mark lowen now reports. : a cloak of fire shrouding southwest france, a landscape of beauty turned to horror. flames tear through, destroying almost 7000 hectares, fanned by winds, searing heat and france's worst drought on record. a frankel -- tranquil town last week, a ghost town this week. firefighters and planes have come from across europe to help france manage a nightmare that keeps recurring. >> we must continue more than ever to fight against climate change and continue to adapt. we will begin debate on a new national climate change plan this autumn. mark: elsewhere in europe, fires rage. in spain, this region is battling them, while in portugal, flames have destroyed more than 10,000 hectares of forests. how quickly our earth is drying up. this was france a year ago. now lush lands turned to wasteland. harris may be looking glorious, but we are facing a serious situation. crops across europe are dying, worsening the global food crisis linked to the war in ukraine, and freak ents are becoming more com

mark lowen, bbc news, andalusia.an counteroffensive against russian occupation forces is under way in the south of the country. the ukrainian army claims it has broken through russian (map)defence lines around the city of kherson in a counter—offensive that has been highly—anticipated. russia is claiming the ukrainian counter attack has failed miserably. for more, i spoke to our correspondent hugo bachega in kiev. could this be the beginning of a counteroffensive in the case on region? counteroffensive in the case on reuion? ,., counteroffensive in the case on reuion? ., region? -- in the here son reason. we could be _ region? -- in the here son reason. we could be seen _ region? -- in the here son reason. we could be seen in _ region? -- in the here son reason. we could be seen in the _ region? -- in the here son reason. we could be seen in the beginning | region? -- in the here son reason. l we could be seen in the beginning of eight it is still very different to —— difficult to verify the reports coming from the a

mark lowen, bbc news, andalucia.d today's launch of the most powerful rocket it's ever developed, artemis 1, which had been due to take off for an uncrewed test flight to the moon. the us space agency had a two—hour window for lift—off, but one of its engines could not be cooled down to the required temperature in time. our science editor rebecca morelle has been following developments at the kennedy space center in florida. it was all looking so good, even the weather. nasa's new rocket was ready to make history and head to the moon, but then the problems began. the hydrogen team reporting that they started seeing a leak trending up. first of all, a fuel leak, with liquid hydrogen escaping. that one was fixed. then a possible crack was spotted, holding things up even more, although this turned out to be frost in a crevice. but it was an issue with an engine that spell the end. launch director charlie blackwell—thompson has called a scrub for today. nasa's administrator, bill nelson, was on hand to explain. this is a

our correspondent in france mark lowen sent this report.ng south—west france. a landscape of beauty turned to horror... ..as flames tear through the gironde, destroying almost 7,000 hectares, fanned by winds, searing heat and france's worst drought on record. a tranquil village last week, a ghost town this one, with 10,000 people evacuated. firefighters and planes have come from across europe to help france manage a nightmare that keeps recurring. translation: we must continue more than ever to fight _ against climate change, and we must continue to adapt to it. we will begin debates on a new climate change plan this autumn. elsewhere in europe too, fires rage. in spain, galicia is one of a dozen regions battling them. while in portugal, flames have destroyed more than 10,000 hectares of forests, scarring the night sky. how quickly our earth is drying up. this was france a year ago. and now look — lush land turned to wasteland, forests and fields barren. paris may be looking glorious in the sunshine, delighting its tourists, but we are, of

mark lowen, bbc news, in the loire valley.for his creative use of technical fabrics, and designs driven by technology. miyake developed a new way of pleating fabric by wrapping it between layers of paper in a heat press, leading to his famous �*pleats please' collection. issey miyake was born in hiroshima, where he witnessed the nuclear bombing in 1945. earlier, i heard from dana thomas, author of fashionopolis: the price of fast fashion and the future of clothes. she knew issey miyake for 30 years, and shared herfondest moments. i loved issey san, as i called him. i met him first about 30 years ago as a junior reporter at the new york times, reporter at the new york times, and i wrote about a fashion show he's had where he cast six women, more than 60 years old. one of them was 91 years old, and i thought that was really cool at a time when fashion was not thinking about inclusivity or diversity. but he was always trying to make fashion more democratic and more accessible, and fashion businesses often and more accessible. and

mark lowen, bbc news, paris. fire let's stick with the topic of climate change for the time being.arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world — much faster than previously thought. the research says some parts of the region are warming up to seven times faster, including the area around svalbard in northern norway. scientists examined satellite data gathered over the last four decades. rick thoman is a climate specialist from the university of alaska in fairbanks. he gave me more details on the research. it was a very thorough study released. i want to stress that 4—7 times is for the period since 1979 some of the other numbers that we hear, 2—3 times, typically referred to a much longer period, say a century or even maybe since 1900 and what that really means is that the rate of warming in the arctic is increasing very rapidly. what is driving this accelerated warming, specifically in the arctic? really, much of the change in the arctic is the result of changes in the frozen part of the environment of the arctic, especially changes in sea ice and on land, change

mark lowen, bbc news, paris.rctic is warming at four times the rate of the rest of the world. scientists say it is much faster than previously thought. some parts of the region are warming up to seven times faster — including the ocean near svalbard, in northern norway. scientists have been examining satellite data gathered over the past four decades. tom ballinger is a researcher at the university of alaska fairbanks — he joins us now from wisconsin. it's great to get you on the first question to ask you is, were you surprised by the findings of this report? yes and no. it's— findings of this report? yes and no. it's an _ and no. it's an interesting report from the standpoint of it really highlights how much the arctic ocean has warmed, so from 75 degrees latitude north to the north pole, we've seen warming summer in the order of five times that of the lower latitudes. but as you consider more and more land area to the south, that warming rate subsides a bit and that's what we've been seeing in some of the obser

mark lowen, bbc news, paris.s faster than the rest of the world — much faster than previously thought. the research says some parts of the region are warming up to seven times faster — including the area around svalbard, in northern norway. scientists examined satellite data gathered over the last four decades. joining me now is rick thoman, a climate specialist from the university of alaska fairbanks. we have been warned for years that the arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world but the previous suggestion was to—3 times faster. this is for—7 times faster. this is for—7 times faster. what more do we know about this? it faster. what more do we know about this?— about this? it was a very thorough _ about this? it was a very thorough study - about this? it was a very| thorough study released. about this? it was a very l thorough study released. i about this? it was a very - thorough study released. i want to stress that 4— seven times is for the period since 1979 some of the other numbers that we hear,

mark lowen, bbc news, paris.s are becoming more likely and more extreme because of human—induced climate change. our climate editorjustin rowlatt is here with more. thank you. it's easy to see why the government is considering declaring a drought. here's how the uk looked back at the beginning ofjuly — nice and green. now look at this. this is how the uk looked yesterday. you can see how dry the ground is, particularly in the south and east of england. and dry ground makes hot days even hotter because more of the sun's energy goes into heating the air. the met office says this is part of a global pattern. it says there have been five high pressure "centres" dominating the northern hemisphere's weather over the past couple of months. this image shows them at the end of last month. the red colour shows how much hotter it is than normal. the high pressure over the us is why some 100 million americans have been enduring temperatures over 38 celsius. the weather has been even more extreme in iran and iraq. it's been u

that was mark lowen reporting on that story for us.e a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk, which is also feeling the effects of climate change. a drought could be declared in some parts of england as early as tomorrow, with temperatures expected to reach the mid—to—late 30s in places over the next few days. an amber extreme heat warning is already in force. a british man accused of being part of an islamic state cell known as the beatles — because of their british accents — has appeared in court charged with terror offences. aine davis was arrested yesterday at luton airport after being deported from turkey. he's always denied being part of the group. britain's chancellor nadhim zahawi says energy firms have agreed to work closely with the government to help people struggling to afford soaring energy bills. ministers, including outgoing pm borisjohnson, met with representatives of the electricity industry today. mrjohnson said any significant financial decisions would be a matter for his successor. accident and emer

mark lowen, bbc news, in the loire valley.johannesberg when they were attacked and raped by dozens of people. more than 130 men — many believed to be migrants — are being held by police in connection with the assault in krugersdorp, but none have been charged with rape. a warning — nomsa maseko�*s report contains some distressing details. all of us were crying, we were praying, it was so scary. we all thought we were going to die. held hostage and viciously attacked, these three women were part of a group of eight that were gang raped near an abandoned mine while filming a music video. the crime sent shock waves across south africa. as the music video shoot was wrapping up on the other side of this mine dump, armed men, some with ak—47s, emerged from the bushes and below the surface. they robbed all the male crew members of their belongings and then took turns raping the women. what followed was a horrific and prolonged sexual assault. i was giving up. i had no power over what was happening. there was no way i could escape or

mark lowen, bbc news, in the loire valley.. writing in vogue magazine, she said was �*evolving away from the sport�*, but added she did not serena williams — who�*s 40 — has won 23 grand slam titles, making her the most successful female tennis player of the open era. here�*s our sports correspondent, joe wilson. do you remember wimbledon, late—night, late first round? as harmony tan celebrated, it was the clearest evidence yet that serena can�*t go on forever. in her own way, she is now reaching that conclusion, with her own words and her own sense of humour. i don�*t know, i�*m getting closer to the light. laughter yeah, so lately that�*s been it for me, can�*t wait to get to that light. i know you're joking. i�*m notjoking. ok, so explain what the light is to you, what the light represents. freedom. freedom to appear on the cover of vogue, where serena williams says she will be evolving away from tennis after the us open which starts this month. she can�*t yet bear to say the word retire. she has 23 grand slam singles title

mark lowen, bbc news, andalusia. time for all the latest sports news.ish premier league first, and harry kane helped tottenham keep the pressure on at the top. the england captain scored both in a 2—0 win at nottingham forest. he also had a penalty saved, so it could have been a hat—trick. kane did pass the 200 league goal mark, though. spurs are still unbeaten and lie third, behind only manchester city and leaders arsenal. it was a really intense game. a lot of noise around the pitch. for sure, lot of noise around the pitch. forsure, i lot of noise around the pitch. for sure, i understand for the players, especially for the opponent, to play here is not easy. it is not easy and because you have one team against them but at the same time, the crowd is against you but i think we did it, we did not do it right away but in the end, we did well. karim benzema's two late goals gave real madrid the vital points to stay top of la liga. benzema scored with just two minutes to go to make it 2—1 against espa nyol. his second came 10 minutes into injury time to pr

here is bbc correspondent mark lowen. officials are saying this year alone, the area of france burned by forest fires is almost six times archer than average. lewis: more fires are burning in france than usual and officials say climate change is to blame. >> we must continue, more than ever, to fight climate change. we must also continue to adapt to it. we will begin the based on a new national limit change plan this autumn. lewis: in greece, there are wildfires. this is a greek island. emergency services are trying to control this huge fire. it has caused the evacuation of one village. the otheproblem across europe is drought. it is affecting livestock. this is switzerland, and army helicopter bringing water to farm animals in distress because of the heat. and there are worries in germany. this is the right river coming can see how low the water is. experts are warning boats carrying supplies won't be able to movie and coming days. barges are already carrying a fraction of normal loads to avoid problems. the ride -- rhine

affected, with the impact of climate change driving up food prices. 0ur southern europe correspondent mark lowen harvest not reaped but wrecked. the flowers that worship the sun need the blessing of rain as well, but it's nowhere. sunflowers that many here planted to make up for those for those lost in ukraine, wiped out by spain's worst drought on record. farmers are unsure if they can go on. translation: if it doesn't rain by the end of the year, - it makes no sense to plant more. that would be like throwing money at the land for no harvest and there is no rain forecast for now. spain's rich farmland is being impoverished. supplying half of all olive oil, the world's biggest producer has trees almost bare. parched soil giving little fruit, the yield is down by at least a third. the country's green gold, as it is called, is now even more prized. in this factory that exports to the uk, production is dropping by half, pushing up prices amidst a global food crisis. as the flow becomes a trickle, they worry here that this vital sector is in danger. translation: shoppers| are already paying a third

mark lowen, bbc news, in the loire valley. where a new president is being chosen to succeed uhuru kenyatta. let's go to afghanistan. it's been nearly a year since the taliban took power there. life for afghan people has changed a lot since then. there's been huge displacement because tens of thousands of people have left afghanistan. and then, there's the humanitarian crisis inside the country. the world bank says... and then, there's the impact on women's rights. most girls�* secondary schools have been ordered to close. the bbc�*s secunder kermani has been reporting from afghanistan since the taliban took power, and a year ago, secunder met four afghans of different backgrounds. he's now managed to catch up with them to see how things have changed. he sent this report. a taliban sniper, a british army interpreter, a youtuber, and a villager. how four afghan lives have transformed. as the taliban advanced across afghanistan last year, we met this man, a taliban sniper who has killed dozens of afghan soldiers. translation: we

it's prompted increasing concern about the effects of climate change, as our correspondent mark lowenshrouding south—west france. a landscape of beauty turned to horror... ..as flames tear through the gironde, destroying almost 7,000 hectares, fanned by winds, searing heat and france's worst drought on record. a tranquil village last week, a ghost town this one, with 10,000 people evacuated. firefighters and planes have come from across europe to help france manage a nightmare that keeps recurring. translation: we must continue more than ever to fight _ against climate change, and we must continue to adapt to it. we will begin debates on a new climate change plan this autumn. elsewhere in europe, two fires rage. in spain, galicia is one of a dozen regions battling them. while in portugal, flames have destroyed more than 10,000 hectares of forests, scarring the night sky. how quickly our earth is drying up. this was france a year ago. and now look — lush land turned to waste land, forests and fields barren. paris may be looking glorious in the sunshine, delighting its tourists, but we

yeah, such widespread drought across europe at the moment, mark lowen there in paris.ding or repair problems, such as shortages of chlorine. in some towns, there's no public pool at all. emily unia reports. learning life—saving skills on the beach. great in fine weather, but in winter, the water's too cold. and falmouth now has no public swimming pool. we're surrounded by water. we should, you know, it's really critical in cornwall that kids can learn to swim, because a, obviously in terms of future lifeguards, but, b, just having the confidence and knowing what to do in the water is so critical. i was tiny when i started swimming. and it used to be my favourite place to go for swimming. so it means a lot to me to have a swimming pool nearby. it's quite a shame because it's- quite a big part of our community. and for people who can't swim i in the ocean, because of maybe the waves, it's quite sad. if you're not safe in the water, maybe you could drown. do you like swimming? yeah. now you can't go. this group of disabled swimmers are making do with other activities, but

now, there are warnings that france is facing its worst drought on record, as our correspondent mark lowenance, but this garden is wilting. melting under a fourth heatwave, france is gripped by its worst drought ever recorded. this man's crops would feed 100 families, are stunted, his potato yields down by a half a of hosepipe bans and weeks with no rain. translation: eitherthe translation: either the vegetables were translation: eitherthe vegetables were die of first or they will not develop in this crucial period of growth. the son is evaporating what little water we have left. i have never seen anything like this in my 22 years here. if it is not rain the next months, it will be a disaster.— not rain the next months, it will be a disaster. omits the ulobal will be a disaster. omits the global food _ will be a disaster. omits the global food crisis, _ will be a disaster. omits the global food crisis, another. global food crisis, another breadbasket, globalfood crisis, another breadbasket, france, showing worrying signs. its corn production is forecast to drop by 18% with the drought, wee

mark lowen, bbc news, in the loire valley.and whose death was announced yesterday. he said her impact had been "incredible" and he signed his message "your danny" — a reference to his character in grease. more from our arts correspondent david sillito. # summer loving, had me a blast # summer loving, happened so fast... grease — everybody knows the song because of the film and its star, 0livia newtonjohn. which is why it has been off and on, a part of the west end in the last 50 years. but last night, there was the sandy of 2022, who was the bearer of sad news. i am so sorry to have to share the incredibly sad news that 0livia newtonjohn has this evening passed away. 0livia newtonjohn and john travolta are such big figures in my life, growing up, and my love of musicals, so, i when i got thisjob, i was like, oh, my gosh, but also i could not wait to embody the character of sandy and on the absolute legendary portrayal that 0livia newtonjohn did. do you really think so, renshi? it's also been a moment of reflection for castmate

here is being driven by temperatures coming up from the rest of europe. 0ur europe correspondent mark lowennly feel— how hot is it there? well, i can certainly feel the _ how hot is it there? well, i can certainly feel the impact - how hot is it there? well, i can certainly feel the impact of - certainly feel the impact of france's fourth successive heatwave this year. there are pretty strong winds as well, combined with the worst drought ever recorded by france. that is helping to fan the flames of a pretty serious forest fire still raging in the south—west of france, destroying 7000 hectares and forcing the evacuation of 10,000 people. this fire pit had been ignited by arson. the area of france burnt by forest fires is six times larger than average. notjust here in france, in portugal authorities say they are battling forest fires that have destroyed more than 10,000 hectares and there are fires in 12 regions of spain currently raging. that is affecting food production. in spain, the olive harvest could drop by half. in italy, the river po is at its lowest level in 40 years but at that pr

our southern europe correspondent mark lowen reports from andalucia.e lost in ukraine wiped out by spain's worst drought on record. farmers are unsure if they can go on. translation: if it doesn't rain by the end of the year, - it makes no sense to plant more. that would be like throwing money at the land for no harvest and there is no rain forecast for now. spain's rich farmland is being impoverished. supplying half of all olive oil, the world's biggest producer has trees almost bare. parched soil giving little fruit, the yield is down by at least a third. the country's green gold, as it is called, is now even more prized. in this factory that exports to the uk production is dropping by half, pushing up prices amidst a global food crisis. as the flow becomes a trickle they worry here that this vital sector is in danger. translation: shoppers| are already paying a third higher than last year, but the drought will increase that even more. with the downturn we may have to lay off some workers. another year like this would be a complete catastrophe. now s

it's prompted increasing concern about the effects of climate change, as our correspondent mark lowenh—west france. a landscape of beauty turned to horror. as flames tear through the gironde, destroying almost 7000 hectares fanned by winds, searing heat and france's worst drought on record. a tranquil village last week, a ghost town this one, with 10,000 people evacuated. firefighters and planes have come from across europe to help france marriage and nightmare that keeps recurring. translation: ~ , _, recurring. translation: ~ , .., ., translation: we must continue, more than ever to fight — translation: we must continue, more than ever to fight against _ translation: we must continue, more than ever to fight against climate - than ever to fight against climate change and we must continue to adapt to it. we will begin a new climate change plan this autumn. elsewhere in euroe, change plan this autumn. elsewhere in eur0pe. fires— change plan this autumn. elsewhere in europe, fires rage. _ change plan this autumn. elsewhere in europe, fires rage. in _ change plan this autumn. elsewhere

our correspondent mark lowen is in nantes in the west of france. ce records began, back in 1958. it follows a month ofjuly that was the second month, second driest month on record and there is not forecast to be any significant rainfall in the coming days or indeed weeks. so they are really struggling here. we are in the noir valley and we went to the river yesterday, the longest in france, where there was no water after all. france, where there was no water afterall. i france, where there was no water after all. i was standing in the middle where they should have been water and it was just sand and grit and people were picnicking at a low level on the water bank, where there was a sort of wall measuring where the tide used to reach up to in another era and now they can just sit there and have picnics on the side. so some people enjoying the hot weather but of course it is a real worry for people who depend on the river and on lower temperatures, particularly farmers. france of course an agricultural, a strongly agricultural country but the world is

mark lowen, bbc news, andalusia.it is gold and a brand—new world record. the london 2012 paralympic games have left their mark on the queen elizabeth 0lympic games have left their mark on the queen elizabeth olympic park, celebrated as the greatest games ever, it packed out stadiums and memorable moments. jonnie peacock are stunning the crowd in the stadium. ellie simmonds raising the roof of the aquatics centre. and sarah storey unbeatable in the velodrome. but ten years on, what is the true legacy of the london paralympic games? in the past year laura sugar has become a paralympic world and european champion. i can see the look— world and european champion. i can see the look on _ world and european champion. i can see the look on her— world and european champion. i can see the look on her face. _ world and european champion. i can see the look on her face. she is see the look on herface. she is absolutely delighted with that. but in 2012 she was just a spectator. that literally changed my life and since 2013! have

here's our correspondent mark lowen.e that this country is struggling with and the worst drought now since records began, after a july which was the second hottest month on record, since 1958. the french are realising on a daily basis and a yearly basis that global warming is affecting their lives, and they have severe fires and forest fires as well. you have this combustible mix of severe drought, severe heat waves and forest fires as well, with new fires in the last few hours ablaze, 6,000 hectares burning in the south west of france and about 6,000 people have been evacuated. so this hot weather is causing drought — and its causing wildfires too. this was last night in gironde, southwest france. thousands were evacuated from the area and 16 homes were destroyed. this is that same fire from the air — you can see what fire crews are up against. today more than 1,000 firefighters backed by water—bombing aircraft were trying to control that fire. translation: "our first objective in this fight is to save lives, - we have

the bbc�*s europe correspondent mark lowen is in paris.ent says that this specific fire could have actually been ignited by arson. but the officials are saying that this year alone, the area of france burned by forest fires is almost six times larger than average. so more fires are burning in france than you would usually expect. officials say climate change is to blame. translation: we must continue more than ever to fight against climate change, and we must also continue to adapt to it. we will begin debates on a new national climate change plan this autumn. let's go to greece now. there are wildfires there too. this is the greek island of thassos. emergency services are trying to control this huge fire in the mountains, that's caused the evacuation of a nearby village. and the other problem across europe is drought. it's affecting livestock. this is switzerland — an army helicopter is bringing water to farm animals in distress because of the heat. and there are worries in germany too. this is the river rhine — you can see how low the wa

our correspondent mark lowen has the latest on the situation in france and elsewhere in europe.s. the government says the specific fire could have actually been ignited by arson, but officials are saying in this year alone the area of france burned by forest fires is almost six times larger than average. it is not just here in france, of course and in portugal before authorities there say more than 10,000 hectares have been burned by forest fires that are still raging and almost 12,000 hectares in spain as well, which is having an impact on food production, so in spain they are saying the olive harvest this year could drop by half, which could push up the price of olive oil. in italy the river in the north of the country is at its lowest for many years and that area in the valley there produces a third of italian food, so thatis produces a third of italian food, so that is helping to push up the price of food production and worsening the food and cost of living crisis that it is already linked to the war in ukraine and the grim reality is that of course as our climate continues

mark lowen, bbc news, andalucia. let's have a look at today's papers.ducation in danger because hospitals and schools could have to make "brutal cuts" to pay their rising bills. the government told the paper that "core schools funding" would increase by £4 billion this year. the times leads on the energy crisis, but also carries this image of a girl at the notting hill carnival, which has returned this bank holiday weekend after a two year break due to the pandemic. hospitals are under pressure from record bed—blocking, according to the daily mail. it says more than 13,500 hospital beds are currently occupied by patients who have been cleared for discharge. and the independent says billions of pounds are set to be cut from foreign aid budgets unless ministers abandon rules which divert a quarter of funds to paying the costs of ukrainian refugees in the uk. the paper says the warning has come from save the children. i love this piece. you have got a treat i love this piece. you have got a great story _ i love this piece. you have got a great story from _