this is bbc news. i'm ben bland. our top stories: presdent maduro votes in venezuela's divisive and violent election. the us calls it a step towards a dictatorship and promises "strong and swift" action. president putin confirms 755 us diplomatic personnel must stop working in russia. many will be expelled by september 1. real madrid star cristiano ronaldo faces court today accused of evading more than 1a million euros in tax. and i'm sally bundock. banking big profits — hsbc will publish its results in the next few minutes, and analysts are predicting some big numbers. and china cools — the world's second biggest economy saw manufacturing growth slow last month, fuelling fears that chinese growth is on the slide. several people have been killed

during violent clashes in venezuela during a controversial election to create a new parliament. the new constituent assembly would override the existing opposition—led congress in what critics are calling a power grab by president nicolas maduro. opposition parties in the oil—rich nation boycotted the vote. will grant reports now from the capital, caracas. this has been an election unlike any other in venezuela. the controversial vote was met by widespread demonstrations and became the bloodiest day in months of violent street protests. with the

opposition boycotting the process, the government was always going to claim victory. nevertheless, in some neighbourhoods, there appeared to be little enthusiasm and low turnout for the vote. in years past in vote under orders, queues would spread around the block but on this occasion, the interest seems a little more subdued as many are concerned about what it may mean for the future of venezuela. translation: government loyalists like this local candidate insisted the process was legitimate. calling a new assembly the will of the people. but it is not the will of these people. young protesters have spent weeks engaged in civil disobedience. schools have died. even as the votes were being cast

and counted, they vowed to remain on the streets. translation: and counted, they vowed to remain on the streets. translationzli and counted, they vowed to remain on the streets. translation: i have a two—year—old son and i don't presume to crop in a world of violence and dictatorship. opposition leaders insist they are not encouraging the violence. and not trying to drive the country down a path to further conflict. let's be clear, we are not farming venezuelan against venezuelans, we farming venezuelan against venezuela ns, we have farming venezuelan against venezuelans, we have a real union of venezuelans, we have a real union of venezuelan people fighting against a minority which has kidnapped it, the power, in venezuela. in this broken and is deeply catholic nation, many chose to go to church instead of vote. as mass ended, neighbours shook hands with the traditional sign of peace. whatever the new assembly brings, it will be years before's politicians ridged edified. while grant, bbc news caracas. mr

hand, the electoral commission in venezuela says 41% of eligible voters cast their ballot for the election of the proposed new constituent assembly which as i mentioned will be tossed with rewriting the constitution. however, the opposition has chosen not to accept that. more results as we receive them on bbc news. president vladimir putin has confirmed that 755 staff from us diplomatic missions are to be expelled from russia by september i. he added that further sanctions were being considered. the move is retaliatory, coming after us sanctions on russia were overwhelmingly approved by both houses of congress on tuesday. looking at these moves, greg dawson reports. on a day when russia was once again flexing its military muscle — on this occasion, a navy parade in st petersburg — vladimir putin was getting ready to play his hand in a diplomatic

tussle with the us. more than 700 staff ordered to leave their diplomatic missions. this is thought to be the largest expulsion from any country in modern history. it is a delayed retaliation after president obama expelled russian diplomatic staff from the us last year. president putin said he'd been waiting and hoping to see if relations with washington would improve. those hopes were squashed by the us congress last tuesday when, despite white house objections, it voted overwhelmingly to impose new sanctions on moscow for interfering in last november's election — something russia has always denied. it was the last drop. if the us side decides to move towards further deterioration, we will answer, we will respond in kind. we will mirror this. we will retaliate. but my call, and my whole point is do not do this. of course, donald trump also denies any collusion with russia

in his election, but on a visit to estonia, his deputy was keen to reaffirm the administration has been no soft touch when it comes to moscow. the president has made it very clear that russia's destabilising activities, its support for rogue regimes, its activities in ukraine are unacceptable, and the president made it clear that very soon, he will sign the sanctions from the congress of the united states to reinforce that. since coming to office, donald trump has made no secret of his desire to improve relations with russia but with this expulsion and a bill on his desk to approve further sanctions, it now looks like a fading ambition. greg dawson, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the high court will decide later whether tony blair and two other senior members of his cabinet can be tried in uk courts over the 2003 iraq war.

the attempt to bring leading figures of the blair government to court was launched by the former iraqi general abdulwaheed al—rabbat, who calls the invasion a "crime of aggression". the british council of the exchequer has suggested the uk will not cut taxes and regulations after brexit to try to undercut european rivals. the remarks in an interview with the french newspaper le monde contradict what he said in an interview with a german newspaper earlier this year. a philippine mayor accused by president rodrigo duterte of having links with the illegal drugs trade has been shot dead in a police raid. reynaldo parojinog was killed with his wife and ten others at his home, as police served a warrant. at least 75 people have been rescued from a damaged cable car suspended about 40m over the river rhine in the german city of cologne. rescue teams used a crane to bring the passengers, including children, to safety after they were stranded for several hours.

the big on the banking front. —— think business news. sally is here with all the business news. some result from hsbc reporting how much money it made in the second quarter of this year. the bank is doing extremely well, making $6 billion in the second quarter, a bit more than that, a lot more than most a nalysts more than that, a lot more than most analysts were predicting and they had as i said earlier pretty great expectations. the profits coming in substantially but also there with much anticipation that they would announce a share buyback and they have delivered on that front. so up to $2 billion has been announced in the last few moments and it would make the most of its huge cash pile and the move would effectively restrict the supply of hsbc shares

in the marketplace and of course it will lead the compa ny‘s in the marketplace and of course it will lead the company's market value going up. in the last 12 months, how the company has performed, the bank has performed, in terms of its stock price, it's had a good run as you can see, almost doubling in value but this is partly because of the wea ker but this is partly because of the weaker pound because of course a wea ker weaker pound because of course a weaker pound because of course a weaker pound means the value of their earnings from outside the uk of course accounts for a lot more in terms of the bank's profits. we will have an expert view on hsbc, a lot of change in this company, a new chairman coming in, they are looking for a new chief executive is a lot to talk about with hsbc, arming up in the world business report. also, official data out in the last few hours indicates that chinese manufacturing growth slowed slightly injuly. the official purchasing managers' index was 51.4 injuly, down from 51.7 injune. any figure above the 50—point mark indicates an expansion, while any figure below shows a contraction. what does this mean for china and

for the global economy? we will have that discussion and all the other stories as well, including the us tech giant apple under criticism after it removed some software from its app store. the change comes after the chinese government announced a crackdown on virtual private networks, known as vpns. they are used to find ways around china's filters and restrictions on access to certain websites within its borders. dojoin me if you can. i'm on twitter. i'm @ sallybundockbbc. today is the 100th anniversary of the start of the battle of passchendaele, where around 500,000 allied and german soldiers were killed or wounded near the belgian town of ypres. prince charles is to attend a commemoration at tyne cot commonwealth cemetery, where thousands of soldiers are buried.

jane frances kelly reports. in flanders fields of poppies blow between the crosses. in ypres main square last night, dame helen mirren spoke the words of the war poetjohn mccrae who recounted the horror he had witnessed. the likes still bravely singing fly. scarce heard amid the guns below. winston churchill wanted to keep the ruins of ypres preserved for prosperity that we would not forget. but instead, it was agreed the city would be rebuilt exactly as it once was. the story of men now gone was retold in a place that has kept its promise and continues to remember their passing. officially known as their passing. officially known as the third battle of ypres, passchendaele lasted until november 1917. fought in the west flanders

region of northern belgium. it became infamous not only for the number of deaths but also the mud. co nsta nt number of deaths but also the mud. constant shelling and the heaviest rainfor30 constant shelling and the heaviest rain for 30 years created a muddy wasteland it became so deep, men and horses drowned in it. the last post has been played at ypres through the decades. the man —— the menin gate has over 511,000 names carved into whitstone, remembering those who have no known grave. it marks with the troops marched when heading to the troops marched when heading to the battlefields. the trick and duchess of cambridge attended a ceremony of remembrance day, together with the prime minister. with the sounding of this bugle

call, the 250,000 british and commonwealth soldiers, who were killed on the ypres salience during the first world war are remembered. the defence of the city at such great cost meant that it became hallowed ground. today's commemorations will continue with a special service at tyne cot cemetery are thousands are buried. such was the slaughter, the majority of the graves remain unmarked. footballer cristiano ronaldo — the highest paid sportsman in the world — will appear in court in madrid later, accused of tax fraud. he's the latest player to fall foul of spain's tax man and will attend a pre—trial hearing to answer four counts of tax evasion. from madrid, richard conway has the details. he is one of the highest—paid sports

stars on the planet. spanish tax authorities allege cristiano ronaldo hid around $70 million in income. they also claim the real madrid and portable star in the declared about one quarter of his pay over a three—year period from 2011—14. as one of the world ‘s most marketable individuals, cristiano ronaldo has secured a string of lucrative endorsements and has his very own brand. but it is claimed he failed to declare $33 million of income when he sold five years of his image rights to a spanish company. he denies all the allegations and says his conscience is clear. it is not the only football star to face such scrutiny in spain. last year, barcelona's little scrutiny in spain. last year, ba rcelona's little messy scrutiny in spain. last year, barcelona's little messy was convicted on the same charge cristiano ronaldo our faces. convicted on the same charge cristiano ronaldo ourfaces. —— messi. meanwhile, jose mourinho is now facing tax fraud charges after

he was in charge of real madrid. other names in the game similar claims. after already threatening to leave spain over anger about the claims against him, cristiano ronaldo says he will now stay to try to win more trophies. with a potential fine of $33 million hanging over him, if found guilty, that may require a lot of win bonuses. richard conway, bbc news, madrid. stay with us on bbc news. still to come — england celebrate their victory over france to reach the semifinals of women's euro 2017. cheering the us space agency nasa has ordered an investigation after confirmation today that astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk. the last foot patrol

in south armargh, once an everyday part in the soldiers' lot, drudgery and danger, now no longer after almost four decades. if someone is in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i don't really see why all these people should wander in and say you're doing something wrong. six rare white lion cubs are on the prowl. they have been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they are lovely and sweet. yeah, really cute. this is bbc news. i'm ben bland. the latest headlines: presdent maduro has voted in venezuela's divisive and violent election.

the opposition has refused to recognise the election. more on that story. the vote in venezuela for a controversial new constituent assembly to rewrite the country's constitution. our correspondent, will grant, is live in the capital, caracas. a divisive election. it was one that did not happen without an element of violence and disruption. that is correct. now that the results have come in, i can only foresee there will be more disruption and civil disobedience and violence on the streets. just to update those numbers, the national electoral council says around 41 .5% of the electorate turned out to vote. that amounts to little over 8 million votes in this election, which, of course, the opposition boycotted. in

his final election before his death, hugo chavez, hugely popular in venezuela, got only a shade over that. the government is suggesting they have kind of maintained the same level of support since hugo chavez died, a stretch of the imagination for most people on the streets of venezuela, i would suggest. nevertheless, they say those are the results they will be working with. they will attempt to set upa working with. they will attempt to set up a national constituent assembly in a few hours. what happens after this vote? it is murky at this stage. one version of the reality is both sides, both the government and opposition, will have a legislative body. there will be a question of which one to listen to.

the ruling party will have the executive, legislative, and essentially judicial executive, legislative, and essentiallyjudicial branches executive, legislative, and essentially judicial branches of government, as well as strong support from the military. it looks like that would be the side of the aisle, political colours, that are respected and heeded to. but the opposition will notjust take that lying down. that is why there will be more disruption and violence as a result. it was really good to get your thoughts on that to be will grant in venezuela. and now to turn our attention to sport. success for british sportswomen continues to arrive. following last weekend's success for the cricket team at the world cup, the football team are looking to do similar at the european champions in the netehrlands. they've reached the semi—finals after victory over france and are now the favourites to go on and lift the title. our sports correspondent, katie gornall, was at the game.

england did not just england did notjust advance here, they took a huge step forward. from they took a huge step forward. from the final whistle we saw just what it meant to be players to finally get that record over france out of mind. they have not beat them since 1974. mind. they have not beat them since 197a. there was an outpouring of emotion. it was a nervous match. there were few chances. something that the english side have done in this tournament that they did not in previous ones was to take chances. jodie taylor took the fifth goal and is on course for a golden boot. we held on. the girls were excellent. especially in the dying minutes. they threw everything at it. fortu nately, they threw everything at it. fortunately, we held on. this was an historic win for them. they will now face the netherlands in the last

four. with all of germany surprisingly knocked out, england are now the favourites for the final. katie gornall, bbc news. injapan, they have the lowest start—up rate among developed economies. they founded toyota, sony, and honda, a couple of decades ago. now the country wants to bring back that spirit. we met four entrepreneurs under the age of 30. navigating through morning rush—hour. this 28—year—old was once a salary man. but today he is a rare breed here, an entrepreneur. translation: i wanted to create a new product. i wanted to be an inventor. this is the product he came up with. a lock that can be controlled by smart devices. it's used in notjust offices but also in shared accommodation.

translation: it started when i was talking to my friends about how inconvenient keys were. everything else is becoming digital. so why can't we make keys more digital? we did not make prototypes thinking we would start a company. we were getting together on weekends and after workjust as a hobby. that hobby turned into a multi—million dollar company injust three years, growing from six to more than 50 staff. so, this is how the product works. if i book a room with one of his clients, i download the app and get sent a code. all i have to do is this to gain access. so my phone essentially becomes the key during my stay. and when i check out, the code expires. so the owner and i actually don't even have to meet. translation: not many entrepreneurs

can be successful the first time around. we need to learn from our mistakes and failures. but injapan, once you fail, you struggle to get investment. i have many friends like that. japan needs to become more forgiving of failure. as the rest of corporate japan goes home, young inventors are dreaming big. the sign on the wall says "never miss a good opportunity." for many who try and follow his footsteps, it may not be lack of opportunities, but the fear of failure, that is holding them back. when you think of street art, you may think of banksy, the mysterious british painter renowned for his politically—charged work. now, a group of polish artists have been inspired to do something similar. but for their canvas, they have chosen the tiny village of sta ro zheleza re in bulgaria. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. in this particular part

of central bulgaria, art meets politics meets agriculture. these polish painters, coming into town on the back of a tractor, wave banners saying, "long live peasant art." this may seem a strange place to make such a statement, but they are thinking big. they have painted the walls of the village with a combination of celebrities, world leaders, and some of the locals. president trump appears to be having a conversation with a cow. queen elizabeth is sharing a bench with a local woman. and even a former president wants to spend a moment or two shooting the breeze. translation: let's imagine barack obama or donald trump sitting on a bench with an old lady from this village, and talking about something important, about life, about politics. there is a point to all of this.

the village has a population of less than 500, a fraction of what it was before the collapse of the soviet union. the artists are hoping their public murals can boost tourism and help revitalise the area. actually, it's my first time in bulgaria, and i feel really great. because actually i can't compare this place to any other around the world, i've been to. some of the locals seem impressed, or maybe bemused. either way, the writing, and the art, is on the wall. tim allman, bbc news. if you've ever wondered what it's like to walk the length of thirty you can get more on the news on the website. it is all there for you. i am ben bland. thank you for

watching. hello there, good morning. with all the energy and the instability in the atmosphere over the past 2a hours, we've seen a lot of heavy and thundery downpours. northern ireland, for one, has been battered by some storms earlier on, so too across parts of scotland, some fierce—looking clouds here. and we've had about a month's worth of rain at okehampton, in devon, due to some peninsular showers. now, there will be some more showers over the coming few days. we've still got this ever—present area of low pressure to the north—west of the uk. closer you are to that, the more showers there will be. but gradually, over the next two days, whilst there will be some showers and some sunshine, the showers should become fewer. let's head into the morning, though, and we've still got some showers left over, actually, from overnight in scotland. quite a cloudy start here, maybe the north—west of england. sunshine and showers into northern ireland. the other side of the pennines, across the midlands, it may well be a bright and sunny start, but already a few showers running in to western fringes of wales, perhaps the far south—west of england, towards the coast this time.

whereas you move towards the south—east and east anglia, those earlier showers will be gone. it will be a bright and sunny start. this picture was actually taken yesterday at the oval. good day for martin, there, and if you're going to watch the cricket, it should be exciting and it should be dry, actually. just a very small chance of a shower, not quite as breezy as today. there'll be some sunshine and it will be warm into that sunshine too. for many southern parts of the uk, there will be very few showers around at all. wales, up across the midlands, northern england, catching a few showers running through. not as widespread, the showers, as we saw yesterday. but there will be some slow—moving heavy thundery downpours across northern ireland and into scotland, maybe some hail as well. so 17 or 18 degrees here, at best 23 towards the south—east of england. tuesday sees some further showers across the uk, but even further north, those showers not as widespread. there will still be one or two heavy ones around,

but very much hit—and—miss. again, towards the south—east, likely to stay dry, with some sunshine. the jetstream is all—importa nt, of course, and normally it is sitting at this time of the year between scotland and iceland, but right now it is much, much further south, hence this very unsettled weather. as we head towards the middle part of the week, the jet stream will pick up another area of low pressure, rush it across the atlantic, and head it towards the uk. things turning wetter from the south—west, slowly but surely, on wednesday. many areas ahead of that seeing some sunshine, a few showers perhaps in scotland. that rain, though, arriving across northern and eastern areas during the evening and on wednesday night. goodbye. this is bbc world news. the headlines: in venezuela, president maduro has condemned violent protests against a controversial election to choose a new parliament. the us called the reform a "sham" and promised "swift and strong" action.

president putin has confirmed that some us diplomatic staff will be expelled and that 755 diplomatic personnel have been asked to stop working in moscow. he added that further sanctions were being considered. the uk's high court will decide if tony blair and two other senior members of his cabinet can be tried in uk courts over the 2003 iraq war. the case was launched by a former iraqi general who calls the invasion a "crime of aggression". real madrid star cristiano ronaldo faces court today accused of evading more than 1a million euros in tax.