hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. welcome to the programme. we begin in russia, where authorities are evacuating parts of the belgorod region in the south west of the country. it neighbours kursk, where ukrainian forces launched a surprise offensive nearly a week ago. the governor of belgorod says the evacuation is due to activity by ukrainian forces on the border. meanwhile in ukraine, an attack on the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has sparked accusations from both moscow and kyiv. russia's state media reports that the main fire at the plant was extinguished in the early hours of monday. ukrainian president zelensky shared these pictures on social media. he said russian officials who control the plant had deliberately started the fires. but the kremlin—installed governor of zaporizhzhia claimed the fire

erupted after shelling by ukrainian forces. the site has not produced power in more than two years. let's speak to olena pareniuk from the institute for safety problems of nuclear power plants in ukraine. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the rouramme. . ., ., ~ ., [m programme. nice to talk to you. how wor in: is programme. nice to talk to you. how worrying is it — programme. nice to talk to you. how worrying is it to _ programme. nice to talk to you. how worrying is it to get _ programme. nice to talk to you. how worrying is it to get these _ programme. nice to talk to you. how worrying is it to get these scenes - worrying is it to get these scenes from the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant? it is worrying indeed, as the degradation of the destruction of the nuclear power plant is ongoing. and although right now the fire doesn't pose any radiation threat, it clearly shows that a violation of the nuclear and radiation safety is still ongoing. and the occupation of the zaporizhzhia region by the russian federation is causing a danger to the whole world that might be caused by radiation. find

danger to the whole world that might be caused by radiation.— be caused by radiation. and that we know the cause _ be caused by radiation. and that we know the cause of _ be caused by radiation. and that we know the cause of this _ be caused by radiation. and that we know the cause of this fire, this - know the cause of this fire, this incident at the plant? in know the cause of this fire, this incident at the plant? in accordance with the intelligence _ incident at the plant? in accordance with the intelligence that _ incident at the plant? in accordance with the intelligence that was - with the intelligence that was brought by an operating company in ukraine, it was the russians but some car tyres and set them on fire to actually show that the cooling tower is on fire, and it is some kind of danger. but in reality, there is nothing in the cooling towers that can cause these huge amounts of smoke. as that is why it can be either caused by the burning of military vehicles that are placed there, and it is a dreadful violation of nuclear safety. just on that, what do _ violation of nuclear safety. just on that, what do you _ violation of nuclear safety. just on that, what do you make _ violation of nuclear safety. just on that, what do you make of- violation of nuclear safety. just on | that, what do you make of russian claims that this was ukraine? zaporizhzhia is under occupation

right now, and russians are putting their military vehicles into the power plant in the cooling towers, so that is something that can be on fire. �* , ., ~ so that is something that can be on fire. �* , ., ,, , ., ., fire. and 'ust talk us through more widel fire. and just talk us through more widel the fire. and just talk us through more widely the current _ fire. and just talk us through more widely the current state _ fire. and just talk us through more widely the current state of - widely the current state of zaporizhzhia, not producing power, talk us through what the state of the plant is right now. it is talk us through what the state of the plant is right now.— the plant is right now. it is not producing _ the plant is right now. it is not producing power, _ the plant is right now. it is not producing power, and - the plant is right now. it is not| producing power, and russians the plant is right now. it is not - producing power, and russians are not letting technical specialists check all of the machines of the nuclear power plant in zaporizhzhia. then it causes a lack of technical assistance, and we are expecting the degradation of all machines in the nuclear power plant, which means again that the more time that passes, the more difficult it will be to restart the power plant. find i be to restart the power plant. and i know ou be to restart the power plant. and i

know you did _ be to restart the power plant. and i know you did mention _ be to restart the power plant. and i know you did mention at _ be to restart the power plant. and i know you did mention at this right at the beginning, but what do you want to see happen now? {lit at the beginning, but what do you want to see happen now? of course i want to see happen now? of course i want russians _ want to see happen now? of course i want russians to _ want to see happen now? of course i want russians to return _ want to see happen now? of course i want russians to return the - want russians to return the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to ukraine, and i want the experts in nuclear and radiation safety in the whole world to be able to check what is going on there and be sure that there is no radiation danger. {liliana there is no radiation danger. olena pareniuk, thank _ there is no radiation danger. olena pareniuk, thank you _ there is no radiation danger. olena pareniuk, thank you very _ there is no radiation danger. olena pareniuk, thank you very much - there is no radiation danger. olena pareniuk, thank you very much for| pareniuk, thank you very much for coming on the programme. we will stay with the war in ukraine. russia says its army will deliver a "tough response" and has acknowledged that ukrainian units have advanced deep into the western region of kursk, saying it's hit troops and equipment, around 30 kilometres from the border. the situation remains very tense, according to russian authorities. here's our security correspondent, gordon corera.

the russian flag is torn down and thrown on the ground, while that of ukraine rises in its place. for the first time since the second world war, russia has found its own territory invaded and occupied. in a move which caught moscow by surprise, ukraine has in the past week sent tanks and thousands of troops across the border, leaving destruction in their wake, an operation its president acknowledged for the first time last night. translation: i received several reports from commander in - chief syrskyii regarding the front lines and our actions to push the war onto the aggressor�*s territory. i am grateful to every unit of the defence forces, ensuring that ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor. tens of thousands of russians are now being hurriedly evacuated from the areas close to where ukraine is operating. some expressed shock and anger at their government

for allowing this to happen. a stern—faced vladimir putin met his top officials last week, and he has described the attack as a major provocation. this operation is a bold and maybe even risky gamble by ukraine. they've sent some of their best forces into russia here, you can see it in yellow. some are reported to be operating 20 miles over the border. the idea seems to be to force russia to respond by shifting its forces away from the front lines inside ukraine, here in red, where moscow has recently been making advances. but it's not clear if ukraine simply wants to strike a psychological blow or really plans to try and hold the territory. russia's ministry of defence says it is repelling the attack. it's issued these pictures of ukrainian tanks being hit, although we've not been able to independently verify them. and overnight, ukraine said missiles

fired by russia hitjust east of its capital, kyiv, killing two. but an intercepted ukrainian missile also fell on a russian apartment building in the city of kursk, injuring 15. that's another sign that a war launched by vladimir putin on ukraine is dramatically reaching into russia. gordon corera, bbc news. thousands of people in towns and villages outside the greek capital athens have been ordered to move to safer areas, as wildfires are raging in the area. more than 30 have been put under control, but hundreds of firefighters, as well as waterbombing planes and helicopters are still battling a number of fires. as nickjohnson reports. the greek capital, sweltering in temperatures nearing a0 celsius. nearby fires shrouding the country's most recognisable landmarks in thick black smoke.

dozens of fires have broken out across the country over the weekend. the prime minister, kyriakos mitsotakis, has cut short his holiday to deal with the crisis. greece has experienced its hottest june and july on record. the hot, dry weather accompanied by strong winds to fan the flames. shouting thousands of residents have been told to leave their homes in the region north of athens, including residents of the historic town of marathon. and in nearby varnavas, police go door—to—door to get people out. while many have fled, some can't bear to leave. "my family have all left," yannis says. "but i'm staying nearby so i can keep an eye on my house." the army has also been on hand to help. translation: the| situation is chaotic.

our military unit's been here from the beginning and we're trying to help the fire unit and the volunteer teams. we're surrounded by fire here. the night will be very hard. as night falls, fires continue to rage. local farmers coming to terms with the loss of their livelihoods. translation: the front of the fire is really huge and it's _ uncontrollable right now. behind these mountains are all the olive groves, all the olives are burned. hundreds of wildfires have broken out across greece since may. some scientists are attributing their frequency and intensity to climate change, and there appears to be no respite in the hot, dry weather over the coming days. nickjohnson, bbc news. let's speak to doctor theodore giannaros now, who is a fire meteorologist

and senior researcher at the national observatory of athens. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the rouramme. ., ~ i. ., ., programme. thank you for having me here. can i first _ programme. thank you for having me here. can i first ask— programme. thank you for having me here. can i first ask you _ programme. thank you for having me here. can i first ask you about - programme. thank you for having me here. can i first ask you about the - here. can i first ask you about the conditions — here. can i first ask you about the conditions right _ here. can i first ask you about the conditions right now _ here. can i first ask you about the conditions right now and - here. can i first ask you about the conditions right now and what - here. can i first ask you about the conditions right now and what we | here. can i first ask you about the i conditions right now and what we are expecting through the rest of the day? it expecting through the rest of the da ? , . ., expecting through the rest of the da ? , ., ., , . expecting through the rest of the da ? , ., ., ' . day? it is another difficult day toda for day? it is another difficult day today for greece, _ day? it is another difficult day today for greece, the - day? it is another difficult day today for greece, the attic - day? it is another difficult day today for greece, the attic go | today for greece, the attic go region in the north—eastern part of attica. we expect some intense north—easterly winds between six and seven kilometres per hour in terms of the speed. we also have this very dry weather which contributes to the rapid spread of the fire. and the chance of incinerating a wide area. i would say it is a very difficult day and the situation right now in terms of the fire spread and behaviour is externally difficult for controlling.—

behaviour is externally difficult for controlling. we'll expecting these? weather _ for controlling. we'll expecting these? weather conditions? i for controlling. we'll expecting l these? weather conditions? we for controlling. we'll expecting - these? weather conditions? we were exectin: these? weather conditions? we were exoecting these _ these? weather conditions? we were expecting these conditions. _ these? weather conditions? we were expecting these conditions. in - these? weather conditions? we were expecting these conditions. in the - expecting these conditions. in the middle of the past week, we have been forecasting data and there were indications that we would go through this period of a truly dangerous fire weather conditions, these conditions include increasing wind speed but also the fact that all over the country we have dry ground because greece is experience in a long—term drought. in the last winter, we didn't get significant amounts of rainfall or snowfall, and this has committed to risk. now having fuel which is extreme dry, they can support the rapid spread and the spread of fire behaviour. given those conditions, is there anything that can practically, realistically be done to stop

conditions like this occurring at these fires spreading? right conditions like this occurring at these fires spreading? right now, i would say that _ these fires spreading? right now, i would say that the _ these fires spreading? right now, i would say that the priority - these fires spreading? right now, i would say that the priority is - these fires spreading? right now, i would say that the priority is to - would say that the priority is to identify the temporal and spatial windows where the fire fighting operations on the air can effectively and safely try to control the files. when we get a wildfire with a large extent, the fire hazard spread across a distance of more than 30—a0 kilometres. you need to do a tactical fire system to identify when and where you can put out the fire and try to control it. the level of difficulty is largely contained, but it spreads in areas where you have this mixing between urban regions and forested regions.

is there any idea of how long this will go on for?— will go on for? according to the latest focused _ will go on for? according to the latest focused guidance - will go on for? according to the latest focused guidance we - will go on for? according to the i latest focused guidance we have, will go on for? according to the - latest focused guidance we have, we expect these conditions to prevail at least until the end of this week, until friday. we will get this intense northerly wind all day, and we also expect some further increase in temperature which will make things even worse in terms of the flammability of the landscape. theodore giannaros, thank you very much for coming on the programme. a sense day of the incredibly challenging situation just north of athens. we will have continuing updates here on bbc news and also on the live page on the website. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

the pentagon says the us

defense secretary lloyd austin has ordered a guided missile submarine to the middle east and has told an aircraft carrier strike group to sail to the area more quickly. that deployment of additional fighterjets and navy warships to the middle east was announced earlier this month, as washington seeks to bolster defenses following threats from iran and its allies hamas and hezbollah. meanwhile, leaders of the uk, france and germany have renewed calls for an immediate resumption of ceasefire negotiations, saying the fighting must end and all hostages must be released. the latest push for a truce follows the killing of hamas's political leader, ismail haniyeh. fresh talks for a ceasefire deal for gaza are slated for this week. hamas has urged mediators to implement an existing plan presented by president biden last month and has ruled out new rounds of negotiations over the terms of a deal. of negotiations. israel said it will send a team of negotiators to take part. earlier i spoke to our correspondent barbara plett usher. we had that statement

by the united states and the two regional negotiators, qatar and egypt, last week, at a very high level. the presidents of egypt and the united states signed it and also the emir of qatar, so clearly making this a very intense push towards trying again to get a ceasefire deal. the americans and the negotiators believe that this is the best way to calm regional tensions — by actually getting a ceasefire deal. they said the framework has been on the table, this is the framework that president biden mentioned mentioned at the end of may, it has been on the table for a while. there are differences of opinion about how to implement it. "we are prepared to offer a bridging proposal to get this done," there has been a lot of pressure on both sides to come to a deal. the israelis, as you said, according to press reports here, have said they will send negotiators. hamas had been silent up until this point, but recently said that the talks should resume from where they left off, with no new proposals. they said israel should be made to accept the deal on the table,

saying israel had added new conditions at the last round and that hamas didn't want endless new rounds or new proposals to draw things out, because, it said, this was giving a cover for israel to continue its attacks against palestinians in gaza. so it was a sort of statement where they did not rule out participating, it seemed they accepted in principle to participate, despite the recent despite the recent assassination of their political leader, ismail haniyeh. but they have added conditions to it, and they will be waiting to see what is actually on the table when those talks get under way on thursday. thanks to barbara for that. a doctor who treated valdo calocane three years before he killed three people in nottingham warned his mental illness was so severe he could "end up killing someone", according to medical records seen by the bbc. in their first interview, calocane's mother and brother told bbc panorama this was one of a series of missed opportunities

over three years that could have prevented the killings. navtej johal has this report. for so long, we thought that it would end in tragedy. but i thought the tragedy would be him taking his own life and it was, like, infinitely worse than that. the family of valdo calocane are talking publicly for the first time. in 2023, he fatally stabbed students barnaby webber and grace o'malley—kumar, and school caretaker ian coates. he also seriously injured three others by driving into them. valdo calocane was convicted of manslaughter for the killings and is detained in a secure hospital. the families of his victims believe that although he was mentally ill, he knew what he was doing and should have been convicted of murder and sent to prison. calocane had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020. we've got a bunch of the medical records from valdo's time in the care of nottinghamshire health trust. the family only received these records after he was sentenced for the killings and have shared

them with bbc panorama. they revealed that, three years before the nottingham attacks, a psychiatrist during a ward round had expressed serious concerns. this entry is from the second admission into hospital. the second time he's been sectioned? the second time he's been sectioned. and, yeah, there's an entry here about a meeting that the doctor has, a chat he has with my brother. and, you know, my brother is so psychotic that the doctor notes that there seems to be no insight or remorse. and the danger will be that the next time this will happen again, and perhaps valdo will end up killing someone. a doctor wrote nearly three years before the nottingham attacks that valdo could end up killing someone? mm. we know valdo's care wasn't up to standard, but reading this note isjust beyond anything. you think, this could have been avoided, you could have done something. richard taylor is a forensic psychiatrist. he didn't treat calocane but has been an expert witness

in more than 150 court cases. have you ever seen it written down in medical notes? that the patient could potentially go on to kill someone? i...i can't recall of a case where i've seen that written down in the medical records. if it's that unusual and potentially that serious, what would you expect to happen? if a psychiatrist is committing themselves to a potential risk of homicide, then i think that's something that i would expect to be taken seriously. valdo calocane was detained under the mental health act four times in two years, each time following a violent incident, but never for longer than seven weeks. i don't think it's fair to say that he was ever treated. i don't think he was ever really treated. he was sort of managed, like so he had interventions, but with regards to a proper, i guess, treatment plan, i'm not sure that we ever saw that. brian dow is deputy chief executive of rethink mental illness,

a charity that campaigns for people severely affected by mental illness. ithink, looking back, it was a question of when, not if, and unless we both invest and change the model of health care that we have so that you don't allow these crises to build up and build up, then there's the inevitable risk that this will happen again. nottinghamshire health care nhs trust says it's committed to preventing such a tragedy reoccurring. that work continues to improve the safety and quality of services for patients, and to give its full support to learn from the events ofjune last year. the care quality commission is due to publish a report into valdo calocane's care tomorrow. calocane's family say the missed opportunities in his care are the product of a system which they say needs urgent reform. navtejjohal, bbc news. for viewers in the uk, there is a special panorama programme on that investigation a little later on this

evening. the paris 0lympics drew to a close on sunday night. more than two weeks of sporting excellence ending with a spectacular ceremony at the stade de france. there were fireworks, jubilant athletes, and even a hollywood star. 0ur sports editor dan roan reports. the end of a games for which one of the world's most beautiful cities provided a vivid backdrop to a true sporting spectacle. as the sun set on these olympics, the closing ceremony symbolically beginning at the cauldron in the centre of paris. french swimming sensation leon marchand, a four—time gold medallist here, carrying the flame on the start of its finaljourney, while at the stadium, more than 70,000 enjoyed the start of proceedings. the presidents of france and the international olympic committee introduced, before the true stars of the last 16 days of action began to arrive for the traditional parade. gold medal—winning pair triathlete alex yee and trampolinist bryony page team gb�*s flagbearers.

the hosts, meanwhile, able to celebrate their biggest medal haul since 1900. team gb also all smiles after another successful games. and after the parade came the performance. a golden voyager descending from the sky, before taking the audience on a journey that paid tribute to the greek origins of the olympics. the show then took a dramatic musical turn, while the voyager and other explorers assembled the olympic rings, which then lifted into the air. soon, the athletes were treated to a performance by iconic french band phoenix, before the protocol of the speeches. with that, it was time for paris to hand over to the hosts of the next summer games. the olympic flag ceremoniously transferred to the mayor of los angeles, and then a chance for the world to get a sense of what the city would offer. actor tom cruise then appearing, before living up to his reputation for performing his own stunts.

the hollywood star making a memorable cameo to start the journey of the olympic flag to la, before performances by the red hot chili peppers in california and a fixture at the paris games, rapper snoop dogg. with the ceremony drawing to a conclusion and the torch now safely delivered to the stadium, all that was left was for it to be extinguished, formally marking the end of these games. paris's grand party was over, but the moments and the memories it created will live on. dan roan, bbc news, paris. a meteor shower passed over the uk last night, creating a bit of a spectacle for those who stayed up. these pictures were taken in the sperrin mountains in northern ireland at around 3am. the perseid meteor shower passes through our atmosphere every year when the earth orbits through debris

left by a comet. if you missed it, there'll be another chance to see it tonight. plenty more as always on the website and bbc news app. i will be back with the headlines and just a couple of minutes. i'm a lewis vaughan jones and this is bbc news. hello again. we've had some heavy thundery downpours, especially in parts of the north and the west this morning, and also some high temperatures to start the day. it's going to be hot and humid once again in parts of the south eastern quarter, with some areas potentially reaching 35 celsius. that will make it the hottest day of this year so far. now, as we go through the course of this morning into the afternoon, what you'll find is all those thunderstorms will clear away. there'll be a lot of dry weather, a lot of sunshine. there's a chance you could catch the odd thunderstorm

in parts of lincolnshire or yorkshire and the odd shower moving from the midlands towards the south east, but they will be the exception rather than the rule. fresher in the north and west, hot and humid with highs up to 35 in the south east and quite windy too across the northwest. that will ease as we go through the evening and overnight period. a lot of clear skies. if you're hoping to see the meteor shower, you could well be in luck. but out towards the west, the could is going to build but out towards the west, the cloud is going to build and we'll see the arrival of some rain. the other thing is, it's still going to be quite a fresh night for many areas away from the south east, where it will still feel quite humid. now, if we pick up that weather front tomorrow, it's out in the west. through the course of the day, it's going to be drifting eastwards, but it will continue to weaken in doing so. so a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of sunshine to start the day. 0ur weather front pushes from the west to the east. you can see how it wraps around bringing more rain into the outer hebrides. windy across parts of western scotland and northern ireland, and still hot and humid as we push down towards the south east, with highs up to 28.

0ur weather front eventually makes it on wednesday down towards the south east. a ridge of high pressure builds across us, so a lot of dry weather and a fair bit of sunshine as the dregs of our weather front continue to pull away. a cooler day for the south east with highs up to 2a, but that's still around about what we'd expect at this time of year and another weather front waiting in the wings. that weather front will come into the north west and sink southwards during the course of thursday. ahead of it, some sunshine and on the other side of it, too, we are looking at some sunshine as well. temperatures up to about 23 or 24. and then as we head into friday and saturday, still a fair bit of dry weather around, you might catch the odd shower. there's some rain in the forecast as well, not all of us seeing it, and a little bit fresher.

this is bbc news. the headlines: russia authorities start evacuating parts of the belgorod region — close to kursk, where ukrainian forces continue their surprise offensive. cruising into the stade de france, someone makes a special appearance, as the paris 0lympics draws to a close. and... banksy�*s back — again! the elusive artist leaves another animal picture on the streets of london.

hello, welcome to the programme. i'm lewis vaughan jones. russian authorities are evacuating parts of the belgorod region. the area is close to kursk, where ukrainian forces launched a surprise offensive nearly a week ago. moscow has since sent reinforcements to the kursk region, michael clarke, is former director general of royal united services institute who analyses defence and security. this is a bold, audacious move by the ukrainians, surprised everybody, and if it works, then it will take some pressure off ukrainian forces further south, particularly at the moment in chasiv yar and on the road to pokrovsk, where they are struggling and they do need, if they can, to take some pressure off. so if it works, it will take pressure off there and give the ukrainians a big political boost between now and the winter and we know the weather is pretty

predictable in ukraine, so we know towards the end of october, the last couple