back in britain and arrested on suspicion of murder — detectives are to begin questioning three relatives of ten—year—old sara sharif. the number of people in england waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a record high. the family of a colombian man believed to have taken his own life in a uk immigration facility speak to the bbc. conservative politicians and policy makers from around the world are meeting in budapest for the fifth bi—annual demographic summit. it's being organised by the hungarian government to discuss ways to protect the traditional family and encourage couples to have more children. our hungary correspondent nick thorpe is in budapest. hello. tell us more about the summit. , , ., ., ,

summit. this is the fifth organised b the summit. this is the fifth organised by the hungarian _ summit. this is the fifth organised by the hungarian government. - summit. this is the fifth organised by the hungarian government. i. by the hungarian government. i suppose there are two main reasons for it. firstly, it's the chance for the government, a very conservative and someone say nationalist government here, to present all the policies it's doing to encourage couples to have more children, including family loans, support loans to couples who pledged to have children and they have had some effect on at least slowing the decrease in the population. i think even more important than that, it's a chance for conservative minded, family oriented politicians and policymakers from around the world to gather and network here in budapest. it is hungary's soft power in the world. i’m budapest. it is hungary's soft power in the world-— in the world. i'm 'ust going to interru -t in the world. i'm 'ust going to interrupt you — in the world. i'm just going to interrupt you there. _ we need to go to the house of commons in london where an urgent question is being asked on libya. this question is being asked on libya. sis best question is being asked on libya. is best we can the uk has committed to supporting libya following these

devastating floods and yesterday the foreign secretary announced an initial package worth up to £1 million to provide life—saving assistance to meet the immediate needs of those most affected by the flooding. the un emergency response fund, to which the uk is the third largest donor, has announced it will deliver 10 million us dollars support to libya. we are also working with trusted partners on the ground to identify the most urgent basic needs, including on shelter, health care, sanitation, and we stand ready to provide further support. the uk remains in close contact with libyan authorities across the country to help respond to this tragic crisis. the minister for the middle east and north africa has reiterated the uk commitment to libya in a call with the chair of libya's presidential council. un officials have said western and eastern governments are working together, communicating on this. that will be important and we stand ready to help the people of libya at these very challenging times. i am

these very challenging times. i am crateful, these very challenging times. i am grateful. mr— these very challenging times. i am grateful, mr speaker. _ these very challenging times. i am grateful, mr speaker. the horror of the catastrophic floods in libya is hard to— the catastrophic floods in libya is hard to imagine. loved ones are swept _ hard to imagine. loved ones are swept away within hand's reach, drowning — swept away within hand's reach, drowning in mud and crushed under rubble _ drowning in mud and crushed under rubble the — drowning in mud and crushed under rubble. the city of derna has been utterly— rubble. the city of derna has been utterly devastated and estimates now range, _ utterly devastated and estimates now range, as _ utterly devastated and estimates now range, as the minister has said, above _ range, as the minister has said, above 20,000 lives lost. the grief and fury— above 20,000 lives lost. the grief and fury of— above 20,000 lives lost. the grief and fury of those with no knowledge of the _ and fury of those with no knowledge of the fate _ and fury of those with no knowledge of the fate of their loved ones must be of the fate of their loved ones must he simply— of the fate of their loved ones must be simply unbearable. 0ur of the fate of their loved ones must be simply unbearable. our thoughts are with _ be simply unbearable. our thoughts are with them and with all the people — are with them and with all the people of libya. assistance has struggled to reach the city and the scale _ struggled to reach the city and the scale of— struggled to reach the city and the scale of urgency of need is immense. reportedly— scale of urgency of need is immense. reportedly many areas have received no help. _ reportedly many areas have received no help. no _ reportedly many areas have received no help, no hope of rescue for anyone — no help, no hope of rescue for anyone left alive, trapped under mud and rubble _ anyone left alive, trapped under mud and rubble. there's obviously a terrible — and rubble. there's obviously a terrible threat from disease, with authorities lacking enough body bags to cope _ authorities lacking enough body bags to cope with the scale of death. i

would _ to cope with the scale of death. i would like — to cope with the scale of death. i would like to ask the minister, in his estimation, how many are now lacking _ his estimation, how many are now lacking shelter, clean water and medical— lacking shelter, clean water and medical care? and i know the government is supporting the un central— government is supporting the un central emergency response fund, but can the _ central emergency response fund, but can the minister tell us if he is confident— can the minister tell us if he is confident that this will support coordinated efforts and reach those who are _ coordinated efforts and reach those who are truly in dire need? and surely— who are truly in dire need? and surely the — who are truly in dire need? and surely the scale of this disaster is linked _ surely the scale of this disaster is linked to— surely the scale of this disaster is linked to libya's many years of conflict — linked to libya's many years of conflict and chaos, political paralysis, diplomatic failure and neglect — paralysis, diplomatic failure and neglect. we know climate heating is making _ neglect. we know climate heating is making extreme weather like storm daniel— making extreme weather like storm daniel more intense. we must help to prevent— daniel more intense. we must help to prevent these horrors where we can, build _ prevent these horrors where we can, build resilience to a changing climate — build resilience to a changing climate and support libya on the path to— climate and support libya on the path to sterility and peace. but this will— path to sterility and peace. but this will take strategic action on diplomacy, security and development and we _ diplomacy, security and development and we must make sure the

humanitarian response desperately needed _ humanitarian response desperately needed right now is delivered. as usual i needed right now is delivered. usual i think needed right now is delivered. is usual i think the honourable member has made important points with characteristic compassion and passion. ijust want characteristic compassion and passion. i just want to reiterate that we share those sentiments and we are working very hard to address the situation. just to update the house, the un is currently finalising its needs assessment and we hope to see that this afternoon. the foreign secretary has already set out we are ready to support and we have put some initial support on the table and i want to reiterate to her and to the house that we will continue to keep in close contact with the un and we are reiterating our support to them. we will continue to monitor the situation thatis continue to monitor the situation that is taking place on the ground and we stand ready to offer further assistance. i think the point she makes is absolutely critical in that this support needs to reach the people that are affected. too often in various countries there have been

blockages in getting support to the front line. i think it's encouraging to hear, as i understand, that the two parties, the two groups in libya are working together, or at least talking, that will be critical to make sure there is a flow of funds and more importantly the support thatis and more importantly the support that is provided on the ground. she also talks about future support. clearly we need to focus on the humanitarian issues right now but going forward, given the challenges of climate change there are urgent needs around infrastructure as well but that is for another day and i'm sure we will continue that conversation.— sure we will continue that conversation. ,, , , , conversation. studio: david ripley, a foreian conversation. studio: david ripley, a foreign office _ conversation. studio: david ripley, a foreign office minister. _ conversation. studio: david ripley, a foreign office minister. standing i a foreign office minister. standing in on behalf ofjames cleverly, responding to an urgent question put to him by lynne brown of labour, the ministerfor to him by lynne brown of labour, the minister for west to him by lynne brown of labour, the ministerfor west ham. 0ne to him by lynne brown of labour, the ministerfor west ham. one of her questions was on the support needed

on those floods in libya. —— that was david rutley. the uk government announcing £1 million in support for libya. the king and queen have also sent their condolences, saying they are desperately saddened by the devastating floods. lynne brown highlighting the humanitarian concerns both now and in terms of future support. the uk government saying it is monitoring events on the ground, saying they are waiting for an assessment that is being carried out by the united nations in terms of what is needed to respond to the needs of those affected by those floods in libya. the number of people in england waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a record high. nhs figures released today show an estimated 7.68 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end ofjuly. up from 7.57 million injune.

it is the highest number since records began in august 2007. the prime minister rishi sunak had made cutting waiting lists one of his priorities for the year. the number of people in england waiting to start treatment has risen. the figures released, 7.8 million people were waiting at the start ofjuly. and just to reiterate, that it was up from 7.57 backin reiterate, that it was up from 7.57 back injune. those are record figures, those figures were recorded in august 2007. it's estimated that at the end ofjuly, 7,289 people in england had been waiting more than 18 months for routine treatment. that number was also

up onjune's figure. health secretary steve barclay told bbc breakfast that progress has been made in terms of two—year nhs waits while18—month waits had been virtually eliminated. he blamed industrial action within the health system for increasing pressure. the 52—week waits overall are just slightly down from where they were at the start of the year. there are some areas which have already eliminated the 52—week waits, if i think of maidstone or calderdale for example. so it's variable, but i absolutely accept that because of the industrial action the overall volume of people waiting, on the waiting lists, is a significant challenge and that's why we are investing more in our winter preparation. it's why we are investing more in our diagnostic capacity. that was steve barclay. let's talk to our health correspondentjim reed.

take us through what the figures mean. , . . .,, take us through what the figures mean. ,. . , ., take us through what the figures mean. . , ., , mean. this article has 'ust gone up on the sac — mean. this article has 'ust gone up on the bbc website _ mean. this article has 'ust gone up on the bbc website to _ mean. this article hasjust gone up on the bbc website to break- on the bbc website to break everything down. this is a big political issue across the uk but particularly in england at the moment. 0ne particularly in england at the moment. one of rishi sunak, the prime minister's big pledges is to start to reduce waiting lists in england. the overall waiting list, as you outlined really clearly, keeps going up at the moment. 7.7 million people are waiting for what is called consultant led to treatment. that could be an operation, it could be they have gone to their gp and the gp said, this is too complicated for me to look at. you need to go to hospital to see a specialist, so they could be on the waiting list for a diagnosis, an appointment to talk about their problem, or an operation at the end of the process. to put this in context, 7.7 million people is one in every seven people in england. you can see why this is a big political issue. across notjust england but the rest of the uk as

well where waiting lists have also been very high and rising. the government says an extra £200 million is being put in to help deal with this, to help deal with winter pressures, as the nhs starts to get into that period of november, december and january which is often very difficult for doctors and nurses because more people are coming forward with colds, bugs, slips and falls in the winter as well. that's why you are seeing this pledge today for an extra 200 million in england. when you look at the statistics on this, the government say that a lot of this is about industrial action. we have had junior doctors and more senior consultant doctors on strike in august at the time the data was taken but actually when you look at a graph for the overall waiting list in england, it was going up well before the pandemic hit in 2020. then there was a sharp increase over that pandemic period and the number seems to still be ticking up, not quite at the same pace but still rising. the government says it has

had some success, and the nhs says this as well, in reducing the longest waiting times, those waiting more than two years and those waiting over 18 months. but overall the waiting list is still going up and it is proving to be a difficult political issue for the government with an election round the corner, probably next year across the uk. latte probably next year across the uk. we are also hearing the government has committed to introducing martha's rule within hospitals. tell us more about that. , rule within hospitals. tell us more about that-— about that. this has been a huge issue across _ about that. this has been a huge issue across much _ about that. this has been a huge issue across much of _ about that. this has been a huge issue across much of the - about that. this has been a huge issue across much of the uk - about that. this has been a huge i issue across much of the uk over about that. this has been a huge - issue across much of the uk over the last couple of weeks. it is all to do with a young girl, martha mills, who was 13 years old when in 2021 she went into hospital after having fallen off a bike on a family holiday and damaged her pancreas. she went into hospital originally for treatment for that but started to deteriorate. her mother thought something was wrong over a long bank holiday weekend and raised her concerns repeatedly with doctors at

a hospital in south london but says she wasn't taken seriously and her concerns were essentially ignored and very sadly her daughter suffered from sepsis, blood poisoning, and lost her life as a result. there has been a strong campaign from both her mother and father trying to get what is called martha's rule put in place, meaning a family has more of a right in hospital to demand a second opinion from doctors if they have concerns. hospital say that legally this kind of right is in place already across much of the health service but frankly doctors don't always know about it, hospitals don't make it very clear. patients might not always know about it depending on hospital they go to, so they have been campaigning for this to be much more put in statute, effectively for this to be much clearer. after this very long and passionate campaign by the family, this morning the health secretary steve barclay committed to do this across the health service in england. this should be seen as a

very strong victory for the family after what has been a very passionate and well—run campaign, i think. jim passionate and well-run campaign, i think. , ., ~ , ., the family of a colombian man believed to have taken his own life in an immigration facility in march have told the bbc he begged for help and was willing to leave the uk. frank 0spina died within a month of being locked up, despite, his family said, having no existing mental health problems. next week a public inquiry will report on abuse at a gatwick centre following a bbc investigation. but more pressure is expected in detention centres as the government toughens its approach to immigration. here's our home affairs correspondent tom symonds. in chile, 5,000 miles from london, a family is mourning. translation: he wanted to return | to colombia to continue his work. | he was a civil engineer,

a professional. the sister and brother—in—law of frank 0spina are bewildered by his death in a british immigration detention centre. but they are sure he wasn't an asylum seeker. translation: he said - he could pay his ticket out, but they said he would have stayed there for months. they say he'd come to the uk from colombia to visit his mother before studying in spain, but he was caught working illegally and sent to the detention centres at heathrow where his family say his mental health rapidly went downhill. translation: he didn't ask for help - _ he begged for help, and he was begging for help not only to us but also to the people there, like the guards. on march the 26th he was found dead. his family have been told he took his own life. they believe a critical factor was being detained. immigration removal centres are where the government holds people it expects to deport.

the government has toughened the law. 0ne change — it'll be removing more migrants who use deception to come to the uk, small boats for example. it says these centres are essential to that policy, so they will be filling up. but it's six years since this. secret bbc filming of brutal treatment by detention officers. a public inquiry reports next week, highly significant because six years on, doctors who examined detainees are warning the way they are treated as making poor mental health worse. in detention, the first recourse is often to increase custodial processes. put them in a cell? put them in a cell, put them with someone watching them, or frequent intrusive checks, which are not by a health professional, they are by a custodial member of staff. in the last year, medicaljustice assessed 66 detainees in six

centres, including this one at harmondsworth. 13 had attempted suicide and one factor stood out, the lack of a release date. that kind of sudden nature of detention and the indefinite nature of detention can really be a crisis in their mental health and really can cause a great deal of stress and exacerbation of any current mental health problems. detainees, including this man, have already noticed the system getting tougher. last year he was identified to be sent to rwanda. translation: i haven't done any | crime, i din't murdered anyone, | i didn't rape anyone or assault anyone. i don't know why i was treated this way. great britain is supposed to be the greatest country in the world. the home office said its policy is to detain for the shortest period necessary with risk assessments when detainees arrive and systems for raising subsequent concerns. it said, our staff are rigorously trained to ensure the safety of residents.

but the family of frank 0spina believe that if the government is looking up someone who wants to leave britain, something may have gone wrong. tom symonds, bbc news, harmondsworth. as the cost of living crisis continues, retailers in the uk say they're seeing a big increase in shoplifting offences. figures shared with the bbc suggest shoplifting has gone up by as much as 60% in some parts of the country over the last two years — and shops like co—op, tesco and iceland now say they're having to spend heavily on anti—crime measures. hannah miller reports this is what happened when a group of young people tried to steal vapes at a convenience store in southampton. one of them jumps over the counter, and after staff remove him from the store, the group then throw drinks in retaliation. it's the kind of scene that's becoming increasingly common across the country, as jay, who owns a vape shop in manchester, says he recognises all too well. how big a problem is

shoplifting around here? pretty major. with a lot of them theyjust grab and just walk out, do you know what i mean? do you feel like it's got worse? definitely. i think since we've had this crisis, cost of living has gone up, maybe parents or people, they can't afford, but there's definitely more trouble with kids shoplifting, groups of them. shoplifting has become such a problem that round here some store owners tell us they've set up a whatsapp group to alert each other when offenders are in the area. and across the country bigger retailers are spending ever more money on security. one group representing retailers says a lack of consequences for offenders is the reason shoplifting is rising. there needs to be consequences for persistent offenders. organised crime groups need to be targeted. really, the united kingdom needs to become a hard target against crime, and certainly anti—social behaviour and violence against

retail shop staff. the national police chiefs' council say forces are doing everything possible to tackle shoplifting, an offence that retailers warn has reached epidemic levels. a british endurance athlete has swum the length of the once highly polluted america's hudson river to show that waterways can be cleaned up enough for people to swim in. lewis pugh spent 30 days making his way down the hudson's 507 kilometres or 315 miles, from the source to manhattan wearing only speedos and goggles. after completing the swim he told reporters that 50 years ago his swim would have been impossible as the hudson was one of the most polluted rivers in the world. a picasso painting set to be auctioned in november

by sotheby�*s could sell for at least $120 million. the femme a la montre portrait was painted by picasso in 1932 of his then—17—year—old lover marie—therese walter. at the time, he was still married to dancer 0lga khoklova. in 2015, picasso's women of algiers sold at christie's in new york for a record $179 million. but sotheby�*s estimates femme a la montre could have the potential to exceed that value. the labour leader has said people smuggling should be treated on a par with terrorism after talks on a new security deal with europe. during a trip to the hague, sir keir starmer will seek a provisional agreement with the eu's policing body, europol, for any

future labour government. the labour leader has been speaking on that and we can hear what he has been saying. the on that and we can hear what he has been saying-— on that and we can hear what he has been sa int. ., .,, .,, been saying. the government has lost control of our— been saying. the government has lost control of our borders _ been saying. the government has lost control of our borders and _ been saying. the government has lost control of our borders and we - been saying. the government has lost control of our borders and we can - control of our borders and we can see that with the number of crossings we have across the channel in small boats. we have to stop that and i think the only way to stop thatis and i think the only way to stop that is to smash the gangs that are running this vile trade. that's why i have been exporting today at euro poll with police teams, with prosecutorial teams, whether we can get a closer agreement that can allow us to share information more quickly, to havejoint operations allow us to share information more quickly, to have joint operations to take down those who are running this vile trade by stopping those boats getting in the water in the first place. that is taking control of the situation that the government has totally lost control of. that situation that the government has totally lost control of.— totally lost control of. that was keir starmer _ totally lost control of. that was keir starmer speaking, - totally lost control of. that was keir starmer speaking, the - totally lost control of. that was i keir starmer speaking, the labour leader. we can speak to our correspondent peter sole in westminster for us.

correspondent peter sole in westminsterfor us. tell correspondent peter sole in westminster for us. tell us more about the story on the background to it. ., ,., ., about the story on the background to it. labour leader keir starmer in the hague _ it. labour leader keir starmer in the hague today, _ it. labour leader keir starmer in the hague today, the _ it. labour leader keir starmer in the hague today, the home - it. labour leader keir starmer in the hague today, the home of. the hague today, the home of europol, the european union's law enforcement agency. he says that were he to get into government at the general election, due at some point next year, then he would negotiate a new deal with the european union, new security arrangement. increasingly returns agreement, so some asylum seekers that come over to the uk would then be able to be sent back to the continent. the potential issue with thatis continent. the potential issue with that is that it might mean uk would have to take some of the seekers that are currently within the eu. so the government has leapt on this. home secretary suella braverman has said the labour leader wants the uk to become a dumping ground for illegal migrants. he says that it is a complete nonsense attack and this is the sensible approach to what is an international problem. clearly

getting a returns agreement with the eu will be quite tricky but there will have to be some kind of trade—off there, as is the case with any kind of an agreement. i suppose it's also opened up questions about what kind of a relationship a labour government would like to pursue with the european union. the uk left the eu some years ago now. labour says it wants to make brexit work but a clear signal i think from keir starmer that he wants a closer relationship certainly in some areas with the eu. he is strongly denying, though, the suggestion that he is some how betraying all the people that voted leave in the 2016 referendum. irate that voted leave in the 2016 referendum.— that voted leave in the 2016 referendum. ~ , ., referendum. we will be getting more from peter as — referendum. we will be getting more from peter as those _ referendum. we will be getting more from peter as those talks _ referendum. we will be getting more from peter as those talks continue i from peter as those talks continue at the hague. a norwegian cruise ship with more than 200 people on board has run aground in greenland. the ocean explorer is stuck in a national park in a remote part of the huge island. the danish military said it had sent

a ship to help but it was still more than 2,000 kilometres away and may not arrive until friday, if the weather allows. there are no reports of any injuries or damage to the cruise liner. stay with us on bbc news as we continue to cover the latest developments in libya, in derna, the town struck by that catastrophic flooding. up to 20,000 people, we have been informed, may have died. 0fficials continue to search for the dead. you are watching bbc news. hello. some big weather contrasts across the uk today. first of all, let me just break that down to what it means, because across the central swathe of england and wales, this is where we're likely to see cloud and rain at times.

but either side of it, there will be a bit of sunshine. windy across the far north, warm towards the far south. now, so far today, you can see what's been happening. we've got a swirl of cloud and low pressure to the north of scotland. that's what's bringing the strong winds, and it's this cloud here which stretches across parts of northern england, the midlands, wales, which has already brought some rain on and off, will continue to do so through the day. quite misty over the hills. either side of it, though, there's sunny spells. a few showers pushing through quite smartly on the breeze for scotland, northern ireland, maybe also cumbria and the isle of man. a dry, sunny day towards the south coast and across the channel islands where it'll feel a touch warmer than yesterday. now, as we go through into the evening and overnight, humidity levels will start to creep up a bit more across the south and push their way northwards. with it, the cloud and rain, which will get heavier through the night, will spread from wales, the midlands into northern england and then south—east scotland and the south—east of northern ireland as well as the isle of man. to the north of that, across the far north of scotland a fresh night, not quite as fresh as last night, towards the southeast corner with those humidity levels creeping up a little bit.

but it will be a slightly more humid day and a lot more sunshine around for much of england and wales tomorrow, particularly through wales, the midlands after today's cloud and rain. but southern scotland, northern ireland, cloudy, a wetter day and a fairly cool day. but notice these contrasts tomorrow. 0nly around 13 degrees in glasgow, creeping up to around 25 celsius in london as those temperatures rise yet again. they'll rise a bit further this weekend. area of low pressure across iberia, pretty stormy weekend here, will eventually bring more in the way of potential thunderstorms our way this weekend. but as it gets closer, you'll notice we've got humid air starting to push more widely across the country. so here's saturday first of all — a sunny day for parts of scotland and the west of northern ireland where not quite as humid. to the south of this cloud, which is still producing some showers across northern england, around the irish sea, most will have a dry day and a pretty warm one to the south—east corner. a few thundery showers that are developing towards the south—west. they'll develop more widely as they go through south—west england and wales into the afternoon and a few more breaking out elsewhere. a lot more cloud compared

with saturday, though, on sunday. but even though temperatures are down a bit, it will be a bit of a stifling day, especially where the sunshine comes out as things start to turn that bit more humid. but next weekend, it's fresher again.

live from london, this is bbc news. assistance begins to arrive in the libyan city of derna, with fears the number of people who died in the flooding could reach 20,000. morocco receives aid as it begins to recover from last week's devastating earthquake

and an aftershock on wednesday. and the family of a colombian man believed to have taken his own life detectives are to begin questioning three relatives of ten—year—old sarah sharif. hello, i'm lukwesa burak. more international help is arriving for libya, where it's feared as many as 20,000 people may have died during catastrophic floods. the mayor of derna says the figure is based on the number of districts destroyed in sunday's disaster — when a tsunami—like river of floodwater swept through the city. 5,300 people are known to have died, but thousands remain missing. joe inwood has this report. derna is a city overwhelmed. first by water,

then by the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe