the venezuelan opposition has alleged widespread fraud in sundays presidential election. a spokesperson says the electoral authorities had stopped publishing the results of individual ballot boxes. she added "there is a significant number of individual ballot boxes. she added "there is a significant number of of individual ballot boxes. she added "there is a significant number of polling of individual ballot boxes. she added "there is a significant number of polling stations where they are moving our witnesses and forcing them to leave." president nicolas maduro is seeking a third term in office. he has been president since 2013 and his campaign manager said when the results come in things will become clear. edmundo gonzalez has said it is time to restore democracy and prosperity after a quarter—century of rule. polls are suggesting that mr gonzalez has a wide lead over

the permanent. the opposition says it is facing harassment and the rest of more than 100 people linked to the campaign and its main candidate was barred from running in the election. mr madero�*s re—election was believed to be neither free nor re—election was believed to be neitherfree norfair, sparking concerns over the selection. he said he would win "by hook or by crook" but the attorney general has assured voters results will be free and fair. tensions were high at polling stations. you can see voters here as they waited to cast their votes. mr gonzalez and president maduro each spoke after casting their ballots. translation: to all venezuelans around the world, _ your strength and your commitment, we feel it and it encourages us. we are one people united in our search for freedom. thank you to all those who are working today to ensure that the will of the venezuelan

people is respected. translation: i will recognise the electoral referee, - the official bulletins, and they will be respected. the word of the electoral referee is holy. here's our south america correspondent ione wells who is in caracas, venezuela. we are hearing these reports now from an opposition spokesperson that there have been some reports at least by that party that the selection process has not been followed, the reports of fraud. what have you been hearing there on the ground? well, this was a big concern of the opposition, and what they are saying is that their witnesses are not being allowed in some of the accounting stations and in the central electoral council which they say is a sign that the government is trying to stop official results being published. they have also said

some of the official results are being delivered now on a slip of paperfrom are being delivered now on a slip of paper from the electronic machines to the central electoral council —— are not being delivered now. they are only being submitted electronically and there are concerns that could lead to electoral fraud. concerns that could lead to electoralfraud. the concerns that could lead to electoral fraud. the governing party and president maduro �*s team have been speaking this evening. they have said that while they cannot announce the result yet it is visible from their faces. result yet it is visible from theirfaces. they result yet it is visible from their faces. they said that while smiling and certainly also said they are confident the president is going to win a third term so i think what we do know for sure this evening is that when those results do come, they are likely to be heavily disputed either way as both sides are very much fighting their corner at this site in the evening. hearing from the — site in the evening. hearing from the opposition - site in the evening. hearing i from the opposition candidate edmundo gonzalez, we believe the turnout has been higher than previous elections. what

do you believe that could potentially signal about any results? ~ ., , ., results? well, the opposition certainly felt _ results? well, the opposition certainly felt the _ results? well, the opposition certainly felt the high - results? well, the oppositioni certainly felt the high turnout would be something that would be good for them and certainly we have seen queues around the city of caracas, even today, long queues of people at polling stations, hoping to vote with some people saying that while previously they might not have felt as engaged with voting, they felt disappointed with the electoral system and politicians generally, this time they felt a sense of hope and change and change is a word we kept hearing today when speaking to people who were out and about voting. i think the opposition feel a high turnout would indicate a strong result for them, but as i say, there are concerns being raised this evening by the opposition that some of their witnesses are not able to be present at polling stations. there were other concerns raised at different parts of the country that some polling stations did not open at all which led to protests

and clashes with authorities in some areas. so, i think there are already signs of disruption, certainly unrest in some parts of the country about the results and i think that is only going to continue the longer this week goes on until we have any indication of a result. , , , , result. just briefly, is there a sense of— result. just briefly, is there a sense of what _ result. just briefly, is there a sense of what might - result. just briefly, is there i a sense of what might happen result. just briefly, is there - a sense of what might happen in the country if there is a sense that there has been some sort of fraud or irregularity?- of fraud or irregularity? well, i think certainly _ of fraud or irregularity? well, i think certainly if— of fraud or irregularity? well, i think certainly if that - of fraud or irregularity? well, i think certainly if that were i i think certainly if that were the case, that would be heavily disputed. it is not clear yet whether we would see the sorts of protest that we saw in 2018 after the last election was widely dismissed as neither free nor fair. widely dismissed as neither free norfair. as i said, there are a lot of unknown steel this evening until we get a official result from the electoral authorities but it is worth noting that the electoral authorities in venezuela are currently controlled by the governing party, by nicolas maduro's team and that is why they are open to criticism from

they are open to criticism from the opposition in particular who do not really trust what they say. who do not really trust what they say-— who do not really trust what they say. are south america correspondence _ they say. are south america correspondence ione - they say. are south america correspondence ione wells, | correspondence ione wells, thank you very much. i've been speaking to geoff ramsey, senior fellow for venezuela and columbia at the atlantic council's adrienne arsht latin america center. why do you think turnout will be a huge factor in the actual results here?— results here? turnout will be crucial here. _ results here? turnout will be crucial here. we _ results here? turnout will be crucial here. we have - results here? turnout will be crucial here. we have exit. crucial here. we have exit polls coming out that show that edmundo gonzalez had a 20—30 point lead over incumbent nicolas maduro and the reality is that it looks like venezuelans participated overwhelmingly in the selection and that is going to make it really difficult for the government, the ruling party, to carry out fraud and tamper with the vote on the margins.

speaking about election irregularities, are there any systems to monitor the vote counting now that we are getting to that point and the pulse should be closing at any moment? , pulse should be closing at any moment?— moment? they have voting centres around _ moment? they have voting centres around the - moment? they have voting centres around the country| moment? they have voting - centres around the country and they have technicians observing they have technicians observing the vote count as we speak. walpole started to close three hours ago we have not seen any official results from the electoral council and the silence from venezuelan authorities right now incredibly worrisome. it looks like both sides are pleased to claim victory and that is going to set us up for major confrontation. to set us up for ma'or confrontation.i to set us up for ma'or confrontation. so, you are worried — confrontation. so, you are worried potentially - confrontation. so, you are worried potentially that i confrontation. so, you are| worried potentially that we could see something in the country where both sides say that they won and that could lead to some sort of tension there, to say the least? yeah, that is right. _ there, to say the least? yeah,

that is right. the _ there, to say the least? yeah, that is right. the truth - there, to say the least? yeah, that is right. the truth is - that is right. the truth is that is right. the truth is that if the ruling party, if the ruling socialist party, actually has the results, the electoral authorities should be able to prove it by publishing the results by each boating centre and the fact that they have not done so suggest they feel like they have something to hide and i think we have to ask ourselves if majuro and people in his inner circle really are interested in signing up for another cycle of violence and oppression —— maduro. i had to think right now in the ruling party, in maduro's in a circle, there are questions about whether or not it might be worth it to recognise their defeat and actually embrace a transition. let's just say if edmundo gonzalez, the opposition candidate, does win this election, what does that mean for the country? i election, what does that mean for the country?— for the country? i think there is no way _ for the country? i think there is no way that _ for the country? i think there is no way that gonzalez - for the country? i think there is no way that gonzalez can l is no way that gonzalez can take office injanuary is no way that gonzalez can take office in january when is no way that gonzalez can take office injanuary when his term would start without a

complicated process of negotiation with the ruling party, with majuro and with the armed forces. the truth is neither the opposition, nor maduro can hope to govern a country in flames. we are heading towards a very complicated negotiations process about really complex issues about how to actually govern the country, how to share power and how to keep the country on track towards a democratic opening. how do you think its neighbours, brazil or colombia, are watching the results here and of course the united must be watching also? the us and our neighbours watching this. the reality is in recent years, around eight million venezuelans have fled the country and the flow of migrants and refugees is going to continue if we see the political crisis, the economic crisis continue to drag on. i think the best hope of addressing the flow of migrants and refugees

is getting to some kind of a democratic opening in the country, restoring governance and getting the country back on track and that is not going to happen unless we see both ruling parties and the opposition enter credible negotiations. what will you be watching now as these hours tick by, the voting seems to be wrapping up, what are you watching for here? all eyes need to be on venezuela's national electoral council, on the electoral authority, and whether or not they choose to publish the results from this election. if maduro is confident in his victory, he should have no problems in publishing the results. 0n the contrary, if they do not, if we just see maduro claiming victory without backing it up it will be evidence of electoral thread.

—— electoralfraud. new moments reveal when a police officer stomped on someone at an airport. you've got him on the floor, stop being agressive! the man in blue here is fahir amaaz — now known to millions as the man who has his head stamped on by a police officer. this new footage, obtained by the manchester evening news, shows what happened just beforehand. as police appear to try to apprehend the man in blue, a man in a grey top comes in and punches are thrown. the man in blue breaks free and more punches are thrown between him and two other officers, who fall to the floor. he then drags the other officer down, as he holds a taser towards the man in grey. one of the other officers tasers him, and this footage ends as the man in blue is kicked in the head. a man with his hands up, who is later hit in the back

greater manchester police are appealing for information about the series of earlier events last tuesday that greater manchester's authority said it is an issue of profound neglect. hezbollah is being blamed for the rocket attack that occurred on saturday, and it is being called horrific. benjamin netanyahu met with senior security officials on sunday and was authorised to decide how and when to respond to the strike. they say that hezbollah which is backed by iran will pay a heavy price. this report from golan heights. through the streets of majdal shams, the coffins came one by one. a town reeling in shock, consumed by collective grief, terrified about what happens next. for months,

they feared a disaster, but they never imagined it would take away their children. at the football pitch where they all died, moments of silent reflection. efforts to comprehend the speed of this tragedy. a playground, transformed in an instant into a place ofjagged metal, discarded belongings and, in the corner, the blood of the victims. we're told that a siren sounded just seconds before the rocket landed here and blew the fence right back. and look, just outside the pitch, metres away, there's a bomb shelter. but the children, the children on the pitch, those watching, those on their bikes and scooters, they had no time to react. the mood changes, as government officials arrive to pay their respects. there's real anger now, even from one man in uniform. "they've been bombarding us for ten months," he shouts. "my children are crying every day!" after thousands of hezbollah

rockets since last october, people here just want it all to end. when israel's hardline finance minister shows up, some urge the government to strike back hard. but others turn on him. "get out of here, you criminal," one says. the government has yet to decide how to respond. the army says it just needs the word. we are ready. we said we are ready for several weeks or even months, and we continue to be ready. and every day that is passing, we are preparing more, and more, and more. but in this druze minority town, captured from syria in 1967, such talk is causing anxiety. i'm afraid for the consequences. if this happened yesterday, what about tomorrow, if it happens? like, if it gets to an all—out war. it's going to be pretty tough. more people are going to die, on all sides.

milar sha'ar was ten years old, the youngest victim. his uncle and cousin struggling to comprehend their sudden loss. he is loved by everyone. his family says the war which killed him has to end. paul adams, bbc news, majdal shams. western governments are urging israel to show restraint in its response to saturday's deadly rocket attack amid fears a retaliation enabling lebanon could spark a war. 0ur respondent has fourfrom respondent has four from jerusalem. i think the expectation is absolutely that there will be a green lighting of a military operation of some sort, a retaliatory strike by israel in lebanon, but quite what form that takes and where indeed israelis decides to strike are unknown and they will be critical as to determining just how dangerous this moment is. all the reports we're getting is that the pressure is on israel not to strike

in major urban centres, like beirut, for example, and then there will be pressure on hezbollah in lebanon as to how they would respond to an israeli strike, because there is a huge amoun of international pressure on both sides at the moment, coming from the us, from france and the united nation, the european union, on both hezbollah and on the israeli government not to allow this to escalate into a full—scale regional inferno, if you like. remember, hezbollah is a most important middle east proxy of iran. it is sponsored by iran and so a full—on confrontation with hezbollah risks bringing in tehran, potentially, risks spreading this into a much wider regional conflagration so that is what all the international mediation attempts at the moment are focused on. is the conflict between israel and hezbollah escalates, is forces are continuing to hit gaza. the israeli military has told palestinians in parts of central gaza to move to an

overcrowded zone further south. israeli troops are continuing a week—long operation they say is aimed at eliminating hamas militants. 66 palestinians have been killed across the territory this weekend according to the hamas run health ministry. ceasefire talks continue in rome. the cia director william burns is on hand. israel gave washington its response to the proposals on saturday and us secretary of state antony blinken currently in tokyo has said that securing peace in gaza is the only way to prevent wider escalations in the region one of the reasons that we are continuing to work so hard for a ceasefire in gaza is notjust for gaza but also so that we can have an opportunity to bring calm, lasting calm across the blue line between israel and lebanon. we are determined to bring the gaza conflict to a close. it has gone on forfar too long.

it has cost far too many lives and we want to see israelis, we want to see palestinians, we want to see lebanese live free from the threat of conflict and violence. for more, i have been speaking to the former usm ballots —— us ambassador. prime minister netanyahu has been authorised to decide on the manner and timing of a response. how do you think the prime minister might proceed?— you think the prime minister might proceed? well, he has something — might proceed? well, he has something is _ might proceed? well, he has something is in _ might proceed? well, he has something is in front - might proceed? well, he has something is in front of - might proceed? well, he has something is in front of him l something is in front of him and things to way. as your back is pointed out, he has pressure on him to confine the response. he has got a tired military. the war in gaza is over nine months. to open up a second front at the same time is going to stretch them terribly. so,

has got pressure to come to a conclusion on that ceasefire from outside of israel as well as from inside of israel and keeping in mind that the conflict in gaza is at the root of the current range of conflicts at the northern border with the houthis and the gaza strip. border with the houthis and the gaza strip-— gaza strip. israel has a lot on its plate- _ gaza strip. israel has a lot on its plate- we _ gaza strip. israel has a lot on its plate. we heard _ gaza strip. israel has a lot on its plate. we heard about - its plate. we heard about fighting around khan younis and gaza. does the israel have the opportunity to open up a second military front to its north? it certainly can do it but it will be an extraordinary strain, not only on the military which has been fighting for almost a year now, but on the population as well. we know that on the lebanese side, over 100,000 people are displaced. 0n the israeli side, over 60,000 people have been displaced.

there are already impacts on the israeli economyjust from the israeli economyjust from the war in gaza, whether it is investment in israel, foreign visitors, people coming to work, students, etc, have dropped precipitously at that has an impact on the population of israel so adding this extra layer is going to be very tough indeed. ~ ., layer is going to be very tough indeed. ~ . . ., , indeed. meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations _ indeed. meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations are _ indeed. meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations are continuing i indeed. meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations are continuing in rome. the cia director is there. it does not sound like there. it does not sound like there has been much progress made over the weekend. president biden, of course, has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race in the us. do you think he still has the political capital needed to get a ceasefire deal over the finish line.— a ceasefire deal over the finishline. . ., , finish line. he certainly does if he intends _ finish line. he certainly does if he intends to _ finish line. he certainly does if he intends to use - finish line. he certainly does if he intends to use every i if he intends to use every range of leverage that he has at his disposal. it is his to use until he is no longer president but keep in mind that

this reason visit by the prime minister to the united states, meeting the president, meeting the vice president, the likely democratic nominee as president trump, he heard similar messages from all three, as we heard from the readouts of all of those meetings. everyone wants this walk wrapped up so former president trump says get it done, wrap it up. the vice president said she is not going to be silent — we need a ceasefire now. of course, you heard it from the person in charge, and that is president biden. ., ., i. charge, and that is president biden. ., ., , , biden. how do you see president biden. how do you see president itiden dealing — biden. how do you see president biden dealing now— biden. how do you see president biden dealing now with _ biden. how do you see president biden dealing now with this - biden dealing now with this latest flareup of violence to the north of israel with hezbollah? he may have his hands tied a bit but we have seen so many different missions to the region by secretary of state antony blinken to try to keep this conflict from spreading to other nations. yeah. it reminds me of my younger days as a diplomat with

former shadows of state doing diplomacy. the president has the leveraged to be used and he would want it done before he leaves office. in the end, getting a ceasefire is good for israel as well as the palestinians. and the ability to do a deal is in the hands of the prime minister and of course the head of hamas. neither of these two may feel the pressure that is on the populations to get peace in place in the gaza strip because, of course, it has impact on their political standing. with the connecticut in recess, the prime minister is unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon so he has got a bit more leverage and therefore there is hope at this time that he will make the decisions that will help bring about a ceasefire. ._

will help bring about a ceasefire. . ., ., , ., ceasefire. . former ambassador to malta, _ ceasefire. . former ambassador to malta, gina _ ceasefire. . former ambassador to malta, gina stanley. - ceasefire. . former ambassador to malta, gina stanley. thank i to malta, gina stanley. thank you for your thoughts. day two of the paralympic games will big showdowns from the swimming pool to the basketball court. italy's niccolo martin yengi won the men's100 metre breaststroke final. he forced britain's adam pt into second place. the hosts france won their first 0lympic swimming gold since 2012 as the world record holder leon mudjandi claimed the medley title —— nicolo martinenghi. as you can see, big stars on the basketball court. it is day three of the olympics and the heat is on in the french capital both in a meteorological sense and in a sporting one. there are 90 gold medals up for grabs today come up with exciting action in some of the most popular sports of the games. let's take you through what to watch out for today.

tom daley will take to the diving board. his fifth 0lympics representing team gb. he is paired with 24—year—old noah williams in men's ten synchro, an event in which tom daley won the dramatic tokyo gold alongside matty lee. team gb�*s three—day event as our angled position going into the final day of composition at the jumping. laura collett is in the silver individual position on london 52. the men's team gymnastics final today with china and japan very much the ones to beat. and one sport impacted by the heavy rain on saturday was the men's skateboarding. the final was due to take place at the weekend, but has been delayed until today. japan is expected to dominate that event which is relatively new to the olympics. so just a small taste of what we can expect from today. it's been a brilliant weekend of sport already. we're all very excited about what is in store later.

before we go we want to bring you the latest from the election in venezuela. we are hearing from the leader i'd of argentina "and the dictatorship of nicolas maduro." i am carl nasman in washington. thank you for watching bbc news. hello there. sunday was a very warm day. we had the sunshine far and wide, and we've got a few more days of dry weather and sunshine to come, but the heat is going to continue to build across england and wales. and, really, across the whole of western europe, temperatures are rising, the heat is pushing up from spain into france and for the olympics. that's the temperature anomaly chart. you can see for eastern europe, things may be a little cooler than normal. here at home, though, the heat is building underneath that area of high pressure.

there is a weak weather front approaching from the northwest, and that's bringing more cloud into scotland and northern ireland on monday. the odd light shower, perhaps, but most of any rain really is in the far northwest of scotland. the cloud will break in other parts of scotland, but the best of the sunshine will be for england and wales. just a bit of patchy fair—weather cumulus. the winds will be light in england and wales. there will be some cooling sea breezes. there is a stronger breeze, though, blowing for scotland and northern ireland, where temperatures aren't changing much. it's still going to be warm for eastern scotland, but the heat is really concentrated on england and wales. inland temperatures in the southeast, 28 or 29 degrees. that weather front continues to weaken as it moves down into the high pressure overnight and into tuesday. just that sliver of cloud there. more sunshine to come for scotland and northern ireland on tuesday, the odd light shower in the far northwest. sunny skies on the whole for england and wales, a little bit hazy at times. and those temperatures continuing to rise, particularly towards the southeast of england, could make 31 or even 32 degrees here. quite different temperatures for scotland and northern ireland, and you can see the temperature difference overnight tuesday night into wednesday morning —

an uncomfortable night for sleeping in the southeast, particularly in london. there's more sunshine and generally dry weather to come on wednesday. signs of one or two showers breaking out, particularly towards the southwest of england. this could be the first signs of some change. but ahead of that, it's still going to be a hot day through the midlands and the southeast. temperatures, 29, 30 degrees quite possible once again. things are changing, though, wednesday and through the rest of the week in particular, its not going to be quite as warm. there's the chance of more cloud and some rain, which could be heavy and thundery. on wednesday night and through thursday, that moves its way northwards. and then after we start the week with high pressure, we're going to end the week with low pressure in the west.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. as india's prime minister narendra modi lost his midas touch? he expected to win a thumping majority in the country's

recent election. instead, his bjp recent election. instead, his bjp lost seats and is now dependent on coalition partners stay in power. that leave a highly contentious hindu nationalist policy agenda? condemned by opponents as divisive and dangerous. my guest is bjp spokesman syed zafar islam, a political rarity, a muslim within the ranks of the bjp. as is electoral setback trimmed morally�*s sales? —— modi's sails? syed zafar islam, in delhi, welcome to hardtalk. thank you

very much- _ welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much- you _ welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. you have _