so far russia has not agreed to do so. here in the uk, a drought has been declared across many parts of england, amidst the driest summerfor 50 years. the announcement covers much of the south west, parts of southern, central and eastern england. it means more hosepipe bans are likely, and water companies could bring in even stricter measures, including a ban on non essential water use. our correspondent helena wilkinson reports near the village of creswell, a fire earlier this afternoon. it started in fields and spread to a neighbouring farm. people had to leave their homes. this is west bridgford in nottinghamshire. they were still trying to put out fires. and this is studland, dorset. dried out from the heat, desperate for water and reservoirs low, like this one in derbyshire. after nearly six weeks of dry conditions, a drought has been declared for parts of england. southern, central and eastern areas are affected, including devon and cornwall, kent, london and the east m
and seriously wounding author salman rushdie has pleaded not guilty after being charged with attempted murder. travel disruption after thousands of train drivers from nine rail companies go on strike across the uk today. it s the latest walk out in a row over pay and conditions. manchester united are bottom of the premier league after behind being thrashed a 4 0 by brentford. now on bbc news. our world, yalda hakim travels to afghanistan to investigate the disappearence of policewoman, alia azizi. she meets activists and protestors, asking the taliban why they are not doing more. alia azizi a policewoman in herat, has completely disappeared. she s gone missing. what do you know about that case? this is afghanistan, one year into taliban rule. i ve come here to investigate the disappearance of a woman. under the last government, alia azizi was a successful career woman. as a high ranking prison officer, hard won freedoms are being rolled back following the taliban s victory
translation: ifeel ashamed in front of my family i m so poor, i can t afford to buy good food. my sons are really thin because they re not eating. and spain, southern france, and parts of italy swelter through an extreme heatwave authorities are warning of water shortages. hello and welcome. president biden has announced an extra $1 billion in military support for ukraine, the largest single military aid package since the war began. the us defence secretary said at a nato meeting on wednesday that he will move heaven and earth to ensure ukraine gets the weapons it needs to combat russia s invasion. in the next half hour, nato defence ministers are set to start reconvening in brussels for the final day of their summit. this is the kind of military aid ukraine says it desperately needs. a billion dollar package including longer range rockets and missile systems. the goal, to help target russian troops and location farther away and bolster ukraine s embattled defence forces, i
Starting with the developments in israel, where the military says its preparing for a major Ground Offensive into gaza. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a Cabinet Meeting of the countrys expanded Emergency Government and has promised to destroy hamas, the group designated as a Terror Organisation by many western governments, including the uk, which was behind last weeks massacre of nearly 1,500 israelis. The Military Response from israel has already seen more than 2,600 People Killed in gaza from airstrikes, according to the Health Ministry there. The United Nations says gaza is now witnessing an unprecedented human catastrophe. Well report from inside gaza, and take a look at how any Israeli Military operation might pan out. And what of the ongoing diplomatic efforts in the crisis . But first, heres the bbc s jeremy bowen with the latest. Along the border, it looked like the eve of battle. In the next few days, israel will send its armed forces into the gaza strip. Israel de
Militants have continued to fire rockets into israel, towards tel aviv and other areas in the south. The World Health Organization has condemned israels evacuation order; it says forcing Hospital Patients to relocate would be a Death Sentence. President biden has spoken with the israeli Prime Minister, benjamin netanyahu, and urged him to provide safety for civilians amid the bombardment. Diplomatic efforts to prevent the violence from spreading have been stepped up, with mr biden s secretary of state, antony blinken, visiting cairo. Hes expected to press egyptian officials to restart talks on getting aid into gaza through the Border Crossing. The us is sending a second Aircraft Carrier to the Eastern Mediterranean near israel. The Uss Eisenhower will lead a group of ships aimed at deterring further attacks against israel in particularfrom iran or the lebanese militant group, hezbollah. We start the hour with this report from our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. Sirens wail. R