the "irregular mobilisation by some units of the bolivian army", saying "democracy must be respected". he then addressed the nation, alongside his cabinet, calling on the bolivian people and social groups to mobilize against the attempted coup. and in the past hour, the president and vice president have greeted supporters in the plaza murillo after police retook control. the public prosecutor's office says it's to launch a criminal investigation against a top general — juanjose zuniga and others for leading the insurrection. i'm joined now from la paz by local journalist gabriel diez, from the bolivian newswebsite la nube. great to be able to speak to you on this story. bring us up to speed on the latest situation.— to speed on the latest situation. ., ~ , ., ., situation. thank you for the interview _ situation. thank you for the interview. well, _ situation. thank you for the interview. well, long - situation. thank you for the interview. well, long story| interview. well, long story short, as you may know the president of bolivia, this kind of attempt, but it wasn't

successful. now at 7pm, it is all coming to the surface. to what has _ all coming to the surface. to what has been the reaction on the ground to this? we saw many civilians in the area where the military were occupying.- military were occupying. yes. those civilians _ military were occupying. yes. those civilians are _ military were occupying. yes. those civilians are more - military were occupying. yes. those civilians are more part| those civilians are more part of the public sector. they work for the state. they are trying to obviously to bury this coup, but the sensation and all of bolivian society, social media, family groups, what's up, there was talk, of course. we family groups, what's up, there was talk, of course.— was talk, of course. we know the president _ was talk, of course. we know

the president and _ was talk, of course. we know the president and vice - the president and vice president have greeted supporters. they offer also said the public prosecutor �*s office has said that an investigation is to be launched. can you tell us more about that?— about that? yes. the attorney general office _ about that? yes. the attorney general office of _ about that? yes. the attorney general office of the _ about that? yes. the attorney general office of the bolivian l general office of the bolivian state announced a few minutes ago that the former commander of the army in bolivia will be investigated, criminal proceedings will be initiated against him because what happened today in bolivia is not normal. so an investigation is open to this person.- is open to this person. thank ou so is open to this person. thank you so much _ is open to this person. thank you so much for— is open to this person. thank you so much for getting - is open to this person. thank you so much for getting us i is open to this person. thank| you so much for getting us up to speed with those developments from the bolivian news website. i'm joined now from bogota in colombia by the bbc�*s jose carlos cueto. what is the context in which this has happened ? how did it come to this? what

was going _ how did it come to this? what was going on _ how did it come to this? what was going on today _ how did it come to this? what was going on today in - how did it come to this? what was going on today in bolivia, | was going on today in bolivia, we need to first look at the current situation of the country. a country is experiencing an economic crisis. especially with energy scarcity. this has sparked several demonstrations and protests over the last few months but especially we need to look at the rivalry that the current president and former president have in the country and with many supporters supporting him and others supporting him and others supporting him, the main issue is that morales was disqualified from running for the presidential election in 2025 by a constitutional court in the last december. but he still insists on his chance to run for the presidency. and this is a movement, declaration, a constituent that is heavily criticised by many in bolivia, including the

president. and including the military leader who led today the mobilisation of the armed troops in the square plaza, where the presidential building is. he was dismissed from his charge yesterday, tuesday after certain declarations that he said against morales in which he said that he would impede him to rise to the proceedings, let's say go against the constitution and for that reason, he used quite strong language that was interpreted in bolivia as the main reason why he was dismissed from his charge, even though he was appointed himself in november 2022. ., ~ ., appointed himself in november 2022. ., ., ., 2022. thank you for that context- _ 2022. thank you for that context. what _ 2022. thank you for that context. what has - 2022. thank you for that context. what has been | 2022. thank you for that i context. what has been the reaction then from around the region to these developments?

there has been an overall condemnation from many leaders in the region, including mexico's president, lula da silva and brazil. they have all referred to the situation, what's going on in bolivia as an attempt of a coup d'etat. the white house also called for the situation to calm down in bolivia. and from president morales, he called for a defence of democracy. very much for bringing us up to speed. the two men in the race to become britian�*s next prime minister have faced off in a spiky television debate organised by the bbc — their last direct encounter before the general election next week. the conservative prime minister, rishi sunak, and his labour party opponent sir keir starmer, faced questions from an audience in the central english

city of nottingham. the issues of trust, taxes and youth unemployment dominated the debate. the labour party currently enjoys a massive lead in opinion surveys over the conservatives, who have been in powerfor14 years. here's how the two leaders answered a question about the ongoing scandal of party members allegedly betting on the timing of the vote — and the results. this takes leadership. what i did when one of my team was alleged to have been involved or investigated by the gambling commission, they were suspended within minutes. i was furious to hear about these things, that's why i've dealt with it. the choice in this election is about, as you said, it's about leadership comments about integrity and politics. and as a question about doing what you say. keir starmer has made this broader point, but the point is he has changed his mind on every major position that he's taken. on the economy — prime minister rishi sunak used a familiar line about increased taxes under labour — while keir starmer warned of a returned conservative government. the labour pa rty's the labour party's policies mean _ the labour party's policies mean all— the labour party's policies mean all your taxes are going

to go— mean all your taxes are going to go up— mean all your taxes are going to go up by thousands of pounds _ to go up by thousands of pounds. it is in their dna. your— pounds. it is in their dna. your pension, your counsel tax, your— your pension, your counsel tax, your home, _ your pension, your counsel tax, your home, your car, you name it, they— your home, your car, you name it, they will— your home, your car, you name it, they will tax it. pensioners are not going to be better off with a prime minister who is making promises because they are not funded. that's exactly what liz truss got wrong. if there's one thing that we cannot repeat at this election, please do not go back to liz truss mark two with this prime minister, because the same damage will follow. speaking after the debate, political editor chris mason gave his analysis on our debate programme — after a tv audience vote left the leaders 50—50 based on tonight's performance. what i'm struck by as a final thought is the opinion polls have barely budged in inch this campaign as faras have barely budged in inch this campaign as far as the conservatives and labour are concerned with labour miles ahead. when you watch that debate tonight, it felt much more competitive than those polls might suggest, a snap polls might suggest, a snap poll from you gob suggested it was 50—50 in terms of the

performance of each of them as far as the audience at home was concerned. nothing yet in this campaign has significantly shifted these polls. let's see if this or anything in the final week can or does. wikileaks founderjulian assange is begining his first day as a free man in his home country. he reached a plea bargain with the american authorities — pleading guilty to a single charge of conspiracy. it's the end of a m years legal odyssey — in which he battled with us officials who accused him of leaking classified documents. our australia correspondent katy watson reports. cheering and applause. a political win for australia. a personal victory for julian assange and his family. this is a homecoming they've long been waiting for. so too his supporters. there's no words to do it justice, to be honest. i've got the shakes, i've had the jitters,

we can't eat for the last two days, i can't sleep. do you think opinion will be divided that he gave one guilty plea? how does that make you feel? it's a figleaf for america, you know? they didn't even have the decency to just accept that they'd already been told that the appeal was going to be...likely to be successful. shortly after landing he was whisked away, his first night of freedom. supporters have come to the hotel wherejulian assange is staying in the hope of catching a glimpse of him. these people have been campaigning for years. it was a concerted effort of politicians and diplomats here in australia talking to the us who made a difference in bringing him home. for those anxious to hear assange's story, they will have to wait a while longer. julian wanted me to sincerely thank everyone. he wanted to be here. but you have to understand what he's been through. he needs time, he needs to recuperate. and this is a process.

in the packed press conference, much praise was heaped on australia's prime minister for making this happen. the prime minister was the first person to get on the phone to speak to julian _ julian thanked him and the team and told the prime minister that he had saved his life. the two men spoke on the phone after assange landed, but haven't yet met. i believe in standing up for australian citizens, and i've made that very clear. i made it clear from the beginning. i had the same position as opposition leader on all of these issues as i've had as prime minister. and as prime minister of australia, you have an opportunity to make a difference. this marks the end of an epic journey forjulian assange, back on home turf.

and with that, an end to ia years of legal battles and diplomatic headaches. katy watson, bbc news, canberra. dr deepa driver who was the legal observer on thejulian assange old baily case — for the unified european legislature at the parliamentary assembly of the council of europe. she gave me her thoughts now the case is over. this is a historic case. it's historic because it's set a number of precedents in relation to how we treat whistle—blowers, how we treat journalists, especially those engaging in national security journalism, how how we understand how the most powerful states operate, and also how people can mobilise to make change even in the most desperate situations. so to me, the assange case represents a lot of what we all care about, us understanding what governments or corporations do in our name, journalists trying to expose and reveal some

of the corruptions and of the the malpractices, war crimes, etc, that take place with the help of people inside the system who have a conscience and who let us know. because quite often, you know, if you have a child in a nursery or an old or an elderly relative in a care home, you don't really know how they're being looked after. and it's up to whistle—blowers if they're being mistreated to let you know. so the fact that journalists rely on these whistle—blowers is really important because then, you know, if the journalists can get some facts out, that's really good. and in the assange case, we know that these facts are a accurate be available for the public record. so we don't have to rely solely on journalists to parse out and tell us what we should know. we can really understand it for ourselves and over time,

things get declassified. first points that you mentioned, just specifically on the debate between freedom of speech and national security, what is this case done? well, in the in that debate, what we've what we've learned is firstly that there's an imbalance in the us—uk extradition agreement with a balance heavily weighted in favour of the united states, that there was no danger to national security really through the revelation of serious and systematic war crimes, and that the way in which national security is weaponized in order to silence critical scrutiny or dissent has become very, very effective today. if anybody were to receive the information in the guantanamo bay detainee assessment, which a very good journalist, they would be hesitant to publish it. but there we got details of 780 muslim men and boys, boys as young as ia, who were tortured and systematically violated.

and today we wouldn't were we to get that information, we would have to we wouldn't know where to look for it, because you'd have to have a publisher who's willing to publish it, a journalist who's willing to receive it after what has happened to assange over the last ia years, and also a media landscape that accepts that kind of information. and all of that has really been chilled. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

the trial has finally begun in moscow of evan gershkovich, an american journalist for the wall streetjournal who russian authorities have accused of spying. he's been imprisoned for nearly fifteen months, but today he appeared in court, head shaven and standing in a glass cage. if convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in a penal colony. our russia editor steve rosenberg was in court.

this is evan gershkovich, after 15 months in a russian jail, awaiting trial. russian prosecutors call him a spy. america says he's being held hostage. as his trial opened, some smiles. but, if convicted, the us journalist faces up to 20 years in a russian prison. so, we managed to see evan gershkovich briefly. but, from this moment on, this trial will be behind closed doors. so, no family members, no diplomats, no media allowed in. the next time we may be able to see the american journalist will be at the end of his trial. he was arrested on a reporting assignment here in yekaterinburg and accused of collecting information for the cia. evan gershkovich, his employer, the wall streetjournal, and the us government fiercely deny it and call the trial a sham.

this is a bogus process. this is outrageous and outlandish. he will not enjoy any of the due process that one would expect in the west, in any western court. it will be closed door, it will be secret. we don't expect any chance, really, of his being acquitted. but could there be a prisoner swap? it's happened before. in 2022, russia freed us basketball star brittney griner, injail on a drugs charge. in return, america released russian arms dealer viktor bout. there's no guarantee though. former marine paul whelan was convicted of spying four years ago in russia. the us insists he is wrongfully detained but hasn't secured his release. and, despite us—russian contacts over evan gershkovich, there is no sign yet of a deal that would bring him home. steve rosenberg, bbc news, yekaterinburg.

an intense heatwave in pakistan has led to an increased number of deaths — that's according to health officials. temperatures there have been rising as high as 47 celsius. the province of sindh has been particularly badly affected. in the biggest city, karachi, one of the main hospitals has admitted more than 260 people with heatstroke since sunday. heatwave centres have been opened to try to provide relief — while volunteers set up stalls providing water and sugar cane juice to help people keep cool as they travelled. here's what these local residents had to say. it was very hot yesterday. it's also very hot today. it's good for the volunteers to set up these water stalls and spraying water on travellers. it should be followed by other people too. , .. , , ., be followed by other people too. , ,, ., , , too. these camps have been set u . too. these camps have been set u- in too. these camps have been set up in various _

too. these camps have been set up in various places _ too. these camps have been set up in various places and - up in various places and offering _ up in various places and offering water to drink. thankfully we help them cooperate with each other and this really saves us from heatstroke. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... the usjustice department has reached an agreement with fugitive financierjho low to return more than $100 million dollars — allegedly embezzled from malaysia's state—owned wealth fund as part of the imdb scandal. mr low, a wanted fugitive, remains at large, although his whereabouts are unknown. a us soldier has been charged with the kidnapping and rape of a teenage girl in okinawa, a japanese island chain that hosts the region's largest american military base. the alleged sexual assault took place in december — but it's only now come to light. it's likely to stoke the long—standing local opposition to us military presence there. the un says thailand has become the biggest single supplier of weapons to myanmar�*s military authorities, despite sanctions. it says thai companies and banks — with no government involvement — are helping to keep the burmese military going. the un says these supplies are being used to conduct a campaign of violence and brutality.

now to the glastonbury music festival in southwest england, where south korea's "seventeen" make history this week by becoming the first k—pop band to play the main pyramid stage. for some in the west, "seventeen" may not be a household name but last year, their sales were only beaten by taylor swift. the band were at the un's paris headquarters on wednesday, after being named unesco's first—ever global goodwill ambassadors for youth. let's get a taste of one of their biggest hits: "maestro" which does contain flashing images: they sing. i spoke to comedian seong jae also known as korean billy. he told me about the significance of their performance, and whether or not kpop's growing popularity is here to stay

it is a big boy band and seventeen, if you are korean, as a korean it would be strange not knowing them. so in korea, the group 17 is very, very popular. now, you mentioned that they're pretty big in korea, that soon to be pretty big at glastonbury playing the main stage stage there. what do you think makes them such a popular band? 0h, they have always been making music and it's been almost nine years since they debuted as well. so they've been making music. but i think like thanks to the internet and thanks to all the streaming services, i think finally the uk audience have discovered them and finally seventeen had made their way to glastonbury. so as a korean, i'm so glad. and you're in the uk as well. how have you seen sort

of keep pop culture so grow where you are over there? well, as i mentioned, like now that k—pop is very, very accessible compared to the past, thanks to all the streaming services, i think more and more people and especially the british people, get to enjoy korean culture and k—pop in general as well. and yeah, i think that's especially because since covid, ah, people kind of started to move onto lots of streaming services. so i think the pandemic also somehow helped k—pop to gain popularity as well. yeah, it certainly did change things. on what people's viewing habits were during the pandemic. opened a lot of people's eyes to other sort of countries, other languages and other sort of productions. when it comes to entertainment consumption, do you think this is a fad though? do you think or do you think the korean pop culture is here to stay? oh, i can still see the korean culture is still on the rise.

so it hasn't reached the peak yet. and not only k—pop or korean music, when it comes to korean films and tv shows and korean food in general, i can see the popularity is steadily increasing all around the uk as well. so i really hope more and more british people get to enjoy and discover more about korean culture in general. yeah, you say it's on the rise. coming up this weekend, glastonbury, seventeen will be playing there. that's quite a big deal. you know, they're the first korean artists to play on the main stage. yes. oh, it is quite moving and touching moment because when i see the line—up at the artist or performing at glastonbury, they are prestigious, super world famous artists and musicians. so i7joining that huge group is such a big moment for korean people as well and i'm sure for them as well,

seventeen, the group as well. i think that would be a monumental moment for them as well. some other this friday at 2a5 at the pearman stage at glastonbury. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. wednesday was the warmest day of the year so far, with 31 celsius reached in wisley in surrey. but that's the last of these sorts of temperatures for now. it does look like for the rest of the week, into the weekend, it's going to be turning fresher for all areas and the winds will be picking up as well. but we'll still have quite a bit of sunshine around. now, the change is all courtesy of this area of low pressure, pretty deep for the time of year, pushing to the north and the west of the country, where it'll bring significant winds and some rain. but the cold front associated with it will spread across the country, pushing the warm and humid air back out to the near continent. this is the cold front — barely anything on it as it

reaches southern and eastern england. but it will bring a change to the air temperature. plenty of sunshine here, but windy with showers or long spells of rain for north—west england, north wales, northern ireland and into scotland. so temperatures here much lower than of late. highs of 2a to 25 degrees across the south—east. but warmer along north sea coasts, as we've lost the onshore breeze. but it will be a very blustery end to the day for thursday. gales across the far west of scotland, far north of northern ireland, showers or longer spells of rain, whereas i think as we head through thursday nights across much of england and wales, it should be largely dry with some clear spells. lighter winds the further south that you are. but it will be a cooler night to come for all, with temperatures 10 to around 12 degrees. so as we head into friday, then, we see that area of low pressure pulling away from the north of the uk, but it will take its time. it stays quite windy, blustery, with outbreaks of rain across scotland, whereas for england and wales, closer to a ridge of high pressure. so the further north that you are, it will be windier with showers or longer

spells of rain. the further south that you are, variable cloud, but some good spells of sunshine. and i think for many, it will stay dry on friday. temperatures perhaps reaching around 23, maybe 2a degrees. otherwise, it's the mid to high teens further north, so you can see that cooler trend is continuing. into the start of the weekend, bit of a question mark on it, but it looks like this area of weather fronts will bring thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain to the central slice of the uk through the day. to the north of it, it stays quite blustery with sunshine and showers, feeling cool. but some good sunny spells across the south and south—east could put temperatures up to around 25 celsius, so feeling quite warm again, but cooler further north. but as we head into part two of the weekend, it does look like it'll be cloudy with some further spots of rain and feeling cooler for all.

allegations from a new boeing whistle—blower, this time over the compa ny�*s signature dreamlinerjet. plus, ahead of the first us presidential debate, we'll look at why jobs may not translate to votes. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. let's begin in the us, where boeing is facing yet another whistleblower�*s claim this time, over improper manufacturing of the plane—maker's signature dreamlinerjet. the bbc�*s erin delmore reports.

the mechanic's name is richard cuevas, and he's the latest whistle—blower to come forward with allegations about substandard safety issues on boeing jets. mr cuevas was contracted by spirit aerosystems boeing supplier to work on the 787 dreamliner beginning in march 2023. he says he observed substandard manufacturing and maintenance practices, flaggged the problems, and lost his job. at issue is the airplane's forward pressure bulkhead. that's located on the plane's nose, and it's important for maintaining cabin pressure. he says that spirit aerosystems made changes to manufacturing and assembly specifications without boeing's permission — according to a statement from his lawyers. boeing's quality control and safety record have been in the spotlight since a door plug blew out of a 737 max nine jet mid—flight in january. and since 2018 and 2019, when two boeing planes crashed, killing 346 people.