live from london, this is bbc news. free at last — three americans and a kremlin critic — imprisoned in russia arrive on us soil, part of the biggest prisoner swap deal since the cold war. my myjob is to make sure number one but they don't get them, and if they do, we get them back. i don't buy this idea that you let these people rot in jail. the deal frees 2a prisoners and two minors held in seven countries, including convicted russian fsb hit man vadim krasikov. seven men are charged with violent disorder after a riot breaks out in hartlepool linked to monday's mass stabbing in southport. the body of the hamas political leader ismail haniyeh is now in qatar where a special prayer service has been held before his burial north of doha.

hello. welcome to the programme. within the past couple of hours presidentjoe biden and vice president kamala harris have greeted american detainees at an airbase outside washington, following their release from russia as part of a prisoner swap — the largest since the cold war. the plane carrying the two us journalists, evan gershkovich and alsu kurmasheva, ex—marine paul whelan and leading kremlin critic, vladimir kara—murza landed late at night. family members of those who'd been detained — some for several years — were there, as emotional scenes played out on the tarmac. president biden said he was grateful for the diplomatic co—operation from many other countries involved in the negotiations. in total, ten russians, including two children, have been exchanged for 16 westerners and russians imprisoned in russia. our north america correspondent

will grant sent this report from the andrews air force base. cheering. greeted by a presidential embrace. after more days behind bars than they'd care to remember, finally a night they'll neverforget. the arrival of the three americans at andrews air base marks the end of their ordeal in russia, and the defining image of the biggest prisoner swap since the cold war. this is a historic moment, however you look at it — politically, diplomatically or, for the families involved, just emotionally. some of the most high—profile us prisoners of modern times back on us soil. on the tarmac to meet them, president biden and vice president harris. one soon to leave office, the other hoping to take over.

myjob is to make sure, number one, they don't get them. and if they do, we get them back. i don't buy this idea that you're going to let these people rot injail. reached against the backdrop of a full—scale war in ukraine, this prisoner swap was uniquely complex. it involved 26 people in seven different nations. as well as wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich and ex—marine paul whelan, moscow freed a russian—american journalist, alsu kurmasheva. among several prominent kremlin critics released was vladimir kara—murza, while in return moscow got back this man, convicted assassin and fsb colonel vadim krasikov. the family of evan gershkovich echoed the position of all the relatives, expressing heartfelt thanks that their son was free, saying, "we have waited 491 days for evan's release and it's hard to describe what today feels like. "we can't wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close."

so even amid the glare of the world's media, this is also a uniquely private moment for the former prisoners and their families. a homecoming which at times they must have feared might never come. will grant, bbc news, washington. and ijust and i just want to bring and ijust want to bring you some lines we are getting from the reuters news agency that we are getting from the kremlin. the kremlin has said that vadim krasikov, the hitman returned by germany in the prisoner swap, was an employee of russia's fsb security service that we were talking about and had served in alpha group. they go on to say the kremlin has said that the idea that russia deliberately arrested people to create an exchange fund in quotes is absurd. so we are getting those lines coming in to us from the

reuters news agency. the kremlin was also asked about a russian man still injail in the us. they said that relevant russian agencies are continuing to do the necessary work. obviously that is suggesting that there could potentially be more prisoner swaps to come, so that is just a few lines we are getting there. our eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford, who is in berlin, has been telling us more. i think this is seen as a deal in which both parties get what they want. it's been an extremely complex deal to negotiate, led by the united states but engaging very directly with the regime of vladimir putin although not with him personally. it is clear that mr putin made it clear that there was one person he wanted back in return for any american prisoners being returned

to the united states and that was the convicted assassin who had killed here on the streets of berlin in 2019, an fsb hit man named vadim krasikov. in the end putin has got his man in that sense, but in return he has had to give up some very big names in terms of us citizens in custody in russia, some of them serving extremely long prison sentences, like paul whelan and evan gershkovich. he has also handed over a large number of political dissidents from russia, so people who he had sent to prison for extremely long sentences again, up to 25 years, for criticising vladimir putin and condemning his full—scale invasion of ukraine. so it is a big deal in every sense and i think there are winners and arguments on both sides. germany played a key role here, too. what concessions if any will germany get out of this deal? germany has said quite publicly and openly that this has been difficult dealfor them in a way to stomach.

we heard from the chancellor yesterday, olaf scholz, saying it had been very hard, and it had been a complicated moral and legal decision to make because vadim krasikov was in prison serving a life sentence. he had been convicted on what the judge at the time called an act of state terrorism on behalf of russia so it was a big deal. but in return they have secured the freedom for people who have stood up for democracy in russia and secured the release of five german citizens including a man who had been on death row in belarus until he was pardoned as part of this whole deal. he also said this was about an act of solidarity with the united states, it was about allies acting together. so a big political decision for germany but in the end it is germany's role that has secured this huge unprecedented

prisoner swap involving so many people and so many countries. sarah rainsford there. let's bring you an update on a couple of stories we've been covering here at the bbc. we've been speaking to the culture secretary lisa nandy, who's in france today following the british olympic team. yesterday she held talks with the bbc�*s director general, tim davie, over the broadcaster's handling of the huw edwards scandal. on wednesday edwards admitted having 41 indecent images of children sent to him by a convicted paedophile. there are questions for the bbc over how licence fee payers�* money was spent on the former bbc news presenter�*s pay. here's lisa nandy, speaking a short while ago. we had a very robust and frank discussion about the circumstances around the case and some of the decisions that have been made during that case and also since. obviously, lam particularly concerned to make sure that people have confidence

in the bbc and i think the director general made a good start yesterday in going out to be as open and transparent as possible with the public, both about what the bbc knew, but also about why they made the decisions that they did, and the use of taxpayers' money, which is obviously very important to a lot of people. i think we all recognise that there is a job of work to do to get more information into the public domain, to reassure people, not just about the decisions that have been made, but also about the action that the bbc will take going forwards. my concern is to make sure that warning signs are caught, that complaints are acted on, that public money is used well and to make sure that, as far as is humanly possible, that we don't have a repeat of this situation in the future. another story we've been covering , is the growing controversy over the algerian boxer imane khelif. she is through to the quarterfinals

of the women's 66 kilo category after her opponent, italy's angela carini, abandoned the bout in 46 seconds. she tookjust one punch to the face and then walked to her corner where she was heard saying "it's not right". the italian boxer was in tears after the match — she told reporters it was the hardest punch she had ever taken — and that she had stopped the fight to preserve her life. khelif is one of two athletes who was cleared to compete in paris, despite being disqualified from last year's world boxing championships forfailing to pass a gender eligibility test. in the past hour, a spokesperson for the ioc has spoken about this. it isa it is a serious case, and there is a lot of misinformed abuse going on online. we are in very close contact with the athletes and their entourages. but the ioc is always trying to do a balance between inclusivity and fairness, to put it more broadly, and also safety, and thatis more broadly, and also safety, and that is a difficult one and something that we will have to look at. but that is an entirely separate

question to what is going on here, which is a woman boxer being stigmatised and forced, potentially forced out of the competition. that is a different issue. but in general, in terms of safety, safety of the athletes, we are never tired of the athletes, we are never tired of saying that is our number one concern, the athletes are at the centre, so obviously we need to look after them, we need to make sure they are safe, and there are all sorts of safeguards particularly in combat sports like boxing to make sure that that is the case. the bbc has been speaking to the culture secretary lisa nandy about this issue as well. here's what she had to say. i want to get your thoughts on the boxing match yesterday between italy and algeria. it's been billed as a very controversial. over in 46 seconds. angela carini said she had to preserve her life, that's why she stopped the match. the italian pm, giorgia meloni, said it wasn't an even contest. what do you think about that? well, it was an incredibly uncomfortable watch for the 46

seconds that it lasted and i know there is a lot of concern about women competitors, about whether we are getting the balance right in, notjust boxing, but other sports, as well. the decision that successive governments have made is that these are complex decisions that should be made by sporting bodies. in this case, for example, i understand that the biological facts are far more complicated than is being presented on social media and some of the speculation. but i think as sporting bodies try to get that balance between inclusion, fairness and safety, there is a role for government to make sure they have got the guidance and the framework and the support to make those decisions correctly. and it's something i will be talking to sporting bodies about over the coming weeks and months. the ioc spokesperson was asked for their response to lisa nandy�*s comments. here's what they had to say. my my views are neither here nor there. i watched it, for professional reasons i watched it, and as for

lisa nandy�*s comments, again, i can't comment on how she feels or how she should feel. to my mind, it was a qualifying match about in boxing between two women boxers. if you want my actual personal view, yes, it was a very short, so there wasn't very much for me to really kind of start to follow, it was over far too quickly for everyone concerned, i think, far too quickly for everyone concerned, ithink, unfortunately. police forces across the uk are to co—operate more on tackling violent disorder, the prime minister has announced, after two nights of violence in parts of england following the killings in southport. sir keir starmer condemned far—right demonstrators, saying the unrest was not a protest that got out of hand but caused by a group of individuals bent on violence. police have released the images of eight people they want to identify after objects were hurled outside

a hotel housing migrants during a protest in aldershot. with more on this here's our political correspondent damian grammaticas. tuesday in southport, and the violence that followed the fatal stabbings. the riots were fuelled by misinformation on social media and outsiders intent on causing trouble. yesterday, it was quiet. for a second day, police were given temporary powers to stop and search anyone suspected of carrying a weapon or planning any criminal act. after southport, the disorder had spread. this was hartlepool on wednesday. the prime minister said it was the work of the far right showing who they are. ii arrests were made here, and there was unrest, too, in london, manchester and aldershot. so, summoned to downing street yesterday, police chiefs, here for an emergency meeting with the new government. sir keir starmer promised a new national capability to tackle the violence.

these thugs are mobile, they move from community to community, and we must have a policing response that can do the same. shared intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology and preventative action — criminal behaviour orders to restrict their movements. in london, more than 100 arrests were made. the police say they are now ready if more violence happens. what i committed to the prime minister to do today was to write to all those commanders to be very explicit about new guidance and rapid learning from these events, about how we separate what might be legitimate protest from what is, frankly, downright violent crime. and so that we can intervene more quickly, we can arrest offenders, we can act to deter, and we can work with the criminal justice system to bring those people to very swiftjustice if people break the law. sir keir starmer also had a message for social media networks.

he said whipping up disorder online was a crime and it was happening on their watch. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. let's bring you some breaking news on this story that merseyside police has just said it has on this story that merseyside police hasjust said it has made on this story that merseyside police has just said it has made seven arrests, and further arrests will be made over the coming weeks after those protests following the southport attack. the detective chief inspector has said that following disorder on tuesday, we have now made seven arrests and further arrests will be made over the coming weeks. goes on to say, extensive work is ongoing to identify all those responsible for the despicable actions and we are determined to find everyone involved this incident. they have also followed up with another statement here that they are saying that they are aware of online speculation about future protests, and they have extensive plans and considerable

police resources in place to deal with them. we heard from the prime minister yesterday who said that he was giving police the ability to coordinate with other forces to try to cut down on these protests. our news correspondent alison freeman had sent us the latest from southport. well, here this morning, we have been watching as there is still a steady trickle of people coming to pay their respects to those three young girls who died. there are flowers, balloons and soft toys. and now on the road there are chalk drawings with the names of those three girls who lost their lives. there are plans in place tonight for buildings to be lit up across the north west to remember the girls, and also show solidarity with all of those people who have been affected by these really terrible events. we know there are more protests planned for the region

across the weekend. police in southport are still working under that special order they have been given, special and enhanced powers to carry out stop and search to try to prevent any more violent disorder. there is also a very visible police presence in the area and the police say that is all about reassuring the public and letting the people who live here know that they will be kept safe. alison, what has been the feeling after the statement that we heard from the prime minister yesterday, particularly in coordinating police forces to share information about those who might cause unrest? this yeah, that crisis meeting was called yesterday by the prime minister. he met with the police chiefs just to talk about the introduction of a new national violence disorder programme, that is to clamp down on violent groups and allow police forces to share any information that would be able to help them tackle

those and that has been welcomed by many of the police chiefs involved in that meeting. keir starmer said it was a necessary course of action to keep our streets safe, and he has called the disorder that has taken place a crime, and they should not be called protests. the prime minister also said that nobody involved in the rioting should pretend to be speaking for grieving families. and people here have basically had to suffer twice in the wake of the stabbings because of the actions of those groups. alison, can you tell us more about the people who, the children, who were killed in that attack, and have we heard any more from their families, and also those children who have been released from hospital more recently?

we've had a lot happened in the last 2a hours. let's remind you of the three victims, they were bebe king who was six years old, elsie dot stancombe who was seven years old, and nine—year—old alice dasilva aguiar who had all been attending the taylor swift themed dance class. ten more people were injured, two of those children were released from hospital yesterday. we know that the two adults involved remain in a critical condition. alison freeman there. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

welcome back. the leader of the lebanon—based group hezbollah has warned israel the group is considering retaliation for the killing of a top hezbollah commander in beirut

and the political head of hamas in tehran. it comes as israel says it's received intelligence that confirms the head of the military wing of hamas was killed in gaza last month. the israelis targeted mohammed deif in a strike on a compound in the khan younis area onjuly 13th. another hamas senior figure, the group's political leader, ismail haniyeh, is being buried in qatar two days after he was killed in a strike in the iranian capital, tehran. we can take you to some live pictures coming from istanbul, and a symbolic funeral is taking place at a mosque in sofia. hamas' armed wing said the death of haniyeh will have major repercussions. our middle east correspondent yolande knell is injerusalem with more on this.

israel remains on a very high state of alert. that killing of ismail haniyeh came on the back of the assassination of a hezbollah commander which israel says was carried out in response to the hezbollah killing of 12 children in rocket strike in the occupied golan heights last weekend, and the expectation really is that both strikes were really involving figures who were too senior, they cannot be ignored. there are also real security breaches as far as hezbollah is concerned, its leader being killed in its stronghold in the south of beirut, and also ismail haniyeh, although israel says it was not responsible, it is widely blamed for his assassination, and he was killed in tehran inside an accommodation block that really

belongs to the islamic revolutionary guards there. and so there is an expectation of a real response. we had last night a speech by the hezbollah leader, that was closely listen to here. he talked about how the killing of its commander meant a new phase in the conflict with israel, and he said too that there would be very well studied retaliation. he also referred to iran, and iran is a key backer of hezbollah and also supports hamas, and it said that iran could not remain silent with the killing of that hamas leader on its soil. so what we have seen going into both the main israeli and lebanese airports, a number of flight being cancelled or delayed. we know that we had the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, speaking last night to the us president, joe biden. the white house said that

they discussed us military deployments to support israel against missiles and drone strikes, but we also had joe biden talking to reporters afterwards, and when he was asked about the killing of ismail haniyeh and what it meant for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, he said that it was not helpful. deal, he said that it was not helful. ., . more on the olympics now, and there are several gold medals on offer today. but in breaking news, slovakian swimmer is under medical assessment after collapsing following her individual medley heat. that is according to a venue official. medical staff carried her away from the poolside on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on her face after she finished seventh in the third heat after the morning's

session. you are watching bbc news. hello again. this morning's miss good fog across parts of southern and south—eastern england continuing to lift, but if you have an allergy to lift, but if you have an allergy to pollen, today the levels are higher across more of england that we have seen in recent days. generally speaking, they are low to moderate, and we are talking weed and nettle in particular. we could see showers across parts of england through the day, but for most it will be dry, sunny and warm, but we do have a cold front bringing in some rain and strengthening winds to the west. ahead of it, the cloud will build with one or two showers. temperatures 16—27, but we could see 28 or 29 somewhere in the south—east, and here, it will be muggy. the weather front continues to sink south and east, starting to break up and turn more showery. i

had of it, clear skies and feeling muqqy' had of it, clear skies and feeling muggy, behind it clear skies with scattered showers. but you will find it will feel fresher behind that cold front, temperatures in scotland and northern ireland 9—12, 15—17 as we push further south. as we had through saturday, here is our weather front pushing towards the south—east. it looks like it could rejuvenate in the south—western end, so although we start with a lot of cloud and some showers, we can see heavier showers across the west country, the channel islands, into hampshire and dorset, but to the north of that, drier with some sunshine again, scattered showers especially across scotland and northern ireland. fresherfor more of us tomorrow, but still quite muqqy of us tomorrow, but still quite muggy across the south—east even though temperatures will be a little lower. as we had through saturday night and into sunday, eventually we say goodbye to that weather front with a ridge of high pressure building across us, but then we have got the next area of low pressure coming in later in the day. on sunday, a lot of cloud around, some

sunnier breaks in eastern areas, we could catch one or two showers from the thickest cloud, but through the day, the wind will strengthen, the cloud will build from the west. temperatures 14—24 but feeling fresher across the board. and then beyond that into the new week, it still remains fairly unsettled. there will be showers with rain at times and still some sunshine, temperatures round about where we would expect them to be at this stage in august.

japan's financial markets plunge, suffering historic falls to stock prices. in the us, apple and amazon report mixed fortunes as the dowjones index sees its worst day of the year. welcome to business today. i'm mark lobel. we begin in asia, tojapan, where the country's stock market has sunk to record lows. financial markets in asia are largely tracking the declines seen on wall street overnight, which we'll hear about in just a moment. there are a few factors at play, including a strong yen and interest rate decisions.