A month-long record-breaking heatwave has sparked nearly 50 fires in the Moscow region and the capital is sweltering under a thick layer of smog.

Health experts say pollution levels in parts of the city are 10 times higher than normal safety limits and advise locals to stay indoors or wear masks.

A state of emergency has been declared in more than 20 drought-hit regions.

It is estimated a fifth of the country’s wheat crop has now died due to the lack of rain in what is thought to be the country’s worst drought for more than a century.

Scores have died in the heatwave, some drowning having taken a swim after drinking too much vodka.
Fully-clothed bathers

Emergency aircraft have already dropped several hundred tonnes of water to extinguish the blazes.

But dozens of peat and forest fires are still burning on the outskirts of the capital, says the BBC’s Richard Galpin in the city.

Health officials have warned the high concentration of carbon monoxide in the air makes breathing as dangerous as smoking several packets of cigarettes every day.

One of the largest fountains in the capital’s centre has been turned into a pool, with some people swimming in their bathing costumes while others are simply jumping in fully clothed.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been asked to commit 25bn roubles ($827m; £531m) towards the emergency effort.

The Roshydromet meteorological service had earlier predicted the smog would begin to clear on Thursday evening, saying temperatures were forecast to cool off over the weekend.

The documents, published online on Sunday, give details of the Afghan war.

Mr Gates said they were potentially dangerous for US troops and allies, and an “aggressive investigation” would determine how the leaks occurred.

The Wikileaks website, which posted the documents, said they had been compiled by a variety of US units in 2004-09.

“The battlefield consequences of the release of these documents are potentially severe and dangerous for our troops, our allies and Afghan partners, and may well damage our relationships and reputation in that key part of the world,” Mr Gates told reporters on Thursday.

He said intelligence sources and methods, as well as military tactics could “become known to our adversaries”.

Mr Gates added that he had called FBI director Robert Muller on Wednesday and “asked for the FBI’s assistance in our investigation as a partner”.

“It is important that we have all the resources we need to investigate and assess this breach of national security,” he said.
Casualty numbers

Wikileaks has said it had tried hard ensure that the release of the material “does not put innocents at harm”, and had held back about 15,000 reports.

One of the leaked reports, from 2007, suggests how civilian casualties could be underplayed.

This initial report makes no mention of civilian casualties as a marine convoy near Jalalabad opened fire while tearing back to base after being rammed by an explosives-filled van.

An update to the report states eight Afghan civilians were killed and 34 wounded. A later Afghan Human Rights Commission report into the incident found that 19 civilians had been killed as the marines drove down the highway firing their weapons.

Another leaked report claims members of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency had backed the Taliban in the war in Afghanistan – an accusation strongly denied by Islamabad.

The group has filed a federal class-action lawsuit in the Northern California district to “redress and end this pattern of unlawful conduct.”

When the iPad’s operating temperature reaches a critical level, it will force itself to shut down and display a message warning the user to let the device cool down before trying use it again. This warning is the same that iPhones and iPod Touches give before shutting down when they overheat, often after being left in direct sunlight.

The lawsuit alleges that the iPad “does not live up to reasonable consumer’s expectations created by Apple insofar as the iPad overheats so quickly under common weather conditions.” Apple lists the iPad’s operating temperature as 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C), so it’s not hard to see that using it out in the hot sun can quickly heat up the device over the maximum temperature.

The plaintiffs seem to take particular issue with Apple claiming that “reading on the iPad is just like reading a book.” This claim is patently false, according to the lawsuit, because a real book can be used in “the sunlight or other normal environmental conditions” without shutting off.

Most consumer electronic devices can be damaged from overheating if used in direct sunlight for long periods of time; not all of them have the automatic shutoff capability that the iPad does. (Sadly, my boom box from 1986 didn’t have an automatic shutoff, and my Quiet Riot tape melted all over the inside when I left it playing by the pool on a hot summer day.)

However, during my hours-long marathon “Plants vs Zombies” sessions — both indoors and in the shade of an apartment deck on a sunny, 82° day — my iPad never became even warm to the touch.

The iPad may not work “just like a book” at the beach or out in the hot sun. Does that fact truly make Apple guilty of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, deceptive advertising, unfair business practices, breach of express or implied warranty, intentional misrepresentation or unjust enrichment?

The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status and asking for an injunction against Apple’s “false” promises as well as “real” and punitive damages.

Chambers was joint-favourite for gold but after making a fast start he tied up towards the end and finished fifth.

Lemaitre, 20, crossed the line in 10.11 seconds, 0.07s ahead of Lewis-Francis and Frenchman Martial Mbandjock.

Portugal’s defending champion Francis Obikwelu – in fourth – and Chambers were also given the time of 10.18.

Lewis-Francis said: “I was told I wouldn’t make the final. I’m so happy.”

It was Britain’s third medal of the championships and came only after a photo-finish confirmed Lewis-Francis had finished ahead of Mbandjock by 1/1000th of a second.

“Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but I’m happy for Mark, he has had to fight hard to get here,” Chambers told BBC Sport.

“I had to rely on my experience, which kept me relaxed, but it wasn’t enough to win. I’ve just got to keep ploughing on at it until my opportunity prevails.”

With so much pressure on him going into the championships as the fastest man in Europe, Lemaitre showed he can cope on the big stage with a composed performance in Barcelona.

He did not make the best of starts but finished strongly to win by a couple of metres as the next four produced a blanket finish for the podium places.

“After a brilliant year my objective was gold,” said Lemaitre, who will be a strong favourite to add the 200m title when the final takes place on Friday.

“I didn’t get a good start but I was able to pick my speed up well. I fought hard and it is a great feeling to be champion.”

Lewis-Francis was hailed as the future of British sprinting when he won the world junior title in 2000, and he anchored the British 4x100m relay team to a surprise gold medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

But the 27-year-old has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, missing the entire 2008 campaign with a torn Achilles tendon, and lost his lottery funding at the end of last year.

“For all the knocks I have taken this is the biggest comeback ever and the biggest boost,” said Lewis-Francis.

“It is a new beginning, this is the rebuilding of Mark Lewis-Francis. I hope I have answered some of the critics.”

Watched by coach Linford Christie in the stadium where Christie won Olympic gold in 1992, Lewis-Francis added: “Linford was my inspiration from when I was a kid. To be coached by him is an honour, he motivated me all the way through my races.”

And Christie himself said: “I knew something special would happen, it was just a matter of getting him out there.”

Chambers won the European title in 2002 but had to hand back his gold medal when he tested positive for steroids a year later, and he vowed to bounce back from Wednesday’s disappointment.

“I was just glad to be a part of it. It’s been a struggle to get here, you can’t win them all and I did the best I could,” he said.

“Of course I mind [missing a medal]. I am disappointed but I got myself here – life goes on.”

The first final of the evening session saw Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic earn glory in the discus with a throw of 64.67m.

Romania’s Nicoleta Grasu was just over a metre behind as she took silver, while Poland’s Joanna Wisniewska was third.

In the women’s long jump Latvia’s Ineta Radevica was a shock winner as she took the gold ahead of Portugal’s Naide Gomes and Russia’s Olga Kucherenko.

Radevica and Gomes both recorded jumps of 6.92m but the Latvian’s next longest leap of 6.87m was superior to the 6.68m of the Portuguese.

Former heptathlon Olympic gold medallist Carolina Kluft struggled to a disappointing 11th place with a jump of 6.33m.

The women’s 10,000m was comprehensively won by Turkey’s Elvan Abeylegesse, who earned the country’s first-ever European Championships gold medal.

Russia’s reigning champion Inga Abitova took the silver while Portugal’s Jessica Augusto finished third.

In the men’s hammer final Slovakia’s Libor Charfreitag pipped Italy’s Nicola Vizzoni to the gold with Krisztián Pars of Hungary taking bronze.

Bob Dudley, currently in charge of BP’s clean-up operation, will replace Tony Hayward as chief executive in October.

Mr Dudley described the oil spill as a terrible tragedy from which the company and the industry would learn a lot.

Earlier, BP reported a record $17bn (£11bn) loss, having set aside $32bn to cover the costs of the spill.

The loss for the three months to June was the largest quarterly loss recorded by a British company.

“[BP] will be smaller and financially, it will grow,” Mr Dudley told ABC’s Good Morning America programme.

“We are going to share our learnings from this, it’s no doubt going to change the oil and gas industry all around the globe as a result of it.”
‘Not negligent’

Mr Hayward, who is leaving by mutual consent, is likely to retain a role within the company. BP plans to nominate him as a non-executive director of its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP.

BP also announced it would increase its asset sales over the next 18 months to $30bn, a total that includes the $7bn-worth earmarked for sale last week.

The $32.2bn cost of the clean-up includes the $20bn already set aside under pressure from the US government for compensation claims.

“That estimate is also based on our belief that we are not grossly negligent,” BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg told the BBC’s business editor Robert Peston.

“Of course we will not know precisely because it depends on how many claims are coming in and [other] things that could happen.”

But he insisted that the company was in good financial shape, with strong cashflow.

“It’s of course a huge loss that overshadows everything else, but the underlying performance of the company is actually strong,” he told the BBC.

“There is no worry about our financial position and our ability to get through this. It’s of course a tragedy and it has large consequences, but we have no doubt that we will be able to rebuild the company,” he said.

Stripping out the oil spill costs, BP made a second quarter profit, on a replacement cost basis, of $5bn, compared with $2.9bn for the second quarter of 2009.

The announcements were welcomed by most investors for their clear-cut approach.

Peter Hitchens, of Panmure Gordon stockbrokers, said: “It’s basically a kitchen sink job…

“I think it’s the board trying to wipe the slate clean.”
‘Milestone’
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

It is very difficult to describe a $17bn loss for three months of trading as a sparkling performance. But for BP it could have been a lot worse”

End Quote Robert Peston BBC business editor

* Read Robert’s blog
* Send us your comments

Tony Hayward said that, now oil had stopped spilling from the Macondo well, it was a good time to leave his post.

“With the leak now capped, we have reached a significant milestone. This provides a firm basis to reshape the company,” he said.

On Monday, the BBC revealed that 53-year old Mr Hayward will receive a year’s salary plus benefits, together worth more than £1m.

He will also be entitled to draw an annual pension of £600,000 once he reaches the age of 55.

Mr Hayward’s pension pot is valued at about £11m and he will keep his rights to shares under a long-term performance scheme which could – depending on BP’s stock market recovery – eventually be worth several million pounds.

Carl-Henric Svanberg said Mr Hayward would be missed.

“The BP board is deeply saddened to lose a CEO whose success over some three years in driving the performance of the company was so widely and deservedly admired,” he said.

The handling of the explosion on the drilling rig off Louisiana on 20 April, which killed 11 workers and triggered the worst oil spill in the US, raised questions about Mr Hayward’s leadership.

Maradona admitted he wanted to stay in the job ahead of a meeting with AFA president Julio Grondona on Monday.

But, after Maradona rejected demands to change his backroom team, the AFA voted not to renew his deal and made under-20 coach Sergio Batista caretaker boss.

Argentina crashed out of the 2010 World Cup finals at the quarter-final stage, where they lost 4-0 to Germany.

A statement on the AFA website read: “Mr Julio Grondona made the members of the executive committee aware of the conversation with Mr Diego Maradona, setting out the points which had come out from the meeting.

“The executive committee unanimously resolved not to renew the contract with Mr Diego Maradona as coach of the Argentina national football team.”

AFA spokesman Ernesto Cherquis Bialo added: “Maradona’s requirements were very far from the FA’s possibilities.”

Batista played in midfield alongside Maradona in the 1986 World Cup final and managed Argentina to gold at the 2008 Olympics.

He will pick the squad for the country’s next game against the Republic of Ireland on 11 August at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium – the first international football match at the redeveloped Lansdowne Road site.

Bialo stated that a new full-time appointment could be announced in time for Argentina’s next home match, against world champions Spain on 7 September.

Estudiantes coach Alejandro Sabella, who was Daniel Passarella’s assistant at the 1998 World Cup, Racing Club boss Miguel Angel Rosso and Batista have already emerged as potential successors to Maradona.

Before the pair’s two-hour meeting on Monday, Grondona stated he was hopeful a new four-year deal could be agreed with Maradona.

But while Maradona was keen to continue in the job, he also declared he would he would refuse to renew his contract, which ended after the defeat to Germany in Cape Town, if the AFA dismissed even one of his staff.

“If they touch a hair of one of my guys, even if it’s the masseur or the kitman, I’m going,” he told El Show del Futbol on America TV.

Grondona had already signalled his desire for backroom changes after admitting the AFA “had lots of problems” with one of Maradona’s assistants, former Argentina defender Oscar Ruggeri.

Grondona’s demand, then, for the replacement of a number of assistants – one of whom was believed to be Maradona’s close friend Alejandro Mancuso – was, unsurprisingly, snubbed by the football legend.

Although appearing defensively frail at times, Maradona’s side topped Group B in South Africa with victories over Nigeria, South Korea and Greece.

They then overcame Mexico 3-1 to reach the quarter-finals.

But the emphatic nature of their exit at the hands of the Germans gave fresh ammunition to the critics of Maradona’s tenure, which included a fraught qualification campaign.

Since taking the job in November 2008, Maradona, considered by many as the greatest footballer in history, won eight and lost seven of his 15 games in charge of La Albiceleste.

Pedrosa stormed past his fellow Spaniard into turn one at the U.S. Grand Prix in California but faltered on lap 11, allowing Lorenzo to extend his lead at the top to 72 points.

Casey Stoner, from Australia, came in second while World champion Valentino Rossi claimed third place on his second race back after a speedy recovery from a broken leg.

Lorenzo made a slow start as Pedrosa set a fierce early pace, keen to secure back-to-back victories after he edged the Fiat Yahama rider into second place during the previous round in Germany.

Pedrosa charged clear of the pack but Lorenzo ate into his lead before the decisive moment of the race on lap 11, as the race leader crashed on turn five.

Lorenzo took full advantage of Pedrosa’s slip, cruising to his sixth win of the 2010 season and his first on the Laguna Seca circuit.

Stoner came in three seconds behind to record his fourth consecutive podium finish, while Rossi overtook Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso of Repsol Honda, to secure third place.

Lorenzo now has 210 points at the top of the championship. Pedrosa retains second place in the standings on 138 while Dovizioso is third on 115. Stoner is in fourth spot on 103 and nine-time world champion Rossi is fifth on 90.

“I rode very well today, at the limit,” Lorenzo told the official MotoGP website.

“Dani was impressive and was pushing so much at the limit as well, and I knew it was possible for him to crash. That happened and then it was quite easy to finish the race.

“We have a big lead in the Championship, it’s easier than before this race, but this is not the first time a rider has had such a big gap in the Championship.

Pedrosa was remaining stoical after the crash that lead to his first non-finish of the campaign.

“At the time I that I crashed I was pushing hard to maintain the gap to Lorenzo and my rhythm was good,” he said. “Unfortunately though, I hit a bump on the way into the corner and I couldn’t do anything – I was down.

“It’s extremely disappointing, obviously, but this can happen when you’re trying everything to win. You have to push as much as you can and take risks – and I really wanted to win this race.”

The next race is in the Czech Republic on August 15.

Mr Hayward is to stand down after sustained criticism of his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil leak.

However, a BP source said he would be nominated for a non-executive position at the firm’s Russian joint venture.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said that the pension entitlement was “bound to be hugely controversial”.
‘Honour contract’
BP pension scheme rules say that those who joined before April 2006 can take the pension at any point from age 50. Mr Hayward is 53.

He will also receive a year’s salary plus benefits worth more than £1m.

Mr Hayward’s pension pot is valued at about £11m and he will keep his rights to shares under a long-term performance scheme which could – depending on BP’s stock market recovery – eventually be worth several million pounds.

Our business editor said that because Mr Hayward was leaving by mutual agreement rather than being sacked, the BP board felt it had “to honour the terms of its contract with him”.

He will be replaced by American colleague Bob Dudley, the BBC understands, though no formal announcement has yet been made.

Mr Dudley, who is in charge of the Gulf of Mexico clean-up operation, was the former chief of the BP-TNK joint venture, but was forced to leave Russia in 2008 amid a dispute with shareholders.
Criticised
BP is set to reveal its latest results on Tuesday. The accounts will cover spill compensation and costs of up to £19bn, and may result in the worst quarterly loss for a UK firm.

They are also likely to discuss terms of the severance package for Mr Hayward – whose performance in the crisis has been widely criticised.

Mr Hayward began his career with BP 28 years ago as a rig geologist in the North Sea before working his way up to board level. He was a popular choice for the top job when Lord Browne stepped aside in 2007.

But he will be seen to carry the can for being at the helm for the worst year in the company’s history.
Questions raised

When he became chief executive in 2007, Mr Hayward told journalists his number-one task was to focus “laser-like” on safety and reliability.

The explosion on the drilling rig off Louisiana on 20 April, which killed 11 workers and triggered the worst oil spill in the US, raised questions about his leadership.

Mr Hayward has been heavily criticised by residents of the Gulf coast and US politicians for his handling of the clean-up and for a series of gaffes, including saying that he “just wanted his life back” and that the Gulf of Mexico was a “big ocean” following the leak.

He was also taken to task for attending a sailing event off the Isle of Wight in June.

Mr Hayward was publicly rebuked by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee last month for “stonewalling” questions at a congressional hearing.

Journalist Tom Bower, who wrote a book called The Squeeze: Oil, Money and Greed in the 21st Century, said Mr Hayward’s departure was inevitable because he “hadn’t changed the culture” at BP following previous accidents in the US.

“He knew what had to be done, but he didn’t do it properly. He was too slow; he wasn’t inspired; he wasn’t focused enough,” said Bower.
PR perspective

The man expected to replace Mr Hayward, BP managing director Mr Dudley, took over the day-to-day operations in the Gulf last month.

Many say that, from a public relations point of view, Mr Dudley has the advantage of being American.

He grew up in Mississippi and, according to BP, has a “deep appreciation and affinity for the Gulf Coast”.

BP has lost 40% of its market capitalisation since the May spill.

The company’s second-quarter results due on Tuesday are expected to reveal a provision for the costs of the clean-up, compensation claims and fines to be paid.

Meanwhile, the official overseeing the US government response to the oil spill has said the operation to plug the ruptured Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico permanently has been put back to allow more time for preparatory work.

Retired Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen said the last bit of pipe needed for the process would be put in place in the coming this week, with the actual plugging operation starting in the first week of August. A temporary cap has stopped oil from gushing for more than a week.

In the latest turn for the worse in the strained relations between the two countries, the Venezuelan government ordered Colombian diplomats to leave by Sunday.

President Hugo Chavez said he had “no choice” after Colombia accused Venezuela of being a haven for guerrillas – a charge he denies.

He said that he was acting “out of dignity” in severing ties.

He also ordered the military to be on maximum alert on Venezuela’s border with Colombia.

President Chavez made his announcement shortly after a meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Washington, at which Colombia presented videos, maps and photos to show that Marxist Farc and ELN rebels have bases in Venezuela.

The Colombian Ambassador to the OAS, Luis Alfonso Hoyos, said the material was clear evidence that some 1,500 Colombian rebels were sheltering at numerous camps inside Venezuela.

Mr Hoyos said the photographs showed that the rebels had 39 camps in Venezuela and that top guerrilla commanders were resident there.

His Venezuelan counterpart, Roy Chaderton, ridiculed the Colombian evidence, saying that the photos and videos could have been taken anywhere.

Mr Hoyos demanded that Venezuela fulfil its international obligations to fight terrorism and that it allow an international commission to visit suspect sites.

After the meeting, OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza told reporters that the regional body could not mount an inspection mission without Venezuela’s consent.

President Chavez did not respond directly to the demand but said the US was using Colombia to undermine his country’s regional integration efforts.

A US official was quoted by AFP news agency as saying Venezuela breaking ties with Colombia was not a “proper way” to raise concerns.

The issue over whether Venezuela has rebels on its territory has dogged ties between the two South American nations for the past eight years.

But the latest exchange plunges bilateral relations to a new low.

The BBC’s Jeremy McDermott in Bogota says it also leaves Juan Manuel Santos, who takes over as Colombia’s president from Alvaro Uribe in two weeks, with a very difficult situation to handle.

It will be the second meeting between the two parties since the March attack on the Cheonan, which killed 46 South Korean sailors. An international investigation blamed North Korea for the sinking.

Officers from both sides will meet in Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. The talks are designed to set the stage for higher-level discussions on the contentious naval incident.

The demilitarized zone was created as part of the armistice signed between North and South Korea in 1953 that halted fighting in the Korean War, but the war has never officially ended.

The United Nations and North Korea began occasional meetings between generals — “general officer talks” — at Panmunjom in 1998 in an effort to lessen tensions. There have been 17 such meetings so far.

Earlier this month, the United Nations formally condemned the sinking of the Cheonan but did not specifically name North Korea.

“The Security Council deplores the attack,” the 15-member council said in what is known as a presidential statement. It urged that “appropriate and peaceful measures be taken against those responsible for the incident aimed at the peaceful settlement of the issue.”

It also called for full adherence to the 1953 armistice agreement.