as part of a federal investigation into his attempts to overturn the last us presidential election. lam in i am in southern spain, which has been feeling the brunt of this latest blistering heat wave to hit europe. and loot boxes — big money spinners for the gaming industry, but they can be addictive. now, new rules are being introduced. on bbc london: plans to overhaul how london is policed. on newsnight at 10:30 p:m., the government faces down attempts to amend a controversial plan to draw a line under the northern ireland troubles by offering amnesty for those accused of killings. can it work? good evening. downing street has described claims of sexual assault and other forms of bullying and harassment at mcdonald's as "deeply concerning."

a bbc investigation has heard claims from more than 100 current and recent mcdonald's workers about a toxic culture of sexual assault, racism and bullying at the company's uk outlets. mcdonald's has admitted that it has "fallen short" and says it "deeply apologises". today — since hearing our report — dozens more people have come forward. here's our employment correspondent, zoe conway. shelby was 16 when she started working at mcdonald's last year in berkshire. she says the workplace felt toxic. 0ne 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 speaking to one of my friends and he grabbed me by my hips and pulled me onto his groin area. then he held me there. i felt disgusted, because he was so much older as well. shelby says she complained to the store's 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. warren was employed by a franchise in hampshire. he says he was repeatedly sexually harassed earlier this year. i was really upset and frustrated and angry. the man doing the harassing was a senior manager. warren says he asked him to perform sex acts. in a room full of minors when you are almost ten years older than me, saying that is not right what happened, that should never have taken place. did you complain to the management? no, ididn't. i honestly doubt i would have been believed and also the managers were basically one big friend group and i couldn't see me going against it. in february, mcdonald's signed

a legal agreement with the equality watchdog the ehrc, in which it committed to doing more to prevent sexual harassment from taking place. in a statement alister macrow, the ceo of mcdonald's uk and ireland, said... he said that... but some employees have told us that they have lost faith in the ability of the company to turn around its workplace culture. i think that they don't really think about their staff at all. they have little to no regard for our feelings and how we might feel in the workplace and how we are being treated. yes. because if they did? they would do something about it.

zoe conway there. well, we've had a huge response to this story today — more than 100 people who say they work or have worked at the fast food chain have been in touch with us. 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. the parent company of jaguar land rover, the tata group, will announce that it will build a car battery plant in somerset. it's expected to be confirmed tomorrow and could mean thousands of new jobs. our business editor simonjack is here. explain why this is so significant. we said on this programme many times before that in the future, if you don't have a battery industry, you don't have a battery industry, you don't have a car industry because thatis don't have a car industry because that is where the industry is going. so this is great news for the uk, the somerset, forjobs in the area but it is not easily or cheaply won,

this deal. i understand that up to £500 million in government subsidies and grants have been offered to get this deal over the line and it seems thatis this deal over the line and it seems that is now the new normal. the global map of manufacturing is being rewritten as we speak and if you want to be on it, you need to provide subsidies. the us has $370 billion in subsidies and many people saying this is not enough, this is great but we will need at least four of these plants in the future if we are going to support our domestic car industry. but some industry sources say this will give much needed momentum to the idea of investing in battery factories, so a good news story all round for the uk car industry. good news story all round for the uk car industry-— there've been angry exchanges in dorset after the controversial barge which will house 500 asylum seekers arrived at portland port. its appearance had been delayed after a political argument over the government's proposals aimed at stopping boats crossing the channel. but, after a series of late—night

parliamentary votes, the migration plans are poised to become law. protesters have described the barge as inhumane but the government insists it's a temporary measure. dan johnson reports. it sailed through delays and opposition, but the bibby stockholm arrives here as a floating declaration of the government's determination to reduce hotel bills and stop migrant boats. it's been refitted with bunk beds to house 500 asylum—seekers, but that's around the same number crossing the channel every week. so this isn't a solution, but it's about the government sending messages to taxpayers that it's not funding asylum—seekers to live in luxury, and to migrants — that if they come to this country, they can expect to live in conditions that are what it describes as "basic and functional". there's opposition, here and beyond, and listen to the split opening up in this community. there are refugees here. to answer your question, i do not feel safe.

i'm not frightened of a single man on portland, there are 7,000 men in portland now. they shout one group's concerned about the pressure on services... the other�*s focused on conditions for the men. it has to be dealt with some other way, but the only way it can be dealt with is to speed up those claims so that the men and women can get out there and start working and contributing to our society. we've not got enough nhs dentists, doctors, we just haven't got it. so we're all struggling. if those services were improved, would it be all right? no, no. no. so it's about something else? it's about the men. the people of its own town. are dividing because of this, and we all want the same thing, and that is no to the barge! - stopping small boats is a government priority, the plan to deport illegal migrants to rwanda's stuck in the courts, but the migration bill did clear parliament last night, so this is a significant arrival.

we are creating places for them to stay — safe, relatively comfortable places for them to stay whilst we process them. the illegal migration bill will mean that we can process people more quickly. but the first 50 asylum—seekers won't step aboard for another few days. and other places have resisted similar plans, so this is a pioneering test of a contentious new policy. danjohnson, bbc news, portland. sweltering temperatures have continued across southern europe today, with firefighters tackling wildfires in spain, switzerland and in greece. in italy, it hit 46 degrees in sicily — and the heatwave is set to intensify across parts of the world. in las vegas, there've been official warnings that there is unlikely to be any respite from the heat, for at least a week. the world is now about 1.1 degree warmer than it was in the late 19th century. that might not sound like a lot but —

look what it does to the entire distribution of daily temperatures to higher levels — its make hot days hotter and more likely. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, has spent the day in spain in one of the hottest places in europe. how much progress is being made on tackling climate change, justin? ? ? we all know what is making the planet warmer, the man—made greenhouse gases which trap heat in the atmosphere, particular carbon dioxide. we all know in order to try and slow and hopefully stop climate change, we need to cut carbon dioxide emissions. the problem is at the moment, missions are going up, not going down. in fact last year, energy from... co2 from energy increased by 0.9% to 36 billion tonnes of co2 in a single year. so are we likely to meet our climate

targets? well, the world met in paris back in 2015 and agreed to try to limit temperature increases to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels. the hope is that will avoid the worst impacts of climate change but the un says in order to stand a reasonable chance of doing that, we have to halve to halve co2 emissions by 2030, by the end of the decade. so we have six and a half years. are we likely to achieve that? the truth is, we are not. so you are probably wondering is there any hope at all? i am glad to say there is some positive news. the world is investing in renewables far more quickly than anyone expected was possible. in fact, we are now spending more on solar, wind, nuclear, electric vehicles and other green technologies combined than we are on fossilfuels. green technologies combined than we are on fossil fuels. in fact, that every £1 invested in fossil fuels, we are investing £1.70 in renewables according to the international energy agency, which is a kind of

global energy watchdog. and it expects that ratio to continue to rise. but here is the thing, unless we begin to reduce our use of fossil fuels and quickly, we simply are not tackling the real problem. justin thank yom _ one of ukraine's top generals has said that his country's counter—offensive against russia is not progressing as quickly as hoped, saying rapid results were "practically impossible" because of well—prepared russian defences. ukraine says that since it launched its counter—offensive in earlyjune, it has taken back more than 81 square miles of land, but russia still holds vast swathes of territory following its full—scale invasion last february. our defence correspondent, jonathan beale, has been to the front line near bakhmut in eastern ukraine, to see how ukrainian troops are trying to advance. the bloody battle for

bakhmut isn't over. the city is now held by the russians, but we travelled with ukrainian forces who are trying to take it back. their advance is still slow and meeting resistance. again. explosion. they try to fire back with their finnish supplied mortar, but even western weapons can occasionally malfunction. explosion that was a russian shell landing. their positions are just about three kilometres away from here. last time i was near here, two months ago, it was the ukrainians losing ground and in danger of being surrounded. now, it's the other way round. this is the bunker from where ukraine's coordinating the offensive

on bakhmut, with a constant live feed from dozens of drones. the commander admits they're suffering losses, but not on the same scale as the russians. translation: we've taken the initiative. l the enemy is bringing in troops and wants to escape the trap. but they're in trouble. bakhmut could be encircled. ukraine is using all it can to break the russian defences... ..from the ground... ..and from the air. but it's still outgunned and having to spread its limited resources on several fronts. but it will soon have a new weapon — us supplied cluster bombs fired from these same american howitzers. this gun, will you use cluster munitions in this gun? yes, yes. you will?

yes. and will you have any concerns? in the field...no. on the town, i have forbidden for this. because it's not humane. oleksandr syrskyi is the general in charge of all military operations in the east. this is a command vehicle, yes? yes. the mastermind behind the defence of kyiv and the successful offensive in kharkiv. unlike many russian commanders, he's lionized by his troops. and now his eyes are firmly set on retaking bakhmut. and you will take it back, bakhmut? yes, of course — i try to do it. the offensive has been going on for more than a month now. even president zelensky has said it is slower than ukraine had hoped for. is that true?

translation: we would i like to get very fast results, but in reality, it's practically impossible. this entire area is well prepared with defences, so all advances are not going as fast as we would like. so far, the advances have only been modest. most of the front remains relatively static. these ukrainian trench lines in the east haven't budged since 2014. ukraine has still to commit all its forces, but it's yet to break through russia's heavily mined main lines of defence. jonathan beale, bbc news, eastern ukraine. the future of the commonwealth games has been thrown into doubt after the australian state of victoria announced it was pulling out of hosting the event in 2026. officials said they could no longer afford to stage them, as costs had tripled, but the commonwealth games federation said they were hugely disappointed by the decision.

finding countries willing to stage the event has become increasingly problematic, as our sports editor, dan roan, now explains. the commonwealth games champions! just 12 months ago, birmingham hosted one of the most successful and memorable commonwealth games in history, one that many hoped would reinvigorate the event and sustain its relevance. the closing ceremony ended with the official handover to the australian state of victoria. but today came a shock withdrawal, the next hosts saying it was simply too expensive. look, i've made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions in thisjob — this is not one of them. frankly, $6—7 billion for a 12 day sporting event, we are not doing that. that does not represent value for money. that is all cost and no benefit. it's a clean start, it's a good jump. he's in the lead! with victoria only confirmed last year after officials struggled to find a host for 2026, its surprise pull out throws

the multisport event into turmoil. the games' governing body said it had been blindsided and that costs had spiralled because its advice had been ignored by the victorian government. absolutely shocked that the cabinet has made this decision and it hasn't come back to the board to actually have a proper conversation. does this represent the beginning of the end for the commonwealth games, do you fear? no, i absolutely don't. look, you know, this is a major...major setback but we will be working as quick as possible to replace victoria as 2026. but that may not prove easy. birmingham had to step in when the original hosts, durban, in south africa, was stripped of the event over its own financial issues. the event cost almost £800 million, but one of team england's gold medal winning stars is adamant it was worth it. from an athlete's point of view, itjust... itjust means everything and it's an event i will never forget and i really do think the commonwealth games could have

this impact on so many athletes. it's really important it goes on, wherever it gets held. the 193a empire games, before the event's name was changed. the link to colonialism has meant a challenging history for what some see as an outdated institution, and with republican sentiments being expressed in some commonwealth countries, can the games survive this setback? i do think it's the end of the games as we've known it. it needs a fresh identity. maybe needs to lose the commonwealth aspect of it. there's too much resonance of empire there. the legacy of manchester's successful staging of the games 21 years ago remains clear to see. the main athletics venue now the home of premier league champions manchester city. but amid a packed sporting calendar and mounting concern over the cost of staging such events, the sense is that the games' fight for relevance is intensifying. and with just three years to go, there's little time to waste in the search for a new host to come to the games' rescue.

dan roan, bbc news. a mother who was jailed for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to end her pregnancy during lockdown is to be released from prison. 45—year—old carla foster admitted illegally procuring her own abortion when she was between 32 and 3a weeks pregnant. a judge told her last month she would serve half her 28—month term in custody and the remainder on licence. but the court of appeal reduced her sentence to 1a months suspended. domestic abuse charges against the former manchester united footballer and ex—wales manager ryan giggs have been dropped. mr giggs, who was facing a retrial after the original proceedings ended with the jury not reaching a verdict, was accused of attacking his ex—girlfriend kate greville and her younger sister. donald trump says he expects to be arrested as part of an investigation into alleged attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, and the capitol riots. if he is formally charged,

it would be mr trump's third indictment for alleged criminal offences, including mishandling classified documents and falsifying business records regarding hush money payments to adult film star stormy daniels. nomia iqbal is in new york. tell us more about what donald trump has been saying. the tell us more about what donald trump has been saying-— has been saying. the former president — has been saying. the former president has _ has been saying. the former president has said, - has been saying. the former president has said, he - has been saying. the former president has said, he went| has been saying. the former. president has said, he went on has been saying. the former- president has said, he went on his social media networks out and said he has received a letter from the special prosecutor investigating january to six, jack smith, informing him he has to give evidence to a jury in the next few days a grand jury, and he has used the quote he often uses, calling it a political witchhunt. if he is, does face this indictment, it will be his third indictment, arguably the most serious one, because he has been accused of trying to stop the peaceful transfer of power to joe

biden, who won the election in 2021. now, it's worth emphasising there is no official confirmation yet that this has happened, and this is a pattern donald trump has, he tends to pre—empt these announcements of indictments in order to get ahead of the narrative and take charge of it and ultimately use it to his advantage. there is evidence that it works. he is currently the clear frontrunner for the republican party's presidential nomination and polls suggest most republican voters, despite all these cases against him, they see them as politically motivated.— against him, they see them as politically motivated. voters will go to the polls in three by—elections for westminster seats this thursday, all of them constituencies currently held by the conservatives. new mps are being elected in the north yorkshire seat of selby and ainsty, in the seat of somerton and frome, and in london in borisjohnson's old seat of uxbridge and south ruislip.

our political editor, chris mason, has been visiting each seat — his latest report comes from west london. beeping. this contest in north—west london, like much of the politics of the last few years, can be summarised injust two words... ..boris and johnson. he used to be the mp round here. of course, he was prime minister too, and he is now neither. and so people here in uxbridge and south ruislip are picking a new mp and the conservative party, some with enthusiasm, others with less so, are trying to move on from borisjohnson — as are the folk round here. lies, lies, lies. you had to do it, you had to do it, you had to do it. we all have to do it in this town. and what did he do?

have a party. i don't know. he didn't seem to take hisjob very seriously. i met him years ago. a nice person. i think he's made some mistakes. yeah, and i personally believe they are unforgivable. - this has long been a conservative seat, but labour have been eyeing the prospect of winning here for a bit. keir starmer and the labour party have been miles ahead in loads of national opinion polls for ages. but the challenge for sir keir is to turn that into real votes and real election victories and, crucially, taking seats directly from the tories. now there are many issues here that will resonate with people all around the uk — the cost of living and the nhs. but there is one other issue that is really big and it's the extension of what is known as london's ultra low emission zone, which will charge drivers of the most polluting transport, and plenty of its critics blame it on the labour mayor of london, sadiq khan. it's just another tax on people's lives. it's costing people more every day.

and what about the cost of living? that's just a massive thing for so many people at the moment. i go to the supermarket now and i think, i'll get a few little pieces — 38 quid, and there's hardly anything there. when you go into the hospitals round here, so the queue just for the reception was really long and then sitting in the waiting area was even longer. and then at one point i was thinking, is there any point waiting here? i might as welljust go home. things that are important to the people around - here are schools, the hospital, the police station. _ for me, it's not. words — it's action. that's very important for me. you can tell me whatever you want — i need to see proof— of what you're going to deliver. so, a super thursday of by—elections beckon, notjust one but a trio of contests in three different corners of england. and, yes, each will send a new mp to westminster, but together they will make and mould the political weather, shape the confidence or otherwise of our political leaders. and all of this as a general

election edges ever closer. chris mason,. you can watch the by—election results from midnight on thursday night on bbc one and bbc news. anyone into gaming will know what these are — loot boxes are one of the most controversial aspects of the gaming industry. they are extra items, given at random, that you can buy inside games to improve your gaming experience. it's proved big money for the gaming industry, about £16 billion worldwide by 2025. but, say critics, they can be addictive. now the games industry has introduced new rules to govern how they're used in the uk. here's our gaming correspondent, steffan powell. i've been opening loot boxes ever since 2016. loot boxes in a nutshell — new characters, costumes or upgrades, all assigned at random for a few quid at a time. the question is, are they a harmless digital kinder egg or a form of gambling, more like a slot machine. there was times where i lay in bed at night and i cried.

i'd started to get to a point where i couldn't afford the loot boxes using disposable income, and i'd started using payday loans. i'd started using credit cards. those loans amounted to £10,000. they cost david his savings for a new house and nearly his relationship. the time when it really fully hit home for me was the day that my wife found out that i'd done everything. she was sat there at the table, you know, like nine months pregnant, due less than two weeks. and she was just in tears and i could see how much it had hurt her. david got to grips with his addiction and turned his life around. but it was testimony like his that partly, all the way back in 2020, led the government to call for more evidence. now, nearly three years later, we finally know the plan to try and curb the use of loot boxes. there are 11 principles, mainly targeted at protecting children. they include — better use of technology to restrict under 18 access, an awareness raising campaign of that and more lenient refund policies. the trade body for gaming uk says these will improve

protections for all players. last summer, the government chose not to legislate, instead tasking the industry with coming up with these new regulations. following countries like belgium and the netherlands in banning them was an option, but instead we're seeing this more pragmatic approach, where there is a balance between protecting those who may become addicted to loot boxes and also giving the games industry the freedom to flourish economically. some think the proposals are too weak and could mean more stringent gambling laws being applied to gaming in future. the whole point here was that government said significant self—regulation means an avoidance of gambling regulation. this reopens the question because it's so insufficient of whether loot boxes should be incorporated into gambling regulation. oh, oh! ok, that's good potential... it's taken a long time to get to this agreement — whether the wait was worth it will be decided by a review next summer. a review next summer. ooh! ooh! steffan powell, bbc news.

this is a white—tailed eagle, with its eight foot wing span. it's the biggest bird of prey in the uk. but it was hunted to extinction in the early 1900s. and then four years ago a project began on the isle of wight to bring this lost species back to england. a local photographer ainsley bennett took these photos showing some of the 25 eagles released on the island since 2019. and this was revealed today — the first white tailed eagle chick to be born in england for more than 240 years — since 1780. its exact location is not being revealed to protect the birds. but with two more established pairs on the south coast, including two birds on the isle of wight — the teams behind the project, forestry england and the roy dennis foundation, are hoping for even more chicks next year.

time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. good evening. no eagles in the sky over belfast but a lot of cloud, which will produced some outbreaks of rain today, which made it feel really cool for some of us forjuly. just 15 in places. a bit warmer in south—east england but it's not a world away from the extreme heat that continues to affect southern europe. the big divide between that heat and us is the jet stream, the flow of wind high up in the atmosphere keeping us in the relatively cool air, but we are losing this weather system that has be bringing the rain today, high pressure trying to build in from the west, so with some sunshine tomorrow hopefully it will feel a bit warmer for some places. quite a chilly start though. parts of scotland out in the countryside perhaps down to four or five. in the countryside perhaps down to four orfive. we in the countryside perhaps down to four or five. we will see spells of sunshine and some cloud and patchy rain lingering close to eastern

england for a time that should