and for scientists, it is unequivocal — humans are to blame. a top ukrainian general says his forces are struggling to make progress against strong russian defences. and tributes continue to pour in for the singer — sinead o'connor. herformer manager tells her former manager tells the bbc how she came to record her classic hit nothing compares to you. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. in the last few minutes — the un secretary—general has given a searing assessment of the dangers of climate change. antonio gueterres said, the earth is in �*era of global boiling. it comes as two major organisations

— monitoring climate change — have warned thatjuly 2023 is virtually certain to become the hottest month in history. the data — from the co—pernicus climate service and the world meterological service — predicts this year, will be the planet's hottest yet. take at look at this chart. it shows the warmest 30 months on record globally. the line on the right hand side of the chart — shows temperatures this month — over 0.3 degrees warmer than the previous record, set in july 2019. and that follows the hottestjune on record. the report spelled out — the trend of drastic increases in global temperatures, is mainly driven, by man—made emissions. mr guterres said the data spelled out a disaster for the entire planet. according to the data released today, july has already seen the hottest three week period ever recorded, the three hottest days on record, and the highest ever ocean

temperatures for this time of year. the consequences are clear and they are tragic. children swept away by monsoon rains. families running from the flames. workers collapsing in scorching heat. for vast parts of north america, asia, africa and europe, it's a cruel summer. for the entire planet, it is a disaster. and for scientists, it is unequivocal — humans are to blame. all this is entirely consistent with predictions and repeated warnings. the only surprise is the speed of the change. climate change is here. it is terrifying. and it isjust the beginning. we can now talk to our environment reporter, esme stallard. that was a devastating assessment. it was, absolutely, he pulled no punches there in describing the

impact of climate change that we have seen over the last few months. the un has been warning about this for some time, but i think the experiences of people across europe, parts of east africa, america this summer i think has really brought home to people what the impact of climate change can be from wildfires to people having to flee their homes, it really is quite startling. we will leave it there, thank you very much for that quick update. live now to dr samantha burgess, deputy director of the copernicus climate change service, who were responsible for that report, along with the wmo. thank you for being here on the programme. you have been crunching the data, tell me more about what you found specifically about this month ofjuly 2023. 50. you found specifically about this month ofjuly 2023.— you found specifically about this month ofjuly 2023. so, we use a dataset called _ month ofjuly 2023. so, we use a dataset called era _ month ofjuly 2023. so, we use a dataset called era five _ month ofjuly 2023. so, we use a dataset called era five which - month ofjuly 2023. so, we use a dataset called era five which is i month ofjuly 2023. so, we use a dataset called era five which is a | dataset called era five which is a global climate model with climate observations built into it to show

how our climate has evolved and we report on this data five days behind real time so we know from earlier in january, earlier injuly sorry, we had the hottest day ever recorded in our record which goes back to 1940. but if we go back to proxy records, it is the hottest day in human history. it was also the hottest three week period globally. that is also pretty warm heat waves, marine heatwaves in the north atlantic and extremely low sea ice in antarctica for this time of year. we are really seeing a huge number of extreme events in the climate system. find events in the climate system. and ou are events in the climate system. and you are seeing _ events in the climate system. and you are seeing a _ events in the climate system. and you are seeing a clear progression, i'm going to put onto the screen a graph of 80 julys and the data you're from that and you can clearly see from the graph coming up where we are on the right—hand side so you can seejust the we are on the right—hand side so you can see just the way it has gone across a century or so. the global mean temperatures exceeded 1.5

celsius, that threshold above preindustrial levels during the first and third week of this month. that is a real alarm bell given everything we know about that threshold?— threshold? yes, it is. we have exceeded _ threshold? yes, it is. we have exceeded that _ threshold? yes, it is. we have exceeded that threshold - threshold? yes, it is. we have exceeded that threshold in - threshold? yes, it is. we havej exceeded that threshold in the threshold? yes, it is. we have - exceeded that threshold in the past and actually, the first time we exceeded the threshold was when the paris agreement was actually signed in december 2015. in 2015 and 2016, we had something in that time and there were temporary exceedances of that level in 2023. we have seen more of those temporary exceedances of 1.5 degrees. this doesn't mean we have gone beyond the 1.5 degrees threshold for the paris agreements because that is a long—term threshold, but it does ring alarm bells that we are temporarily exceeding that threshold on a daily or weekly basis. fix, exceeding that threshold on a daily or weekly basis.— or weekly basis. a twin thought because in _ or weekly basis. a twin thought because in terms _ or weekly basis. a twin thought because in terms of— or weekly basis. a twin thought because in terms of the - or weekly basis. a twin thought because in terms of the main . because in terms of the main drivers, brieflyjust take me through that. and you also conclude

in the report that this july record is unlikely to remain isolated to this year so you anticipate that will be broken in the years to come and perhaps quite quickly? yes. and perhaps quite quickly? yes, that's right- _ and perhaps quite quickly? yes, that's right. there _ and perhaps quite quickly? yes, that's right. there is _ and perhaps quite quickly? yes, that's right. there is a - and perhaps quite quickly? yes that's right. there is a direct correlation between the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and global temperatures. until we turn off the tap of emissions of greenhouse gases. we can continue to expect our climate to continue to increase and we know from our own data and from the ipcc reports that the warmer our temperature is, the more likely we are to have extreme events such as the heatwaves we've seen in recent weeks. so we are more likely to get extreme events and then more likely they are likely to be more intense. this really makes these global international meetings even more important for ambitious climate action to turn off the tap to those climate emissions because every single fraction of a degree matters.

that's exactly what the un secretary—general was saying. it is interesting because we had elections, a by—election in london only this time last week, and of course with a low emissions debate, it sparked a lot of conversations because the conservatives ended up holding on that seat. a lot of people putting it down to that issue. it sparked conversations about whether there was a need to slow down green policies given the economic cost of living crisis. do you think debates like that are simply a luxury when you look at the data and what is stirring in front of you? data and what is stirring in front of ou? , ., ~' of you? yes, i do. i think the sinned of you? yes, i do. i think the signed to _ of you? yes, i do. i think the signed to is— of you? yes, i do. i think the signed to is unequivocal. - of you? yes, i do. i think thej signed to is unequivocal. the of you? yes, i do. i think the - signed to is unequivocal. the number of records we have exceeded in 2023 is really startling and the rate that those records are being broken is really startling. i think if anyone looks at the news reports of holiday—makers in roads, let alone

the local people. they are losing their homes, their livelihoods, this isn't an isolated case. we are seeing wildfires happening every year and every year they seem to be getting more extreme. we will leave it there, thank you so much for taking time to speak to us and going through some of today's reports. let's go to the final point the doctor was making, some of the extreme weather we are seeing. let's head to rhodes again. 0ur reporter azadeh moshiri joins us now from rhodes. just bring us right up to speed at the end of what has been a terrible week. ., ., week. right now, i am in the southern _ week. right now, i am in the southern part _ week. right now, i am in the southern part of— week. right now, i am in the southern part of the - week. right now, i am in the southern part of the island i week. right now, i am in thej southern part of the island of rhodes which is of course where the fires have been concentrated and localised and i am in one of the worst hit areas. we have been travelling through this area and you will see that right down to the sea, buildings have been burnt down. not all of them, it is really important

to understand that. when a fire hits, it hits badly. so much of these buildings, these businesses, that represents pupils livelihoods have been scorched. that is what the people of rhodes, the locals we speak to, are so concerned about, what does it mean for their future? this extreme heat, of course, the dry heat, the winds, mean that they are worried that all of this could continue and firefighters have said the dangers and the risk of very high. when it comes to the states, the stakes are notjust businesses and the futures of people's earnings and the futures of people's earnings and livelihoods, it is also lives. two people died in the fires overnight in the mainland and two air force pilots died on the island, another island, only a few days ago. the stakes when it comes to this extreme weather which is becoming more frequent and severe very high. in terms of tackling those blazes,

it looked over the last 36 hours that the blazers, the wildfires, the number and direction, they were winning compared to the firefighters.— winning compared to the firefighters. winning compared to the firefiuhters. ~ ., ., firefighters. where are we now? matthew, firefighters. where are we now? matthew. the — firefighters. where are we now? matthew, the word _ firefighters. where are we now? matthew, the word winning - firefighters. where are we now? matthew, the word winning is i firefighters. where are we now? i matthew, the word winning is really appropriate given what so many of the officials and firefighters have been saying. when i spoke to the fire service earlier, he said every day we hunt fires. 0fficials fire service earlier, he said every day we hunt fires. officials and ministers have been saying they are at war, that this is a battle because that is what it feels like. every day they are fighting a minimum of 65 fires per day. sometimes it goes upwards towards 80 and that is why you will hear helicopters and planes above you consistently because these fires spread, the winds are strong and the prediction is that you are hearing are, firstly, they are not sure, thatis are, firstly, they are not sure, that is the terrifying thing. sometimes they are just not sure how this will progress. but they keep saying that though this isn't affecting all of greece, this is localised, the risk of these fires

continuing in these areas of the seven rhodes for example and on the mainland as well, those risks aren't over. ., ~' mainland as well, those risks aren't over. . ~ , ., mainland as well, those risks aren't over. ., ~ , ., y mainland as well, those risks aren't over. . ~ ,, , . live now to reggio calabria in southern italy and our reporter sofia bettiza. just describe what it is like where you are. just describe what it is like where ou are. ~ ., , just describe what it is like where ou are. ~ . , ., you are. matthew, things here have been tough — you are. matthew, things here have been tough for _ you are. matthew, things here have been tough for the _ you are. matthew, things here have been tough for the last _ you are. matthew, things here have been tough for the last couple - you are. matthew, things here have been tough for the last couple of. been tough for the last couple of days. italian emergency services are used to tackling wildfires in the summer but this heatwave this year it has been so long and so intense that firefighters are stretched. they've had to battle nearly 2000 fires in the last few days and you can see behind me, the aftermath of one of those fires. all of that used to be greenery, the region of calabria where i am this afternoon is famous for its nature, now all of thatis is famous for its nature, now all of that is burned to the ground. if you

come over here with me, you can see several vehicles damaged by a recent fire. for example, that is what remains of a lorry. if you look up there, you can see that the flames reached that village causing several people to be evacuated. we spoke to a woman that lives in that building over there. a woman that lives in that building overthere. she a woman that lives in that building over there. she told us that within seconds, her home was engulfed by the flames and that it was absolutely terrifying. her family luckily managed to escape and get to safety, but several people here in southern italy have died, trapped in their own homes because of these fires. matthew, the italian government has introduced emergency measures last night to try and help families and businesses that have been affected by the bad weather. but the fear here in southern italy is that the scorching temperatures and the strong winds could cause

more fires in the next few days and that that could lead to even more deaths. ., , that that could lead to even more deaths. . , . ., deaths. thanks very much and we will have len deaths. thanks very much and we will have plenty more _ deaths. thanks very much and we will have plenty more from _ deaths. thanks very much and we will have plenty more from around - have plenty more from around europe is that heatwave continues to kick in and we will also continue to bring you more of those comments from the un secretary—general. really powerful comments from antonio guterres, we will play more to you a little later in our programme. to west africa now — where niger's army has given its backing to the troops who announced in a television address that they had toppled the country's elected president, mohamed bazoum. a statement signed by the army chief of staff said it was backing the coup in order to avoid fighting within the armed forces. the coup leaders said — they'd dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions, and closed the country's borders. protests erupted in the streets in response to the attempt to overthrow the government. the president was detained by troops from the presidential

guard on wednesday — though the soldiers made no mention of him in their announcement. translation: this day, - july 23rd 2023, we, the defence and security forces, meeting within the national council for the safeguard of the homeland, have decided to put an end to the regime you know. this follows the continuing deterioration of the security situation, and poor economic and social governance. 0ur security correspondent frank gardnerjoins us. he is there in the newsroom. give us your assessment of this coup in niger and its wider significance. this is a really big setback, matthew, for notjust french and us but western and european efforts generally to try and establish some kind of security in the sahel region, the part of north—west africa that borders the sahara. countries like mauritania, mali,

burkina faso, chad and niger. 0nly last year, the french basically gave up last year, the french basically gave up on mali because they had very bad relations with the new power there. they withdrew their forces, the un withdrew and the french chose to make their base in niger. there is $800 million drone base operating out of niger. —— $100 million. now niger is up for grabs, as it were. this will be welcomed by two lots of people, thejihad list insurgencies, they absolutely love this kind of instability and feed off it. they will almost certainly be looking for ways to profit from this. and quite possibly the wagner group which has close relations with the central african republic, burkina faso and other countries. this is a real setback for the west and a potential

gain for moscow and the jihadists, even though those two are on different sides. i5 even though those two are on different sides.— even though those two are on different sides. is it clear, frank, whether the _ different sides. is it clear, frank, whether the military _ different sides. is it clear, frank, whether the military will - different sides. is it clear, frank, whether the military will be - different sides. is it clear, frank, whether the military will be able | different sides. is it clear, frank, l whether the military will be able to maintain their current grip on power? maintain their current grip on ower? ., �* ., ., ., , maintain their current grip on ower? ., �* ., ., ., power? no, i'm not going to try and second-guess _ power? no, i'm not going to try and second-guess what _ power? no, i'm not going to try and second-guess what happens - power? no, i'm not going to try and second-guess what happens on - power? no, i'm not going to try and second-guess what happens on the | second—guess what happens on the ground. but the fact that the chief of staff of the military has decided now to back the coup in order to avoid bloodshed, that's not looking too good actually for the president or indeed his followers. so, internationally, you have the un, us, african union and the economic communion of west african states all backing the existing ousted president and yet the situation on the ground is that the coup, the kernel major who know the outside niger had heard of before this week, seem to have the upper hand. thanks ve much seem to have the upper hand. thanks very much for— seem to have the upper hand. thanks very much for taking _ seem to have the upper hand. thanks very much for taking us _ seem to have the upper hand. thanks very much for taking us through - very much for taking us through that, thank you.

around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. tram operators have been fined a total of £14 million over the croydon derailment which claimed the lives of seven passengers. many more people were injured when a tram carrying 69 people derailed near the sandilands stop on the morning of november 9th in 2016. transport for london and tram 0perations limited have accepted failing in their health and safety duties. the tram driver was found not guilty earlier this year of failing to take reasonable care of his passengers. jean smith's son mark died in the crash — she says financial penalties achieve nothing. no amount of money and i suppose... no amount of money and i suppose... no amount of money and i suppose... no amount of money would ever have been enough for what happened to mark and the other six or even in fact the other 19 that were seriously injured. so, yeah, money is meaningless, it is replaceable. people's lives aren't.

the mayor of london, sadiq khan, who is the chair of tfl, has said he would continue to work with the tram operator to make the transport network as safe as possible. you're live with bbc news. the general in charge of ukraine's counter—offensive against russia in the south has told the bbc — that his forces are struggling to overcome russian defences and move forward quickly. general 0leksandr tarnavskyi said russia's multi—layered minefields, and fortified defensive lines, were making it difficult for military equipment, including western—supplied tanks and armoured vehicles, to advance. ukraine's counter—offensive is now in its second month. but progress has been slow. areas shown here in red are those currently under russian military control. they include the cities of donetsk and mariupol. 0ur defence correspondent, jonathan beale is in dnipro and sent this report. hidden in a forest, evidence of ukraine's stuttering offensive in the south.

a makeshift repair yard trying to salvage not old soviet equipment, but recently donated western armour. these us—made bradleys may have saved lives, but they have also been damaged by what is slowing them down. russian minefields. sergei says some can't be repaired so they will scavenge the parts. this was the same brigade in the first days of the offensive, especially trained and equipped by the west to break through defences. instead, they became an easy target and fodder for russian propaganda. 0vernight, the 264 hit another mind, leaving it damaged and one of his men injured.

translation: there are too many minds, the minefields _ can be six rows deep. it is very difficult and our rollers can't stand more translation: there are too many minds, the minefields _ can be six rows deep. it is very difficult and our rollers can't stand more than so many explosions. you need to save the equipment as well as do yourjob. it's ukraine's infantry who are having to make the hard yards on foot, all the more difficult to hold ground without armour. these had to pull back when a comrade was injured. it has been painful to watch for this drone pilot. he has seen brutal new tactics. this is what he recently filmed when ukrainian troops, advancing from the bottom right, tried to capture a russian trench. it was empty but rigged with explosives. 0n the russian front trenches they leave remote—controlled mines and when the soldiers get to the trenches the mines explode and kill ourfriends, it's a new weapon. ukraine is now using a new weapon too, one that is banned

by more than 100 countries. this us—supplied howitzer is firing on russian infantry positions and for the first time we are seeing them using cluster munitions. cluster shells scatter scores of small bombs over a wide area. fired to try and dislodge russian infantry and artillery. the ukrainian general overseeing the sudden offensive defended the use. he says he is facing a more difficult enemy. translation: idon't- underestimate the enemy, they have created all the conditions that prevent us from moving forward quickly, but their weakness is they don't care about their people. how can i decide if your offensive is a success or a failure? i wouldn't be talking to you now if the counteroffensive wasn't successful.

he said he has still to commit his main strike force. there are reports that may now be happening. the bodies of dead russian soldiers and destroyed tanks show ukraine is advancing, but on this battlefield there is also wrecked western armour, including these british supplied vehicles. ukraine says it needs patience and time. jonathan beale, bbc news, southern ukraine. president putin is hosting african leaders at a summit in st petersburg. but fewer of them are taking part, than in previous years — and the invasion of ukraine is believed to be one of the main reasons. when the event was first held in 2019... 43 african leaders took part. but this time only 17 are attending.

another update from that summit — our colleagues at bbc verify have confirmed that this image — circulating on social media — is genuine — and shows the wagner founder yevgeny prigozhin shaking hands with ambassador freddy ma—pouka, a senior representative of the central african republic. mapouka, a senior representative of the central african republic. the image was first posted on 26 july by a russian official. bbc verify has confirmed that the meeting took place at the trezzini palace hotel in st petersburg. wagner has developed a highly successful business model — supporting the governments of several african countries. the bbc�*s africa correspondent, andrew harding, is following developments at the summit from johannesburg. it's interesting that african leaders are staying away in much larger numbers now. i think ukraine and the conflict there have a fair amount to do with that and also presumably american and european pressure on african governments. the grain issue is messy right now. the african continent as a whole, very dependent on ukrainian and to some extent russian grain. there had been a deal, as you know, through the black sea to allow ukrainian exports that have been

re—continued after negotiations but now the russians have pulled out and seem to be trying to essentially blockade ukrainian grain exports. that is very bad news for african countries, particularly in places like somalia where they are facing famine conditions. the russians are saying, we will give you free grain or at least some free grain and certainly lots of russian grain to make up the shortfall. but the likely impact on global grain prices is going to be to push it up dramatically and that is going to affect a lot of people across africa. so, i think there will be some pretty difficult discussions in saint petersburg between president putin and certainly some of the more outspoken african leaders who decide to show up. andrew harding in johannesburg. before andrew harding injohannesburg. before we take a break let me take you back to our main news because in the last hour we have been listening to antonio guterres talking about these events. the heatwave right

across europe, the blazers, but more broadly about climate change. he was saying we have now moved from the era of global warming to global boiling as he put it. he said, leaders especially of the g20 must step up now for climate action and actually make decisions. he said there needs to be no more sabotage of net zero targets. he said the promises made must be kept to developing nations and he said the evidence is everywhere, humanity had unleashed destruction but he said it was not too late to take the action that was required. more on that story, more on our headlines here in just a moment. hello. it may not be particularly warm at the moment, but it does feel quite humid and muggy out there today. while there is a lot of cloud, all we need is for that cloud to break up to give some sunshine, to allow temperatures to climb to some extent, and this is the satellite picture from earlier on this morning.

you can see a lot of cloud but you can also see some holes in the cloud. some spells of sunshine, and we keep that mishmash of weather through the afternoon. some area of cloud, some bits and pieces of rain, the odd shower. but also some bright or sunny spells. if it stays bright enough for long enough, temperatures could climb to 24 celsius. cooler than that, though, in the far north—east of scotland, because here, we have a band of cloud and patchy rain edging painstakingly slowly northwards and eastwards. shetland holding on to clear skies through the night and elsewhere, yes, some large areas of cloud, bit of mist and fog, but i think the trend will be for clearer skies to try to work in from the west by the end of the night. temperatures 11 to 15 degrees, it will be another warm and quite muggy night, and then into tomorrow, quite a lot of cloud around, but we will tend to see a bit more in the way of sunshine. just the odd shower, shetland tending to cloud over with these outbreaks of rain, and some showers getting into parts of northern ireland during the afternoon. temperatures around 18 to 24 degrees.

many spots having a slightly warmer day than today. it should stay dry at the test match at the oval. the same cannot be said as we head into saturday and sunday. that is because it is going to be yet another weekend dominated by low pressure. not a particularly summer—like weather chart, this area of low pressure moving its way through, bringing some showers. on saturday i think we will see quite a few showers across scotland and northern ireland, some of them heavy, possibly thundery. maybe not as many showers further south, but i think there will still be some. sunny spells in between, quite a breezy day, and a relatively cool one for the time of year, 17 to 22 degrees. more of the same for sunday, the showers perhaps focusing on northern ireland, northern england, parts of north wales. in this central swathe it is going to be quite a windy day, breezy elsewhere, still with some spells of sunshine and temperatures, if anything, below par for the time of year. highs of 18 to 21 degrees.

fly from london, this is bbc news. the starkest warning

yet on climate change — july is "virtually certain" to be the world's hottest month on record — as the un chief says — the "era of global boiling" has arrived. the british man who served 17 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit, speaks to the bbc. obviously there has been a hell of a lot to process. mentally and... obviously there has been a lot ofjoy in the result. it is the result i have waited for for 20 years. the high court in london rules the government's housing of unaccompanied child asylum seekers in hotels is unlawful. tributes continue for �*trailblazing' singer, sinead o'connor. her former manager tells the bbc how she came to record her classic hit nothing compares 2 u. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre,