as a foreign correspondent, reporting on conflict and famine with a unique empathy. he became the presenter of the six o'clock news 20 years ago, but in 2014 came his diagnosis of bowel cancer. you know, i wish i hadn't had cancer, obviously, but i have cancer. and i'm glad of the things i've learned about myself and about my community, my friends and my family as a result. we'll be looking back at the life and career of this truly remarkable colleague and friend, a mentor to many here and an inspiration to everyone. also on the programme... wildfires continue on the greek island of rhodes — as people contemplate the devastation, greece's prime minister says it shows the climate crisis is already here. and, in israel, mass protests continue tonight, as mps approve a controversial law

curtailing the power ofjudges. on newsnight at 10:30 p:m.. protests swell in isreal, with growing friction over plans to limit the power ofjudges. what happens now? plus, we will be diving into the tumultuous world of crypto with a hollywood star turned currency critic. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at ten. tributes filled with love, affection and admiration have been pouring in for our beloved friend and colleague, george alagiah, who has died at the age of 67, nine years after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. he was a foreign correspondent at heart but, for the last 20 years, he was the face of the news at six — the audience loved him and we loved him. our colleague allan little, who was george's close friend, has been looking back at george's remarkable life and career. three, two, one... go tape.

at six o'clock — the ground war on iraq has begun. millions knew him as the face of the six o'clock news... good evening and welcome to the six o'clock news. ..and for his calm, unflappable authority. good evening and welcome to the bbc�*s news at six. he was born in sri lanka in 1955 to christian tamil parents. as a child the family moved to ghana. this is the road... and he was swept up in the early optimism of a young nation newly independent of british colonial rule. we knew that africa was going to be united and that ghana, this country, was going to be at the centre of it, and i think that was a kind of dream. at 11 he was a migrant again, this time to england, where his parents enrolled him in a portsmouth boarding school. here, though there was some racism, he learned to adapt to a new culture and to thrive. at durham university he met his wife frances. i think when we got married, we were aware of a sort of meeting of cultures.

you can see that in the wedding photos. we've got two sons, adam and matthew. in a turbulent and often dangerous working life, she and their two boys were the still and unwavering centre of his existence — his solid ground. and welcome to the rainbow nation. forjust over a year now, south africa has been my base as the bbc�*s africa correspondent. i knew george as a foreign correspondent. we worked together in africa, the continent whose fate ran through his life like a thread through cloth. so, this is where... your house? hey? oh, it's nice, it's nice. i thought of him as a kind of mentor, i was inspired by his example. he was brave, calm and kind. ok, you get the water from here and do that. i admired his gift for reaching into the hearts of those caught up in war or natural disaster.

winning their trust, even at the worst moments of their lives. in a refugee camp in eastern zaire, hundreds were dying every day of preventable illness. i asked her what she wanted from life. "a job," she said, "so i can look after little petty." in somalia he met a woman whose ten—year—old daughter had just died. his own children were about the same age. it seemed wrong to be there at what should have been a moment of private grief. she said it was all right if it might help to save her other daughter. i haven't the heart to count and it doesn't really matter... there were moments when he crossed the line between merely witnessing and actively intervening in the pain of others. we took those we could manage to the french military hospital, at times like this it's impossible not to cross the line that divides us, the observers, and those we observe. the rwandese translator we worked with then, seth ngarambe, told us his tutsi wife had been murdered by hutu extremists. but he was later accused of

complicity in her murder and jailed. george wanted to know the truth, however painful, and went to find him in prison. the nature of their reunion, the power of it, says something profound about the george we knew and his extraordinary talent. you're looking well, you're looking better than i thought. yes. hey? seth, can we go and talk somewhere? it's wonderful. he even charmed men at the heart of sierra leone's normally secretive diamond trading business. this is the biggest you've seen all day and... the world of the so—called blood diamond. this is something to write home about? no, this is about $2,000, $2,500. so you're in the clear? in ghana, he went back to his old school. somewhere in here is me. go on, yes... well done! he would later say that he was destined to spend his adult life in africa dispelling the dream he had nurtured so carefully as a

child. he was injohannesburg in the mandela years, a time of bright promise, mandela in his �*70s was about to remarry. and now, sir, the future, you're a man in love? it is a wonderful moment for me, as anybody else, to be in love. when he returned to the uk he brought to the studio a wealth of wisdom and experience gathered over years on the road. though in the seconds before his first six o'clock news, there was some trepidation. at six o'clock, these are tonight's top stories... he was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. after a gruelling round of treatment and multiple operations, he couldn't wait to be back in the tumult of the newsroom. he was deeply moved by messages of support and affection sent in by countless viewers he would never meet. and on his first day back made this a small concession. and i just want to say it's...good to be back with you.

off—screen, george was funny, clever, a generous and confiding friend and full of energetic hope. there was something infectious about his optimism. you always walked away from time with george feeling better about the human race and the world in general. and that's the bbc�*s news at six. the migrant boy whose family left sri lanka with nothing found his home in a changing britain and he took this country to his heart. it's goodbye, the news continues, though, here on bbc one... i watched george for years up close and thought this of him — that people wanted to tell him that story because, in hisjournalism, they saw the outstretched hand of a shared humanity and of solidarity. and allanjoins us from his home. you've been remembering george to audiences all day. what was it that made him so special? the quality that he had that made him such a special reporter is the

same that made him a fine human being, empathy. iwatched him and marvelled at his ability to reach into the hearts of people at their worst moment of their lives. he was interested in them. he wanted to tell their stories and be the vehicle through which their voices would be heard. there was a word we used back then in the mandela years from a language in southern africa which has no direct translation in english, but it meant a lot to george it carries the conviction that all human beings are somehow bound together in a shared responsibility for each other but proper welfare, and i think that was close with the values that george lived and embodied. i think they can be summed up in that word and i was new to africa when ijoined george there and it ran through his veins and i learned from him that the best reporters are also good human beings and there was something else as

well. he knew africa so well. he was wise and solid and new instant careful in hisjudgment and generous, and i'm not a shared to tell you that i felt looked after by him, especially at the beginning, and when i was with him in morally or troubling places, i felt and when i was with him in morally or troubling places, ifelt nothing bad could happen to be fit this was someone i could look up to and whose success i could enjoy and celebrate without envy. he was at the top of his game and then given this brutal cancer diagnosis in 2014. how did he cope with it? you know, there was this amazing hopefulness and optimism about george, which as i said in that piece was infectious and, once he got over the initial shock, he applied that to living with cancer and he said to me once, of the cancer had come back we were in his garden in north london and he said, i'm not afraid to die, i haven't got time for that. the only thing i find

unbearably painful is the idea of fran being left on her own. there was was that in george others before himself, especially his wife and two boys, who were the centre of his life, his safe harbour. but he very quickly decided to live his life as fully as he could and, even at the end, i saw him two weeks ago when he was still in hospital and he said, is it wrong to say there is something positive in this cancer experience? he was tenaciously clinging to this idea that you could have a positive, a positive outlook on life, and he said, the positive things that i've had time to think about my life, reflect on it, make sense of it and say to the people i love that i love that and he said, tell people, if you had said i love you to the people you love, tell them, don't wait. that was characteristic of george. it's a characteristic of george. it's a character trait that everybody who

worked with him or knew him will instantly recognise.— and we'll have more about george and from george — in his own words — later in the programme. wildfires in greece continue to burn out of control, as the greek authorities launch their biggest ever emergency response and the country's prime minister tells parliament the climate crisis is already here and will be expressed through ever greater natural disasters everywhere in the mediterranean. fires have broken out on the islands of corfu and evia but the biggest evacuation order has been on rhodes, where 19,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. the areas in red here are where the fires are burning, with strong winds fanning the flames. tour operators continue to send extra planes to the island to bring stranded tourists home, with tui cancelling all flights there until friday. those who live on the island are trying to recover from the devastation, as our correspondentjenny hill reports from lindos.

it seems like a miracle no—one was hurt. fire swept through this resort. not much left behind. those were once water skis. so much of this island still looks... ..well, idyllic. and then you take a few steps and you come across a scene... ..well, like this. it's still smouldering. that, of course, was someone's livelihood, completely destroyed. this is where there were sunbeds just a few days ago. it wasn't just tourists who scrambled to safety. i was crying. it was making me feel terrible. edisa and herfamily, who all work in the hotels here, had to get out, too. when we met them, they'd only just learned their house had survived the fire. for the tourists, it was a really terrifying and bad experience, but for us, i think it's worse,

because we live here. everything is burned. not everything. this hotel, one of the most luxurious in lindos, escaped damage. but the guests are gone, and much of the surrounding countryside is destroyed. if you have seen the scenery around, it's like a biblical catastrophe. the hotel is a hotel that will be rebuilt and repainted, but the nature outside is the most important thing that we need to check what we are going to do because all of this is a result of the environmental crisis that we are facing. and all day, despite every effort, the fires have raged on, strong winds fanning the flames. it's far too soon to properly assess the damage done here. but, on the nearby beach, a business owner had come to take a look. and found his concession destroyed. we lose the business. we are... we have good health, _

and we are hopeful to fix it again. it's a sign ofjust how quickly things change. the winds very strong now, and we've been told we need to get out, because the fire may be coming towards us. it seems unstoppable. firefighters now battling to save more villages from the flames. all those who fled can do can is watch and hope. today, the greek prime minister said his country was at war with the wildfires and i'm sure that's how it must feel for those firefighters who, or days in rhodes, have been trying in vain to contain those fires. part of the problem is the

wind. it's been very strong today, fanning the flames. it's also very warm, and heatwave conditions are expected across the country, expected across the country, expected to last well into the middle of the week. create it’s a middle of the week. create it's a truck is in _ middle of the week. create it's a truck is in effect _ middle of the week. create it's a truck is in effect prepared - middle of the week. create it�*s —. truck is in effect prepared the people of greece today when he said a difficult few days lie ahead, but he said he had another warning, he said climate change is already here and it will manifest itself everywhere in the mediterranean with greater disasters. jenw; everywhere in the mediterranean with greater disasters.— greater disasters. jenny hill, thank ou. and you can get more advice on what to do if you have a holiday to greece booked in the coming weeks, including issues around flights and travel insurance, on our website — that's at bbc.co.uk/news — or by using the bbc news app. the israeli parliament has approved restrictions on the powers of the supreme court, which have led to some of the largest protests in israel's history. the move preventsjudges from blocking government decisions they consider unreasonable.

critics say it will destroy israel's democracy, but prime minister benjamin netanyahu argues it will curb judicial overreach. the reforms have already provoked months of unrest, with military reservists threatening to stop reporting for duty and major companies joining a strike. our middle east correspondent, tom bateman, sent this report from jerusalem. the streets of israel were soaked in anger, moments after one of the most contested laws in the country's history was passed. anti—government protesters were being blasted with water cannon, and the rage towards mr netanyahu, or "bibi", was boiling over. this is my country, and bibi kidnapped our citizens and it's not supposed to be. we need to be here. i served in the army. i have three little boys and i want to continue

to stay in my country. and outside the israeli parliament, a showdown. today's vote, they said, was a red line. well, these protesters had said they would stay put and block the route and now they're trying to prove it. the security force is using a van. these are unprecedented scenes. the israeli leader has just had surgery to fit a pacemaker. he appeared amid the increasingly fraught atmosphere. the opposition shouted "shame" as the critical vote neared. and they walked out, claiming historic changes were being rammed through, opening a door to dictatorship. translation: there is no prime minister in israel. i netanyahu has become a puppet on the strings of messianic extremists. but tonight, mr netanyahu

dismissed his critics. translation: today, we carried out a required democratic move. - the move was aimed at restoring a degree of balance between the branches of government, which we had for 50 years. but with the protests set to intensify, the mood is one of deepening crisis. there is escalating violence in the region, the absence of any political horizon in the wider conflict, and israel's occupation of the palestinian territories. now, anti—government dissent is spreading into the security establishment and israel's internal divisions have rarely felt this severe. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. here, the government has pledged to relax planning rules in england to create more homes in cities across the country. the housing secretary, michael gove, said he would make it easier to convert empty retail premises

and betting shops into flats and houses. labour says the plans aren't ambitious enough. our political correspondent jonathan blake has more. almost everyone agrees more new homes are needed, but it's harder to find a consensus on where and how to build them. the prime minister popped in to seejennifer in the west midlands this morning. she moved into her new home three weeks ago. he restated the government's commitments and said building in cities was crucial to boosting housing supply. it's important that we do that in the right way, and that means building houses on the right places with the support of local communities, not concreting over the countryside, so we're making it easier for people to expand homes upwards and outwards, we're making it easier to build on brownfield sites with more investment, and we're investing in the planning system. sobia shabir is 38 and living with her parents, hoping one day to rent or even own her own place. i am looking to buy a property, but unfortunately, there's not much available. i would love to kind of purchase

within birmingham, but like i said, it's quite difficult at the moment, because you get a lot of properties which you are able to rent, but it's not affordable. ministers want to make it easier to convert empty shops into flats and houses. they're reviewing rules on home extensions and conversions and providing funding to help clear a backlog of planned projects. in 2019, the conservatives pledged to build at least1 million more homes in england over the course of this parliament, which the prime minister recommitted to today. but they also set a target of 300,000 homes per year by the mid—2020s. the latest figures show there were 232,820 new homes in the year to march 2022, some way off the government's aim. and they're facing opposition from their own backbenches. today, one vowed to fight plans for cambridge that he described as nonsense.

cambridge already has just about the highest rate of house—building in the country, and it's due to accelerate under local plans, another 50,000 houses over the next 20 years, so we're definitely doing our part. we do need more housing, but it needs to be spread across the country. labour, who've said they will relax rules around building on the green belt, dismissed the government's plans. mortgages have gone through the roof, house—building is falling off a cliff. we don't need more recycled press releases and broken promises, we need serious action to get britain building. housing is sure to be a big issue at the next general election. the problem all the main parties face is showing enough ambition to build the new homes that are needed while keeping their supporters happy in towns, cities and the countryside. the conservatives are looking squarely at cities to solve what many call a housing crisis. finding solutions is fraught with political difficulty. jonathan blake, bbc news. the bbc has apologised to the former brexit party leader, nigel farage, over its report about the reason

why his account at private bank coutts was closed. our media editor, katie razzall, joins me now. how did we get here? nigel farah said the private bank closed his account for political reasons. then earlier this month, bbc news reported that the decision had been a commercial one because it said mr farage had fallen below the bank's wealth limit. that story was based on information from someone that their journalist behind based on information from someone that theirjournalist behind it today called a trusted and senior source, but the story was wrong. after the report, mr farage acquired a dossier, and internal coutts dossier that showed that the bank, which is owned by natwest, consider him to have a xenophobic and racist views that didn't align with those values. the head of natwest apologised and then today in a letter made public by mr farage, the ceo of bbc news has also said sorry because, as she put it, the inaccurate story contributed to mr farage being put through a

considerable and humiliating amount of publicity. business editor simon jack also apologised, tweeting that the information he had been given was incomplete and inaccurate. nigel farage has said he accepted the apology with good grace and that the fault is with natwest. he still wants answers, including who thought it was legal or ethical to make his personal financial details public. katie, many thanks. campaigners are demanding the immediate closure of the uk's last open cast mine, ten months after it was meant to shut. planning permission for the site in merthyr tydfil in south wales ran out last year, and a subsequent extension was refused. now it's emerged that the operators have been accused of mining outside the licensed area, but as our wales correspondent hywel griffith reports, work there carries on. the largest and last of its kind — the ffos—y—fran mine above merthyr tydfil produces two thirds of the uk's coal, but there's a problem. it should have shut ten months ago.

so as we look at it now, we can see lorries, there's activity there now. after campaigning against the mine for two decades, in september last year, chris and alison thought their time living in its shadow would end when planning permission ran out. but the work carried on. felt sick, didn't we? oh, it's like a punch to the stomach, to be honest with you. we'd been looking forward to that. obviously, as campaigners as well, we knew the dates, we were prepared for it. you had your bottle of champagne. i had champagne ready, yeah, yeah. but the celebrations are still on ice. although the company failed to extend permission, it still produced at least 200,000 tonnes of coal since september, making it the uk's largest producer. trucks laden with coal keep on coming from the mine. the train down there is slowly being filled up, ready to take it to market. that's despite the fact that inspectors have now found

the company has been mining outside its licensed area. the coal authority told it to stop, but it carried on. the council served an enforcement notice on the operator last month, but it's been appealed, sending the decision to the welsh government, which could take another year. we're in the middle of a climate change crisis. the welsh government have to put a stop to this. it has to be done now and it shouldn't be months and months and months down the line. no, stop faffing around and get on with the job of stopping that mine. we asked the company and the welsh government to respond. both said they couldn't comment. with 130 jobs at stake, closure would signal further decline in an industry that shaped wales. some believe coal will always be an option. it's not impossible to imagine that in the future, in the event of some

global energy crisis, people turn back to the past, and start digging up and using the coal that's under ourfeet. for now, the campaigners say they're left frustrated, wondering what it will take to finally shut britain's biggest mine. hywel griffith, bbc news, merthyr tydfil. the former england footballer trevor francis has died. he was 69. his family say he had a heart attack in spain. trevor francis became britain's first £1 million footballer when hejoined nottingham forest after a transfer from birmingham city in 1979. he went on to win two european cups there. brazil had a comfortable win in their opening match at the women's world cup, beating newcomers, panama, 4—0. ary borges was the star of the show, scoring a hat—trick. but the most impressive brazilian goal was this, scored by bia zaneratto in the 47th minute. in today's other games, italy beat argentina 1—0,

while germany thrashed morocco 6—0. in a few moments, we'll have more about ourfriend and colleague george alagiah. but first, time for a look at the weather. here's sarah keith—lucas. well, after what was quite a soggy weekend for many of us, today the weather has still thrown a few showers around but generally, it's been a bit quieter and drier. here was the picture as the sun set earlier in worcestershire. we are keeping that fairly changeable spell of weather over the next few days.

tomorrow, similar to today, a day of sunny spells and scattered showers. some of those showers could be heavy, and potentially thundery at times too. we still have a few spots of rain to get out of the way across the south—east corner of england. they fled towards the south and then the next area of cloud and rain is moving in across parts of scotland overnight. one or two showers elsewhere, perhaps east anglia and wales, but temperatures getting down into single figures, particularly in rural spots. a fresh start to tuesday morning, but some sunshine from the word go. through the day, we will start to see that rain edging further south across parts of scotland, but then more showers bubble up, particularly across northern and eastern parts of england and eastern scotland, where they will be frequent and heavy, potentially with thunderstorms and hail mixed in. further south—west, fewer showers around. quite a bit of dry weather for wales and northern parts of scotland. but temperatures are still below average for this stage ofjuly. then we have a small ridge of high pressure for a time, but head into wednesday in the next atlantic front starts to move in. we will get a good bit of dry weather for wednesday morning in parts of scotland, southern and eastern england. the cloud and rain arrived from the west later in the day and there will be a few showers bubbling up there will be a few showers bubbling up in the east again, which could be on the heavy side. temperatures up perhaps a touch on wednesday. but the next few days are looking

unsettled. perhaps something a little drier and warmer by the time we get to the second week of august. thank you, sarah. back now to the news that none of us in the newsroom wanted to hear or to give — that of our much—loved colleague george alagiah, who has died at the age of 67. for so many of us — and particularly for colleagues from an ethnic minority background — george was a trailblazer whom we all looked up to and all wanted to emulate. he was such a modest man that he wore his status as the role model very lightly — but that is exactly what he was, a complete natural on the air, and a total gentleman off it. for a last word, here's his good friend sophie raworth. we're going to end the programme tonight with a special tribute to george. 20 years ago, we launched the new six o'clock news together, back in january 2003. he was a foreign correspondent at heart. that was his passion, but he felt enormously proud and privileged to be presenting the bbc�*s evening news, and he loved it.

he loved being in the newsroom, being part of the team, and we all adored him. he felt a real connection with the audience too. after he was diagnosed with cancer just over nine years ago, he received thousands of letters and messages from people who wrote to him as if they knew each other, strangers who spoke to him as a friend, and he was really touched by your support. george was a man of great values and indomitable spirit, a big smile, a velvety laugh, a great friend. i saw him just a few weeks ago. he told me he had hoped to come back to work one last time to say thank you and goodbye right here, live on air. he didn't get the chance, so we have done it for him. i'll leave you now with george alagiah in his own words. my life is, for what it's worth, is divided into pre—cancer and post—cancer.

yeah, the weird thing about a bowel cancerjourney is,