Three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. We start in brazil and a Landmark Summit to protect the amazon rainforest. The leaders of eight South American countries that share the amazon, have gathered in the city of belem. Scientists are concerned that, deforestation in the amazon may be approaching an irreversible Tipping Point. Brazils president Lula Da Silva is hoping for a co ordinated regional approach, to tackle illegal mining and logging as well as other environmental crimes. Our reporter Azadeh Moshiri looks at whats at stake in the summit. The amazon is, of course, beautiful, but its also hugely important in the fight against climate change. And thats because it stores so much carbon dioxide, which drives the Climate Crisis were currently facing. And yet the forest is under threat of deforestation. Now, 60 of it is located in brazil, which is why the country is taking the lead in hosting eight other countries in south america who share the amazon. And this is a big deal. Its the first time in 45 years that theres been a coordinated meeting for a Regional Response to the crisis the amazon is currently facing. And domestically, president lula has made a lot of big commitments. That includes reversing the deforestation that was rising under his predecessor, president jair bolsonaro. And if you look at the numbers, hes doing a very good job because the National Space agency has said that injuly of 2023, theres been a 66 drop compared tojuly of 2022. And if you look at the last few months, thats a drop, a trend that weve been seeing. Now, hes also committed to zero deforestation by 2030. So how is he going about things like this . Well, hes looking to tackle things like mining and illegal logging. And if you look at the fines in the first seven months of 2023, theyve already risen by nearly 150 . So those are really big actions that hes taking in a short amount of time. Now, the outcome of the summit isntjust important to those who are looking at combating climate change. Its also hugely important to Indigenous Leaders and activists who are looking at protecting their ancestral land. And so while the results of this summit are currently unknown, theres a lot of hope in terms of what this could mean for the amazon itself. So, do the scientists share that hope and how it important do they think the summit is . I asked the brazilian meteorologist and specialist in global warming, carlos nobre. The summit is very important, the most important meeting of president s in the region ever and we are in a critical moment, very close to the Tipping Point that most of the amazon will disappear and the forest will degrade. We hope the president s will agree on getting to zero deforestation, zero degradation, wildfires, certainly before 2030. The amazon is at this Tipping Point and we have to stop Forest Degradation all over the amazon. Can you give viewers a snapshot of what is currently being lost . Firstly, this is from our Science Editor back in 2019. The problem is, more and more of it is being chopped down, it is hard to believe but an area the size of a Football Pitch is being cleared every single minute. What that means is that forest that could cover more than 2,000 pitches is just vanishing every day, and all the signs are that this rate of devastation will accelerate. Well, indeed it has. Even since 2019. You were talking about a Tipping Point, carlos. How much of the amazon is under threat . Yes, so far the amazon is originally 6. 5 million Square Kilometres and 2 million Square Kilometres square have been deforested and another million degraded. We are very close to the Tipping Point. If we exceed 25 of Forest Deforestation we are going to cross the Tipping Point, mostly in the southern portion of the amazon, but at least in the seven months of this year deforestation in the amazon in brazil has declined a lot. 43 injanuary july, and it seems it will continue declining. So we are hopeful that not only brazil but all amazonian countries will pursue going to zero deforestation and Forest Degradation within a few years. It is notjust brazil, as you said, it is eight countries which contain and have parts of the amazon within their borders. Are there common solutions, do you think . To start with, we have to understand that Something Like 90 of deforestation is completely legal all over the amazon, so this is Land Grabbing and also illegalforestation in land holding farms. For all the amazonian countries, most of the deforestation is very high, brazil number one, bolivia, peru, ecuador, venezuela, they have to combat the organised crime. Most the illegal deforestation is linked to drug trafficking, organised crime, to the land grabbers. So, it has to be effective, combating the organised crime. Satellite Monitoring Systems detect illegal deforestation almost daily so it has to be almost like a war against organised crime. If those countries are successful in combating the environmental criminals, im sure they will reduce deforestation very, very quickly, and they will reach zero in a few years. Lets turn to the Major Political emergency unfolding in west africa following the Military Coup in niger. Diplomatic efforts to find a resolution have stepped up with a warning from washington. Speaking to the bbc the us Secretary Of StateAntony Blinken has voiced his concern that nigers military leaders, might turn to the Russian Mercenary Group wagner for help. The group is active in neighbouring countries theyre seen here in the Central African republic last month, and wagners leader has welcomed the takeover. The coup leaders are currently Standing Firm against calls to restore democratic rule. Heres what mr blinken had to say about wagner a little earlier. For sure, we have concerns when we see Something Like the wagner group possibly manifesting itself in different parts of the sahel. And here is why we are concerned. Because every single place that this group, wagner group has gone, death, destruction and exploitation have followed. Insecurity has gone up, not down. It has not been a response to the needs of the countries in question for greater security. I think what happened and what continues to happen in niger was not instigated by russia or by wagner but to the extent that they try to take advantage of it and we see a repeat of what has happened in other countries where theyve brought nothing but bad things in their wake, that wouldnt be good. The wagner leader, yevgeny prigozhin, has released an Audio Message referring to the coup in niger. The recording emerged on telegram, though the date and location cant be independently verified. Mr prigozhin had this message apparently for the coup leaders. Translation we are always on the side of goodness, justice and on the side of those who fight for sovereignty and for the rights of their people. Call us any time. And more on this from our security correspondent, frank gardner. Your assessment of the comments from Antony Blinken and is this A Fork In The Road . It Antony Blinken and is this A Fork In The Road . ,. , the road . It is a critical unction because diplomatic the road . It is a criticaljunction because diplomatic efforts the road . It is a criticaljunction because diplomatic efforts to i because diplomatic efforts to reverse the coup have not worked. Niger is one of several countries in west africa belonging to something called ecowas, the Economic Community of west african states, and they have got together and said enough is enough, we cant have any more, if the Coup Plotters were not backed down, we will intervene militarily, and the one week deadline expired on sunday. The bark is worse than its bite of ecowas and they are clearly reluctant and they have not even got in an mmc on how to intervene militarily. They have not even got unanimously. It is inevitable that the wagner group will want to move in because they have so not very successfully mali and burkina faso where they have a very lucrative arrangement with those governments, they provided Security Solutions and i use the word very broadly. Because they are accused of horrendous human rights atrocities and massacres of civilians which they deny. In exchange for that they get very lucrative contracts and rights and diamonds and gold, and niger is the seventh largest place for uranium and france has been getting about 15 of its uranium lead from niger but im sure that wagner group would like to move in creating a belt of countries where they have operations and also they have operations in sudan and other countries. That is wanner sudan and other countries. That is wagner grow sudan and other countries. That is wagner group but sudan and other countries. That is wagner group but in sudan and other countries. That is wagner group but in terms sudan and other countries. That is wagner group but in terms of sudan and other countries. That is wagner group but in terms of the | wagner group but in terms of the west, the french and the us, they have got troops in niger and they have got troops in niger and they have used it as a base, what is the prospect for that now . It is looking re rim prospect for that now . It is looking pretty grim for prospect for that now . It is looking pretty grim for western prospect for that now . It is looking pretty grim for western and pretty grim for western and International Forces in pretty grim for western and internationalforces in niger and International Forces in niger and there internationalforces in niger and there are 2600 french and us troops in the country, it is a huge country of only 27 Million People, very large areas, and the french and americans and germans and italians and the british have used it as a base to fight the jihadists insurgents, the ones linked to alqaeda and isis but they have not been able to defeat them and there is a bit of a hangover from French Colonial rule where a number of people of niger have supported the coup saying we have got nothing from the french. They failed to defeat the french. They failed to defeat the insurgency and so did the american so we welcome the russians. It looks like it will be the next domino to fall in those countries that have succumbed to west african coups and i cannot see an intervention from a ecowas doing anything but igniting possibly a regional war. Anything but igniting possibly a regional war. Anything but igniting possibly a reaionalwar. ,. , regional war. Thanks for oining us. We have regional war. Thanks for oining us. We have the regional war. Thanks for oining us. We have the regional regionalwar. Thanks Forjoining Us. We have the regional summit regionalwar. Thanks Forjoining Us. We have the regional summit in we have the regional summit in Nigeria On Thursday which will be a critical meeting. Around the world and across the uk. This is bbc news. Lets look at some other stories making news. Nhs flu jabs and Covid Boosters will be scrapped for under 65s this winter. 12 Million People aged 50 to 64 who were eligible during the pandemic can no longer get the free jabs. The rollout of boosters, is expected to start in october, a full month later than usual. A man has been arrested, after a stabbing close to the british museum. The Metropoliton Police stress the incident is not terror related with no outstanding risk to the public. The man who was stabbed in the arm has been taken to hospital. Civil servants in the Scottish Government spent Tens Of Thousands of taxpayers money, including nearly £10,000 on vip airport services. Formerfirst minister nicola sturgeon, and her staff were given fast track security and access to lounges at uk and european airports. Officials say all purchases were subject to robust authorisation. Youre live with bbc news. Details have emerged that suggest that tens of millions of voters could have been accessed by hackers who targeted the elections watchdog. The Electoral Commission said there was little risk of hostile actors being able to influence the outcome of a vote, but apologised for the breach in its systems. The chair of the Electoral Commission, John Pullinger joined us earlier. This was a complex cyber attack that affected part of our system and the part that it affected meant that a hostile actor was able to gain access to the copy that the Commission Holds of the Electoral Register which as you said contained details, the names and addresses of people who are on the Electoral Register across the uk. Also e mails and some other internal systems. You said in a statement earlier that you regret that sufficient protections were not in place to prevent this. Why were they not . We have known about hostile actors for some time wanting to target exactly this sort of thing. Wanting to target exactly this sort of thin. ,. , wanting to target exactly this sort ofthina. ,. ,. ,. , of thing. First of this was a very sophisticated of thing. First of this was a very sophisticated attack of thing. First of this was a very sophisticated attack using of thing. First of this was a very. Sophisticated attack using software to get in and evade the systems and i think we must be continuously vigilant for these kind of things. Cyber threats are changing all the time and we need to keep adapting and as we said in a statement, we are learning from this and upgrading our systems but it is a fact of modern life that we have to continue doing so. We will continue doing so for the future looking forward to Potential Future threats. But there were failings . Potential future threats. But there were failings . Well, Potential Future threats. But there were failings . Well, we Potential Future threats. But there were failings . Well, we are Potential Future threats. But there were failings . Well, we are being| were failings . Well, we are being oen here were failings . Well, we are being open here and were failings . Well, we are being open here and we were failings . Well, we are being open here and we have were failings . Well, we are being| open here and we have apologised were failings . Well, we are being open here and we have apologised for the fact that data has got out and we identified this as soon as we could and we then go on to fix it. This is something that is always a risk that we need to be alert to and alive to and respond and hopefully by defending it, if not by defending it, by being absolutely open about what happens, that people can respond accordingly. Irate what happens, that people can respond accordingly. Respond accordingly. We have mentioned respond accordingly. We have mentioned how respond accordingly. We have mentioned how complex respond accordingly. We have mentioned how complex the i respond accordingly. We have mentioned how complex the hack actually was and i read out in the introduction of the view from the Electoral Commission that the bottom line is, it is not throwing open the prospect of any sort of influence over potential elections, so how can you be so sure . You be so sure . First of all, this affected the you be so sure . First of all, this affected the copy you be so sure . First of all, this affected the copy of you be so sure . First of all, this affected the copy of the you be so sure . First of all, this| affected the copy of the Electoral Register that the Commission Holds, the individual registers that are used in elections are spread around the country and used by individual returning officers in each local authority. So that is spreading out which is itself a resilience but there was also no ability to alter or delete or do anything to the data so peoples electoral data has not been destroyed or amended in any way. In any event when it comes to elections there are separate systems which are nothing to do with this so we can be completely confident that the actual process of elections has not and cannot be affected by this particular attack. Breaking news from the us. The republican us president ial candidate ron desantis has replaced his campaign manager, according to a spokesman speak