This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. My names mike embley. There is mounting anger in lebanon against politicians who did not prevent yesterdays blast. At least 135 people have died, thousands are injured. The shockwave, was so powerful it knocked people off their feet, blowing out windows for miles around. Millions turn out to vote in sri lankas elections despite coronavirus fears. And japan marks 75 years since the us atomic bomb was dropped on hiroshima. We look at the lingering impact of the attack, and hearfrom the last survivors. Hello to you. In beirut, a desperate search is continuing for more than a hundred people missing since the huge explosion that devastated the port area. 300,000 people have had to leave their homes. Its thought the explosion was caused by a fire that ignited piles of Ammonium Nitrate, stored unsafely. A two week state of emergency has been declared. Quentin sommerville has the latest. In a country long battered by shock, a fresh, unnatural disaster has seized lebanon. The fires burned long here at the port. The cause, a powder keg of unstable chemicals, left to rot in the very heart of beirut. The shock could be felt in cyprus, syria and israel. The 2500 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate fertiliser was the equivalent of a one kilotonne blast. This was lebanons 9 11, they say. A catastrophe that shook the entire country. A small fire at the port had drawn people to their windows to watch. When the chemicals exploded, they received the brunt. More than 4000 have been hurt and lebanon is traumatised. It is a day they will never forget, especially for bride, israa seblani. Allahu akbar. In the small town of ras el harf, the buildings still stand,
but the people are shuttered. Jessy dawood was a nurse at beiruts saint george hospital. She died along with three colleagues. She was 31 years old, and leaves behind her two year old ella, and her husband. The work of a nurse is to save lives of people, and take care of people. This is what she did. She was a hero. She died when shes on her duty. Shes saving people, and she died. At jessy dawoods hospital, there is hurt and anger at a man made disaster, a physical manifestation of the countrys long dysfunction. This is a catastrophe, because, you know, we are one of the best functioning institutions in the city. We are helping with the covid effort, were treating patients. Already, the Healthcare System is about to collapse. Resilience is a word much overused in lebanon. In may melkis apartment, she sought a moment of peace among the wreckage. The 78 year old has suffered months of power cuts, the loss of her savings and rising food prices. And now, this disaster. Hopes . Everybody says there is no hope, you know . But i dont want to believe it. I want to keep hoping that each time these catastrophes happen, we stand up and start again. But everybody says, many, many years before, when i was in the United States, they asked me this question. Is there hope for lebanon . I mean, there is no hope. The same politicians who created the earlier crisis have to resolve this one. There is little hope they can do it alone, and there is a limit to how much more lebanon can endure. It was more that i was an homage to all those who are gone and who were less fortunate than us and they were caught in this big catastrophe. Quentin sommerville, bbc news. All this at such a difficult time for the country, trying not only to curb the spread of coronavirus, but also struggling with economic and political crises. 0ur middle east editor, jeremy bowen, now, on the troubles besetting lebanon. Officials who may have ignored warnings about the danger facing beirut are under house arrest. That is just the start
of national recriminations. The force of the blast was devastating. If lebanon was rich, well governed and secure, it would find it hard to deal with this crisis. But it has none of those strengths. The mayor inspected the damage. He said reconstruction would take billions of dollars. Thats money lebanon just doesnt have. The president , michel aoun, has declared three days of mourning. Many lebanese dont trust their leaders and are sick of an elite, including former warlords, like the president himself, who have been at the top for decades. Lebanons youth want change. Before and sometimes during the pandemic, there were big protests. Many called them a revolution against corruption and incompetence. What has gone wrong is decades and decades of abusive use
of power by a privileged and corrupt elite, which has been milking the country corru ptly, which has been failing to provide the basic services, such as electricity and proper internet and proper telephone, affordable telephones, proper operation of the customs system, proper whatever, agricultural policy. They have all been lacking. A rare gesture came from israel. Tel aviv city hall was lit with a lebanese flag. The two cities are separated by 160 miles of mediterranean coastline, and lifetimes of pain and history in the worlds most unstable region. Lebanon is surrounded by enemies, and the kind of friends that no country wants. To the south, there is israel. This time, they have offered aid but, before that, the talk was of border tension and perhaps even another war. Then theres syria, where the assad regime has always regarded
lebanon as its backyard. The lebanese have absorbed about 1. 5 million syrian refugees. That is the same as britain taking about 15 million. And iran is close to the lebanese shia militia, hezbollah, which is the most powerful political and military organisation in the country. The medical emergency is extreme. First covid 19, and now three hospitals in beirut have been put out of action by the explosions. I saw all of the war in lebanon. This blow is as important as the 11th of september blow in the United States. For us, i think this is a very big blow. We need really the international support. French rescue teams left paris for beirut, britain announced £5 million of emergency aid, but lebanon has deep political problems that money without reform will not be able to fix. In beiruts wreckage
are the ruins of the granary that contained vital supplies of imported wheat. Another disaster, at the Chernobyl Nuclear power plant, finished off the soviet union. Lebanons old order should fear the fallout from beirut docks. Jeremy bowen, bbc news. Lets get some of the days other news in france, almost 2,000 firefighters have been trying to extinguish wildfires to the west of marseille, which broke out on tuesday. Some 2,700 people have had to be evacuated from campsites and residential areas. The fires, which cover an area of about ten Square Kilometres near martigues, are now thought to be under control. The scottish city of aberdeen is back under lockdown restrictions. Pu bs, cafes a nd restau ra nts were ordered to close after a spike in coronavirus cases. 5a cases have been recorded in the cluster. Residents have been told they cant visit each others homes or travel more than 5 miles from where they live,
unless for work or education. The funeral of the former sdlp leader, john hume, one of the key architects of the Northern Ireland peace process. At the service, tributes were paid from around the world for the contribution he made towards ending the troubles. He died on monday at the age of 83. The top immunologist, Anthony Fauci, said he does not expect any Coronavirus Vaccine to be approved before the end of the year. He said the fight against the virus was fully dependent on the availability of a safe and effective vaccine, and stressed that Political Considerations would not be allowed to interfere in the regulatory process. We are likely going to have many tens of millions of doses at the early part of the year but as we get into 2021 the manufacturers tell us they will have hundreds of millions and likely a billion doses by the end of 2021 so i think the
process is moving along at a pretty favou ra ble process is moving along at a pretty favourable pace. 0ur north america correspondent, david willis, joins us from los angeles. Quite a contrast to what the president has been saying, not for the first time. Absolutely, afamiliar for the first time. Absolutely, a familiar pattern and you are absolutely right. You see caution from the top medical experts here and optimism, bordering on hubris, from the president of the United States who today, a fairly short while ago, ina who today, a fairly short while ago, in a White House Briefing said thatjohnson johnson, the big american pharmaceutical company, were doing a fantastic job and getting very close to developing a vaccine. We might have one available long before the end of the year, said mr trump. Dr Anthony Fauci for his but said he does not expect a vaccine to be available before the end of this year. What the two men do agree on is that
once a vaccine is developed then tens of millions of doses could be available very quickly, within months because pharmaceutical companies here are being urged to produce in mass the vaccines they are developing just in case it does prove to work and that it can be shipped out almost immediately. And thanks to the virus, this is a time like no other and it looks like it would be an election like no other. Absolutely, no tickertape, no balloons, a very subdued president ial election. Joe biden, the Presumptive Democratic nominee, has said he will be making his acceptance speech from his home in delaware and not go into milwaukee, wisconsin, because it is thought that even though it is thought that even though it will be largely online event, will be a gathering of democrats in milwaukee and that is deemed to be too unsafe in
the current climate. Donald trump has floated the suggested he might make his acceptance speech from the white house, raising all sorts of questions about the lowering of the lines between, if you like, official president ial activity and political campaigning. A short while ago, the white house chief of staff was asked about this on cnn and he said that one way around it might be for the president to make the speech from the east wing of the white house which is officially the private residence, rather than Something Like the oval office but it is, of course, a taxpayer funded but it is, of course, a taxpayerfunded building but it is, of course, a taxpayer funded building and even some republicans have expressed disquiet about the president accepting the nomination from the white house. Thank you very much. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come the march of even more penguins. Why researchers believe there are greater numbers of Emperor Penguins
than anyone thought. The question was whether we want to save our people and japanese, as well and win the war, or whether we want to take a chance on being able to win the war by killing all our young men. The invasion began at two oclock this morning. Mr bush, like most other people, was clearly caught by surprise. We call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the iraqi forces. 100 years old and still full of vigour, vitality and enjoyment of life. No other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that shes achieved this landmark anniversary. This is a Pivotal Moment for the church as an international movement. The question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the
anglican community. This is bbc news. The latest headlines the death toll rises in lebanon at least 135 people have died and 5,000 are injured. There is growing anger in beirut at the failure of lebanese politicians to prevent the devastating explosion in the port. Millions of sri lankans have voted in a parliamentary election, and in large numbers despite fears about the virus. President gota baya rajapa ksa is seeking a fresh mandate to tighten his partys grip on power. The counting starts thursday morning. The first results are expected by the evening. This from our correspondent anbaras ethirajan. Despite fears over the coronavirus, millions came out to vote in sri lankas parliamentary elections. Face masks were compulsory,
and the voters were asked to maintain social distancing. There were fears that the pandemic would keep people away from the polling centres, but the Election Commission said that voter turnout was around 70 . Initially i had the fear of coming with my baby, but after coming here i realised they supported me, and indeed there was a good service. Its a pandemic, obviously everyone is scared, but its something that we have to go through in life. Ithink. This is my first time voting, so its an experience and im glad that i did it, so i think its going to be a close call again, yeah. President gota baya rajapa ksa, seen here, was among the first to vote. His sri lanka peoples front appears to be the voters favourite. He wants to install his brother
mohinder as Prime Minister. The governments successful handling of the coronavirus would favour his party. Sajith premadasa, seen here, is one of the main challengers. But the opposition is also divided splitting a nti raja pa ksa votes. Mr rajapaksas party wants a two thirds majority so that it can change the constitution. Its thought the powers of the president would be increased, reversing the work of the previous government. But rights campaigners worry that the space for dissent is already shrinking, and an overwhelming majority could lead to greater authoritarianism. The votes are being counted this thursday, and a clear trend is expected to emerge by late evening. Anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news. Indias Prime Minister has inaugurated a hindu temple to be built on a site thats been contested between muslims and hindus for decades. The temple is being constructed in the Northern City of ayod hya. Building it is a key election promise of Narendra Modi and his hindu nationalist bjp party. National media billed the ceremony an historic event. The times of india
one of indias biggest papers had a dedicated page. Were told millions tuned in for wall to wall coverage of the ceremony on tv. Also watching was our own yogita limaye. The Prime Minister laying the foundation for that sample. His national bjp pa rtys foundation for that sample. His national bjp partys or election promise. Many see the country moving away from its secular identity. It in behind the decorations, remnants of a violent past. In 1992, a mosque that stood here was torn down by hindu mobs led by the bjp, which triggered religious riots around the country. That criminal case has not been resolved, but last year, indias top Court Allowed a hindu temple to be built here. Translation just like our independence struggle, generations four indians have
for centuries worked tirelessly to realise this day. Generations of indians. Many muslims dont agree with the countrys decisions and the countrys decisions and the countrys actions. Moody once india is now becoming a theocratic country. India will become a hindu majority country with goals contrary to the constitution. It is 75 years since a Us Air Forces plane called the enola gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of hiroshima in western japan. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on the city of nagasaki. Between 150,000 and 220,000 people were killed. In the last hour, a ceremony in hiroshima has marked the anniversary of the atomic bombing and there has been a silent prayer at the exact time the First Nuclear weapon
hit the city. The coronavirus pandemic has forced a scaling back of the ceremonies to honour the victims. Well, the experience 75 years ago left japan with a strong Anti Nuclear Movement that endures to this day. But the remaining survivors of hiroshima are worried the lessons of the 6th of august in 1945 are being forgotten. From tokyo, Rupert Wingfield hayes reports. n0 audio translation available Hirotomi Igarashi is a right wing japanese nationalist who says its time for his country to develop its own Nuclear Weapons. The group he leads his one of around 1,000 ultra nationalist organisations in japan dedicated to scrapping the post war pacifist constitution, and the alliance with United States. Translation we need to acquire Nuclear Weapons so that the bomb will never be dropped on our homeland again, especially now with the threat from china. China has some 300 Nuclear Missiles aiming atjapan, and we have north korea. That country is like a madman holding a knife. On august the 6th, japan stops to remember what happened at hiroshima. To mourn the tens of thousands who were incinerated, and to recommit itself to the abolition Nuclear Weapons. What happened to you when the bomb exploded . At 83, keiko ogura is one of a dwindling number of survivors who witnessed the destruction with their own eyes. She is worried that as memories fade, japans commitment to never building Nuclear Weapons is weakening. Survivors have a strong fear because, you know, we have many power plants, that means there are materials. Plutonium, we have. And we have the technology to create the Nuclear Weapons. It might be easy if we said, go, now if it wanted to, experts believe japan could build a Nuclear Weapon very quickly. It has a stockpile of 47 tons of plutonium, more than any other non Nuclear Weapon state. The whole issue of Nuclear Weapons is still taboo here, even to talk about. But the view that japan may one day need to build its own Nuclear Deterrent goes well beyond the far right fringe even into parts of the ruling liberal democratic party. And the logic is simple. Japan faces real and growing threats from north korea, and from an increasingly aggressive and well armed china. And since president trumps election, americas commitment to protect japan under its Nuclear Umbrella is increasingly shaky. For the first time in post war history, there is now a president in the white house who has openly and repeatedly
said, its time for japan to defend itself. I think that is the biggest change. And sort of the biggest cause toi concern. And ifjapan is moving in a direction of relying more on its own capabilities, i believe thats primarily because of a loss of credibility in us security guarantees. For the 75 years since hiroshima, japan has lived under american protection. Now it is beginning to wonder what would happen if the americans really went home. Rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. To something very different. Researchers have found new breeding sites for the Emperor Penguin in antarctica. The discovery increases the known number of the species by between 5 10 . Victoria gill has more. They are the biggest and possibly the toughest of antarcticas penguins. When
they are not foraging in freezing waters, they live and raise their checks on the eyes. And that icy white backdrop has meant scientists have been able to use satellite images to search the vast antarctic continent or undiscovered Emperor Penguins. These other tell tale markers that away their location. Giant stains left on the ice from thousands of penguins droppings. We have found about 25 55,000 new greens located in 11 penguin colonies. Its great to have more Emperor Penguins, because this is a species that is really quite vulnerable to Climate Change and we expect over the coming decades that the numbers will reduce dramatically. Emperor penguins was life cycle is centred on the sea ice. Scientists say this good news about this population size comes with a note of caution. All of new colonies are in vulnerable areas, places where the best
climate models predict the ice will diminish climate models predict the ice willdiminish in coming decades. Once adjust the global population of Emperor Penguins could crush by half by the end of this century. Reducing Carbon Emissions to limit the global temperature rise is the only way to protect the frozen habitat these birds depend on, researchers say. Victoria gill, bbc news. Meghan markle is suing Associated Newspapers over articles that included parts of articles that included parts of a handwritten letter she had sent to her estranged father, thomas, in august of 2018. And there is much more on all that and all the news, national and international, on the bbc news website and on our twitter feeds. And you can get in touch with me and most of the team
on twitter im bbcmikeembley. Thank you very much for watching. Hello. While some parts of the uk have had some pleasant sunshine occasionally this week and stayed dry so far, albeit rather windy, others have been very wet particularly into parts of scotland but notjust scotland. Other spots had some heavy downpours during wednesday. But it is looking, for thursday, drier and warmer. High pressure building a little further. Coming around to a southerly and that is going to lift temperatures again particularly into england and wales on friday. There will be another surge of heat with temperatures in the 30s for some as we will see in a moment. Temperatures as we start thursday will have held up overnight across a large part of england and wales. So, a rather muggy start. Could be a few mist and fog patches around. A zone of thicker cloud into parts of southern england, could be a bit drizzly with that pushing into parts
of wales and the midlands during the day. Could stay misty along some spots along the English Channel coast. Whereas elsewhere across the uk, its a mix of cloud, some occasional sunny skies. It will be dry. Best of the sunny skies in scotland towards the north. It is warmer, and temperatures peak in the upper 20s in the warmest parts of the east and south east of england, just a gentle southerly breeze. On through thursday night, into friday morning, keep a bit of cloud, clear, keep some clear spells too in fact clearing up across more of england and wales going into friday morning. And what will be another rather warm and muggy night. A warmer night in scotland and Northern Ireland. Though by friday morning theres a weather front close to Northern Ireland and for here and then eastwards across scotland, there will be some showery rain moving in. A few late showers and thunderstorms cant be ruled out in england and wales but the main story here will be the sunshine and the heat again. Upper 20s, low 30s, and hottest parts of the east and south east of england,
mid 30s, 35, maybe 36 celsius around the london area. Temperatures nowhere near that high in scotland and Northern Ireland itll be heavily cloudy with the chance of rain during the day. High pressure Building Back in for the weekend and that does mean a lot of dry weather particularly on saturday. By sunday there is an increasing chance of some thunderstorms around, particularly into parts of england and wales. And where friday is going to be so very hot, it will slowly cool a touch into the weekend but more noticeably elsewhere. This is bbc news, the headlines there is widespread criticism in lebanon of the countrys politicians are being blamed of the countrys politicians who are being blamed for tuesdays massive explosion in beirut, which killed at least 135 people, injured 5,000 more, and made a huge number of others homeless. A search is continuing for over one hundred missing people. A number of officials at the port where the explosion occurred are to be kept under house arrest while investigations continue. Lebanese officials have said that the storage of some 2,700 tons of Ammonium Nitrate at a warehouse in the port caused the blast. And thursday injapan marks 75 years since the us dropped an atomic bomb on the city of hiroshima, killing thousands and changing the nature of warfare. There has been a silent prayer at the exact time of the first bomb hit the city. Aberdeen is back under lockdown restrictions tonight