the amazon from reaching, quote, a "point of no return". the lengthy roadmap outlined in the city of belem promotes sustainable development, an end to deforestation, and fighting the organised crime that fuels it. let's take a look at what's at stake: the amazon stretches nearly seven million square kilometres, or nearly three million square miles. about two—thirds of that is in brazil. another seven countries and one terrority share the remaining third. under brazil's former president jair bolsonaro, years of deforestation in the amazon worsened. the orange on this map shows the areas of deforestation between 2019 and 2022 in the state of para, where the summit is being held. but new data shows a positive shift. deforestation in the amazon fell by 66% last month compared to the year before. it's now at its lowest rate in six years. our correspondent katy watson is at the summit in the amazon, and has more. we have had day one of the summit and already the countries participating have issued a statement saying they are forming an alliance to work together and protect the environmental record and the social record here in the amazon. certainly this city, belem, is enjoying being in the spotlight, it is a region is often forgotten in brazil. the fact you have delegates there is a bit of a warmup ahead of cop30, which it will host in two years�* time. lula has made it one of his biggest equipment to improve the record in the amazon committing to deforestation by 2030. just how viable are those promises? well, i have been travelling here in the state of para, which has the highest deforestation rate in all of brazil. virgin forest still exists here in the amazon, but every day the illegal loggers get closer. from up high, you can see the damage done, the large patches of land totally cleared. this part of brazil has the highest rate of deforestation in the country. underjair bolsonaro, illegal logging soared. president lula da silva has promised to fix the problem. translation: the challenges of our era and the opportunities - that arise demand joint action. we need to reconcile environmental protection and social inclusion, encourage science, technology and innovation, encourage the local economy, fight international crime, and value the indigenous people and traditional communities and their ancestral knowledge. for those living under the rainforest�*s canopy, it's been a difficult few years. translation: you have no idea how much pressure - there was in our community under the bolsonaro government. landowners, circling planes, soya farmers wanting to buy the land to deforest it. cockerel crows robson, though, didn't get bought out. instead, he wants to grow sustainable crops like acai. he's part of a booming carbon credit industry here. companies emitting carbon dioxide can buy credits from projects like robson's and that should help reduce emissions, but not everyone is convinced. bianca and herfamily, like many in the region, want better services like schools and health centres. but they are suspicious of these new carbon credit companies offering to help them. translation: it is not that transparent. - we cannot see how it would give us a secure life. we are always on the back foot and fear the consequences. because of the stories we heard, we decided not to sign a contract. and that is a problem. when people struggle to get by, and when the state fails to help them, it is easier to accept money from lucrative illegal logging. ensuring the amazon's future means improving the lives of nearly 50 million people who live here. just to get to this part of the amazon, it took 13 hours overnight on a riverboat, and now this smaller boat, to get to the communities here. but if you look on a map, it all looks so close together, and itjust goes to show how vast the amazon is, but also how difficult it is to navigate, and ultimately, also, how difficult it will be for lula to achieve his zero deforestation by 2030. which is why he needs the backing of all of the countries who share the amazon. leaders are expected to offer solutions to illegal logging and mining, moving away from big infrastructure projects. but money talks, and without offering a better life for those who live in the forest, any discussion of conservation is pointless. i'm on the banks of one of the largest rivers here in the amazon, but why should you care about this? well, for a start, these rivers, forests here in the amazon, they contain a huge amount of biodiversity. not only that, we are standing in the world's largest rainforest and that plays a huge part in regional climate as well as global climate patterns. so if the rainforest changes so too did the weather patterns and ultimately so to do our lives. we turn to the us state of ohio. multiple media outlets project voters have decided against raising the threshold needed to amend the state's constitution by pubic vote. the rare august special election quickly became a proxy fight for a vote on reproductive rights coming this november. that's when 0hioans will vote on a state—wide right to abortion until foetal viability, which is about 2k weeks into a pregnancy. tuesday's ballot proposal — called issue 0ne — asked voters if changes to the state constitution by public vote should pass with 60% of the vote, instead of the current 50% majority threshold needed. that measure failed. celebrations in ohio followed, with voting rights groups calling it a win. tonight is a major victory for democracy in ohio. the majority still rules in ohio. cheering and the people's power has been preserved. because 0hio voters like you showed up and overwhelmingly voted down issue 0ne. cheering since the us supreme court overturned federal abortion protections with roe v wade last year, states have raced to either protect or restrict abortion. if you look at the polling, nationwide, about 62% of americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. that's compared with just 36% who say it should be illegal in all or most cases. live now to karen kasler, bureau chief at the ohio statehouse news bureau. karen, this is a pretty decisive vote. we're you surprised by the result? how are people reacting to it? i actually wasn't surprised, because this was something that we could see building over the last couple of days. 0hio we could see building over the last couple of days. ohio has a month—long early votings period, and the number of 0hioans who voted early was huge, 700,000 0hioans, more than twice the number who voted last year in our primaries for governor and us senate. so this was a big turn—out already, and it was expected to be a low turn—out, because it's august. people aren't thinking about elections. but this got a lot of interest. i mean it's gotten global interest at this point. so while it was a very pitched battle between the two sides, it really seemed like the no side had the momentum going in. it does, as you say, come ahead of a november vote on abortion rights. do you expect further challenges to expanding abortion access? i challenges to expanding abortion access? i would think so. i abortion access? i would think so- i mean _ abortion access? i would think so. i mean this _ abortion access? i would think so. i mean this amendment i abortion access? i would thinkj so. i mean this amendment to change the constitution to require that 60% threshold was clearly designed to be put in into place —— put into place before that november vote on abortion rights. i mean republican lawmakers who put this before voters said as much, and were pretty clear about that. and so now that we know that the abortion amendment will only need a simple majority to pass, then republicans who are opposed to abortion rights are likely to consider some other options potentially. there is already a lawsuit to try to stop this from going to the ballot in november. but lawmakers could also change 0hio's abortion laws and potentially soften voters' attitudes and may make them not want to pass an amendment that would allow for abortion until viability. 50. abortion untilviability. so, karen, what _ abortion untilviability. so, karen, what do _ abortion untilviability. so, karen, what do you - abortion until viability. so, karen, what do you think, then, this tells us, this result tells us tonight about 0hio, often described as a red—tinged state? it's a state that hasn't voted for a democrat for president in over 10 years. it's not a red—tinged state. it's not a red—tinged state. it's a solidly red state. but i think this really shows that there is... there are some issues that do cross party lines. i mean the coalition that was opposed to this was enormous. i've never seen anything like it in the 20 years i've been reporting here. it was a lot of democratic groups but there were some republicans who were against this as well. two of ohio's four living ex—governors are republicans. they were opposed, as well as the democratic ex—governors. five ex—attorneys—general from ex—governors. five ex—attorneys—generalfrom 0hio were all opposed to this, from both parties. so there were a lot of republicans and conservatives who thought that this was a problem because it would allow essentially a minority of voters to potentially block something that a majority, more than 50%, want, but not 60%. 50. that a majority, more than 50%, want, but not 60%.— want, but not 60%. so, karen, what do you — want, but not 60%. so, karen, what do you think _ want, but not 60%. so, karen, what do you think this - want, but not 60%. so, karen, what do you think this means, | what do you think this means, then, for the abortion vote in november? i then, for the abortion vote in november?— then, for the abortion vote in november? ~ . �*, ., , november? i think what's really interesting _ november? i think what's really interesting here _ november? i think what's really interesting here is _ november? i think what's really interesting here is first - november? i think what's really interesting here is first of - interesting here is first of all it will only take a simple majority and not that 60% to pass that reproductive rights and abortion access amendment. but there's another law that's also likely to make the november ballot and that will be a legalisation of marijuana statute. and who knows what that's going to bring in terms of voter turnout? but certainly this is a year, an odd—year election, so an off year, as some people refer to it. there are no candidates, no presidential races or anything like that. this is going to be a lot of interest for such an off—year election, for such an odd—year election. off-year election, for such an odd-year election.— odd-year election. and broadening _ odd-year election. and broadening this - odd-year election. and broadening this out, i odd—year election. and broadening this out, then, karen, what do you think the results of this election tell us about 202a? tell us about theissues us about 202a? tell us about the issues that voters care about? i the issues that voters care about? ~' . ., about? i think the challenge here for both _ about? i think the challenge here for both republicans i about? i think the challenge i here for both republicans and democrats is to try to read what these results say about their individual supporters, because certainly republicans were very strongly supportive of this. they lost. republicans have typically won in ohio. so going into 2024, they have to look at that. democrats also could potentially look at this as an opportunity to break through. democrats have had terrible results in the polls in ohio in the last 10, 15 years. and so they could be looking at this as an opportunity to really try to boost their numbers and to try to bring independents and moderate republicans on board. so it really does kind of open things up, i think, not only for november, but also for 2024. ., ., , , ., 2024. karen kasler, bureau chief at the _ 2024. karen kasler, bureau chief at the ohio _ 2024. karen kasler, bureau chief at the ohio state - 2024. karen kasler, bureau i chief at the ohio state house news bureau, thanks forjoining us this evening. it’s news bureau, thanks for “oining us this evening.�* us this evening. it's great to talk to you. _ us this evening. it's great to talk to you, now. _ around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the world bank is pausing the distribution of new funds to uganda, saying the country's anti—lgbtq laws contradict its values. the new law makes being homosexual punishable by death and life imprisonment, and was passed back in may. existing projects funded by the bank will not be affected by this decision. the us supreme court granted the biden administration's request to reinstate a federal regulation to curb privately made firearms called "ghost guns" — at least for now. the 5—to—4 decision put on hold a july 5th decision by a districtjudge in texas that blocked the administration's 2022 rule. under the rule, the government has the power to regulate ghost gunsjust as traditional firearms are. republican presidential hopeful and florida governor ron desantis replaced his campaign manager on tuesday, in what some analysts are calling a continued shakeup to his campaign. the job will be filled by desantis's chief of staff for his gubernatorial office. you're live with bbc news. to niger now, wherejunta leaders have refused to host a visit from the un, african union and ecowas, following their takeover last month. they said that the decision was due to security concerns. coup leaders have denounced what they call a climate of threatened aggression towards the country. reports say they have reached out to russian mercernary forces, the wagner group, for support. it's unconfirmed if the group has arrived in the country. later this week, heads of state from ecowas will gather for a summit to discuss the standoff. the ecowas head and president of nigeria, bola tinubu, said that he's not ruling out military intervention but believes a diplomatic approach is the �*best way forward'. meanwhile the influence of russia's paramilitary group, continues to grow in niger and africa's sahel region. earlier the bbc spoke exclusively to us secretary of state antony blinken about this development. every single place that this group, wagner group, has gone, death, destruction, and exportation have followed. insecurity has gone up, not down. it hasn't been a response to the needs of the countries in question for greater security. what will continue to happen in niger was not instigated by russia or by wagner, but to the extent they try to take advantage of it and we see a repeat of what has happened in other countries, where they brought nothing but bad things in their way, that wouldn't be good. meanwhile, the wagner leader, yevgeny prigozhin, released an audio message where he seemed to offer support to coup leaders in niger. the recording emerged on telegram though the date and location cannot be independently verified. translation: we are always on the side of goodness, - justice, and on the side of those fight for sovereignty and the rights of their people. call us any time. in the war in ukraine, where at least seven people are dead after two russian missile attacks in the eastern town of pokrovsk. the second missile attack happened as rescuers were searching for victims of the first. dozens of others were injured in the strike, including two children. the head of the donetsk region said the missile attack damaged a hotel as well as shops and office buildings. in a state department briefing on tuesday, a spokesperson said there will be more announcements this week regarding the assistance the us plans to provide for ukraine. now, as the us remains at the forefront of aid donors for ukraine with more than $60 billion given to the country since russia's fullscale invasion. a recent media poll found that 45% of americans should authorize addditionalfunding for ukraine and 55% disagree, saying the us should not authorize additional funding for ukraine. earlier, my colleague caitriona perry spoke to ambassador linda thomas—greenfield for the current standings in both ukraine and niger. we've seen russia striking civilians there while holding up a blockade of food exports in the black sea, much—needed food relief for countries like afghanistan, yemen and others. in fact, the situation the former us ambassador to nato called a warzone is relevant to nato as western ukraine. is there any hope for relief in the black sea as you see it to restore the grain deal? i continue to be hopeful. the secretary general of united nations and turkiye have been working diligently over the last few weeks to push the russians and urge the russians to get back into the grain deal. it is in the interests of the global south community and its in our interest and it's in the interests of russia to get back into this deal, so we remain hopeful but it really is in the hands of the russians to make the right decision to resume allowing for ukrainian grain to flow through the black sea. why do you think it is the un security council has been unable to get a handle on the ongoing russian aggression, in clear breach of ukraine's sovereignty? it is clearly a breach of ukraine's sovereignty. it undermines the very foundation of the un charter, the foundation of all the values that we believe in. the council has been consistent in condemning russia's actions. their actions have been condemned very strongly in the general assembly. we had more than 140 countries vote to condemn russia, to condemn their actions in ukraine, condemn their annexations and to call for peace. in the security council itself, you hear every single country calling on russia to do the right thing. condemning their actions in ukraine, their attack ukraine's sovereignty, so it really is in russia's hands to end this war today. they can end the war today and they can return ukrainian territory to ukraine and allow for the free flow of wheat to the rest of the world. but those condemnations, is well—meaning and frequent as they are, have not led to any actual action on the part of russia. how significantly do you think their veto power as a permanent member of the security council has hindered the ability to bring about any accomplishments? there veto power has not protected them from condemnation or protected them from the isolation they are feeling in the security council, and we will continue to keep the pressure on russia until they withdraw their troops from ukraine. i know that they are feeling the pressure every single day and we cannot let up until they end this unprovoked war of aggression on the ukrainian people. president biden has said over and over again that we will stand with ukraine as long as ukraine needs us and we will. we did see peace talks over the weekend injeddah, although there was no significant resolution to come from that. do you think the un can broker a deal between russia and ukraine? i think that a deal can be brokered. it has to have ukraine's active participation in that process and it can't give russia what i would like to refer to as their ill—begotten wealth, their annexation of ukrainian territory that they took in this unprovoked war. so, right now, efforts are being made. we support efforts to find the path to peace but russia has to be a willing participant in that and, in participating, they have to withdraw their troops from ukraine. speaking of the security council, the us holds the presidency of that for the month of august. one of your priorities is food insecurity, specifically ending famine forever. what are you asking from other un nations in terms of achieving that goal? we are asking other countries to commit to doing everything possible to end famine. there is no reason for 700 million people to go to bed hungry every single night. there is no need for famine—like conditions in the horn of africa. we have the resources, we have the tools to end this crisis and we have to commit to doing it, and i was very pleased that we had 91 countries this past week sign onto a communique, demanding that food not be used as a weapon of war and who, in the security council, condemn russia's actions in ukraine. turning to look at the situation in niger now, the situation in niger now, the situation on the ground has been described as not supporting the constitution. this has legal implications, not least that it would have to be stopped but if the biden administration considers actions and not to be in line with the constitution and the delegation was physically stopped from seeing the president in person, is that not a coup? it president in person, is that not a court?— president in person, is that not a coup? it is certainly an attem -t not a coup? it is certainly an attempt at _ not a coup? it is certainly an attempt at a _ not a coup? it is certainly an attempt at a coup _ not a coup? it is certainly an attempt at a coup we - not a coup? it is certainly an attempt at a coup we still. attempt at a coup we still believe that president mohamed bazoum is still the elected leader of niger and we will continue to support efforts for his release and we will support ecowas, who've called for his release and call for the military to stand down. but if those there _ military to stand down. but if those there are _ military to stand down. but if those there are not _ military to stand down. but if those there are not allowing l those there are not allowing your delegation to visit with the president and have refused a visit from a ecowas, that is a visit from a ecowas, that is a very serious situation. how concerned are you about the safety of president mohamed bazoum? it safety of president mohamed bazoum? , ., safety of president mohamed bazoum? ., , bazoum? it is a serious situation _ bazoum? it is a serious situation we _ bazoum? it is a serious situation we are - bazoum? it is a serious i situation we are concerned about his safety. we have stayed in touch with him over the course of his detention and spoken with him on the phone several times. spoken with him on the phone severaltimes. i spoken with him on the phone several times. i have been in touch with him several times as has the secretary of state and others in the region have reached out to him and we will keep pushing for his release. ecowas will be having a meeting on thursday where they will discuss the situation, i think, more aggressively talk about how they can find a path forward that will get president bazoum released. specifically, what is the _ bazoum released. specifically, what is the next _ bazoum released. specifically, what is the next step - bazoum released. specifically, what is the next step that - bazoum released. specifically, what is the next step that the l what is the next step that the us can take?— what is the next step that the us can take? ., ., us can take? right now what we have decided _ us can take? right now what we have decided to _ us can take? right now what we have decided to do _ us can take? right now what we have decided to do it _ have decided to do it temporarily hold back on all of our support and aid that goes through the government of niger. we are still providing direct humanitarian assistance to the people, but we want to be clear that this current effort is not going to be supported by the us government. thank you forjoining us. we will leave that there now. ambassador, thank you. thank ou ve ambassador, thank you. thank you very much- _ ambassador, thank you. thank you very much. great - ambassador, thank you. thank you very much. great to - ambassador, thank you. thank you very much. great to be - ambassador, thank you. thankl you very much. great to be here with you. president biden announced a new national monument on tuesday, as part of his 4—day tour of western states. the site at the historic red butte airfield in the state of arizona will include nearly i million acres and thousands of cultural sites. there is no national treasure, none, granderthan there is no national treasure, none, grander than the grand canyon. the grand canyon is one of the earth's nine wonders of the world, preserving these lands is not only good for arizona but for the planet. it is good for the economy, for the soul of the nation and i believe with my call that it is the right thing to do but there is more work ahead to combat the existential threat of climate change. biden's action comes despite criticism from republican lawmakers. utah senator mitt romney descibed such designation as a political football tossed back and forth as presidential administrations change, adding that president biden's action continues the cycle of antiquities act abuse by the executive branch. that act, dating back to 1906, was the first us law to provide legal protection to cultural and natural resources. stay with us here on bbc news. more for you coming up. hello there. today looks a lot better across the south of the uk than what we had on tuesday. all that rain and drizzly conditions, it felt quite cool, as well. so today and also thursday look to be drier and warmer — certainly warmer on thursday across the board — but it will be short—lived as low pressure brings a return to cooler, showery conditions friday and the weekend. high pressure's building in across the country, as you move through the day today, there will be variable amounts of cloud in places, particularly towards the south and the west. but some good spells of sunshine across northern, central, and eastern areas. a bit of fair—weather cloud is bubbling up into the afternoon, so it will be one of patchy cloud and sunny spells. it will be turning warmer, a bit more humid in the south — 24 celsius in the south—east, a little bit warmer, as well, across some northern areas, but it will stay quite windy for the northern isles. as you move through wednesday night, we see a lot of dry weather around — clear skies, variable cloud. we'll start to import some warmer, more humid air from the south, so we're into the mid—teens, northern ireland, england and wales even much milder across scotland, too. you can see the orange colous spreading their way northwards on thursday, as we pick up warm and humid airfrom france and spain. so a much warmer day across the board on thursday. again, variable cloud, some good spells of sunshine, winds coming in from the south, and we'll see those temperatures reaching 25 celsius or so across the central belt of scotland, widespread mid—20s across england and wales, and we could see highs of around 26—27 celsius. but, like i mentioned, it doesn't last — we'll see this cold front spreading across the country during the course of friday, that'll bring the temperatures down again and introduce showers or longer spells of rain, some of which will be thundery across central and northern areas. but the south—east of england, holding on to the sunnier skies for longest, so not a bad day here until the band of cloud with some showers starts to push in later on. so again, 24—25 celsius in the south—east, but you'll notice the temperatures will be coming down further north and west. low pressure sticks close by, unfortunately, for the weekend, generally to the north—northwest of the country — so it's the northern half of the country will see most of the blustery showers, some of them heavy and thundery. a better chance of staying drier towards the south. but, like i mentioned, some of the showers will be heavy at times and, with the breeze coming in from the south—west, it'll feel on the cool side for august. eye e voiceover: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. please live simply in the big cities — so that we might simply live _