live from washington. this is bbc news. wildfires rage in greece — more than 2,000 people are evacuated by sea from the island of rhodes, as fires there intensify for a fifth day. former president donald trump's on—going legal battles now centre on the us state of georgia. and england take a narrow win against haiti in their opening match at the women's world cup — we'll take a look at the day's results. hello i'm carl nasman, thanks forjoining us. we start tonight in greece — where wildfires are burning out of control on the island of rhodes. thousands of people have been evacuated from homes and hotels on the island. three hotels have reportedly burnt down, and many others are in the danger zone. private boats have joined the greek coastguard — picking people up from beaches on the east of the island. the greek army has also been helping get tourists to safety.

no injuries have been reported. plumes of smoke can be seen blanketing the island with its many resorts. the fires have been burning for five days now. the country's deputy fire chief says the blazes in rhodes are the most difficult greece is facing. it comes as the country suffers its hottest weekend in half a century. 0ne climate expert says the current heatwave could last up to 17 days — making it the longest since records began. in the past hour, our reporter azadeh moshiri told us about the evacuation operations currently under way on the island of rhodes. well, here in athens. i just got off the phone with the fire service moments ago, and he told us that the fire service apologises for any mess, that this is a very difficult operation for them, that they're human and they're trying the best they can in difficult conditions.

now, he explained that it's exactly the reason that makes rhodes so attractive to tourists that is making it so difficult for them to contain these fires. it's the greenery, the tall pines that make these wildfires so easy to spread. and so that's why whatever holiday these tourists were looking for, blue skies are now orange haze, blanketed smoke over the south of the island. hotels have burnt down, some of them have, though he mentioned that it was a minority of hotels. it's about 10% is what he said of them. about 2,000 people have been evacuated by sea and the and about 1,500 by land. and i asked him, is there hope for better news tomorrow? and he said, given the fact that temperatures are rising, that there will be worse weather conditions tomorrow, likely not. to the war in ukraine now — and the moscow—installed governor in occupied crimea — has said an ammunition depot in the centre of the peninsula has been hit by ukrainian drones. he said people within a radius of 3 miles were being evacuated.

rail traffic across crimea has also been suspended. gregory zhygalov from bbc ukrainian told us more about what is known about the attacks on crimea at this stage. ukraine forces confirmed they had destroyed a few facilities and weapon depot in crimea and that's not happening often when ukrainian forces are confirming this kind of attacks. but today they are not going into any further details and also they're not clarifying how or which way they attacked these targets. the attack was on krasnogvardeisky district which is actually directly in the centre of crimea. it's known there was an old air base which was abandoned in the past but is now apparently used by russian forces and there are still not so many details about how massive was the impact of this attack. in the morning, people from crimea

started to post on social media photos and videos of explosions. the footage was showing heavy smoke rising into the sky at the site of the attack and also military vehicles with the letter z on them, which russians are often using as a symbol of this war. russians are claiming that ukrainian combat drones attacked the peninsula — these are the words of the moscow—installed governor, he also confirmed that as a result, there were detonations at the ammunition depot. according to him, no one was injured but local authorities decided to evacuate civilians from the area around the facility. it's important to add that, yes, both rail services and road traffic across the kerch bridge

were suspended for several hours. we understand from the official announcements the bridge is open for cars but it is still operating with severe limits after the previous attack because this is the third attack on the crimean peninsula in recent days. in the beginning of this week, the attack damaged the kerch bridge which connects russia with the peninsula. later, there was another attack on a military facility, and experts say this may look like an attempt to damage russian supply lines as the ukrainian counteroffensive is going on. a mass march by thousands of israeli protesters has reached the parliament injerusalem, where lawmakers are due to pass the first bill in the government's planned overhaul of the judiciary. tens of thousands of people have joined the march since it set off from tel aviv earlier this week. they plan to set up tents

at the knesset as they stage a last ditch effort to try to prevent or delay the final votes on a bill that would curb the supreme court's ability to void decisions by the government that it deems unreasonable. here's what some of those protesting had to say. i am here because the extremists are trying to change our regime. they got into power and they are trying to make us a weak democracy. half of the people are saying they don't want the rules, they are pressing and theyjust ignoring us. so we are here to show our voice and to and to do whatever we can. in other news... 47 people have died and four people remain missing after heavy rainfall has battered south korea, triggering landsides and flooding in several areas. the state weather agency warns that monsoon rains of up to 100 millimeters or nearly 4 inches are expected to fall over the weekend. tennessee state representatives justin jones and justin pearson

raised over a combined $2 million after being expelled from the state house floor in april for protesting for gun reform. the two democratic lawmakers each raised over a million dollars each from donations coming largely from outside the state. an investigation by bbc newsnight and the british medicaljournal has uncovered a dispute over controversial research on the impact of abortion on the mental health of women. an independent panel resigned from the britishjournal of psychiatry after their recommendation to withdraw the research, which is still being used in us legal cases restricting abortion access, was not followed. here is a preview of newsnight�*s investigation by science correspondent kate lamble.

chanting: this decision must not stand. all legal threats to uk publishers may be having a ripple effect on major us health care decisions. in 2011, us psychologist professor priscilla coleman produced research concluding women who've had an abortion have an 81% increased risk of mental health problems. the paper was mentioned in brief submitted to the us supreme court as part of efforts to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. and it was cited by a texas judge who ruled that a major drug used for abortion should be withdrawn. but this influential research published in the britishjournal of psychiatry has been widely criticised. some argue it doesn't meet best practice guidance. because it does not meet those standards we don't believe that the results are reliable or credible. and we called in 2012 for the retraction of that paper. the royal college of psychiatrists, which owns thejournal, also co—authored a review which found methodological problems brought colman�*s results into question. professor colman insists her work met relevant recommendations and suggest criticism is driven by the political nature of the topic. calls for retraction

were repeated in 2022. an independent panel investigated and recommended the paper should be taken down. the royal college of psychiatrists are the owners of the journaljust said that they were not prepared for that to happen, which is, i think, concerning, because usually you would have expected that to be an editorial decision. so at that point, those of us on the panel who'd been part of that investigation felt we had to resign. some panel members are concerned legal threats may have influenced the college's actions. the bbc has seen letters sent during the investigation saying professor coleman would take any and all legal options available should the paper be retracted. if it truly becomes a thing - where all they have to do is send a strongly worded legal letter. i think that will undermine -

confidence in the journal's ability to police the content that it publishes. - the royal college of psychiatrists said it rejected the retraction request given the distance in time since the original article was published, the widely available public debate on the paper and the fact the article had already been subject to a full investigation in 2011. what might seem academic here in the uk continues to have real life implications for women in the us. kate lamble, bbc news. we will have the full newsnight investigation coming up in our later hours. stay tuned. this week, former us president donald trump said he'd received a letter notifying him that he was a "target" of a federal grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election. 0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal breaks it all down. constitutionally, nothing stops donald trump from running for the white house again. and in fact, this could probably strengthen his bid because there is some evidence, certainly amongst republican voters, that his legal problems

boosts his standing amongst them. now, in this trial, trump faces 37 counts over allegations of holding classified documents relating to national security at his home in florida. he's also accused of making false statements and conspiring to obstruct justice. he denies all of this. the date itself is on 20th of may, and that is right in the middle of the election campaign, is when the primaries will have pretty much wrapped up and he is likely to be on his way to becoming the republican party's presidential nominee. but there are lots of other legal cases flying around. he's also going on trial for his first indictment. this is over allegations of falsifying business records in new york. there's a grand jury here in dc. that's imminently deciding whether to indict him over crimes, alleged crimes relating to the january six capitol riots. there's also another case in georgia is pretty hard to keep up, but donald trump and his legal team have made it quite clear

that the only way that he is likely to be able to beat these charges is if he gets back into the house behind me, if he becomes president again. their strategy is to try and run down the clock and to kick this into the long grass. we know that presidential elections are very intense and historic, but next year is shaping up to be a truly extraordinary one. in addition to those existing charges, there are also reports that federal prosecutors have been in contact with georgia's governor, brian kemp, about alleged efforts by mr trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election. reports in the washington post say a spokesperson for the governor confirmed investigators working for special counseljack smith had contacted mr kemp's office. trump notably allegedly attempted to pressure mr kemp and georgia's secretary of state brad raffensperger to help him overturn the results of that state in 2020 during a phone call. live now to margaret talev, a senior contributor to the news website axios, and director of the institute for democracy, journalism and citizenship at

syracuse university. thank you for taking the time to speak to us. i want to start speaking on torture we heard that special counseljack smith has been reaching out to the governor about what may have taken place around those results from the 2020 election. how key do you think the state of georgia will be when it comes to the legal threats of the former president is facing? thank ou. we former president is facing? thank yom we were _ former president is facing? thank you. we were just _ former president is facing? thank you. we were just talking - former president is facing? thank you. we were just talking about l former president is facing? t�*ié�*ué you. we were just talking about and hearing that there are so many layers to all of the cases and pending cases against the former president, some civil and some criminal some at the state level some of the federal level. george is crucial because it was a pivotal state and also because as we have heard others on tape, the former president asking the secretary of state there to find him enough votes to win. so it shows a couple of

things. it does bolster the idea that jack smith is very interested in donald trump's own role in overturning election results. he always seems to have been focused on false electors. essentially the idea that the former president and his team were testing multiple paths to flip the results of pressuring elected officials or having people who would cast votes for the electoral college just change the vote they were supposed to cast. so this is happening as the pace is picking up and there is a wide expectation that indeed another indictment could come perhaps in the coming days. investigators at the federal level and state level can both be looking at the same things. one does not preclude the other. what about politically. georgia is looking a bit more purple than it ever has then blue or red. we have

seen a couple of democratic lawmakers elected in the 2020 election. how could this kind of affection —— investigation take place affect republicans going into the election, politically? but to get into talking but the general election and the changing of the graphics of the states so does abortion law and the climate around abortion law and the climate around abortion law and how georgia and other red states have proceeded on the average voter, that may be more important than relitigating 2020. in terms of the republican primary, the early polling certainly shows donald trump with a lead that is double than that of the second person closest. there's a conventional wisdom that may be it's too far gone for everyone to catch him. one bid? around and indictment from jack

smith on the 2020 election, if it happens, is if, it is easy to say that it happens, is if, it is easy to say thatitis happens, is if, it is easy to say that it is baked in the cake now but that it is baked in the cake now but that could change things. when civil trials do you do not need to show up to test file —— testify, criminal proceedings you do. it will take tension away from the former president and give new ammunition to his critics and a large gop primary fields. —— take attention away. georgia is an extremely important state to us elections. increasingly so. �* , . ~' state to us elections. increasingly so. 2 ., «m, state to us elections. increasingly so. 2 ., ~ ., ., so. let's talk about some of the republican _ so. let's talk about some of the republican field. _ so. let's talk about some of the republican field. it's _ so. let's talk about some of the j republican field. it's interesting that he announced that he will qualify for this upcoming republican debate and he has some buzz around him could this be a candidate to watch in a crowded field? if donald trump pulling _ watch in a crowded field? if donald trump pulling nothing _ watch in a crowded field? if donald trump pulling nothing else - watch in a crowded field? if donald | trump pulling nothing else matters but if he doesn't in slips and

dynamics change there is a chance for a fee for ron desantis is not mentioned not lock up that number two spot in a way that breaks everyone out he would be joining another of other republicans who have donor support to make the cut for that august 23 debate vivek ramaswamy. he's a bit different because he is in an entrepreneur. he isjust because he is in an entrepreneur. he is just not part of the political class and he has used a number of gimmicks and appeals to stand out from the rest of the pack. so there is a lot of buzz around him how enduring it will be and how real his candidacy could be. does he make that threshold. i think it is too early to say but he certainly candidate that came onto the scene essentially out of nowhere and the people are talking about this year. senior contributor to xes and director of the institute for democracy and citizenship at much for your time.

meanwhile — zambia made its debut at the fifa women's world cup on saturday, and despite its loss to japan, the national team is hoping to be competitive after the return of disqualified players. during the qualifiers, four players, including captain and star player barbra banda, were removed from the squad due to gender eligibility regulations in place for that competition. this time the rules are different giving zambia a chance to field its strongest squad at football's biggest tournament. celestine karoney reports. barbara banda is the poster girl of zambia's female national football team. she will captain the squad when they make their debut at the world cup this year. it's the highest level of football when it comes to the world cup. so i'm very happy and excited like it's a dream come true to me. she currently plays club football in china, but herjourney to the world cup has not been a smooth one.

banda was not allowed to play at the african qualifiers last year by zambia's football federation, but is now able to play in the fifa tournament. it was very difficult because i was with the team throughout, so i think the encouragement and the morale that i was giving to the team, i think it added value to the team and here we are. we are together going to the world cup, celebrating together. i think that's what's important mostly. and i being a captain, i have to be on top of everything, whether bad or good. ijust have to keep on pushing my team. this was because following a gender verification test, the striker was found to have exceeded the testosterone limit for female players. the zambia football federation had to perform this test for the african tournament. fifa say their competitions are categorised by sex and age — to ensure a level playing field countries must make sure the players they select meet their respective criteria for participation. this means some countries may conduct gender verification tests for their female players,

which often leads to controversy. unlike other football rules, when it comes to these gender issues, there is no one standard across the game. caf, the confederation for african football, asks for all female teams to conduct gender tests prior to its tournaments. this is mandatory, but fifa only tests when there are concerns about gender. so i think the fifa one respects the privacy of the individual more than what the caf one was saying. but we do not foresee any issues and fifa have not raised an issue. these verification rules in football have existed since 2011. currently, the body are reviewing the rules in this area and are hoping to have clarified their position after the women's world cup. l it's a very, very complex topic l and there are many, many people who have their views on it. and as fifa, you know, -

we're the global governing body. 0ur role is to take all those views into consideration. i you know, the research, the - evidence, the individual situations. of course, the human rights side of things. i for now, banda is focused on the competition just by qualifying. for now, banda is focused on the competition. just by qualifying it means a lot to our mothers and our main target to go and expose ourselves. zambia will face japan, spain and costa rica in the group stage. they might not be the favourites to win the tournament, but they hope to make a spectacular debut in ghana. the women's world cup is in full swing in australia and new zealand. reigning champions, the united states kicked off the tournament with a victory against vietnam 3—0 in the first match of the series. also england, one of the tournament favourites, have beaten haiti — who were playing in the world cup for the first time. haiti produced a strong performance and the game was decided by a single goal. in the other games, japan dominated

zambia 5—0 in group c. most recently, denmark beat china 1—0 in group d. but it took a last—minute goal for denmark to secure victory. amalie vangsgaard scored the vital goal. live now to katie silver, who's in sydney for us. those three matches taking place on saturday. i want to start off by chatting a bit about england — haiti. what did we seen from england in this very close match? you haiti. what did we seen from england in this very close match?— in this very close match? you are riaht in this very close match? you are riuht it in this very close match? you are right it was _ in this very close match? you are right it was a _ in this very close match? you are right it was a real— in this very close match? you are right it was a real surprise - right it was a real surprise was were expecting a decisive win. of course the lionesses have come after that victory last year and are one of the favourites to see the us and the final. the performance was not as decisive as many would have thought. haiti had a good fight and the score was only 1—0. the way england achieved that goal was interesting. first bulb saw a

haitian player put both her hands of almost like playing volleyball so england was awarded a penalty for the handball. we saw georgia stanway take the penalty and was the first time it did not go in. he saw the haitian barkeeper stop it. you celebration. but it turned out that the haitian goalkeeper had actually been off of her line a little bit too far in front of where she was supposed to be so it was taken again and by this point there was sort of the lack of momentum from the goalkeeper�*s perspective and when it went in there was a bit of discipline as you imagine from the haitian team. it was well and truly a strong fight and many were very surprised by it. of course the england team look somewhat different this time than it did this time a year ago. a couple of players have retired and a few others important to the team are out with acl injuries. so the question now is what is the future in this tournament. forthe what is the future in this tournament. for the lionesses can they get the enthusiasm back? many say that the first game is a bit of a warm—up game. they can find their

stride and we have heard some disappointment from the england manager as well as some of the players saying we need to look at this and get into gear and get ready for the next match. what this and get into gear and get ready for the next match.— this and get into gear and get ready for the next match. what about katie it's an amazing _ for the next match. what about katie it's an amazing story _ for the next match. what about katie it's an amazing story their— for the next match. what about katie it's an amazing story their first - it's an amazing story their first appearance in a world cup and a lot of people watching were saying that they have a star in the making on their side. . �* , they have a star in the making on their side-— their side. that's right they were su er their side. that's right they were super impressive _ their side. that's right they were super impressive they _ their side. that's right they were super impressive they are - their side. that's right they were super impressive they are the i their side. that's right they were - super impressive they are the lowest bring team in this world cup 53rd in the world well and truly the underdogs and yes they are right the rising star that could well prove a break—out star. a 19—year—old and grew up with a single mum brought up with her three brothers and cousins in playing from the age of ten she was scouted and actually thought she

could have some strong potential and was taken into the haitian training centre and she was really confident it's normally she plays in leon but without a doubt she had about five attempts at goal and touches in the box and the line lionesses goalkeeper had a tough point of stopping her tense uncle so without without a player to watch. and heard nickname used to be small in creel and she goes by and nickname for brother... ., ., , brother... covering for everything broke brother. .. covering for everything broke u- brother... covering for everything broke up related _ brother... covering for everything broke up related for _ brother... covering for everything broke up related for us. _ brother. .. covering for everything broke up related for us. thank- brother... covering for everything | broke up related for us. thank you so much for watching.

the weekend started off on a soggy note. plenty of rain around. not made much difference for these surfers enjoying the waves coming in at newquay. mind you, there weren't many sun worshippers on the beach. it was pretty dismal, wasn't it? not much sunshine around at all. most of us had extensive outbreaks of rain around, although it was a different story across northern scotland, poking out in the sunshine here. actually, we had temperatures as high as 22 degrees in the highlands, scotland, and this beach kind of looked caribbeanesque in the sunshine. now back to the wet weather story. we've got more of that rain to come over the next few hours, particularly for northern ireland. across northern england, the rain heavy. the rain easing off for a time over the next few hours for the south of england, southern parts of wales. but there'll still be some patches of drizzle around a bit of mist and fog too. for the most part it's not too cool, but temperatures dipping down into single figures in scotland. but it is here where we'll start the day with a bit of sunshine. that rain band, then, still with us for sunday morning. the rain probably starting to fizzle off in northern ireland,

but particularly wet across a swathe of northern england, where we're looking at around 20 to 30 millimetres of rain, double that over the cumbrian fells, the north york moors and across the pennines. could bring some localised surface water flooding south of that rain band — brighter weather for southern wales, southern england, sunny spells and just a few showers and with the winds coming up from a south—westerly direction. temperatures do get into the 20, so it will feel quite pleasant in the sunshine. cooler air, though, for scotland. sunny spells, yes, but there will be some passing showers as well. 0n into monday's forecast, our area of low pressure that's brought us the weather through the weekend starts to clear off into the near continent. but before it does do, we are looking at a bit of rain to start off the day, particularly across the midlands, east anglia, south—east england. monday morning, that will clear away. and then it's a day of sunny spells and just a few showers, perhaps some longer spells of rain just coming into the north—west of scotland. but overall, i think a slightly better kind of weather day. temperatures, though, still below average for the time of year with those north—westerly winds for tuesday. more showers in the forecast.

and then the middle of the new week sees another area of low pressure. well, you know what that means — a lot more rain on the way. so no sign of any prolonged, nice settled sunny spells of weather. staying unsettled. showers around on tuesday. longer spells of rain later in the week.

this is bbc news. for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme.