live from washington, this is bbc news. three americans are on their way home after the largest prisoner swap between the west and russia since the end of the cold war, including the journalist evan gershkovich. new reports are emerging about the assassination of hamas�*s political leader ismail haniyeh. and here in the us democratic delegates begin voting for the party's presidential nominee, which is set to be kamala harris. hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. we begin with the breakthrough in diplomatic negotiations which saw the largest prisoner swap between russia, the us and other western nations since the cold war. three us citizens who are among those released are making

their way home to the us — expected to arrive in the next couple of hours. they are — wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich on the left, and on the right, former us marine paul whelan, and radio free europe journalist alsu kurmasheva. this photo shows them on a phone call with presidentjoe biden after their release. in addition, vladimir kara—murza, the russian—british journalist who holds a us green card, was freed in the deal. in an address to the nation after news of the deal was made public, president biden said the deal was the result of difficult, complex negotiations. he said that the us will continue to work to free americans who are detained abroad. the president and the vice president, kamala harris, are scheduled to welcome the freed americans on the tarmac ofjoint base andrews in maryland. this is expected to happen in a little more than two hours from now, at 11:30pm local time. with more now on the prisoner swap, here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg.

he was out ofjail but not free — yet. reporter evan gershkovich and former us marine paul whelan. he'd spent more than five years in a russian prison. but this was the start of their journey to freedom. along with other prisoners to be swapped, they were flown to ankara airport in turkey and the stage was set for the largest prisoner swap since the cold war. those moscow had released went one way. the russians they'd been exchanged for boarded their plane home. the swap involved 26 people being held in seven different countries. as well as evan gershkovich and paul whelan, moscow freed us russian journalist alsu kurmasheva. also, prominent kremlin critics, including vladimir kara—murza, oleg orlov and ilya yashin. and an anti—war artist, sasha skochilenko.

swapped, among others, for this man — convicted assassin vadim krasikov, identified by german officials as a russian agent. to set up a prisoner swap... evan gershkovich�*s boss says she is overjoyed to see her reporter free, but... it feels all wrong to be trading people who are entirely innocent for, you know, a convicted criminal, an assassin, but, you know, we wanted our man back. paul whelan wanted his freedom, you know, understandably. so i think it puts governments in an impossible position. flanked by relatives of the freed americans, at the white house, president biden gave his reaction. it says a lot about the united states that we work relentlessly to free americans who are unjustly held around the world, but it also says a lot about us that this deal includes the release of russian political prisoners. they stood up for democracy, human rights, their own leaders threw them in prison.

the united states helped secure their release as well. america accuses moscow ofjailing us citizens to trade them for russians jailed abroad. for the families and friends of evan gershkovich, paul whelan and dissidents like vladimir kara—murza, this is a moment to celebrate. but keep in mind — for the kremlin, its mission accomplished. it got what it wanted. it got its agents back. for moscow, the takeaway from all of this will be that hostage diplomacy works and that means we are likely to see more of it, more prisoners here being used as bargaining chips. tonight, president putin gave a heroes�* welcome to the returning russians — among them, spies and sleeper agents. he clearly thinks he got a good deal. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

it was only two weeks ago that evan gershkovich, the wall streetjournal reporter, was sentenced to 16 years in a russian penal colony. he was detained in march of 2023 on espionage charges, which thejournal and the us government always maintained were bogus. evan's colleagues at the wall streetjournal have been relentless in working for his release. photos from inside the team's newsroom earlier today showing some of the relief after receiving the news that evan would be coming home. evan's family also worked hard behind the scenes — today they described their relief, saying: and they praised the wall streetjournal for their efforts, saying they have: live now to paul beckett.

the assistant editor of the wall streetjournal. welcome to the programme. how are you feeling today? mil the programme. how are you feeling today?— the programme. how are you feeling today? all the things, smiles of joy _ feeling today? all the things, smiles ofjoy and _ feeling today? all the things, smiles ofjoy and tears - feeling today? all the things, smiles ofjoy and tears of- smiles ofjoy and tears of relief, and the other way around, exhilarated and exhausted. that is just for us, so we can only imagine how it feels for evan gershkovich and his family and the other families who will be reunited. it really is quite a moment. i was reading an extensive article that your colleagues have written about how this release came about in one of these striking things that i took away was the role that evan's mother had in all this. tell is more? you can see why he is an excellent reporter when he is the son of elinore. she is a force of nature and their waking moments over the

last 16 months where she had the moral authority, for a mother, to press the politicians react, she would carry messages, people knew she would be meeting president biden or senior officials and seeing we sell them to do this and she would ask and it would be done. his family has been extraordinary, they have really been an inspiration for us to support them. been an inspiration for us to support them-— been an inspiration for us to support them. your newspaper has been reporting _ support them. your newspaper has been reporting on - support them. your newspaper has been reporting on this - support them. your newspaper| has been reporting on this from the day that evan was taken, and as a reporters across the world have also tirelessly worked to secure his release, they have also faced challenges, becoming part of the story on many occasions including being questioned and followed by the russian agents as well. tell us more about that? it as well. tell us more about that? , ., ., as well. tell us more about that? ., ., ., that? it is a hard position to yourselves _ that? it is a hard position to yourselves my _ that? it is a hard position to

yourselves my being - that? it is a hard position to yourselves my being a - that? it is a hard position to yourselves my being a storyj that? it is a hard position to - yourselves my being a story and wanting to do better reporting than anyone else. that was in opposition to us but we decided early on we would do as best as we possibly could in hopes of getting him back. we are immensely grateful to the bbc and many others who joined in that chorus, i think it made a difference and everybody, all your viewers and listeners, everybody at the bbc can take pride in what happened today because it diverted a travesty ofjustice because it diverted a travesty of justice and because it diverted a travesty ofjustice and is served for all the people who returned. nobody likes these swaps, the horrible, and nobody pretends that treating a convicted assassin for an innocent man is assassin for an innocent man is a good deal but it does bring innocent people out and it stops them rotting in penal colonies in russia which was otherwise going to be their

fate. it is worth remembering the aggressor here is the cynicism of the vladimir putin regime and i commend america for its dedication into bringing its citizens home. it took 491 days what your newspaper described as one of most complicated prisoner swaps in history. did you see this day coming? did you give up hope at times? we day coming? did you give up hope at times?— hope at times? we certainly ho ed it hope at times? we certainly hoped it would _ hope at times? we certainly hoped it would come, - hope at times? we certainly hoped it would come, we i hope at times? we certainly. hoped it would come, we saw hope at times? we certainly i hoped it would come, we saw a few green shoots of a deal earlier in the year that went nowhere. the tragic death and in one initiative, so we just had faith that it would work and we are determined to keep speaking up for evan, and in speaking upfor evan, and in the speaking up for evan, and in the last couple of weeks it started to turn positive but these things are so delicate, so knife edge balance that we did not breathe a sigh of relief until we knew his feet

were on the tarmac and he was out of russian custody. d0 were on the tarmac and he was out of russian custody.- out of russian custody. do you think this _ out of russian custody. do you think this would _ out of russian custody. do you think this would change - think this would change anything more broadly when it comes to russia's relationship with western nations? the key auoin with western nations? the key going forward _ with western nations? the key going forward for— with western nations? the key going forward for the - with western nations? the key going forward for the us - with western nations? the key going forward for the us will . going forward for the us will be first of all their families still have loved ones in russia in jail so i am still have loved ones in russia injail so i am sure the us will continue to work for them. the bigger points will be how was the us and its allies, including the uk and the countries they worked towards a swap today, how do you remove the incentive for countries like russia to do that. unless they can do that, then there is a risk of the cycle, if they can do that, they should be able to stop. i think you will see a lot of effort, they've already of visual defence treaty for arbitrary detention which is what this is, the nato to protect citizens who were taken by other countries and having a common response. so

the advantage does not go to the advantage does not go to the aggressive to do it. the assistant — the aggressive to do it. the assistant editor _ the aggressive to do it. the assistant editor of - the aggressive to do it. the assistant editor of the ball three journal, assistant editor of the ball threejournal, a busy and important and emotional day for you and your team, thank you forjoining us. —— wall street journal. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the 17—year—old boy charged with murdering three girls and attempting to murder 10 others in southport has appeared in court in liverpool. thejudge the judge lifted reporting restrictions. he can now be named as axel muganwa rudakubana. it's understood that the teenager from lancashire has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. the prime minister has condemned protesters, following two nights of violence across parts of england, in the wake of the killings in southport. after crisis talks with police chiefs, sir keir starmer held a news conference announcing that police forces across the country are to co—operate more on tackling violent disorder.

i have just held a meeting with senior police and law enforcement leaders where we have resolved to show who we are, a country that will not allow understandable fear to curdle into division and have it in our communities. we will not permit under any circumstances a breakdown in law and order on our street. you're live with bbc news. an investigation published in the new york times on thursday has revelead new details about the assassination of hamas's political leader ismail haniyeh in iran. ismail haniyeh was in tehran for the inauguration of the newly elected iranian president, masoud pezeshkian. as a high—level ally, haniyeh was staying inside the presidential palace complex at a vip guesthouse hosted by the islamic revolutionary guards corps. in the early hours of wednesday morning, there was an explosion in the guesthouse, killing mr haniyeh.

the new york times, citing sources within the irgc, reports that the explosion wasn't from a missile, but rather from a bomb that was hidden in the guesthouse, weeks or even months before it was detonated. it's not clear how or precisely when the bomb was planted. hamas and iran blame israeli for the attack, while israel has not commented on mr haniyeh�*s death. thousands of people turned up for his funeral procession in tehran's adazi sqaure. iran has vowed to retaliate against israel. mr haniyeh�*s coffin is now in the qatari capital doha, before his burial on friday. and there's been more reaction to the killing of one of hezbollah�*s most senior commanders, in beirut which also happened this week. hassan nasrallah who is the head of the lebanese militant group has said israel crossed a line and can expect revenge, for the attack. the leader of yemen's iran—backed houthi movement has also vowed a harsh response on behalf of its ally. turkey's president recep tayyip

erdogan declared august 2nd a national day of mourning, he said "in solidarity "with the palestinian cause". joining me live dan byman. the senior fellow at the centre for strategic and international studies. welcome to bbc news. they like to get through, let's start with the new information that the new york times has been reporting about the circumstances around the killing of ismail haniyeh. it sounds like this was something that was in the works for quite a long time?— that was in the works for quite a long time? yes, it seems that israel a long time? yes, it seems that israel has _ a long time? yes, it seems that israel has prepared _ a long time? yes, it seems that israel has prepared for- a long time? yes, it seems that israel has prepared for this - israel has prepared for this possibility for months, it did not want to strike ismail haniyeh when he was in qatar in fear that would alienate a government that it has to work with at times, so when he went to iran that was the opportunity and it is a remarkable operation, at the heart of the regime power structure, to put a bomb there

shows commend his weakness on the uranium side as well. it is a skill of the intelligence services. a skill of the intelligence services-— a skill of the intelligence services. ~ ., ., , services. we have also been heafina services. we have also been hearing about _ services. we have also been hearing about other- services. we have also been hearing about other key - services. we have also been i hearing about other key hamas figures who have been killed as well? , , ., ., ., , , well? yes, israel did a massive strike in gaza _ well? yes, israel did a massive strike in gaza and _ well? yes, israel did a massive strike in gaza and it _ well? yes, israel did a massive strike in gaza and it was - strike in gaza and it was trying to kill the military leader there, and it recently announced that was a success and it has been doing a lot of operations in gaza as well, and if you look at the numbers, you look at the leadership chart, it shows that israel has taken out a number of the senior leaders in recent months. moving on to the incident in beirut as well, we hear from hezbollah there will be some sort of retaliation. what do you expect that could be? that is an open _ you expect that could be? that is an open question. _ you expect that could be? trust is an open question. the speech

was less fiery than many people feared and it may be that hezbollah will try to take revenge simply by continuing their day—to—day strikes. in their day—to—day strikes. in the past, they have leadership strikes without massive escalations, so there is a possibility that it is not healthy as, let's be clear — it may not lead to a significant escalation by either party at this point. hf escalation by either party at this point-— this point. if there is no significant _ this point. if there is no significant escalation, l this point. if there is no l significant escalation, will there be some sort of response? certainly, hezbollah is regularly shooting across the border, israel has been doing the same, so we can expect that in where they might increase the number of rocket attacks or otherwise do some sort of messaging in terms of their force, saying this one is in revenge. after that, it is different from a huge increase in the number of strikes or trying to strike israel where hezbollah has the capability to do so but where it is largely

avoided in the war so far. returning to hamas briefly if we can. they are responsible for those october attacks and israel seeing they want to basically decimate their capabilities. how do these two recent killings advance israel's goal to do so, and how might this change the equation of the ongoing war in gaza, which of course has led to thousands of civilians being killed? ,., . ., thousands of civilians being killed? . ., ., killed? the source of attacks on leadership _ killed? the source of attacks on leadership overtime i killed? the source of attacks on leadership overtime can l killed? the source of attacks i on leadership overtime can wear down an organisation and make hamas less it is harder to wage a massive conflict as they are doing when your leaders are being killed left and right, to hire from assassination attempt. akrotiri has a history of surviving as an organisation even as is leaders i killed. they have repeatedly killed numerous senior leaders and yet

as we see hamas survives and at times has even prospered. the one thing worth pointing out here on the israeli side is these assassinations give benjamin netanyahu more credibility with the israeli public, and that was them in a stronger political position, where he may be able to make negotiations work to do concessions that are costly as a result. . ~ concessions that are costly as a result. ., ~ , ., concessions that are costly as a result. ., ~ i. . concessions that are costly as a result. ., ~ . ., a result. thank you so much for “oininu a result. thank you so much for joining us _ a result. thank you so much for joining us from _ a result. thank you so much for joining us from the _ a result. thank you so much for joining us from the centre i a result. thank you so much for joining us from the centre for i joining us from the centre for strategic and international studies. and as concerns the conflict could spread across other parts of the middle east grow, israel is continuing to hit targets in gaza. the qatar—based news network aljazeera on thursday rejected claims by israel that one of two journalists killed in a strike on gaza city a day earlier was a hamas operative. israel's army also confirmed the death of mohammed deif, the leader of hamas's military wing, saying he was killed in ajuly airstike in gaza.

thursday night, hundreds of people marched through the streets of tel aviv with demands to release all the hostages. friday marks 300 days since the hamas' attack on october 7. here in the us, delegates from the democratic party are choosing their nominee for president and there's only one name on the ballot — kamala harris. the party is holding an online vote from thursday until monday before its formal convention so it can meet the deadline for getting a candidate onto the presidential ballot in certain states. all this as her likely opponent donald trump doubled down on his false claim that kamala harris had for years hidden her black identity. on wednesday at a convention for blackjournalists he questioned this, asking "is she indian,

"or is she black?" and today, despite criticism over the remarks which some branded racist — the former president took to social media posting a picture of her indian family in which he wrote: kamala harris was born to a south indian mother and a jamaican father and has regularly spoken about her mixed heritage. for more on this story, i spoke to the british and indian actor, writer, and filmmakerjassa ahluwalia who recently wrote the book both not half about his mixed identity and what it means to belong fully to two cultures at once. we had from donald trump on thursday, wednesday i should say, his comment suggesting that kamala harris is in someway hidden her black identity, and she is obviously of ajamaican identity, and she is obviously of a jamaican father. what was your reaction to his comments?

ifound it abhorrent your reaction to his comments? i found it abhorrent that you have a presidential candidate in one of the most diverse nations in the world who is having ideas of racial impurity and having to discredit his black opponent but i am also not surprised because this is — not surprised because this is — notjust because it is donald trump but because this is a question that mixed people face all the time, the idea that we are not somehow enough of one thing we are not able to have full ownership of our identities, that we do not get to be the authority on our identity. abhorrent for those reasons but also did not come as a surprise.— reasons but also did not come as a surprise. you have written as a surprise. you have written a book which — as a surprise. you have written a book which is _ as a surprise. you have written a book which is all— as a surprise. you have written a book which is all about i as a surprise. you have written a book which is all about the i a book which is all about the fact that you have an indian father and an english mother, so in many ways your experience is similar in some senses to kamala harris in that you were

raised with two different cultures and want to celebrate both of them. i cultures and want to celebrate both of them.— both of them. i suppose, i would hesitate _ both of them. i suppose, i would hesitate to - both of them. i suppose, i would hesitate to say i both of them. i suppose, i would hesitate to say that| both of them. i suppose, i- would hesitate to say that they are that similar. i pass through the world, i present as a white man, kamala harris experiences as a black woman would be very different to mine. i do resonate that there is a universality to the mixed experience and that is what my book gets to. it goes beyond just the mixed race experience as well, the case i make in my book is that we are all mixed, none of us are half anything, all of us are both something, we are all whole and multiple beings and we should be able to celebrate that and accept that. we need to change the way we think about identity, the fractional mindset that we have

got, that we have inherited from the history of race and racial hierarchy is something we need to throw out and embrace the fact that we can be whole and multiple, we can be both. ., , ., _, ., whole and multiple, we can be both. ., , ., ., ., both. now it is more common for --eole to both. now it is more common for people to be _ both. now it is more common for people to be born _ both. now it is more common for people to be born to _ both. now it is more common for people to be born to mixed i people to be born to mixed parents because of mixed relationships being more common and the 2020 senses in america what it at something like one in ten americans now would define themselves as having mixed parentage. if define themselves as having mixed parentage.— define themselves as having mixed parentage. if my stats are correct. _ mixed parentage. if my stats are correct, that _ mixed parentage. if my stats are correct, that is _ mixed parentage. if my stats are correct, that is an - are correct, that is an increase of over 275% from 2010, and it is similar in the uk, it is massively growing demographic and i think the 2021 census was a 1.7 million in england and wales and in britain it is projected to be about 30% of the population by

the end of the century. i think almost 75% by 2150. this is the future, the future is mixed, and we really need to be better at thinking about and understanding. it is quite easy to understand, having conversations with people a lot, nobody describes themselves as being halfway brother, hafiz zone, or do you feel more like a daughter or more like a sister. there are aspects, our identity in so many ways, the multiple and overlapping and take different shapes and scenarios. we are fluid beings. meanwhile on thursday, republican vice presidential nomineejd vance made a visit to the us—mexico border. donald trump's campaign says the border has been mismanaged — claiming that the number of unlawful crossings by migrants has drastically increased since presidentjoe

biden took office. but two us customs and border protection officials who spoke to the associated press on the condition of anonymity claim that illegal border crossings by migrants are considerably down, with the monthly tally expected to be around 57,000 apprehensions at the border injuly, which would be the lowest number recorded since september 2020. let's turn to some other important news around the world. a curfew has been imposed in nigeria after protests against the high cost of living we re "hijacked by thugs". police fired tear gas, nigeria is struggling with soaring inflation, and a devalued currency, after the country's president ended a fuel subsidy. we will have more on the return of the americans who have been released in the prisoner swap.

stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. thursday was another day of heat and humidity, particularly across central and southern wales, where we saw temperatures widely into the high—20s. but temperatures did peak in wisley, surrey, and bournemouth at 30 celsius once again. it did, however, come at a price, this heat and humidity — because, through the afternoon, we saw a cluster of sharp, thundery downpours moving their way eastwards. now, they started off across south wales, then steadily pushed their way east. there were quite slow—moving because the winds pretty light, and they brought a lot of heavy rain in a short space of time. those sharp, thundery downpours still continuing to drift their way eastwards during the early hours of friday, but they will clear away. clearer skies behind — sign of a change to come on friday, with more cloud and rain gathering in the far north—west. but friday will start off on a warm, sultry

note in the south—east — 17 celsius to greet us first thing in the morning — and still the risk of a few sharp showers easing away from east anglia. but the real change will come with this area of low pressure, up into the north—west — it will gradually introduce stronger winds, more cloud, and eventually some rain. so, we start off with a few scattered showers across east anglia, slowly brightening up and warming up once again — another warm, humid day here. but heavier rain developing into northern ireland, north—west scotland as the afternoon progresses. it may well stay relatively dry across eastern parts of scotland. temperatures in scotland and northern ireland 16—21 celsius — but a warm, sultry afternoon across eastern england, with highs of 27 celsius. somewhat fresher conditions will arrive as we move into the weekend because, as this front — a cold front — sinks south and east, it will introduce slightly less humid air. but there is still a risk of a cloudy start across parts of england and wales, and a line of sharp, thundery downpours moving

their way south and east. behind it, brighter conditions, a few scattered showers into the north—west — and saturday, not quite as warm right across the country, ranging from 15—24 celsius. and that trend is going to continue into the week ahead. temperatures perhaps back to where they should be for this time of year. there will be more in the way of rain around but, all in all for some, still some good dry, usable weather. take care.

apple and amazon's mixed report cards not helping boost wall street, as the dowjones index sees its worst day of the year. markets here in asia also joining the sell—off. the bank of england pulls the trigger on its first interest rate cut in four years. hello and welcome to business today. i'm arunoday mukharji. it was a tough day on wall street, with the dow sliding nearly 500 points, as recession fears re—emerged. both the s&p 500 and the tech—heavy nasdaq also closed in the red. the report cards of tech giants amazon and apple didn't do much to lift the mood, either. our north america business correspondent michelle fleury

has more on what sparked that sell—off.