with the wildfires. when we first arrived here most of the smoke was coming from over there but in the last few minutes there has been a flare up just down here and of course the strong wind is not only making things tougher for the people fighting the fires, but much more dangerous. china's foreign minister, a fierce critic of the west, has been replaced with his predecessor. we'll look into the opaque world of beijing's leadership. i katie silver live in sydney bringing you the latest of all of the action in the women's world cup.

hello and welcome to the programme. we begin in greece, where emergency services face another day of wildfires across the country. the largest greek island, crete, is now on high alert. blazes continue too on rhodes. more evacuation flights have taken off — and at least 10% of the land has been burnt. from there, our correspondent jenny hill reports. unrelenting, unforgiving — the fires are raging on. firefighters battling to contain them. notjust here on rhodes, but on the islands of evia and corfu, too. it's desperate, dangerous work. this afternoon on evia, a terrible reminder of the risks taken. a firefighting aircraft dumps its water, appears to clip a tree and loses control. the two pilots on board were killed.

so many are putting themselves in harm's way, like volunteer firefighter panagiotis, who takes us to see what this fire can do. his team's camping nearby, still on high alert. their village isjust down the road. translation: you can | understand our anguish. we were running to put out the fire. we were desperate to save the forest, but we were also desperate to save our houses and ourfamilies. when we came to the top of a nearby hill, the scale of the challenge became obvious. up here, you really get a sense of how difficult the task is for firefighters. when we first arrived here, most of the smoke was coming from over there. but in the last few minutes, there's been a flare—up just down here. and of course, the strong wind

is not only making things tougher for the people fighting the fires, but much more dangerous. this isn't the image this tourist island wants to project. earlier, the greek prime minister acknowledged that difficult days lie ahead. they sing which is why, even here, a birthday is worth celebrating, though the candle�*s unlit. you don't light the candle? no, we don't light the fire! "we only put out the fires," he jokes. "we don't start them." dark humour in sobering times. jenny hill, bbc news, rhodes. a group of international scientists has warned that the heatwaves we're seeing in parts of europe, the us and asia, would have been almost impossible if it weren tfor climate change caused by humans. their study says global warming from burning fossil fuels also made the heatwave affecting parts of china 50 times more likely. here 5 our climate editor, justin rowlatt to explain.

this is algeria in north africa, where at least 3a people are reported to have died as a result of the heat and the fires. there have been fires in parts of italy, like here in palermo, in sicily, where the airport had to close due to the fires. meanwhile, 45 million americans are under extreme heat warnings, while phoenix in arizona faces its 26th consecutive day, with temperatures above 43 degrees celsius, an all time record. and yes, it is always hot in summer. but scientists said today the heat waves in the us and europe would have been virtually impossible without climate change. they found the heatwave in europe was made two and a half degrees celsius hotter because of all the carbon dioxide we've pumped into the atmosphere. the heat wave in the us was an estimated two degrees celsius hotter and the scientists say the heat wave in china was made 50 times more likely and one degree hotter.

thanks, of course, to climate change, they say the findings came as no surprise. after a month of speculation about his disappearance from public view, china has removed its newly appointed foreign minister qin gang, and replaced him with his predecessor, wang yi. as a close associate of president xi jinping, mr qin was promoted quickly, but his removal — without an official explanation — continues to fuel speculations over what happened. i spoke with ianjohnson, a senior fellow on china studies at the council on foreign relations about what he makes of the speculations, which include both an affair and health reasons. i think it's almost in some ways, i guess it's not so important the sort of reasons

it's more clearly he ran into some political difficulty. i think if you if you just got ill, then there would have been a forthright explanation of that and said there was a very terse one sentence statement saying that he'd been removed from office. the extramarital affair, i could believe it could be true, of course, but i would think that security officials would have known about this for a long time. i don't think at that level in chinese politics that there are too many secrets. so i think there must have been some other trigger that happened in the past couple of months that caused him to fall out of favour. and i think that's really the interesting thing. and he's been replaced by wang yi, who's returning from his semi—retirement. again, a lot of rumours about how the two men may not have got on, but is this about political infighting, which could show the problems at the top with how china runs things? yeah, i think it's it's possible

that they didn't get along or that the knives were out for qin gang because he had been promoted very quickly. he was relatively young for his position and wasn't exactly helicoptered up to the highest levels, but he it was a pretty fast rise. clearly, he was xijinping's person. i think the bigger issue to me is that it's another one of a string of very public problems that xi jinping has faced over the past 12 months and the first decade or so that he was in power, from his perspective at least, things went very, very smoothly. but like leaders, many leaders around the world, after you've been in power for a while, problems seem to accumulate. and these are problems that aren't sort of behind the scenes. these are very public things, such as the covid, the handling of the ending of the covid restrictions and qin gang and the economy. these are things that i think all chinese people can see and understand that there's something going on. how long do you think wang yi will be in this position?

will they possibly be appointing another foreign minister? i would think that they will appoint another foreign minister. wang yi has held the position before. he's clearly a fireman or a caretaker who's been sent in to right the ship to keep chinese foreign policy going smoothly. and i think he'll do that because he's a very capable official, iwould imagine, perhaps by next spring at the national people's congress that usually takes place in early march, there'll probably be a new foreign minister that will give them time to vet everyone, perhaps a little more carefully, to go through normal procedures and get somebody else in charge. and that will allow wang yi to go back to his more senior position that he had held in the communist party coordinating foreign policy. tiktok might be able to take on trends of a different kind — with a move into e—commerce. the wall streetjournal reports the social media giant plans

to sell chinese—made goods in the us. the publication said tikok looked to find the success enjoyed by similar platforms like shein and temu. beginning in august, according to unnamed sources, the social media platform will offer the tiktok shopping centre, an amazon—like marketplace which will allow users to go to one place to view and buy their goods. tiktok, like amazon, will act as the conduit for retailers based in china, handling all the marketing and logistics. thejournal reports that chinese suppliers will only be paid, by tiktok, afterfinding us customers. the plan is to increase the total net worth of transactions on tiktok, from $5 billion last year to $20 billion this year. but it comes as the platform faces heightened scrutiny over users data security. in april, montana became

the first us state to ban the app on personal devices — and now tiktok is fighting to prevent that becoming a us—wide reality. i spoke with bill mew, global cyber ambassador for the international association of risk and crisis communication and asked him about whether or not this move is surprsing given there are so many other platforms doing something similar. shopping platform that it

points users to. but it has fallen foul when it tried to get into social media with google+. just because you are good at one thing does not necessarily mean it's going to translate into others. also with facebook which is very good at what it does and has a dominant position in social and also advertising. it tried to get, more heavily into e—commerce with pain once —— payments with its platform and it failed abysmally largely on the basis of trust and this is going to one of the areas that tiktok is going to struggle. {iii tiktok is going to struggle. of course tiktok is under even a lot more scrutiny than other rivals so the question remains how successful it can be. but it also feels like they are trying to do something that x formally known as twitter, becoming something of his super out. a, becoming something of his super out. �* ., ., becoming something of his super out. ., ., ., , ., out. a lot of platforms have the ambition _ out. a lot of platforms have the ambition to _ out. a lot of platforms have the ambition to be - out. a lot of platforms have the ambition to be a - out. a lot of platforms have the ambition to be a super. out. a lot of platforms have i the ambition to be a super out but it is notable that have since shown with google and

facebook that they have failed to make that step. just because you're good at one thing does not mean you will be good at everything. we have seen the platform struggle in the past. when you talk about twitter, thatis when you talk about twitter, that is an example of a platform that has been particularly bad at innovating. the twitter experience has not changed a great deal for a the twitter experience has not changed a great dealfor a long time. and twitter is in desperate need of innovation and desperate need of something to say that at this moment in time. i to say that at this moment in time. , , to say that at this moment in time. ,, ~ ., ~ to say that at this moment in time. ,, ~ ., , ., time. i guess tiktok does have a much younger _ time. i guess tiktok does have a much younger audience - time. i guess tiktok does have a much younger audience or. time. i guess tiktok does have l a much younger audience or user base, could this actually worked to attract some your consumers?— consumers? there is some potential— consumers? there is some potential for _ consumers? there is some potential for them - consumers? there is some potential for them to - consumers? there is some potential for them to pull l consumers? there is some | potential for them to pull it off but at this moment in time, they have a short video platform and certain algorithms that are working really, really well. all of the other platforms are insanelyjealous of the success that tiktok has had. we had various difference you two shorts and reels

desperately trying to copy tiktok but without as much success. there is no guarantee, however, that tiktok is going to have success as it ventures into another area, where does necessarily have the skills and ability. and also, if it cannot crack the question of trust, thanit crack the question of trust, than it is going to fall flat in this area. whilst there are naysayers and antagonists in the us making arguments about our inability to trust the chinese, actually the us platforms are equally to blame for their privacy abuses. the big question arises, are consumers going to be willing to trust a chinese platform in this way. let's turn to a story from the uk now. the chief executive of natwest is facing pressure from the government to resign after she admitted discussing the closure of nigel farage's coutts bank account with the bbc�*s business editor simonjack.

dame alison rose said she was wrong to respond to questions about the closure. our correspondentjoe inwood has more on what she said. she said that it was a serious error ofjudgment, although she did deny giving away any confidential information. now the board of natwest have given her their backing. they say that it may affect her pay, but that she has their confidence. that was not enough for nigel farage. in the last few hours he said that not only should she go, but the chair of natwest should go and the ceo of coutts. so clearly this isn't going away. and then in the last couple of hours the chancellor, jeremy hunt, has said that he has significant concerns over the whole affair. now natwest have got their half yearly results on friday and i think this is not going to be the last we hear of this controversy. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bringing you different stories from across the uk. 2c!

bringing you different stories from across the uk.- from across the uk. 20 years auo ou from across the uk. 20 years ago you had _ from across the uk. 20 years ago you had to _ from across the uk. 20 years ago you had to head - from across the uk. 20 years ago you had to head south i from across the uk. 20 years ago you had to head south to see these birds.— ago you had to head south to see these birds. black winged stilt. a slightly _ see these birds. black winged stilt. a slightly literal- see these birds. black winged stilt. a slightly literal name . stilt. a slightly literal name but undoubtably one of the worlds most elegant birds. while the presenter brought them to our tv screens from spain. now they are in cans, pear arrived from africa back in the spring and now for chicks have fledged on marshland. the site has been designed for weeding birds that might be moving north. more than 600 acres of former arable farmland transformed with the pasveer of years —— five years into a wildlife haven. the site is among a number of places the rspb has been preparing for new arrivals, making space for nature as our climate changes. for more stories for across the uk had to the bbc news website.

you're live with bbc news. a brussels court has convicted six men of murder and attempted murder on tuesday for their part in the 2016 islamist bombings in the belgian capital that killed 32 people and injured more than 300. the attacks were the deadliest in belgium since the second world war. paul kirby, the europe editor of the bbc news website, gave us more details about the verdicts. they came in after many, many days of deliberations. and frankly, everybody was waiting all day for them. what in the end, we heard was there were two people, ten people on trial and six people, as you say, six men have been convicted of terrorist murder and attempted murder and terrorist association belonging to a terrorist group. now, chief among these six are salah abdeslam and mohamed abrini. salah abdeslam was the only

survivor of the paris attacks in november, just four months before the brussels bombings. he fled to brussels immediately after the paris attacks. so he's been found guilty of that. he actually denied any involvement at all in the brussels bombings because he was arrested just a few days earlier. but he's been found guilty, as has mohamed abrini. he actually confessed to this attack because he was eventually caught. he was known as the man in the hat because he was involved in the brussels bombing of the airport. now, there were two bombings, first of all, at the airport, and then an hour later at maelbeek metro station, very, very close to all the eu institutions in brussels. but abrini had fled the airport because apparently his bomb didn't go off. he was eventually arrested along with other suspects two or three weeks later. they are two of the six people

who've been convicted. they'll be sentenced later. to the us, where federaljudge has overturned an asylum policy recently implemented by president biden. the judge said the ten—week—old policy to force asylum seekers to apply for admission to the united states from their home countries — orfrom countries en route to the us — was unlawful. it means the us government may now have to accept asylum claims from people who cross into us territory. the decision deals a blow to the biden administration's efforts to bring migration across the southern us—mexico border under control. us presidentjoe biden has designated a national monument to emmett till in an event at the white house attended by members of his family and civil rights leaders. emmett was the black teenager whose lynching in the 19505 consolidated the civil rights movement. no one was ever convicted. the monument will also be

dedicated to emmett till�*s mother mamie till—mobely, who campaigned forjustice. we know that we must remember and teach our full history. even when it is painful. especially when it is painful. today there are those in our nation who would prefer to erase or even re—write the ugly parts of our past. those who attempt to teach that enslaved people benefited from slavery. those who insult us in an attempt to gaslight us. swimmers will soon be allowed back into the river seine in paris for the first time in 100 years — as part of a clean—up ahead of the 2024 olympics. after decades of filthy water, the river has been improved thanks to a billion dollar regeneration project. and after the olympics the plan is to have open air swimming areas for the public too.

from paris, hugh schofield reports. a year from the paris olympics and here's a bit of a foretaste, a diving competition. you could say they're testing the water. it wasn't just that swimming in the old seine was illegal — no one in their right mind would have taken the risk. and now? we try not to don't drink too much. but few sips, it's kind of ok. it's beautiful water, soft and hot. for us, it's the best. it's great to hear that they have a project to really clean everything. i'm excited to see how that goes. i will come back to check it out. it's more than 80 years since there have been competitive events in the river seine. now, thanks to the improved water quality, they're back. the story of paris is also the story of the seine. but over a century, thanks to industry and human waste, it became little more than a picturesque channel. the turnaround began 20 or 30

years ago, and now regular tests carried out by the city show bacteria levels well within safety norms. it's taken time, commitment and a lot of money, and here, just by austerlitz station, is the result in concrete. the depth of 20 olympic swimming pools, this massive underground reservoir is for storing storm water, the run—off in heavy rain which can otherwise carry human sewage into the river. operational next year, it'll make the seine safe for swimming notjust in the olympics, but afterwards for the paris public. they see the guys, the athletes coming in the river and swimming without any health problems, they will be confident to go themselves in the river seine. that's our massive legacy of the games.

scenes like this disappeared under a ban before even the oldest parisians alive today were born. but now, with the olympics around the corner, there is regeneration, and humans are back in the seine. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. it's just after 9am in sydney — where day 7 of the women's world cup is about to get underway. the group stages continue with japan taking on costa rica, spain play tournament debutants zambia, and olympic gold medallists canada face off against ireland. katie silverjoins me now from sydney. lets start with colombia 2—0 win to south korea on tuesday. there were some moments for the history books. talk us through them. first of all i would like to talk to you about a structure

for the colombian team scoring the second goal and has a remarkable tale, when she was 15 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was already selected for the colombian national team, selected for the colombian nationalteam, her selected for the colombian national team, her career was in full swing and she basically thought it was all over. she was derailed by his surgeries and treatments and she thought that was it but she's really managed to turn things around. her cancer is information and she plays for real madrid and yesterday she scored the second goal of the game that secured columbia �*s victory. linda caicedo grew up in a small city on the border of ecuador in the south of columbia and it incredible tale and emotional give and the journey she is taken to get there. another source of the history books, this time for the asian side, the south korean side. we saw the south korean side. we saw the youngest ever player ever to play in a world come, women's or men's take the fields in a 78th minute. that was casey phair. originally

born in the us, born in new jersey but playing for the national team, south korea's ever first or to racial player at the age ofjust 16 years old in 26 days beating the previous record for the youngest player, a nigerian, who took the field backin a nigerian, who took the field back in 1999. and also beats the man's youngest ever player who is actually 17. it also means that south korea had the biggest gap between players in age, more than 20 years. and phillippines managed to beat home country new zealand in another upset? this was a huge upset. the philippines is debuting at this world cup. the first goal that we have seen by any of the debutantes. eight teens after playing in the world cup where it is their first event. by all accounts it has been huge news both in the philippines and for the very extensive filipino diaspora. sarina bolden who's

normally based in santa clara, california with a filipino mum scored the header and set at the news conference offered that it was really beautiful, her mum went around to her filipino colleagues at work and saying that do you know that we are in the world cup and my daughter scored the winning goal. apparently huge scenes and for all the people in the philippines as well as the extensive diaspora. thank you so much for — extensive diaspora. thank you so much for the _ extensive diaspora. thank you so much for the update. - extensive diaspora. thank you so much for the update. that l extensive diaspora. thank you | so much for the update. that is it for this edition of the programme but during the if you can and i will be back with business news shortly. hello there. here in the uk. it was another quite cool day on tuesday. by contrast, southern europe in sicily temperatures reached 46 degrees. this is the temperature anomaly map. the blues are where it's

colder than normal. the reds are where it's hotter than normal. the heat lasts a bit longer in greece, but even here, it will be cooler by the end of the weekend, not as windy either. some northern parts of europe have been seeing severe storms. in the uk our weather continues to come in from the atlantic and that cloud that we saw there is going to bring some rain into western areas on wednesday, further east, maybe a little bit warmer than it was on tuesday. but it will be a chilly start where we have the clearer skies — three degrees in scotland, six or seven across some southern parts of england and wales, in between, not quite so cold. first thing because there'll be more cloud showers left over from overnight. most of the showers on wednesday will be across northern england, perhaps southern scotland, not as widespread as we saw today. there will be some sunshine, but itjust cloud over from the west. rain in northern ireland by lunchtime over the irish sea into wales and the south—west of england during the afternoon. that'll keep the

temperatures a bit lower. but ahead of that with some sunshine for a while across scotland, eastern england, temperatures should be a bit higher than what we had on tuesday. now, this weather front will take that rain eastwards on wednesday night. it means a lot warmer night, actually, but it means quite a cloudy start to thursday and a bit misty and murky as well. could hang on to the rain from overnight across northern scotland. it may well linger through the english channel, but elsewhere, as it slowly brightens up and we see a little bit of sunshine that could trigger a few more sharp showers through the day. there will be a lot of cloud around it. it'll feel quite muggy, actually. a warmer day for western areas and again, in the east, temperatures about 23 degrees. quick look ahead to friday, still the chance of showers around, maybe not quite so many. quite a bit of hair in there as well. and those temperatures, not really. king at 23, perhaps 2a in eastern areas, maybe a bit cooler for western scotland and northern ireland, certainly cooling off then across southern parts of europe. but what about here in the uk? our weather is not changing too

much, still dominated by low pressure as we head into the weekend with the wetter weather across northern parts of the uk.

china points the new head for

its central bank as top of the more support for the economy. the start of earnings season for big tech, microsoft recording profits for the last quarter. hello and welcome to asia business report. hello and welcome to asia business report. let's hello and welcome to asia business report. let's begin this morning in china because while the removal of its foreign minister has been making headlines, beijing has listed a new header for its central bank. taking the helm of the time of the chinese economy is single slumping activity. the top decision—making body in beijing had also earlier pledged to shore up support for the economy. earlier, ispoke shore up support for the economy. earlier, i spoke with explained the direction of the chinese central bank and what they could not take.