his interviews with muhammad ali were unmissable. he has no rhythm, no footwork, no class. he cannot talk. and who told him he could sing? but of all those 2000 or so guests, one always haunted him. i interviewed everybody from henry kissinger to billy connolly to james cagney to dame edith evans, all those people. and i'm only remembered for one thing, i was attacked by a sodding emu. he's not aggresive! rod hull and emu rather punctured the suave tv persona. i knew we should never have booked it. of course, there wasn't much hollywood glamour in the childhood of this son of a yorkshire miner. my generation was the first that actually challenged the assumption that if you're born into a mining family, you followed your dad's footsteps down to the pit. his escape was journalism, which took him to granada tv. ladies and gentlemen, miss shirley maclaine. and then, in 1971, the parkinson show. i hope i can get away with this, it's a beauty. it was a programme that could transform a career. it's a substitute for tattoos, i'm frightened to get a tattoo. billy connolly appeared 15 times. about the oyster that went to a discotheque and pulled a mussel! they became good friends. i said, i need somewhere to park my bike. but others... let's talk about nudity. ..especially some women, were rather less comfortable in his company. do you find, in fact, that this what could be best described as your equipment, in fact, hinders you, perhaps, in that pursuit? you're wary of journalists. i mean, does it give you an insight into what they're after? now that i'm wary of them? yes, you are wary ofjournalists. you're wary of me, you're wary of the interview, you don't like being interviewed. you can see it in the way that you sit and the way you are. true. in other words, if you were me, what would you do now? well, just wrap it up. in the 80s, he was briefly part of the ill—fated gang of five who launched itv�*s new breakfast programme, before returning to the bbc to present desert island discs and a programme on radio 2. and then reviving the parkinson show. he's a practicing homeopath, as a matter of fact. there were moments, but it was nowjust one of many chat shows on an interview circuit... pretty sure that's what he said he wanted. ..where everyone seemed to have something to sell. right. play forward. well played. well done. 0ffscreen, he loved his cricket, always a proud yorkshireman. one day, there'll be some research into the benefit of this magnificent food, soul food for yorkshiremen. and at the end, it was his father's very yorkshire judgment that came to mind. just before he died, he said to me, he said, "you've done well and you met some big stars." i said, i had. he said, "you made a bob or too without breaking sweat." i admitted that was also true. "good lad," he said, "but think on. "it's not like playing for yorkshire, is it?" it wasn't. but once or twice, it got pretty damn close. good night. so many people have been remembering michael parkinson today. well, one person who knew sir michael parkinson very well — is lord grade — michael grade — the former chair of both the bbc and itv. here's how he summed up sir michael's contribution to broadcasting... he was a master of his craft. i don't really know any chat shows apart from the the parkinson show that were absolutely an appointment to view. he was incredibly reliable and got the biggest stars of the day to talk to and he had a lovely... he had such a respect for their great talent and their stardom that although he always remained a good journalist, he gave them a chance to speak, to give them a chance to be at their best and he loved interviewing his heroes. was that one of its most unique qualities, particularly when we look at the media landscape today, that he gave the stars the platform rather than himself? the show was about who was on, it wasn't about michael. he saw his role really as a journalist, to get the best interview he could out of his subjects. and, boy, his cannon of work, his library of parkinson interviews is a popular history of the 20th century, pretty much. do you have a favourite interview? i think i do, i think it was when he was at the rough edge of muhammad ali on one programme, which i suspect that ali thought parky was trying to trap him into reading something. i've read in places that ali was illiterate, and in order to get himself out of the predicament, ali just turned on parky, who was completely surprised, and i bet your life that he never knew that ali couldn't read. i think he himself said that was one of his favourite interviews as well. but can you take us back to when you first met him and how you spotted his talent? yes, i was a talent agent in i900—and—frozen—to—death, i knew him as a sports journalist and i read him avidly — i was a sports journalist once — and i saw he was doing some things for a local sports programme and thought this guy had something. so i lushed him up at the savoy in london and offered to be his agent and i never heard another word. i wish id 10% of him for the rest of his career, but at least myjudgment was right. it was indeed. and what was he like as a man? exactly as you see on screen. very down to earth, very straightforward, very grounded, a wonderful marriage, lovely family. part of him couldn't believe what had happened to him and the other half enjoyed it. but he never lost sight of his roots, which were pretty well delineated by him on many programmes. that seems to be a thread coming through in some of the tributes, i even see stephen fry saying that, "the genius of parky "is that he was always 100% himself, on camera and off, authentic "is the word, i suppose." and we overuse that word authentic now but that would seem to sum him up. i suspect he never interviewed as a guest anyone he didn't admire and respect for their talent. and he got the best out of people. the more in awe of the talent he was, whether it was bing crosby or whoever, shirley maclaine, you name it, the better his interview. and he was charming and not aggressive and not looking for a cheap sound bite. he prodded and probed but he wanted to create, give the artist, the stars, the opportunity to express themselves and tell us who they were, not who parky was. do you think we have lost something now that we don't have formats like this, appointment to view television? it was a very different style, it was cosy, journalistic. these days, it's all a bit aggressive and sound—bitey and everyone is selling something to somebody, it's not quite the same. i don't know any appointments to view like there were with parky on a saturday night. so, if you were talking to young journalist, telling them to watch some sir michael parkinson, what should they be looking to learn from him? listen, learn to listen. it's not about you, it's about your subject, learn to listen. absolutely right. nobody better than parky, god rest his soul. paying tribute there to sir michael parkinson who has died at the age of 88. to west africa — where more than 60 migrants are presumed dead — after their boat was found drifting off cape verde. it's thought they were trying to reach the spanish canary islands — the boat was found about 300 kilometres from cape verde. it's believed almost all those on board came from senegal. 38 people, including children, were rescued and brought ashore — on the island of sal. officials in senegal said they were making arrangements to bring survivors home. mayenijones reports. they are the lucky ones. these survivors were spotted in a wooden boat near cape verde by a spanish fishing vessel and they had spent a month at sea. three of mahmoud's siblings and his cousin were on the boat. his 24—year—old brother died. they both tried making the journey together earlier this year. translation: one of my brothers called to say - another brother was dead. i was shocked because we were close and he was a fighter. he was married and had two kids. a booming population, crumbling economies and growing insecurity is pushing thousands of young people to leave west africa. as the legal means of accessing europe tighten, many of them are turning to dangerous, illegal routes in search of a better life. the atlantic migration route from the coast of west africa to the canary islands is often used by african migrants to reach spain, especially in the summer. but it is one of the world's deadliestjourneys. translation: it comes with a lot of pain, yes, i but we know that immigration issues are global issues which require international cooperation, a lot of discussion and a global strategy. until such a solution is found, young people like mahmoud says he will keep trying to reach europe despite the risks. myenijones, lagos. let s get some of the day s other news now. sweden has raised its terrorist threat level amid mounting international tension over recent burnings of the quran. injune, a protestor tore out pages from the muslim holy book and set them on fire outside stockholm's largest mosque. the australian border force says it's found radioactive material in a home in sydney. three occupants of the building were taken to hospital for observation as a precaution. the fire brigade said the low—level isotopes were in suitably sealed containers. it's not yet been revealed how the radioactive material got there. saudi arabia's crown prince mohammed bin salman has been invited to visit the uk. the visit is likely to be in october, though no official date has been set yet — and it could prompt sharp criticism. it would be the first visit since the murder ofjournalist jamal khashoggi at the saudi consulate in istanbul in 2018. us intelligence agencies concluded that the prince must have authorised the killing, despite him denying any involvement. i asked our security correspondent frank gardner to outline the context of the visit. this october, when he's expected to come to uk, will mark the fifth anniversary of that very grisly murder and dismemberment of the journalist jamal khashoggi at the embassy in istanbul. since then, because of the investigation and conclusion by western intelligence agencies, led by the cia, that crown prince mohammed bin salman must have known about the attack or authorised it, something he denies, becuase of that, he has been a pariah for the west. not completely though — injune, president macron of france invited him to visit and in those intervening five years, saudi arabia has become an absolutely massive player on the world stage, in sport, in business, in construction and even in diplomacy. they've just finished hosting a big peace conference injeddah to try to find ways to end the ukraine war. it didn't achieve anything but it brought in a0 countries, including china. saudi arabia is simply considered too big a country to ignore for countries like britain, so it's partly about money, partly about diplomacy, partly about power. britain would like to get a slice of the massive investment programme that crown prince mbs, as he's known, mohammed bin salman, is directing. so i think, despite the protests, i think it is pretty much a done deal, he will come to britain in early october. who is critical of the visit? human rights organisations, amnesty international, for a start, has issued a angry rebuttal to this, saying he should not have the red carpet rolled out for him because of saudi arabia's grisly human rights record. they say it's notjust jamal khashoggi, it is the treatment of prisoners, the locking up of people in prison for many years simply for tweets. the ongoing denial of access to lawyers for those who have been charged and so on. i think frankly a lot of countries are just holding their nose and saying, yeah, we know all of that but we are still going to do business with saudi arabia. it is the most important and largest country in the gulf cooperation council, the bloc of six countries in the gulf arab states. britain is looking to do a free trade deal and that's not going to happen unless saudi arabia and specifically mbs gives its agreement. i met mbs some years ago, before he became really powerful. in the intervening years, he has managed to consolidate all the reins of power into his hands. he controls everything. the interior ministry, they army, the national guard, the police. if you remember some years ago, he imprisoned a lot of powerful princes, shut them down, and he really runs the country even though his father is still the king. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. prosecutors in france have charged four people after six afghan migrants drowned in the english channel on saturday. the two iraqis and two sudanese nationals — who are accused of involuntary manslaughter — were detained shortly after the small boat sank. it had been carrying 65 people — most of whom were rescued by british and french authorities. ajudge in nicaragua has ordered the seizure of all assets belonging to a prestigious university run byjesuit priests, in the latest clampdown on dissent by the president daniel ortega. thejudge has described central american university as a centre for terrorism organised by criminal groups. new research suggests the morning after pill stays effective at preventing pregnancies for longer if combined with a common anti—inflammatory medication. the researchers said the combination worked in 95% of cases if taken within three days. they hope the results will spur further research and lead to women around the world accessing more effective emergency contraception. you're live with bbc news. now, wildfires are continue to cause serious problems in parts of north america and europe. canada has begun evacuating the residents of an entire city in the north west of the country, because huge fires are now approaching. more than 20,000 people in yellowknife — the capital city of canada s northwest territories — have been told to leave by friday. the authorities said the wildfires had taken a turn for the worse and posed a "real threat". yellowknife is now blanketed in smoke. and fires are burning close to the one major road into — and out of — the city. more now on the wildfires on the hawaian island maui, where111 people are now confirmed dead. questions are being asked about what caused the disaster and whether more could have been done to save lives. people across the island have reported seeing fires being triggered when power lines were brought down by strong winds. from maui, john sudworth sent this report. maui's fight continues. this pilot, hovering above a swimming pool... now being used to douse the flames further down the hill. these homes, some distance from the destroyed coastal town of lahaina, are in the centre of the island where, last week, just before the fires, the cameras at this bird sanctuary captured a bright flash. staff believe it is a tree falling on a power line. shortly afterwards, flames can be seen in the forest. ross hart saw something similar before his home burned down. we could hear some trees falling here and there in the distance. one big one fell here on the bridge and it knocked over the power lines. and then you saw the house... you could see it burn? i saw it begin to burn and they wouldn't let me stay to watch it. they were dragging me out, because the embers were starting to come over on my truck and stuff. questions are now being asked about whether lives might have been saved. should maui's power grid been turned off? could more have been done to sound the alarm? for many of those who escaped from lahaina, alongside the trauma there is now a deep sense of anger. i hate it, i want these people to explain to me why we didn't get an alarm when they have the most sophisticated alarm system in the world? they practice it every month and what in the world are they waiting for, you know? the authorities have launched an investigation, although the priority for now is responding to the disaster. but the wildfire risk, despite the devastation in lahaina, is farfrom over. this helicopter taking multiple trips, carrying water off to fight the wildfires still smouldering right across this area. but some of those who have lost homes here, point to something they say should already have been focusing the minds of the authorities. like, as if it isn't obvious, notjust from what's happening here, but all over the world. what could be more obvious that we are having disaster after disaster that's all as a result of climate change? with more bodies yet to be recovered, this is already america's most lethal wildfire in more than a century. few doubt that lessons need to be learned. john sudworth, bbc news, maui. in europe, a wildfire on spain's holiday island of tenerife has prompted the evacuation of nearly 4,000 people. the fire, which broke out on tuesday, is spreading through a forest in the northeastern part of the island. about 250 firefighters — and 13 planes and helicopters — have been deployed to help with the emergency. the head of the regional government said it was the most complex fire in the canary islands for a0 years. around 50 north koreans have left the country on a rare international trip. it's thought it could indicate that pyongyang is relaxing its strict covid—era border rules. the group are believed to be taekwondo athletes heading to kazakhstan for a tournament. they were spotted leaving a beijing train station on buses bound for the north korean embassy. this is the first time the north has sent a sports team overseas — since it sealed itself off from the world in 2020. public gatherings have been prohibited for seven days in the pakistani city of jaranwala, after five churches were torched. the punjab provincial government has ordered an inquiry into the incident, where a crowd of muslims took to the streets after two christians were accused of desecrating the quran. christians had their homes ransacked by protesters. the police have made more than 100 arrests. sahar baloch is from the bbc�*s urdu service — she gave us more details. yesterday news broke out that houses and multiple churches had been vandalised and later taught by a mob of around 500, 600 people, and this is what the police said —— later torched. the cause of the violence was said to be news where it was said that two brothers were accused of desecrating the holy koran and since then we have seen the residences of the christian community being ransacked and torched. who started these rumours? who basically lead the mob? the police have identified an extremist organisation in pakistan, a religious politico party and often known to go around, and earlier there was a sri lankan resident who was murdered in pakistan as well and even that mob was also led by tlp, as well, so this is what pakistan, the conversation is totally focused on the fact about who starts these rumours and basically who is leading the mob and why did it happen. the family of leonard bernstein have defended the actor bradley cooper, in a row over his depiction of the late jewish composer in a new film. some critics claimed mr cooper's wearing of a prosthetic nose played up to offensive jewish stereotypes. but the family of mr bernstein — best known for the musical �*west side story�* — said they were "perfectly fine" with the actor using make—up to "amplify" his appearance. the film �*maestro' will premiere at the venice film festival next month let's hearfrom siobhan synnit, a fomer tvjournalist, who spoke to us earlier about prosthetics in film. there's room for a conversation about casting choices, but let's face it, we are a long way from the days of laurence olivier blacking up to play othello or, at the other end of the spectrum, bernard bresslaw playing an afghan warlord in carry on up the khyber. here's the issue with leonard bernstein, there seem to be two parts to it — one is the wearing of a prosthetic nose. now, leonard bernstein, as his family said, did have a generous nose and bradley cooper has chosen to adopt a prosthetic nose. and there is backstory for that. i mean, actors do wear prostheses in order to play real—life characters. we had gary oldman playing winston churchill with prostheses. daniel day—lewis added extra nose and chin to play abraham lincoln. and of course, famously, nicole kidman played virginia woolf by adding a prosthetic nose and won an oscar. as her presenter said at the time, denzel washington, "winning by a nose." i'm not a huge fan of prosthetic noses, i think they're distracting for audiences. but who knows, maybe it's a big part of maestro. we don't know because we haven't seen the film yet. it is already being talked about, though. this is one of the top stories on the bbc website today. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. although it's staying warm over the next few days, it will start to turn increasingly humid and we will start to see some thundery downpours pushing in off the atlantic. warm and humid for the next few days, a little sunshine here and there, but an increasing threat of thundery downpours, thanks to this area of low pressure. high pressure is anchored to the east of the uk. that is bringing a fresh south—easterly wind, tapping into the warm air off the continent, but the humidity will increase over the next few days. through the rest of this afternoon there will be variable cloud. some sunshine and the risk ofjust one or two showers for northern england and into scotland. most places should be dry. temperatures reaching highs of around 2a, maybe 25 degrees in the south—east, given some good, sunny spells. as we head into this evening we start to see the first of a couple of weather fronts pushing into the south and west of the uk. winds are starting to increase as well through the night. we can see some thunderstorms mixed into this band of rain in the south. quite warm in the south, a little fresher further north. still we are in double figures across the board. for friday this first band of rain will be spreading northwards and eastwards. a line of thunderstorms perhaps embedded in it across england and wales. strong, gusty winds around the irish sea, especially north—west wales, gusts up to 60 miles an hour. for the northern half of the country, we should see the best of the conditions, with some sunny spells. because there is more cloud around and showers, temperatures reach highs of around 23. humidity will increase. on friday we see a more active band of thundery rain spreading northwards across england and wales and northern ireland, and that will be across scotland as we start saturday morning. again some thundery rain which will tend to clear away, and then it is a bright day, with sunshine and showers. most of the showers will be across western areas, quite blustery in the north and west. temperatures coming down here, and very slowly, the humidity will drop across the south—east. we could have up to 25 or 26 degrees again. sunday, a similar story. a blustery day in the north and west, with sunshine and showers. most of the showers in the north and west, dry across central, southern and eastern areas. those temperatures close to the mid 20s. less humidity, i think, for all areas by this point. as we head into next week it could turn very warm for a time across south—east england. further north and west we hold onto that theme of sunshine and showers. spain'sacting prime minister pedro sanchez edges closer to forming a government — three weeks after the snap election. concerns over the health of the chinese economy. in a week of bad economic data we ask whether something is seriously wrong, and how concerned should we be? welcome to world business report. i'm marc ashdown three weeks after spain s inconclusive snap election, the country's socialist party — led by acting prime minister pedro sanchez — is finally a step closer to forming a government. as madrid's parliament reconvenes today — the socialists need support from the catalan nationalist party, junts, in order to form a coalition. there does now appear to be an agreement — and parliament has elected a new socialist speaker, the first step towards forming a government. there have been concerns that the political instability might affect spain's economy, which continues to struggle with high unemployment. david latona is a reuters journalist based in madrid. i asked him what happens next. this is the first step that does indicate that there could be a socialist led government in the future weeks. but it was an inconclusive general election, with a hung parliament, so there is still a chance there will be a repeat election in a few months.