armisitice day. today we have closed the book on apartheid. south africa s former president f.w. de klerk the last white man to lead the country has died at the age of 85. and the man who spent lockdown sorting out an old box of dinosaur bones and discovered a new species. almost 6 million people are now waiting for routine hospital treatment in england, the highest level since records began. the head of the nhs confederation has warned that unprecedented demand could compromise patient safety, with the ambulance service in particular coming under extreme pressure. 5.83 million in england are now waiting to start treatment in the nhs, the highest number since records began nearly 15 years ago. the ambulance service is under its highest state of alert. latest figures show the average response time for urgent calls, like heart attacks and strokes, is nearly 5a minutes. the target is 18 minutes. last month, more than a million 999 calls were answered in england, a record number.
the people in it not quite so much. thank you let s speak to our political correspondent, iain watson. thank you forjoining us. we heard george galloway there saying he always loved the building, but what kind of reception are we expecting for him in parliament? kind of reception are we expecting for him in parliament? when he said he didn t quite for him in parliament? when he said he didn t quite love for him in parliament? when he said he didn t quite love the for him in parliament? when he said he didn t quite love the people - for him in parliament? when he said he didn t quite love the people in - he didn t quite love the people in it quite so much, that feeling, believe me, is mutual. george galloway goes in there as the only workers party mp, he will have no natural allies in the commons and there will be some people, perhaps suspended by the mainstream parties, that he might wish to work with. he will hope to work with a wider group of mps on one specific is
sunshine and showers. some of those showers should be thundery and heavy, but they will ease from the south west. it s tuesday the 25th july. wildfires on the greek island of rhodes have now forced almost 20,000 people to abandon their homes. hundreds of holiday makers have left the island, with more repatriation flights set to take place. evacuation orders have also been issued in corfu and evia. louisa pilbeam reports. with the tourists gone, this is all that s left on some beaches in rhodes. for a holiday island, it s greek livelihoods that have gone up in flames. in the restaurants and bars that remain, greeks are left to pick up the pieces. 0ur houses maybe not to be there tomorrow, maybe now we are on fire, we don t know what to do. it s very, very bad, the situation. we need help. send us help from everywhere. but wildfires aren t uncommon in greece. this bar owner is ready to rebuild. eh, we lost the business. we have good health, and we are hopeful to fix it again.
having the best preparations for wimbledon, she s been able to win a couple of matches at the tournament in germany but has pulled out of her semifinal today because she said she had a restless night and may have had a restless night and may have had a restless night and may have had a bout of food poisoning, which is farfrom ideal when had a bout of food poisoning, which is far from ideal when she will have to play for the first time on the monday. to play for the first time on the monda . , ., ., monday. and in the men s draw we had this sense because monday. and in the men s draw we had this sense because of monday. and in the men s draw we had this sense because of carroll s - this sense because of carroll s graphs regaining the world number one spot that him and novak djokovic would be kept apart, but plenty of otherjuicy first would be kept apart, but plenty of other juicy first round would be kept apart, but plenty of otherjuicy first round matches later down th
here is the news from karishma patel. the government says it s taking action to tackle teenage vaping in england. the prime minister has pledged to close a loophole which allows retailers to give children free samples even though it is illegal to sell to them. russia has accused ukraine of launching drone attacks on moscow. the defence ministry says eight drones reach the capital. officials report minor damage to buildings on the strong swallow overnight attack on kyiv in which one person are said to have been killed. the government has until this afternoon to hand over more documents from boris johnson relating to the covid inquiry orface johnson relating to the covid inquiry or face prosecution. johnson relating to the covid inquiry orface prosecution. the inquiry orface prosecution. the inquiry wants to see unredacted messages but the cabinet office says some of the material demanded is irrelevant. a former top chinese government scientist has told the bbc the possibility