hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at 2: the military takes control in zimbabwe and says president robert mugabe, in power since 1980, is safe. the streets, they say, are calm. as you can see, it is clear who is calling the shots, the city is subdued and the military have said they will make arrests of people they will make arrests of people they say have destroyed the party. ten people are dead following flash floods in athens. missing in thejungle — a search is mounted for british explorer benedict allen, who disappeared during an expedition to papua new guinea. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport. a surprise host for the 2023 rugby world cup... it has been announced in the last 30 minutes, france will host the world cup in seven years‘ time, beating of bids from south africa and ireland as well. thank you. lucy has the weather. i will be here talking about the conditions this morning

and what to expect over the next few days, also an update on the severe weather on the south—east of europe. thanks. also coming up: tributes to actor keith barron, who starred in tv sitcom duty free, who has died at the age of 83 after a short illness. hello, everyone, this is afternoon live. i‘m simon mccoy. armoured vehicles are patrolling the streets of the zimbabwean capital, harare this afternoon, after the army declared overnight that it was taking control of the country. robert mugabe, the 93—year—old president who has ruled zimbabwe since independence from britain in 1980, has been confined to his home. the british embassy in zimbabwe has advised uk nationals to stay indoors until the situation becomes clearer. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james robbins reports. snatched video films furtively tells some of the story, troops on the streets of harare, as the generals take control

after 37 years of president mugabe‘s increasingly dictatorial rule. gunfire heavy gunfire could be heard in parts of the capital early this morning, but the picture overall is of uncertain quiet. it looks as if the bulk of the army has been moving to secure its hold on zimbabwe. soldiers seized the headquarters, so that a general could of the state broadcaster, so that a general could read out a statement. the situation in our country has moved to another level. firstly, we wish to assure the nation that his excellency the president of the republic of zimbabwe and commander—in—chief of the zimbabwe defence forces, comrade robert mugabe, and his family, are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed. we are only targeting criminals

around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice. as soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy. this was president robert mugabe last week, very frail, seriously ill, renaming the country‘s main airport for himself. hoping perhaps to cement still further a cult of personality and try to make the succession of his wife, grace, at his side, more certain. key military leaders now seem unwilling to let that happen, robert mugabe is under house arrest, in office but certainly not in power. grace, a0 years hisjunior, has helped split the entire ruling party, zanu—pf. ten days ago she was booed

at a rally and the army clearly blames her for splitting factions. she is reported to be out of the country, apparently seeking protection in namibia. this is the man the army may favour, the vice president until he fired him last week, army commanders were desperate to stop the purge and emmerson mnangagwa saw himself as a frontrunner to succeed until his sacking and flight into exile, now, britain, former colonial power, is urging calm. 0ur ambassador has been in touch because uk nationals that are worried should get in touch with the embassy. it is fluid and hard to say exactly how this will turn out, the most important point to make is that everyone wants to see a stable and successful zimbabwe, and i think we appeal for everyone to refrain from violence,

that is the important thing. harare does appear to be generally quiet, zimbabwe and its people will be nervous after enduring decades of violence and the catastrophic economic collapse of a once thriving economy. powerful neighbour south africa is also calling for calm and restraint. i‘m hoping that the defence force will not move and do more damage, that they will be able to respect the constitution of zimbabwe, as well as the people of zimbabwe, so that this situation does not go beyond the situation where it is now. this morning‘s newspaper headlines on the streets of harare highlights tension between the army chief, chiwenga, and president mugabe, but events have moved a long way since those words were printed. nyoka shingai is the bbc‘s reporter in harare.

she told us the latest situation there now the army has taken control of the country and put the country‘s president robert mugabe under house arrest. the presence of the military is being felt here on the streets of harare, and some parts of the city are in lockdown. now, this is as close as we can get to some of the military tanks that have stationed themselves in strategic positions. 0ne, as you can see, has blocked off access to the president‘s office. there‘s another that‘s blocked off access to parliament. zimbabweans woke up this morning to the news that the military had taken control of the capital. in the early hours of the morning, following an evening she speaks own language he speaks own language

in the early hours of the morning, following an evening of gunfire and explosions, the military took over the state broadcaster and they made an announcement that this is not a coup and that president robert mugabe is still in charge and that he‘s the head of state. but as you can see on the street here, it‘s clear who‘s calling the shots and the city is subdued, and the military have said they will make arrests of people who they say have destroyed the party. criminal elements around president mugabe. president mugabe is expected to make a statement, but the end game of all of this is unclear. the question that many zimbabweans have is — how will this all end? british nationals living in zimbabwe are being warned to stay indoors by the foreign office. guidance released this morning says: the foreign secretary borisjohnson has been speaking in the last hour.

he urged those in zimbabwe to "refrain from violence." we‘re monitoring the sitation very closely, as you can imagine, and our ambassdor has been in touch to say that if uk nationals are worried, they should get in touch with our embassy. at the moment, it‘s very fluid and it‘s hard to say exactly how this will turn out. i think the most important point to make is that everybody wants to see a stable and successful zimbabwe, and i think we‘re appealing for everybody to refrain from violence, that‘s the crucial thing. we can get latest now from our correspondent milton nkosi in johannesburg. it looks like a coup, it sounds like eq, it looks like a coup, it sounds like e0, but they are saying it is not a cure. if it does look like a coup

and sound like a coup, it looks like and sound like a coup, it looks like a coup to all of us. 0nce and sound like a coup, it looks like a coup to all of us. once you see an army general on the normal television screen and where there is no broadcast, we hear there is no broadcast going on on z bc, they have been plain old liberation songs and on the radio, songs of the liberation struggle against white minority rule. it does seem like president robert mugabe is under pressure from his own military and we are still waiting for clarity as to who is now in charge of zimbabwe. the clarity that is coming, this looks like internal politics, this is about the future of zanu—pf. very much so, that is a very important point to make. what has happened in zimbabwe, it is not like the opposition has commented on a predicament. this is an internal fight within zanu—pf. what has

triggered this event was the sacking of the vice president by president robert mugabe himself, paving the way for his wife grace mugabe to ta ke way for his wife grace mugabe to take over from him. way for his wife grace mugabe to take overfrom him. many in the military who fought in the liberation struggle found that unacceptable, they said zimbabwe is not a dynasty. they have got to have people who fought for the liberation of the country from colonial rule to be in charge of the country, not someone be in charge of the country, not someone like grace mugabe, who was once a typist and robert mugabe‘s offers. this is quite a gamble, the inevitable question is, what now? that is why president president zuma had to come in committee as the president of the regional board. that is the neighbourhood surrounding zimbabwe. he sent two envoys surrounding zimbabwe. he sent two e nvoys fro m surrounding zimbabwe. he sent two envoys from south africa this afternoon to go and speak to president robert mugabe directly and to the zimbabwean defence forced to try and clarify the situation. you

will know that the african union and a sub region do not accept the on constitutional change of government, and therefore those who are running zimbabwe now from the military would know that, but they would be com pletely know that, but they would be completely suspended if the names they are in charge. the likelihood is the going to announce that the vice president who was sacked a week ago will be in charge. therefore, the party that was elected by the people in the previous election will still be in of government. milton, thank you so much. with me is george shire, a zimbabwean political analyst, who was in the country as recently as september. does what‘s happened in the last 2a hours, is a huge surprise to you? no, not at all. what has been going on has been a struggle of power within zanu—pf, about what could happen or it should have post—2008

election. i think the kind of purges that have been going on begins in 2015, they are not an event of the last week. what i was able to notice in zimbabwe is the overwhelming popular support across the party and across the country, if you listen to the clip your correspondent made of the clip your correspondent made of the two people from the street, they are happy, they are looking forward toa are happy, they are looking forward to a better christmas, they say. that is indicative of the kind of support you have. that is exactly why robert mugabe acted. what is happening then is a reordering of the leadership of zanu—pf. not the same thing as a coup. if you think about it that way, one has to look again at what the two army general state m e nts again at what the two army general statements are and what president zuma is saying, they are almost having a choreographing effect. it

is likely highly to manage this particular moment so that there is a re—cleaning of the heart and soul of zanu—pf into the next election. re—cleaning of the heart and soul of zanu-pf into the next election. he is 93 years old, but robert mugabe still has his supporters, that‘s got to be something they are concerned about. this is not about robert mugabe versus the people, it is to do with the generation of 40, they call themselves, who had become excluded. robert mugabe, from the traditional support base he had. that is what has brought this into focus. if you listen again to what the army is saying, none of them have continued to describe robert mugabe as the commander, leader of the armed forces, they have that respect for him. what is comparative is the moment in which the previous leader, he was deposed from the leadership of zanu—pf, when robert mugabe came in. the criticism of the story at the time was he had

become... camera has become too personalfor him. these become... camera has become too personal for him. these are the same criticisms. it is not the same thing as saying this and we want to take over. i think part of what had happened is that the capture of the president by the generation 40, that‘s what‘s produced the tension. it will be interesting to see how president zuma‘s the cushion team gets into conversation with the zanu—pf high command. the opposition is out of the picture, they haven‘t got a credible, coherent, alternative that commands hegemonic late. when history is written about this moment in zimbabwe‘s history, will it be seen as the moment robert mugabe misunderstood he had not built a dynasty strong enough where he could just let his wife slipped into thejob? he could just let his wife slipped into the job? i know a lot of people talk about it... personalities are

important. robert mugabe's position was not in question. what has happened, tragically, is to do with the power struggle that has been going on around him. that is what has happened. this moment will be read as, what happened in that there we re read as, what happened in that there were struggle! these factions were seeing themselves as the anointed one. the second thing is a reminder of the way in which the liberation movement, the armed struggle, the war vetera ns, movement, the armed struggle, the war veterans, the military id stitches that put together the story of zimbabwe. that is a reminder. who will the international committee be dealing with when they want to talk to be leader of zimbabwe in the next few months? it remains to be seen. up few months? it remains to be seen. up to until two or three weeks ago, if you ask people in zimbabwe, if

you ask people on the continent and in the economies who they think is the kind of political culture and capital within zimbabwean cycles succeed robert mugabe, when i attended some of the rallies going on in the summer, i went to one or two, and! on in the summer, i went to one or two, and i saw first—hand the reception the vice president was getting. it was like the arrival of a rock star. it is impossible to remove him. it was a bad miscalculation on dg 40 two think they could write him out of history. thank you very much. you can follow all the latest developments from zimbabwe as it happens on our website. you can get live updates, analysis and much more, just go to bbc.co.uk/news. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: the army in zimbabwe seizes control of the country with president robert mugabe thought to be under house arrest. the supreme court gives the go—ahead for the scottish government to set a minimum price for alcohol — the first country in

the world to do so. the husband of a british woman serving a jail sentence in iran says he‘s hopeful the foreign secretary will do everything he can to bring her home by christmas. france will host the 20 rugby world cup france will host the 20 rugby world cu p after france will host the 20 rugby world cup after beating rival bids from south africa and ireland. the rugby world council meeting was held in london earlier today with the french chosen to host the tenth of that, ireland were eliminated in the first round of voting. just eight days before the first ashes test begins in brisbane, chris woakes took eight wickets, england were made to field all day by cricket australia 11. the hosts will resume on 249—9 on day two. australia because their place in the world cup in russia, after a 3-1 in the world cup in russia, after a 3—1win against honduras. the aston villa midfielder made a hat—trick in sydney, two from the penalty spot.

back with more on the story at half past two. see you then. scotland will become the first country in the world to set a minimum unit price for alcohol. the supreme court has ruled that the scottish government can proceed with its plan to set a minimum price for alcohol of 50 pence per unit. currently some alcohol can be bought for as little as 18p a unit. it follows a five year legal battle with the scotch whisky association, which had claimed the policy was a "restriction on trade". other parts of the uk could now follow scotland‘s example. here‘s our correspondent catriona renton. the scottish government says the problem with drink in scotland is so significant that ground—breaking measures are required to save lives, the law to introduce a minimum price for alcohol was passed more than five years ago, but a lengthy battle in the courts with the scotch whisky association has stopped it from being in fermented until now. —— implemented. the 2012 act does not reach eu law, minimum pricing is a proportional means of achieving a legitimate aim.

the idea of minimum pricing is simple, the more alcohol a drink contains, the stronger it is, and therefore, the more expensive it will be. the government wants to set it at 50p per unit, that means, four cans of 5% strength lager would cost at least £4.40. and a bottle of wine, £4 50. and a 70 centilitre bottle of whiskey, could not be sold for less than £14. almost all alcoholic drinks bought in pubs sell for well above the minimum price, so they will not really be effected. in shops like this, let‘s take this bottle of strong cider, at the moment, selling for £4.50, but it will go up to £11.25. what do people make of that? it is dear enough as it is now, and they make enough money from it. people will get together and they will buy cider,

that is the most popular thing for them. that is four or £5. they will not be able to pay for it. it is probably quite a good thing, i work as a psychiatric nurse, we get a lot of people addicted to alcohol and things like that. it will probably be a positive thing from my point of view. the scotch whiskey association argued the policy goes against eu trade rules but the scottish government says it will change lives. the policy is by its very nature controversial because, again, this is an example of scotland leading the world. it will continue to have its critics. but it is the kind of policy and necessary policy that we need to tackle a public health challenge. campaigners in other parts of the uk will have been closely watching today‘s ruling, and this may well have an influence. it is probably worth reiterating that point, this does not mean all alcohol is going to rise in price. that is right, premium products aren‘t going to be the things been

targeted by this new policy. what is being looked at is cheap, strong drink, like you saw in my report, like that big bottle of cider, that is 7.5%. that is the sort of alcohol thatis is 7.5%. that is the sort of alcohol that is going to go up badly in price, in some places you could get that through 18p a unit. when you go up that through 18p a unit. when you go up to 50p a unit, that brings the cost of that bottle of cider up to 11 .25, that is a lot more money. as the shopkeeper was seeing in my report there, that may well act as a deterrent to people who may could afford £4 per something of that quantity and that amount of drink, but when it goes up to being over 11p, maybe they are going to think twice about doing that. that is the motivation behind this policy. we have heard today from health campaigners, people that have been wanting this to happen, alcohol focus scotland cbr over the moon, the bma says it has been a long time

coming. there has been a lot of research that suggests around 60 lives a year could be saved. that is why this campaign has been going on for so long. it is experimental, which means that after six years bigger change their minds again? there is a sunset clause built into this legislation. it means that after, i think five years, the scottish government would undertake a review into how it‘s going, and if it was deemed to be something that was needing to be changed, that could happen within a six—year period. that is why that is they are, but at the moment there is going to be a consultation on how much the minimum unit price is going to be. the scottish government‘s preferred amount is 50p per unit, but there will be a consultation on that before they try to implement it, as quickly as they possibly can. thank you. at least ten people have died after

a storm in athens. rules were left flooded and trapped people in their homes and cars. the fire brigade says three men and two women were found dead in to nearby buildings. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, has held his first meeting with richard ratcliffe, the husband of the british—iranian woman detained in iran. mrjohnson pledged to leave no stone unturned in trying to free nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. she was jailed for five years in april last year for spying, which she denies. tom burridge reports. he has been separated from his wife and young daughter for a he has been separated from his wife and young daughterfor a year and a half. this morning, a meeting at the foreign office. richard ratcliffe was troubled when the foreign secretary suggested his white might not have been purely on holiday in a run. first boris johnson not have been purely on holiday in a run. first borisjohnson apologised, td richard ratcliffe was able to ask him whether he could join him on his trip to arrive next month. we talked about his trip to run —— iran. he

has said is not quite confirmed yet when. we spoke about whether i would be able to accompany him and he said he was keen to take me, but is a question to resolve both within the advice of the foreign office and also in liaison with the iranians. this was nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe a week before her arrest. her daughter 110w week before her arrest. her daughter now only get to see how duelling prison visits. she has dual british and iranian citizenship, and was arrested at the airport last year after visiting her parents. people here in the foreign office and across government have been working very ha rd over across government have been working very hard over the last 19 months to secure very hard over the last 19 months to secure the release of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe secure the release of nazanin zaghari— ratcliffe and indeed secure the release of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe and indeed to solve some other very difficult cases in iran, and we are going to continue to do that. we will be absolutely — — continue to do that. we will be absolutely —— leave absolutely no

stone unturned. richard ratcliffe says his wife is in poor health and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. the daughter cannot travel to britain to be reunited with her dad. this morning, he was able to press the foreign secretary on all of thoseissues the foreign secretary on all of those issues and ask that his wife be granted diplomatic protection. diplomatic protection would eventually turn nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe‘s blight from an individual consular issue into an official dispute between britain and iran. what officials here at the foreign office have been trying to work out is whether that move would have a positive impact on nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe‘s case in iran. according to mr ratcliffe, the foreign secretary expressed reservations about granting nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe‘s diplomatic protection. he hopes his wife will be home in time for christmas. breaking news, driving examiners are going to be staging a 48 hour strike

from december the 4th, the day a new driving test is launched, a dispute over working conditions. that is december the 4th, 48 hour strike action by driving examiners. we will bring reaction to that. if you have got any thoughts on that, let us know on twitter at bbc‘s simon mccoy and use the hashtag afternoon alive. prominent tory critics of the government‘s eu telegraph of bullying after describing them as brexit meter nears. the paper names at least 15 backbenchers who it says have been threatening to vote against theresa may‘s date to cement the law. this is all turning a bit better. it is interesting, the prime minister was asked about this during prime minister‘s questions. she said this is about bringing people together, we are leaving the european union and people have very strong views on both sides of the argument. it is about getting the

laws of right and getting the best brexit on the whole country. within both labour and the conservatives, there are people with very different views and can get a bit heated. some criticism of the newspaperfor views and can get a bit heated. some criticism of the newspaper for its singling out these particular mps. criticism of the newspaper for its singling out these particular mp5. i am joined by one of them now, you are called the brexit meter near, how do you feel about being on the front page of a national newspaper with that headline?” front page of a national newspaper with that headline? i think it was silly. it is the job of an mp to scrutinise legislation and it‘s not the first time i‘ve tabled amendments to legislation that‘s come forward from the government. they are always designed to improve it. that is precisely the purpose behind those amendments. what is it in particular you are concerned about with this bill? presumably the idea of a fixed final leaving date. putting the fixed date into the bill i think is a very big mistake and i will not be supporting that. the date as a result of article 50 being

triggered will still be there, it just wouldn‘t be on the face of the bill. what that does is by putting it on the face of the deal, it narrows down the options for the government in 2019. i think there are circumstances where we may need extra time and it would be helpful to have that on the face of the bill. i don‘t support it hard to brexit. there is a risk with it on the face of the bill that we may crash out without any further vote in parliament. how willing are you to defy your government, either to vote against or to abstain? we all know how displace works, you come under a lot of pressure from your own side not to do so. under a lot of pressure from your own side not to do solj under a lot of pressure from your own side not to do so. i voted for article 50, but i rebelled against the government on the issue with a meaningful vote. the government now says they accept that any negotiation will have to come back to parliament and get a democratic approvalfor that to parliament and get a democratic approval for that decision. i am

to parliament and get a democratic approvalfor that decision. i am not worried about the headline. i think it is very important if we are bringing the country together, we need to make sure there is a consensus. a consensus that works across both sides of the debate, both leader and remain. you critics would say you are trying to block brexit. if that's what they feel, then i would have voted against article 50. in fact, i voted for it. we need the right deal, a close and detail partnership with europe. as the prime minister outlined in her florence speech. it is always the role of an mp to scrutinise. for things like the henry viii cameras, when people were voting to take back control, they were voting to take it back to parliament and not to the executive. i think the amendments i support reflect that. how many of

your colleagues feel like you? do your colleagues feel like you? do you think the government is in trouble over the fixed date? there are 15 on the front of the newspaper, at least 15 of us. i know there are a number of others in addition. thank you very much indeed. that bill making its way slowly but continuing to date through the house of commons. vicki, i will speak to you later, thanks very much. it is time for a look at the weather, lucy is here. we have been reporting on the grim weather to the east. severe weather in southern europe, with winds and heavy rainfall, more than one months worth of rain in 24 hours of eastern italy. if we see some of the clips from earlier, heavy rain in greece has caused local flooding and disruption. heavy rain in greece has caused localflooding and disruption. as we move through the next few days it looks as if it will slowly move

southeast but not before bringing heavy rain to the south of italy and then some thunderstorms to greece. so some quite severe weather in the next few days. what is happening here? for those of us not going anywhere! are much, pitcher. these patches of fog this morning, this photo sent in by one of our weather watchers this morning. through tonight a weather front will move southeast, bringing rain for some time, although it will largely have cleared out of scotland by tomorrow morning. some brighter conditions but heavy showers which could fall as snow of a higher ground, rain over northern england and to the far north of wales, for the morning much of central england and south wales there will be clad around, patches of mist and fog again, a few outbreaks are possible, largely in double figures, that cold front moving south—east moving in overnight into scotland and moving slowly south—east through the day

tomorrow will bring outbreaks of rain and stronger winds to scotland, also it will introduce some cooler air. as we move through tomorrow and into friday that cooler air will push its way southeast with. we‘ll see a drop in the temperatures as we move through the next few days. tomorrow that cold front moving south—east, cloud across central and southern england and wales, it will brighten up four times before that front bushes in, the hand brighter conditions across northern ireland, scotland, northern england and wales, a few showers that could fall as snow, winds as well, see a contrast in the temperatures tomorrow. but weather front finally clears out tomorrow evening from the south, high pressure in charge, and that settle things down, you can see those isobars squeezing together in the north so it will be quite windy but by friday morning some of us waking to a touch of frost. to the

system particularly across england and wales and wales where it‘s been quite mad over the past few days, we have seen good spells of sunshine developing. further north still some showers, which could feed into northern ireland and the final of england later. temperature is beginning to feel fresher, back into single figures. that will take us into the weekend, which looks mainly dry. there will be brightness as well on saturday, holding onto those colder temperatures, as we move into sunday the potential for rain later moving in from the west, some uncertainty with that so stay tuned for the forecast, but through the next parisse days, turning cooler as we get into friday. this is bbc news, our latest headlines.

the army in zimbabwe seizes control of the country but insists it‘s not staging a coup. president robert mugabe is understood to be under house arrest. scotland will become the first country in the world to set a minimum unit price for alcohol in a bid to tackle a worsening health problem. the foreign secretary tells the husband of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe that no stone will be left unturned" in trying to secure her release in iran. at least ten people have died in flash floods near athens after a week of heavy rain in greece. the charity save the children, has warned 130 children are dying every day in yemen because of malnutrition and disease — in what the un describe as "the world‘s worst humanitarian humanitarian crisis". and a search is under way for a british explorer who‘s gone missing during an expedition to papua new guinea. benedict allen missed his flight home and is travelling

without a mobile phone or gps. in a moment.. we‘ll be remembering actor keith barron — star of the tv sitcom duty free — who has died at the age of 83. sport now on afternoon live. with will perry. we‘ll be talking about the world cup, and the ashes but i really want to dog about the room because you cross them at your peril! my favourite story of the day, i want to talk about the roof. the final place at the world cup will go to either peer—review or that opponents but this is what the locals are up to to help their nation rich place at the world cup, this is the ritual to send spiritual strength to their team! i can imagine you in one of these outlets, thatis imagine you in one of these outlets, that is indeed a live snake. the mountains, the jungles, they that is indeed a live snake. the mountains, thejungles, they are being represented, the game begins

tomorrow, it is working because new zealand were not allowed to land in the real. they had to divert to chile, -- the real. they had to divert to chile, —— they were not allowed to land in peru. the bus was to big to fit into the stadium so they had to walk there about a mile because the keys they had had mysteriously been misplaced. the driver gave up and five hours later they are in the stadium training! a great story. a bit of a surprise that the choice of the 2023 world cup rugby venue. we have learned in the last hour that france will be hosting the 2023 rugby world cup after beating preferred bidders south africa and ireland. a world rugby council meeting was held earlier today and the french were chosen to host the tenth event. france has staged the competition twice before, in 1991 and 2007. south africa last hosted

the world cup in 1995 and ireland was one of the five posts in 1991. england‘s women will receive a match fee for the first time during the autumn internationals after negotiations between the rugby football union and the rugby players association. england were runners—up in the world cup earlier this year but have lost their full—time contracts. the new deal means their players will not be salaried employees of the rfu but will be paid when on england duty, england face canada in the three test series starting on friday. the first ashes test is in eight days, chris woakes is in good form, taking six wickets on the first day of england‘s final warm up on the first day of england‘s final warm up game. on the first day of england‘s final warm up game. craig overton took a couple as well. he‘s trying to get a starting place in the test team. they finished with cricket australia on 249—9. andy swiss is there. a decent work—out for the england bowlers on day one of their final warm up match at the start of the show was chris woakes with six

wickets. including four wickets in 22 balls either side of lunch. with no ben stokes in australia a lot of responsibility is on his shoulders and he seems to be relishing that responsibility. two wickets also for craig overton as he pushes for a test debut in brisbane next week. but an test debut in brisbane next week. butan injury test debut in brisbane next week. but an injury scare for england, just after lunch jonny bairstow had to leave the field for treatment after hurting a finger on the field. he was off the pitch for 15 minutes but thankfully it‘s nothing worse than a bruised finger. during his absence ben foakes made his debut on the tour. he is the reserve wicketkeeper. he took a catch. and some encouraging signs from the nights where james anderson has been bowling, he missed training yesterday because of a stomach upset. jake ball is continuing his recovery from an ankle injury. england will be keeping their

fingers crossed, no more injury scares, they need to keep fit as well as focused with a first test starting in brisbane on the 23rd. england‘s women beat a governor general ‘s x! easily in their warm up general ‘s x! easily in their warm up ahead of the t20 phase of ashes series. sarah taylor and beaten on 93, england won by 90 runs in sydney. the first of 32020 matches is on friday, england need to win at least two of the free and remain undefeated to retain the ashes. the uk anti—doping agency has closed its investigation into a package delivered to sub bradley wiggins‘s tea m delivered to sub bradley wiggins‘s team sky during the 2011 criterium du dauphine. thejiffy bag contained a legal decongestant for sir bradley, saying his team management. the doping agency say they cannot confirm or refute the claim that they don‘t intend to pursue any charges in relation to the package. they have said that that

investigation was hampered by poor medical record—keeping and british cycling and team sky and lost findings on to the general medical council. in football australia have booked their place in the world cup after a 3—1win in booked their place in the world cup after a 3—1 win in the booked their place in the world cup after a 3—1win in the second leg of their play—off against tom dove us. the first leg finished goalless but there was a hat—trick for aston villa midfielder mile jedinak, there was a hat—trick for aston villa midfielder milejedinak, or set pieces, his first from a free kick from just outside the box on the other two from the spot. that‘s all the sport for now. back with more later. more now from zimababwe, where it seems president robert mugabe may have finally lost his grip on power after nearly four decades. the army is now in control of the country after taking over the state broadcaster overnight. simon thomas, the uk‘s acting ambassador in harare, had this to say. the team at the british embassy in harare are obviously following developments in zimbabwe closely. simon thomas, the uk‘s acting ambassador. earlier our correspondent shingai nyoka spoke to us from harare. the mood is very quiet, the

million—dollar question is what happens next, so this great uncertainty around that. we were in the streets earlier on, we heard gunfire and explosions last night, now replaced by calm that there is still a heavy military presence in the central business district. i personally saw some tankers and parts of the capital are in lockdown. some of the tankers have sealed off access to president robert mugabe‘s administrative office as well as two key buildings like parliament and the ports. but many of the people that were moving around town were very calm. they did not seem to be any fear in them despite the fact that the military is there. president robert mugabe who‘s 93 has ruled zimbabwe since the country gained independence in 1980. but its economy has descended into chaos, with thousands of people reduced to poverty. our correspondent milton nkosi reports. i.

i, robert mugabe... i, robert gabriel... robert gabriel mugabe was a revolutionary leader who fought in the liberation struggle against white minority rule. and bear true allegiance to zimbabwe... his tight grip on power earned him the title of being the oldest head of state in the world. the 93—year—old leader has been in power since zimbabwe‘s independence in 1980. he has continued his life as an international statesman, despite a diminishing reputation as zimbabwe‘s economy crumbled amid corruption and violence. mugabe‘s rise to power began in 1979 when the lancaster house agreement ended white minority rule. at first he protected minority rights. but in the 2000s he changed tack. he led a chaotic land reform programme including redistributing land from white farmers without compensation. the country‘s economy collapsed

with runaway inflation figures. the central bank printed money on a massive scale. supermarket shelves were empty. a loaf of bread would cost you trillions to buy. mugabe‘s misrule prompted widespread protests, that was the birth of the opposition mdc, led by trade unionist morgan tsvangirai, who later entered into power—sharing agreements with mugabe following a disputed election. the economic climate was unbearable, something it is still struggling to recover from. millions of zimbabweans cross the border into neighbouring south africa looking for a better life. and now the end seems near. as he tried to pave the way for his wife grace mugabe to be his successor. the army found that unacceptable, saying that this is not a dynasty.

milton nkosi, bbc news, southern africa. a search has been launched for the british explorer, benedict allen, after his family said he went missing during an expedition to papua new guinea. there has been no contact with the 57—year—old says he was dropped into thejungle 57—year—old says he was dropped into the jungle three 57—year—old says he was dropped into thejungle three weeks ago on an expedition to find a reclusive tribe. earlier this year he‘d appeared in a documentary with the bbc correspondent frank gardner —— in which they travelled to papua new guinea in search of birds of paradise. frankjoins me now — you saw benedictjust before he left for his trip. are you worried? slightly. not panicking because papua new guinea is incredibly unpredictable. all normal travel schedules go com pletely normal travel schedules go completely out of the window. the mudslides and torrential downpours, bridges go down, it‘s got a very basic infrastructure, and where he

has gone there is no infrastructure at all. i had supper with him just before he left and he said, i‘m expecting to be late. please don‘t worry if you don‘t hear from me on social media. so the chances are that it‘s something completely benign but let‘s not ignore the risks. he‘s gone to see this remote tribe, he last saw them over 30 yea rs tribe, he last saw them over 30 years ago, he was dropped by helicopter into a remote part of the valley and he was going to track from there to find him. last time they greeted him with a charge of spears and eventually accepted into their society. it depends who he has gone with. if he has met someone who can takea gone with. if he has met someone who can take a minute he will be fine. if he is with someone from another tribe and they‘ve got a problem with that tribe it could be very dangerous. equally if you meet the tribe and they are pleased to see you, you can‘t really look at your watch and say you‘ll have a flight

to catch. he's quite a victorian explorer, quite a purist. he doesn‘t like the trappings of modernity. he is like a latter—day thesiger. he had his trousers tucked into his socks in heathrow! i said you‘ve got some way to go, he said he wanted to get well—prepared some way to go, he said he wanted to get well—prepa red and some way to go, he said he wanted to get well—prepared and really get into the whole attitude. he‘s extraordinarily resilient. he‘s crossed the amazon, he got two types of malaria there and only survived by eating his dog‘s level. he had to kill his dog, having saved his dog who had an injured paul and nursing him back to health, it was the only way he could do it and it broke his heart but that was the only way he could survive. he has been in namibia with camels, he has crossed the gobi desert, he pioneered in the early 19905 the idea of the walking video selfie wiki would hold his

camera and say, i‘m here, i might not make it... that is his unique selling point. he‘s very good at that. we teased him in papua new guinea about endlessly pointing the camera the wrong way round, filming himself instead of what was around there but he is very good about. so he is doing what he is good at, what he is doing what he is good at, what he enjoys. so i am fairly confident he‘ll walk out of the jungle with he enjoys. so i am fairly confident he‘ll walk out of thejungle with a tale to tell and it will be fascinating to listen to. a lot of us fascinating to listen to. a lot of us take for granted that there are pa rt5 of us take for granted that there are parts of this world that we don‘t learn anything about. this is why he‘s gone. it‘s hard to get there. we only went there last year because it was a place i‘d always wanted to visit before i got shot and injured 13 years ago. benedict said, i can ta ke 13 years ago. benedict said, i can take you there, i can make this happen. and he did. we had a very good location scout who went ahead some weeks before we did and placated the tribes that we would be

visiting, so that no one thought we we re visiting, so that no one thought we were a threat. he doesn‘t have that, thatis were a threat. he doesn‘t have that, that is what is worrying, nobody has prepared the ground for him. if he is lucky they will remember him for 30 years ago and welcome him as a returning 5on. hope so. 30 years ago and welcome him as a returning son. hope so. let's hope so. thank you, frank. the charity, save the children, is warning that 50,000 children under the age of five are expected to die in yemen this year, from hunger or disease. the un official co—ordinating the humanitarian response to the war there has urged the saudi—led coalition to lift its blockade of sea ports, to allow aid into the country. our foreign correspondent clive myrie sent this report from the port city of aden in yemen. walid is in this orthopaedic building where they are fashioning out of rubber and plastic legs and arms all those people who have been injured as a result of the fighting

in this area. ten5 injured as a result of the fighting in this area. tens of thousands of landmines apparently laid by retreating forces. the air strikes have resulted in a number of people losing arms and legs. this building is fashioning arms and prosthetic limbs on an industrial scale, many of them sadly for children. look at this one for a child of no more than ten or 11. the lathes and the drilling that goes on, it‘s been working overtime, this building, to try to do with the terrible effects of this war. the people who come here hoping to get a semblance of normality with the new limb, but also, they would argue, a of dignity. —— a measure of dignity. in this teaching hospital in the port city of aden in this questionable ——

it is questionable whether some of these children will see adult and because they are terribly malnourished, new cases are coming in all the time, and in one of the other wards power outages because of a lack of fit well mean that the machines keeping some of the children alive could be switched off at any moment, it is a desperate, desperate situation. more than two yea rs desperate situation. more than two years after the intensification of this conflict there seems little sign of resolution. little respite from all the pain. clive ryrie, bbc news, in aden. soon the business news, first the headlines. robert mugabe is thought to be under house arrest of the army in zimbabwe seizes control of the country.

scotland‘s first minister says it will be the first country to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol after the supreme court ruled in favour of the move. and the husband of a british woman serving a jail sentence in iran says he is hopeful the foreign secretary will do all he can to bring her home by christmas. your business headlines. airbus has struck its biggest single deal with an order for 430 aircraft worth more than £37 billion. the buyer is the us firm indigo partners which owns several budget airlines. wings for the airbus aircraft are made in the uk — near bristol and in north wales. the deal was struck at the dubai airshow. it comes after airbus‘s main rival, boeing, had already secured a large orderfrom emirates for 40 of its 787 dreamliners. hsbc has agreed to pay £266 million to french authorities to settle a long—running investigation into tax evasion by french clients. french prosecutors claims hsbc‘s swiss private banking unit helped clients evade tax. hsbc acknowledged there were control weaknesses and are taking steps to address them.

and sixteen million people in the uk have no contents insurance and have little in savings to replace damaged or stolen household items. a group of mps, peers and charities found that 60% of those earning £15,000 or less a year had no contents cover. the majority are tenants. the dubai airshow seems to have gone well for airbus. it‘s the aid t20 they are selling, they can‘t seem to make enough of these planes because they‘ve made 7000 survive this year, and they have orders so it is doing quite well and it is good that they have announced a deal from the airshow. there‘s a lot of money around in the emirates particularly. the emirates basically snapped airbus for their larger plane, the a- 380, it airbus for their larger plane, the a— 380, it was a bit embarrassing to them. —— they were snubbed. there isn‘t enough demand for them.

emirates is the main customerfor that type of plane so if they buy these planes coming six months‘ time they might stop making them. they might be in a pickle if they do that. joining me is max kingsley jones from flight global, flight data company. a significant deal for them to announce but is it more symbolic than significant because the a-320 symbolic than significant because the a—320 is such a good seller? it's the a—320 is such a good seller? it‘s the big seller in that market and no surprise that indigo has bought this aircraft because there are only two real choices in that sector. and they had quite a lot of commitments for the craft that it is a massive dealfor airbus commitments for the craft that it is a massive deal for airbus and commitments for the craft that it is a massive dealfor airbus and comes after a week where the noise has all come from the seattle side of the atla ntic come from the seattle side of the atlantic and bowing so it is a nice way for airbus to finish the show but what they really wanted would have been the a—380 order from

emirates which hasn‘t materialised. why are they having similar problems with the a-380 ? why are they having similar problems with the a-380? and is unique, the only aircraft in its size category and it‘s always been rather slow seller since its launch. it is never hit the market demand airbus was hoping for because the market has changed since they launched that plane. the market demand is now more for medium sized bodies like the aircraft that emirates ordered on the first day of the show, the 787. so airbus has a niche product that it is an expensive one and it is ha rd to it is an expensive one and it is hard to sell. is pricing key because clearly there‘s a demand for planes. there‘s a demand for large aircraft toa there‘s a demand for large aircraft to a degree but not 500 plus seaters, not in big numbers the really big demand is in the 300—450 seat sector and airbus has good products in that range is that they

are not products in that range is that they a re not left products in that range is that they are not left out that they spend a lot on the a—380 and they would like to see the production rate at 20 to 30a to see the production rate at 20 to 30 a year. at the moment it is less than ten, not great for anyone. thank you very much forjoining us. the ftse 100 thank you very much forjoining us. the ftse100 is in negative territory, its lowest for about a month. mining and oil stocks not doing well, rio tinto not doing well, brent crude is down, taking its toll on oil companies and commodity prices as well. thank you very much. see you later. time for a look at the weather. hello, a grey start today for many areas, quite dense fog, this photo from a weather watching west sussex. through the next 24 hours this cold

front sinking south east will bring a change. it will introduce wet and windy weather a time but will also see cold air moving in from the north—west, slowly southeast, as we move through tomorrow and into friday we will see the temperatures dipping. here has bad weatherfront creeping into the far north of scotla nd creeping into the far north of scotland bringing heavy rain. it will edge its way south and east across scotland into northern ireland and the far north of england, some strong winds, we could see gales at times in the far north of scotland, england and wales a cloudy night with patches of missed, temperatures falling where we get clearer skies behind that front, staying in the double figures in the south. tomorrow morning that fund continues to edge southeast, this is rush hour, a cloudy start, drizzle possible in the east, missed and folk patches with temperatures in double figures, that band of rain across the north of wales and

southern england, behind it, in the clea ra nce southern england, behind it, in the clearance of that weather front, scattered showers that could fall as snow over the hills, and windy as well. through the day tomorrow that weather front sinks south and brings bursts of rain for a time, it will brighten up before that sinks south, clearer conditions, a few showers in the north which could fall as snow, strong winds the further north you are you can see the contrast in the temperatures, double figures in the south with a cloud, behind it, cooler. through tomorrow night that fund family sinks to the south—east, high—pressure bidding in, you can see tightly packed isobars in the north is still strong winds, a chilly start to friday, some people are waking up, a shock to the system in the south, mild over the last few days, dry and bad weather, some good sunny spells in the north, we will see showers pushing in from the

north—west, temperatures a little cooler and feeling noticeably chillier with highs of 10 celsius. hello, you‘re watching afternoon live. today at 3.00pm. the military takes control in zimbabwe — and says president robert mugabe — in power since 1980 — is safe. he is under house arrest. the streets, they say, are calm. as you can see on the street here, it‘s clear who‘s calling the shots. the city is subdued, and the military have said that they will make arrests of people who they say have destroyed the party. at least ten people are dead following flash floods in athens. missing in thejungle — a search is mounted for british explorer benedict allen, who disappeared during an expedition to papua new guinea. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. a surprise host for the 2023 rugby world cup. we now know that france has been awarded the world cup in six years‘ time having beaten off bids from south africa and from ireland as well. and lucy has the

weather. some cooler temperatures to come over the next few days. i‘ll have a full look at the forecast and what we can expect. also coming up. tributes to actor keith barron — who starred in tv sitcom duty free — who has died at the age of 83 after a short illness. hello everyone — this is afternoon live. the streets of the zimbabwean capital harare are said to be tense but can‘t this afternoon. military vehicles are surrounding government buildings after the army declared it was taking control of the country. robert mugabe — the 93—year—old president who has ruled zimbabwe since independence from britain in 1980 — has been confined to his home. our diplomatic correspondent james robbins reports. snatched video filmed furtively

tells some of the story, troops on the streets of harare, as the generals take control after 37 years of president mugabe‘s increasingly dictatorial rule. heavy gunfire could be heard in parts of the capital early this morning, but the picture overall is of uncertain quiet. it looks as if the bulk of the army has been moving to secure its hold on zimbabwe. soldiers seized the headquarters, so that a general could read out a statement. the situation in our country has moved to another level. firstly, we wish to assure the nation that his excellency the president of the republic of zimbabwe and commander—in—chief of the zimbabwe defence forces, comrade robert mugabe, and his family, are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed. we are only targeting criminals

around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice. as soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy. this was president robert mugabe last week, very frail, seriously ill, renaming the country‘s main airport for himself. hoping perhaps to cement still further a cult of personality and try to make the succession of his wife, grace, at his side, more certain. key military leaders now seem unwilling to let that happen, robert mugabe is under house arrest, in office but certainly not in power. grace, 40 years hisjunior,

has helped split the entire ruling party, zanu—pf. ten days ago she was booed at a rally and the army clearly blames her for splitting factions.