says it will start housing people in the next two weeks.

the future of the 2026