aleksander rodnyansky, explained the significance for kyiv�*s forces. we've been waiting for this moment for quite some time. we've been hoping that we would pierce through the russian defence line, the first defence line, which was the hardest to pierce through, if you believe military experts when they talk about it. so hopefully now, when we reach the second and the third lines of defence that the russians have established, those will be easier to essentially overcome. and perhaps hopefully this is the spot, this is the place where we can now actually put all the modern nato technology, the tanks that we've been getting and the training that we've been receiving, put all of that to use, to our advantage. hopefully, it's the key moment. again, we'll see what happens. it's hard to predict at any point, including at this point. but you know what the objectives are. we have a common objective of liberating ukraine, notjust for ukraine, but for the whole western developed democratic world, because this is a standoff between democracies and authoritarian systems and it's really key for everybody to chip in. so hopefully this is a key moment. hopefully we'll be able to build on that and make sure that we liberate all of ukraine in its 1991 internationally recognised borders. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams has sent us his assessment from kyiv. so, for several days now, we've been hearing reports that the ukrainians might have got through the first line of russian defences. in fact, it's been a week since the commander of one unit said he had done precisely that. but in the last couple of days, we're hearing senior officials, both here in kyiv and generals involved in the fighting down in the south, all making the same claim. where is this happening? well, it's an area around a tiny village called robotyne that is some distance south—east of the city of zaporizhzhia. and it's an area the ukrainians have been concentrating on for some time. it seems as though to some degree the ukrainians have pushed through the first line. now, that is minefields, tank traps and trenches. ukrainian forces are now through those obstacles, possibly in those russian trenches or even perhaps slightly beyond them, trying to push this gap in the russian line wider and wider so that ultimately ukraine can pour through that gap, the armoured infantry that it has been preparing and equipping for precisely this moment. now, that opportunity to push through may still be some way off. the ukrainians have got to widen that gap first before they're confident enough that the armoured forces can move through without being attacked by the russian artillery. but we are in the beginnings of what could turn out to be a new phase. if they are successful in widening that breach and pushing forward, we could see the pace of the ukrainian counteroffensive getting slightly quicker because it's thought that the defences that lie behind the front line of defences may not be quite as strong as that first line. all of that will remain to be seen. it is probably some way ahead of us. but clearly officials here in kyiv and down in the south believe that this could be a bit of a turning point. meanwhile, ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has announced he will ask permission from parliament this week to dismiss the country's defence minister oleksii reznikov. he has been ukraine's defence minister since november 2021, and has played a key role in securing billions of dollars in western military aid. however, his ministry has been dogged by corruption allegations. he'll be replaced with rustem umerov, the head of ukraine's main privatisation fund. president zelensky made the announcement a short time ago. translation: this week parliament will be asked to make a _ staff—related decision. i have decided to replace the minister of defence of ukraine. oleksii reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full—scale war. i believe the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole. torrential rains have swept across spain, with residents in the capital madrid being advised to stay at home. large areas of the countryside in castellon have been flooded. emergency services sent text messages to people living in madrid, advising them not to use vehicles. la liga has suspended the match due to take place between atletico madrid and sevilla in madrid, due to the alert. the chancellor, jeremy hunt, says the government will "spend what it takes" to secure school buildings that are affected by crumbling concrete. labour has criticised what it called a "bare bones" response to a crisis. more than 100 schools have been forced to close buildings, and others could follow, because they contain a type of concrete, called raac, which can fall apart after several decades. our home editor mark easton has the latest. after two days of terrible headlines about crumbling schools at risk of collapse... good morning, sir. good morning. ..it was the chancellor who took to the airwaves to try and reassure the public that the government had matters under control. welcome back to the studio, chancellor. appearing on the laura kuenssberg programme, mr hunt said ministers would do whatever was necessary to keep schoolchildren safe. we will spend what it takes to sort out this problem as quickly as possible. so do you commit to covering whatever costs are required to remove all of this dangerous concrete from schools around the country? we will spend what it takes to make sure that children can go to school safely, yes. the chancellor has insisted the government acted fast when the dangers of school ceilings unexpectedly falling on children came to light, but did they? injuly 2018, a staff room ceiling suddenly collapsed at a primary school in kent, and crumbling raac beams were blamed. in december of that year, the government warned every school authority to beware the dangers. in may 2019, a committee of structural experts went further, advising that catastrophic failure could happen without warning, with the possibility of injury or death. but it wasn't until march 2022, almost three years later, that the government sent out a questionnaire asking schools if they had raac in their buildings. in december last year, they issued new guidance, with photos showing examples of school ceilings which could suddenly fall in. then, over the last two months, further unexpected collapses prompted the current crisis. the risks from failing raac beams have been known about for decades, but government checks on school buildings have only been visual, surveyors not even expected to remove ceiling tiles to identify critical structural problems behind. the labour party says cuts in school maintenance budgets have put lives at risk. i can think of a no more defining image about the last 13 years of conservative government than children being sat in classrooms under metal props to prevent the ceilings literally falling in on their heads. it is scandalous. we're working to make sure that there is minimal- disruption to education. the education secretary is hoping that this departmental video posted on youtube will console worried parents. not everyone is convinced the government is doing enough. i am extremely disappointed and frustrated that there wasn't a plan in place for this happening. the government might not have known that it would happen this week, but we knew the stock was in this situation. checks on the fabric of england's schools were not good enough to spot potentially catastrophic failures before they happened so, while the problem is thought to involve around 100 schools at the moment, the raac crisis could actually affect thousands of buildings right across the public estate. migrant crossings in the english channel reached their highest number on saturday for the year. the home office says 872 people made the crossing yesterday on 15 vessels. almost 21,000 migrants have made the journey so far this year. that's around 4,000 fewer than this time last year. to politics here in the uk, and the labour leader, sir keir starmer, is expected to reshuffle his top team tomorrow. the change to the shadow cabinet coincides with mps returning to westminster from their summer break. there is speculation over what role he may give his deputy leader angela rayner. 0ur political correspondent ione wells has more details. it's expected that the labour leader, sir keir starmer, is going to reshuffle his top team tomorrow. it's not yet clear who will get spots in the new shadow cabinet, but there's been lots of questions raised about what role he may give his deputy leader, angela rayner. now, she was elected deputy leader, so she will keep that position no matter what. but there's been some labour sources speculating that she might be given a domestic policy brief — essentially be put in charge with a main policy area rather than doing her current role where she shadows the cabinet office brief, which is held by the deputy prime minister 0liver dowden for the conservatives. now, there's been lots of speculation about other names in the mix too. some tipped for potential promotion, including darrenjones, the chair of parliament's business committee. he's received lots of kind of positive headlines in the past, partly for his grilling of big companies like royal mail and p&0 and thames water in the past. and i think there's certainly lots of speculation that he may be tipped for an entry into the shadow cabinet. now, this comes after rishi sunak replaced his defence secretary and appointed a new energy secretary last week. it's expected the prime minister will carry out his own fuller reshuffle at some point in the coming months. but both leaders really want to try and solidify their top teams ahead of an expected general election at some point next year. the boss of one of the world's largest supermarket chains, tesco, has called for laws to be toughened to protect shop workers from increasing attacks. ken murphy told a sunday newspaper that physical assaults against his staff were up a third on the same time last year. mark ashdown reports. why are you touching me? what are you touching me for? get out now. what are you touching me for? a body—worn camera captures a suspected shoplifter, unleashing a torrent of abuse. the british retail consortium found there are now 850 attacks on retail staff every single day, almost double the number before the covid pandemic. staff report being sworn at, spat at, racially and sexually insulted, and verbally and physically abused. the boss of britain's biggest retailer, tesco, says enough is enough. writing in the mail on sunday, ken murphy said millions of people stock the shelves, walk the floor and serve the tills. these unsung heroes are being made to feel unsafe by customers who will be verbally or physically abusive, or who will threaten or attack them when challenged. these attacks are unacceptable, he said. for these colleagues and their families, it's heartbreaking. after the co—op and waitrose started using body—worn cameras, tesco will now offer them to any staff working face—to—face with customers. but does it work? clearly, there are some people who just don't care but what it does do is make some people think twice. it makes them realise that, you know, they are on camera, that their conflict is actually being recorded. obviously, it is also a huge cost to the retailers and it is a cost which ultimately gets borne by the customer in terms of, you know, the prices we see in stores. 0ne former security manager at asda told us the squeeze on household budgets is also having an impact. i think with the economic situation, more people are desperate, so they are willing to use violence to get the items that they need. in scotland, abusing staff is a specific criminal offence, which industry leaders want to see extended across the uk. body—worn cameras are just one tactic in the ongoing fight against retail crime, which costs the industry £1.8 billion every year. marc ashdown, bbc news. taiwan is being battered by its biggest storm in four years. typhoon haikui has brought winds of up to 190 kilometres an hour. 0ur reporter nicky schiller is in the newsroom with more. the storm gathered pace as it approached taiwan, and what you can see behind me is one of the government webcams, where you can see the torrential rain pounding the lens. it is predicted in some areas that there could be at least half a metre of rain by monday. with those winds of 190 kilometres an hour, it's no surprise that trees and power lines have been brought down in several coastal towns, causing, as you can see, damage to vehicles. the state—run taiwan power company says it is working hard to restore electricity to tens of thousands of homes and businesses. all domestic flights were cancelled on sunday. roads have also been damaged, with the authorities warning that there is a risk of landslides in some mountainous districts. thousands of people have been moved to evacuation centres, whilst others are staying sheltering in their homes, although they have been told to stay away from windows in case they get broken by flying debris in those strong winds. the military have mobilised soldiers and equipment to help with those evacuation efforts and the flood relief. taiwan has escaped any direct hits by major storms since 2019. although the typhoon is expected to cause extensive damage, it is passing over a relatively sparsely populated area of the island. it will then move, forecasters say, across the taiwan strait and into china. this summer has seen another series of major wildfires around the world. researchers say forest fires are becoming more widespread and more intense. here's our science editor rebecca morelle. at times this summer, it has felt like the world is on fire. flames racing across swathes of land, destroying homes and lives. the images are unforgettable. but how bad has this wildfire season been? looking at the total area affected by fire so far, this has not been an unusual year, although we are only partway through it. but there are some exceptions. in europe, greece has seen some extreme fires, one the largest ever recorded in europe. but in countries like portugal and romania, the area burned has been below average. over in canada, huge fires have been raging for months, their worst wildfire season on record. but in the us, it has been quiet. in california, a wet winter and cool spring has lowered the fire risk. in hawaii, though, the fire was small but its impact was enormous. the death toll is still rising, making 2023 the deadliest year for wildfires this century. hawaii kind of shows that you can have a really intense fires as well and it is the intensity of the fires as well, rather than the size, but how hot it was, how fast it spread and how easily it spread. it kind ofjust shows that those fires can be devastating and, you know, with the amount of people who have lost their lives. so what is the overall trend? are wildfires increasing? the answer is not straightforward. this shows how the total area of burnt land is changing over time. the line is going down, the areas decreasing year—on—year. it is driven by a fall in savannah fires, mainly in africa, part of the natural cycle. they make up about 70% of that total area burned. but as land use changes, the area is getting smaller. forest fires, on the other hand, cover a much smaller area but they are becoming more widespread. 0n the forest area around the world, especially outside of the tropics, we have seen a substantial increase in fire, notjust in area burned but also in intensity of fire. this is where we see all those big implications. they generate a lot of smoke, they generate a lot of carbon emissions. if they are close to population centres, they can be deadly. as parts of the world battle wildfires, what is the impact of climate change? climate change is leading to hotter and drier conditions, helping wildfires to take hold. scientists estimate that, since 1979, the global fire season is now 27% longer, and the united nations projects that extreme fires could increase by 50% by the end of this century. where the fires occur is also shifting. we're also seeing this trend of wildfire activity _ going further north, - which is why, um, in the uk, over the last five years, _ we have seen a kind of upward trend as well in wildfire activity. the northern hemisphere's season is not over yet, and summer is just starting in the southern hemisphere, so all eyes will be on what happens next. rebecca morelle, bbc news. one person has died during the burning man arts and culture festival in nevada. it follows torrential rains which have trapped tens of thousands of people at the festival's desert site. david willis is there. # i wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?# they've seen it here — what is thought to be the longest, heaviest rainfall since this festival was launched 37 years ago. the day before people were due to start heading home, the dusty desert sand was transformed into thick clay, prompting organisers to lock the gates to anyone seeking to enter or leave. and they will remain closed until the ground hardens, allowing the tens of thousands of vehicles to leave through narrow desert roads without getting bogged down in the mud. when that happens depends on the weather, of course, and there are further thunderstorms forecast. the advice to those stranded in the ankle—deep mud is conserve food, fuel and water supplies because it is unclear when they'll be leaving. this is hard. i'm kind of sad. when are we getting out of here? everyone says, your guess is as good as mine. this week—long festival transforms a remote area of north—western nevada into a sprawling desert city but, even before the event got under way, organisers were dealing with flooding caused by the remnants of hurricane hilary. burning man culminates with a large wooden effigy being set alight. depending on the weather, that may not happen for several more days. david willis, bbc news, in black rock city, nevada. the push towards net zero means traditional gas boilers will be phased out by 2035. its replacement will be green alternatives like heat pumps. but in rural areas, where households are off the gas network, the government is proposing bringing the ban forward to 2026. danjohnson has been to one village in the west of england that's found another way to heat their homes. a special delivery down cornwall�*s country lanes. to kehelland, claimed to be europe's first village heated by waste vegetable oil, called hvo. this is our boiler. it's a kerosene boiler, it's about 27 years old... dave is a happy customer because it is saving him the costs of fitting a heat pump. we would have to run something like about £37,000 to have the roof fully insulated, and that doesn't include the cost of the air source heat pump itself and all the piping and all the radiators and everything else that has to go inside the house to replace this. so, how much would you be talking about? well, a minimum of 60,000. there is no gas here, and the electricity network isn't great either. you have got these beautiful old stone houses, but they are difficult to heat and even harder to properly insulate. and then you have got buildings like this, which are even more of a challenge. the carbon emissions are down 80 or 90% without huge conversion costs. it's given us a realistic option to start going greener on—site... and at this charity for people with learning difficulties, they are glad they have switched. we have been able to keep the original equipment, very little disruption to the site, and now we are able to heat this amazing space, which we use for therapeutic horticulture, whilst producing 90% less carbon, which isjust amazing for us. but not everyone is convinced. there is a question mark over the impact of supplying enough vegetable oil to serve 1.7 million rural homes. we need to electrify everything that we possibly can and only use biofuel for very special applications where there is no alternative, and they are shipping and aircraft in particular. the village school, they've managed to convert overto the hvo... the boss of the oil company is subsidising this because taxes currently make it more expensive. but he says it's what people want. they don't want to remove their existing system. they can't afford to move away from it. you would say that because your business is absolutely dependent on it, isn't it? well, you know, we are a fossil fuel supplier, and we are quite passionate about moving away from fossil fuels. and, you know, hvo seems to be a very good solution to do this. the road to net zero is being questioned, and it's rural communities which must decide first how to keep warm without fossil fuels. danjohnson, bbc news, kehelland in cornwall. almost a year on from the death of queen elizabeth, there are plans for a permanent memorial. a specially—formed committee will consult the public and the royal family in choosing an appropriate tribute to be unveiled in 2026. so, how best to commemorate britain's longest—reigning monarch? here's our royal correspondent daniela relph. a nice statue of her with a water feature around it, where people could throw money which could be gathered to support the charities that the queen supported when she was alive. but nothing — too ostentatious and in—your—face. and it's striking that balance in terms of how you immortalise her. a traditional park with horses, where people can learn to - ride horses, new horse riders coming in, butjust keep- it very traditional. and it doesn't get much more traditional than the queen victoria memorial, dominating the view outside buckingham palace, an imposing tribute to a monarch. queen victoria got this huge memorial in a prime location, but queen elizabeth ii reigned for longer, arguably during more turbulent times. so does she need something bigger, better orjust different? archive: it was sir l winston churchill who proposed three years ago that a national memoriall to king george vi be established. in 1955, the young queen elizabeth unveiled a statue to her own father on the mall in central london. a wartime king, it is a traditional, even austere interpretation of him. a statue of his daughter would tell a different story. 0ne sculptor who worked with the late queen has her own ideas. i feel that there should be somewhere on the sculpture where you can press a button and you hear her voice. because i very often find when you walk around london and you see the sculptures, you know, you perhaps don't notice them all. the location of the memorial will be crucial. some have suggested the fourth plinth in trafalgar square, although it's now a successful showcase for contemporary art. the public will be consulted in the months ahead, and it looks like some will have an alternative take on a fitting tribute. i would say maybe a form of music. a song by a famous british artist. what about lots of flowers, right? like a park and, yeah, - just like a really elaborate, like, flower thing. i think it would be l pretty appropriate. i think a statue, because this generation loves photos and you need somewhere to take a photo. daniela relph, bbc news. now, we had to show you these pictures out of denmark. you may have heard mozart peformed but probably not like this! by barking dogs! barking what i can tell you is the three dogs who performed — cookie, sophus and sica — were chosen for their barking skills. the concert in copenhagen featured the danish chamber 0rchestera, and the piece the dogs barked to was by leopold mozart, the father of wolfgang amadeus. time for the weather. could turn out to be something _ time for the weather. could turn out to be something warmest _ time for the weather. could turn out to be something warmest weather. time for the weather. could turn out | to be something warmest weather so far. the highest temperature we recorded over the summer was back in june at 32.2 celsius. this week we are expected to get to 30 celsius but some places could getjust warmer than that. certainly some warmer than that. certainly some warm or even hot weather in the outlook. plenty of strong sunshine butjust outlook. plenty of strong sunshine but just a outlook. plenty of strong sunshine butjust a little bit of mist and fog here and there. some start monday morning, particularly across parts of south—west scotland but a few patches elsewhere, lifting and clearing quickly and then we will see lots of sunshine. breezy was the pile south—west, the far north of scotland, but only the weston and northern ireland seeing more cloud and rain. temperatures in eastern scotland up to 25—26, parts of central and south—eastern england 29. monday night, staying dry with clear skies, still the weather front in the far north of scotland, a fuse patches of rain, immediately on shower into the far south—west of england, 16 in plymouth to start tuesday. a warm start for there, mild elsewhere. tuesday, this area of low pressure swirling to the south—west, introducing the odd shower across the south—west of england, parts of wales possibly northern ireland. weatherfront in northern scotland weakening, elsewhere lots of sunshine and plenty of warmth. a slight shift in the wind direction, a cooler day in the wind direction, a cooler day in the eastern side of scotland, 21 for aberdeen, further south 27, possibly 28 degrees. wednesday, this area of high pressure changes shape. shifting to the east, we get the wind up from the cell. another surge of very warm air, wednesday is the day when some places could get up to 30 celsius, possibly even a little bit higher. patches of mist and fog around the cows but elsewhere a story of warmth and sunshine. as we head towards the end of the week, sticking with the same theme, temperatures close to 30 celsius on thursday. 0nly temperatures close to 30 celsius on thursday. only very slowly will it turn more unsettled from the west. this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak with the headlines. ukraine's military are reporting significant progress in their counter—offensive against russia's invasion. they say they have managed to break through key russian defences