on moscow, as key grain export routes come under fire again. i'm sumi somaskanda. welcome to our show. we begin tonight in israel, where anti—government protests overjudicial reform have rocked the nation. police fired water cannons into crowds and dragged protesters through the streets. the outrage erupted after israel's parliament passed a highly contentious judicial overhaul that limits the powers of the supreme court. critics say it's part of a wider plan from the right—wing government, led by prime minister benjamin netanyahu, to weaken thejudiciary system. thousands of israelis blocked highways across the country, calling the reform an affront to democracy. the measure passed 64—0 on monday in the knesset, israel's parliament, after last—ditch efforts to find a compromise

fell apart. speaking to the country monday night, mr netanyau defended the reform. translation: today we carried | out a required democratic move. the move was aimed at restoring a degree of balance between authorities, which was here for 50 years. we passed the bill of reasonableness so the elected government could lead the policy in accordance with the decision of the majority of the country's citizens. israel's opposition leader yair lapid called the reform a "defeat for israeli democracy." our correspondent tom bateman is injerusalem amid the protests. 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 serve 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 so they can... that's it. 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. 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. us president biden said sunday that mr netanyahu should not rush the judicial overhaul. white house press secretary karinejean—pierre echoed that message after its passage. it is unfortunate that the vote today took place with the slimmest possible majority. we understand talks were ongoing, we cannot forget that, and are likely to continue over the coming weeks and months to forge a broader compromise, which is what the president has been calling for over these past several months. even when the knesset is in recess, our commitment to israel's

security remains and i will reiterate, the core of the relationship is on democratic values, shared democratic values and interests and that will continue to be the case. here's what you need to know about the law. it strips the supreme court's power to challenge the government, and limits the high court's power to assess the "reasonableness" of the government's decisions. opponents have been protesting the propsoals for 29 consecutive weeks. large protests in march forced mr netanyahu to delay the reform. in reaction, 10,000 military reservists are threatening to resign from duty in protest. and multiple media outlets are reporting that the israeli medical association has announced a 24—hour strike, expected to begin tuesday. the organisation represents 97% of the country's doctors. they said they will handle emergencies only. i spoke with david makovsky of the washington institute for near east policy about the situation in israel. thank you so much forjoining

us on the programme. what impact do you think this legislation will have on israel'sjudicial system? i'm worried it will have a chilling effect. israel doesn't have a full constitution like the united states, and it doesn't have a lot of the protections like the bill of rights, term limits on bicameral legislature, it has been all predicated on a very robust, fiercely independentjudiciary. there are now limitations, profound limitations on its ability to do oversight. i worry it will have a chilling effect. we should say that the court itself will hear a petition against the law, it could strike down the law and there could be the equivalent of a constitutional stand—off. so we will need to see how that plays out. in the coming weeks and perhaps

months ahead there might be a kind of limbo period until the court makes its views known, then what do the law enforcement agencies, who do they listen to? this is an impossible situation. do they listen to the courts or the government? the police, the army, the intelligence services? big question. it is remarkable. president biden and other international leaders expressed concern and urged the prime minister to change the legislation to find broader consensus but that didn't seem to happen. why do you think that is? biden was trying to thread a political needle. he has a lot of street cred in israel that he's built up over decades. often when american

presidents say things... "i'm not going to invite the prime minister for many months," this is unprecedented, there can be a pushback from the israeli public but because biden is someone who loves israel, the public thought he was pro israel by coming out against this controversial legislation. he won the public but not the government. for the government, they see it as to be or not to be, they think the courts are not letting them do their agenda. i don't know if anyone could have stopped this government. i think what was remarkable is that biden... the israeli public was cheering him on with his criticisms but it wasn't decisive enough. if i could jump in, you said that president biden had the support of the public, do you think the protests could lead to any change? i don't know. it is too soon to know for sure.

the knesset is going on a three—month recess now. there is no real imminent way to have follow—on steps. but people wonder if there will be more constraint put on thejudiciary. and that is going to be something, the public, i think the protests will grow because they feel that the very character of their identity is at stake. the whole concept of israel as the kind of live and let live culture, they feel that is now under threat. so i expect the protests to keep growing. i want to ask you about mr netanyahu's position because he has been under pressure of his right—wing coalition partners. who is driving this legislation? ah, the $64,000 question! we don't know, he likes to famously say he has both hands on the wheel, but it looks like somebody else has both feet on the accelerator.

he does not want to do anything to offend his hard rightjunior coalition partners. i would argue they have nowhere else to go. he has more leverage than he uses. it is unclear to me how much he is leading or being led. ultimately he is responsible. he named thejustice minister whose life obsession has been to weaken the courts. he can't extricate himself from that. but often he looks like he was more being led than leading. the fact he had a health issue with the pacemaker this weekend, we don't know if that added to that perception. but the fact is, this doesn't look to the israeli public that this is the old bibi, who relishes directing things. he looks like he's being led around by these junior partners, and i think it should be excruciating for him

after having this very dominant persona, to be looked at the way he is now. david, last question, you mentioned the challenge in the courts, what chances do you think the challenge has? i think it's pretty high. the courts understand the stakes better than anyone. i think there is a chance they will strike it down, but then the question is, who does the authority, like the police and the army, who do they take guidance from? the courts or the government? we haven't seen this. this legislation, i think he has lost the public and we will see how the courts see their role going forward. i would say stay tuned, israel is in a period of limbo right now. interesting insights, david, thank you so much. delighted to be with you. extreme weather conditions in greece have fuelled more wildfires on the islands of rhodes, corfu and evia,

as well as dozens of fires impacting the mainland. this footage was filmed on the island of corfu on monday. more than 2,000 people have been evacuated from there. the island of rhodes is affected and the country's capital, athens, is under threat as fires rage to the east and south—west. it's peak tourist season in greece and there's been a major impact on travel. tui has become the latest travel company to cancel flights to rhodes. 0ur reporter azadeh moshiri was at the island's airport earlier and filed this update. our team and i have been here at rhodes airport throughout the day and one thing is clear. people are upset, they're disappointed with their airlines, they feel like they've been let down. we have heard of traumatic stories — stories of families who were rushed out to beaches, where people were fighting over boats, only to end up at another hotel where they had to sleep on sunbeds throughout the night.

to come to an airport where they feel like their airline is simply nowhere to be found, as they are trying to figure out how they can go home to safety. the wildfires are not over here in greece. two more villages have had to be evacuated — the fire service called soon after the villagers were evacuated and they received that emergency call, and of course the fires themselves have been happening on other islands — corfu, evia — and even with those situations under control, its clear that this temperature, this heat, this humidity, these winds are causing wildfires across greece, but with rising temperatures, they are not sure if they're able to handle it. the usjustice department is suing the state of texas over floating barriers that it installed in the rio grande river to block migrants crossing from mexico. texas had been ordered to remove them, but refused. the barricade is strung together by buoys that are four to six feet in diameter. the government argues this is a violation of the rivers and harbors act.

the lawsuit comes after texas governor greg abbott sent a letter to the biden administration accusing the white house of failing to address an immigration crisis at the border, saying... around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. 20 years ago you had to head south to see these birds. black winced south to see these birds. black winged stilts. _ south to see these birds. black winged stilts. slightly - south to see these birds. black winged stilts. slightly literal. winged stilts. slightly literal name — winged stilts. slightly literal name perhaps. what is undoubtedly one of the world's most _ undoubtedly one of the world's most elegant birds.— most elegant birds. wildlife presenter — most elegant birds. wildlife presenter bill _ most elegant birds. wildlife presenter bill audrey - most elegant birds. wildlife i presenter bill audrey brought them to our tv screens from spain. now they are in kent. the pair arrived from africa backin the pair arrived from africa back in the spring are now four

chicks have fledged on marshland. the site has been designed for wading birds that might be moving north. more than 600 acres of former arable farmland transformed over the past five years into a wildlife haven. the site is among a number of places the rspb have been preparing for new arrivals, making space for nature as our climate changes. for more stories from across the uk, to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. russia accused ukraine of launching a drone attack monday on its capital moscow. the defence ministry says two buildings were damaged, with debris crashing close to its headquarters in the city centre. no casualties were reported. meanwhile, ukrainian officials say russian drones attacked ports on the river danube, destroying grain storage infrastructure. the river is a key export route for kyiv, after russia withdrew from the black sea grain agreement last week. that deal created safe passage for ukrainian ships carrying grains and otherfood products

to global markets. 0ur correspondent james waterhouse is in the southern city of 0desa. there was a period when 0desa was more bearable, in the sense that it didn't come under such heavy aerial bombardment compared to some other southern cities like mykolaiv. but the last week has seen that change. nights are often accompanied by the booming sounds of air defences as they try to keep out russian missiles which have been typically launched from the black sea, from the russian naval fleet, which is based close to the crimean peninsula. this afternoon, grain terminals, ports have been hit at the mouth of the river danube, and that is significant for two reasons. firstly, it's close to the border with romania, which is a nato member. if any of those missiles had gone over, it would have put the alliance in a very difficult position in terms of what to do next. secondly, the river danube is actually seen as an alternative for ukraine to be able to export its grain.

the timing of these attacks is no coincidence — moscow pulled out of a landmark agreement last week which allowed ukraine to export through the black sea, and it worked. tens of millions of tonnes made it out. but that deal is no more and cities like 0desa are now finding themselves as targets. earlier, i spoke with angela stent, a former us state department official. great to have you back on the show. i want to start with russia accusing ukraine of launching a terrorist drone attack in moscow earlier on monday. they say an unmanned aircraft crashed close to the defence ministry, also a different drone hitting a high—rise building. what do you make of ukraine stepping up attacks in russia? we have now seen a ukrainian defence official confirming that ukraine was indeed behind this. well, russia has been stepping up its attacks on 0desa for the past four or five nights, including destroying a cathedral and killing people,

so i think what the ukrainians are doing is in retaliation for what russia is doing to them. particularly in 0desa. do you think we might see further escalation from russia in response to these, what they're calling terrorist drone attacks in moscow? yes. it's quite possible there will be further escalation from russia — it's already been pretty bad, particularly in the last week. we have also seen today that the ukrainians hit some depots in crimea too. i think we may see some further escalation, as russia has pulled out of the grain deal and is trying to reorganise the way all this is done. you mentioned 0desa that has sustained a wave of deadly aerial attacks and the city's cathedral has been hit. the city, ukrainians say, is very much in the line of sight for president putin in russia. what do you think the significance of these attacks is?

the significance of the attacks again is to intimidate the ukrainians. it's also to intimidate the outside world, as russia has pulled out of this grain agreement and the russians are trying to present to the global south, particularly in african countries, that they are prepared to furnish humanitarian grain assessments to the global south and they are accusing the ukrainians of not having done that. but russia definitely, at the beginning of the war, had its sights on taking 0desa and it hasn't given them up. president putin had indicated that in some sense he would be willing to reach an agreement on this grain deal — do you think there is any room at this point for negotiation to reach an agreement with russia? well, the russians want some sanctions lifted and they want the agricultural bank that is involved in this to be reunited with the swift international payments system, so it's possible that

if other concessions were made to russia, they might re—enter it. but it doesn't look at the moment as if they're willing to do this unless they get significant sanctions relief. you mentioned african leaders, president putin is hosting an africa summit meeting later this week — what assurances will he be looking to get from african leaders, particularly on the war in ukraine? well, the african leaders have sent a delegation, a peacemaking delegation to moscow and also to kyiv. they have said they want to mediate, so far they haven't met with much success. but the african leaders so far have been very neutral in this conflict. they haven't condemned what russia has done directly and they haven't sanctioned russia, so i think putin will be looking to make sure that continues. however, the russians promised the africans quite a lot in the first summit they had in 2019, and much of that has not materialised, so i think the african

countries are also looking, are the russians really going to invest in the countries in the way they said they would? do you think if put made assurances to deliver grain to them, that might tilt them towards russia? they are already tilting towards russia, many of them. but if he makes these assurances and if the grain actually gets there, i think there would further cement the unwillingness to join the west in condemning what russia has done. one question about what's happening on the battlefield — ukraine saying its forces have liberated 35 square miles near bakhmut, the us secretary of state has said ukraine has recovered more than 50% of the territory that russia seized. at the same time we're hearing that the counteroffensive is going slower than desired. how do you assess what's happening? unfortunately i think the counteroffensive has proved very challenging for the ukrainians. they haven't made as much progress as they thought they would, the russians have used the past year to dig in

their defences, making it difficult for ukraine to take that territory. the ukrainians lack the airpower if they really want to push back. so yes, they have taken back some territory but it's been very slow and painstaking. i think this counteroffensive is going to go on for a long time. what do you think they need at this point? they have received cluster munitions from the us. i mean, they need more airpower, they need more long—range missiles from the united states, it would probably help if they had the f—16 fighter jets, so they definitely need more airpower and they do need more munitions, but of course the united states are themselves running out of these munitions, so that's a real challenge too. angela, thank you so much for your insights today. north korea is reported to have fired several missiles into the sea of japan. it comes as a second nuclear—powered us submarine has arrived in south korea

on an unspecified mission. north korea often conducts missile tests in response to us military presence in south korea, which it sees as a threat. the us has condemned the launches. an afghan women's football team is currently in australia, but not for the world cup. when the taliban took over kabul nearly two years ago, many members of the afghan national team escaped to australia. but fifa now refuses recognise them. here's shaimaa khalil. this is not prep for a world cup game, but these women have already come a long way. two years ago, they were running for their lives, fleeing their home country after the taliban takeover. they're safe now, following their dreams. but it's not lost on them that millions of their countrywomen can't do the same. everything you see here, the jerseys they're wearing, the hairstyles, even the laughter is enough to get them severely

punished or killed, had they stayed in afghanistan. now, there are many people who are in a voiceless journey, and i have to be the voice for them. i have an obligation to represent those ladies back in my home country. those who cannot study, those who cannot work, and those who cannot play soccer or do anything they like. so, now i'm representing them, and i feel more strong and proud, and it will be awesome to represent that country that women and ladies are banned from everything there. it's a bittersweet moment for these players representing afg ha nista n nearly two yea rs after they fled their home country. many say this is much more than just about football for them. we play for afghan women, they tell me, and we pray for their freedom. none of them take this moment for granted. the taliban government has banned women's sports, which means they're not

officially recognised by their country or fifa. i'm very sad. i was expecting a lot from the governing bodies of football to stand with these women. when taliban say women of afghanistan belong to the kitchen. these women sacrificed a lot to change that mindset, that women don't belong to the kitchen, women belong to everywhere in the society. and that's what we want — the leadership. we want a strong voice to stand with us and just don't keep silent. we've asked fifa for a response, and they sent us this statement saying that the selection of players and teams representing a member association is an internal affair, adding that fifa does not have the right to officially recognise any team unless it is first recognised by its own association. they also said that they'll continue to closely monitor the situation of the afghan team. doing what they love comes at a heavy price. the constant anxiety about the safety of family and friends back home and the loneliness of having

left everything behind. these players have given up a lot for football, and they're hoping that football doesn't give up on them. and before we go, authorities in western latvia have closed several beaches and banned swimming after an accident at a sewage treatment plant caused a large spillage of untreated waste into the baltic sea. the walls of the plant in liepaja collapsed on sunday and officials say repair works are ongoing. that's all from us here in washington. we leave you with these live pictures of london as we hand off to our colleagues there. thank you for watching bbc news. hello. some parts of the uk, particularly parts of northern england and northern ireland, have already seen the wettestjuly on record.

and you probably won't be too surprised to hear that we have got more rain in the forecast at times through the remainder of this week. now, tuesday brings a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers. we won't all be seeing the rain during the day on tuesday, but let's look at the rest of the week. this is the jet stream. these winds you can see here continuing to drive areas of low pressure in towards our shores with showers or longer spells of rain moving their way through from the atlantic and pushing gradually eastwards. now, tuesday morning, a few spells of showery rain across parts of central scotland. also the odd shower for wales, south west england, east anglia too. heading through the day, this area of cloud and rain nudges further south and then we start to see showers bubbling up for eastern scotland and eastern england, which could be really quite heavy, potentially thundery, with some hail mixed in too. a bit more cloud and a few showers later on for northern ireland, but some sunny spells elsewhere. northern scotland, wales, south west of england, with just 15—21 degrees at best, a little below par for this time of year. heading through the overnight period into wednesday, then, most of the showers

tending to ease away, one or two continuing perhaps parts of wales, north west england to start the day on wednesday. but another fairly fresh night with temperatures getting down into single figures, in the countryside at least. heading through wednesday, here's the next area of low pressure, only gradually moving its way in from the west. so ahead of that, a fair amount of dry weather, particularly through the morning for much of scotland. few showers parts of northern and eastern england, but some sunshine for east anglia in the southeast. there's the cloud and the rain spilling into northern ireland, parts of wales, and the south west of england. later in the afternoon, the wind picking up too. temperatures, perhaps a degree or so up, but still below average, onlyjust 14—21, perhaps 22 in the south. moving through into thursday now and low pressure sits out towards the north west of the uk. so we've still got a few lingering weather fronts. could be a bit more rain for parts of northern scotland, perhaps around the south coast of england where it'll be quite breezy. elsewhere, we're looking at a day of sunny spells again and a few showers cropping up. still, temperatures only about 15—21, perhaps 22 degrees on thursday. and then that unsettled showery spell continues right

through the end of the week and the weekend into next week, too. perhaps something eventually a little bit drier and warmer as we head through towards the second week of august. bye for now.

you're watching bbc news. the latest news and headlines follow at the top of the hour, after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur, and today i'm in brussels, where eu leaders are hosting their counterparts from latin america. relations between the two haven't been easy of late, not least because of latin american scepticism about european military support for ukraine and its war against russian aggression. my guest today is gabriel boric. he's the president of chile. he's young. he is the architect of a new brand of progressive left politics. but right now, he's running into big trouble back home. has his political bubble burst?