this is bbc news — i'm luxmy gopal — the headlines at 6pm. union leaders say talks to prevent rail strikes next week have failed — and the walkouts will go ahead. passengers across the country will be affected. think there are so many sectors of our society at the minute and people who are struggling and we need to help each other where we can. just want more — help each other where we can. just want more money and they can hold the country— want more money and they can hold the country to ransom. tens of thousands of people have marched in central london calling on the government to do more to help tackle the cost of living crisis. the government is to trial a scheme allowing asylum seekers who cross the channel in small boats to be electronically tagged. police in brazil confirm a body found in the remote amazon rainforest is the missing british

journalist — dom phillips. and coming up at 6.30 — all the day's sport, including leicester tigers�* dramatic win over saracens in english rugby's premiership decider. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the rmt union has confirmed that next week's rail strikes will go ahead. they say talks have failed to resolve a dispute about pay, jobs and working conditions. the strikes will affect railway lines across the country. our business correspondent vishala sri—pathma reports. it's set to be a chaotic time if you're travelling by rail at all next week. three 24—hour strikes planned across the week on tuesday, thursday, and saturday, with strikes on the london underground to go ahead on tuesday, as well.

for those who have plans to go on holiday by rail, or, indeed, go to work, the strikes are notjust disruptive — they�* re costly. i think it's just down to greed, isn't it? i mean, government put in, is it, £16 billion of our money, to keep the railways running during the pandemic, and now they're moaning because they're not getting a big enough pay increase. my sister is having cancer treatment, and in london, and that's affecting her treatment next week due to the strikes, so she's having to stay over there in a hotel. you know, everyone deserves fair terms and conditions, _ but it will impact so many people, especially post—covid _ and with the petrol prices going up, that daily commute's going to be i just that bit harder for everybody. the rmt union says the dispute is overjob cuts and the need for a pay rise to mitigate the soaring cost of living. the industry is under pressure to save money because of falling passenger numbers, and rail bosses insist reform is needed,

but it's the passengers that will feel the brunt. lots of people will work from home, which we've all — most of us who can have become accustomed to that over the past few years, so it could be that it doesn't bite those people quite so much as it would have done in previous years. but for more of the leisure and travel events — you know, glastonbury�*s often mentioned as being one of the big events that's happening next week — the reality is that people willjust have to find another way to travel. the reality is that people willjust the department for transport told the bbc that they are "hugely disappointed" and felt the strikes were "premature" and are urging the rmt to reconsider. but with no compromise in sight for the time being, it's set to be a stressful seven days ahead for passengers. vishala sri—pathma, bbc news. earlier we've heard from rail operations consultant anna—jane hunter, whom you saw in our report, she commented on what caused disruption to rail transport. i think it has affected it. those

changes were happening before the pandemic, so changes in working practices and patterns of travel and particularly for commuters were happening before the pandemic, but it definitely accelerated that during the two years of working from home that we had, so yes, definitely it has affected it. find home that we had, so yes, definitely it has affected it.— it has affected it. and it is perhaps — it has affected it. and it is perhaps not _ it has affected it. and it is perhaps not likely - it has affected it. and it is perhaps not likely that. it has affected it. and it is l perhaps not likely that that it has affected it. and it is - perhaps not likely that that will change, that the direction of travel will change, so what does the industry need to do to adapt? so industry need to do to adapt? sr there are some equations involved here. people are travelling and less and that means less money coming through the fare box, particularly through the fare box, particularly through those really high revenue season ticket type of things, so the industry has changed and it is a lot more about leisure in the post—covid recovery period and it was a lot more about straight during the covid period and continues to be during the carbon reduction we want to achieve as a nation, so i think the industry really needs to think about what it is therefore, who it is therefore and there it is going to be funded as we go forward, as a

service people value and want to use. ., , ,., .,, service people value and want to use. ., , ,., ., service people value and want to use. ., ,,., ., service people value and want to use. ., , , ., .,, ., y., “ use. how sustainable do you think the current _ use. how sustainable do you think the current levels _ use. how sustainable do you think the current levels of _ use. how sustainable do you think the current levels of rail _ use. how sustainable do you think the current levels of rail services i the current levels of rail services are, if this is the way things are going? are, if this is the way things are auoin ? ~ , are, if this is the way things are oiiin ? . , ., are, if this is the way things are iroin? , are, if this is the way things are ioini? , going? well, they are sustainable if we can iet going? well, they are sustainable if we can get peeple _ going? well, they are sustainable if we can get people to _ going? well, they are sustainable if we can get people to come - going? well, they are sustainable if we can get people to come to - going? well, they are sustainable if we can get people to come to work| going? well, they are sustainable if i we can get people to come to work to operate them and that is the problem next week, but on a long—term funding basis, there are challenges there, so as i mentioned, there isn't enough money coming in through the fare box, it is heavily subsidised taxpayers money anyway, and we are having a low cost of living squeeze and we have high inflation. those are all things that are part of the equation in trying to sustain things that are an expensive effort to run like the railway. it is not unique, it is like the nhs and the education system, but it competes with those things about when we are talking about huge amounts of money needed to be put in to keep it going. what to be put in to keep it going. what do ou to be put in to keep it going. what do you think _ to be put in to keep it going. what do you think is _ to be put in to keep it going. what do you think is going _ to be put in to keep it going. what do you think is going to _ to be put in to keep it going. what do you think is going to happen next? we have got the strikes, but how likely is it that there will become the sound going forward? i

really hope that there will be and i know my colleagues across the industry hope there will be and usually that is what happens. usually that is what happens, there will be a compromise found. we need to be talks to continue, we need compromises on both sides, there is a lot of ground to be covered there, but hopefully that compromise will be found soon.— be found soon. anna-jane hunter s-eakini be found soon. anna-jane hunter speaking to _ be found soon. anna-jane hunter speaking to me — be found soon. anna-jane hunter speaking to me a _ be found soon. anna-jane hunter speaking to me a little _ be found soon. anna-jane hunter speaking to me a little earlier. i tens of thousands of people have been marching in central london, calling on the uk government to do more to tackle the cost of living crisis. trade union leaders, front line workers and community organisations were among those at the demonstration, demanding what they say must be a "better deal" for workers struggling to cope. earlier, i spoke to general secretary of the tuc union, frances o'grady, who was on the march. this was a really important opportunity for people to come together from all over the uk, ordinary working people, saying enough is enough. we've got a living standards crisis. we need action from employers and government to make sure that working people who have been

struggling with pay cuts and pay freezes for over ten years now just can't afford to take another hit. and they're asking for action from the government saying we demand better. i think a lot of people were feeling the hit from the cost—of—living crisis before today. it's something that people have been feeling for quite a while now, but is there anything that this march could actually, in practical terms, achieve? well, we want government to listen. you know, workers are not the cause of inflation. they're suffering the impact of inflation, and there's a real danger for our economy, too, that because it's now shrinking and the risk is we're heading for recession is that if people don't have money in their purses and wallets to spend in local shops and businesses this will make the problem even worse. we would like to see the government to help those who are most in need. we have argued for an improvement in

universal credit, we have argued for a fair pay increase for public service workers, but we need the government to back fair pay agreements in the private sector as well, instead of what we have seen in the rail industry, which is getting in the way of train operating companies who made £500 million worth of profit negotiating a fair deal with the unions. the government — a fair deal with the unions. the government will _ a fair deal with the unions. the government will of _ a fair deal with the unions. the government will of course say that they have already put money towards this, they have a package of help and funding towards some of the most vulnerable families and they have provided extra money that will go towards helping with fuel bills and of course they will say that this is part of a wider global effect on the economy. part of a wider global effect on the econom . ~ ., ~ ., ., economy. well, we all know that inflation is _ economy. well, we all know that inflation is being _ economy. well, we all know that inflation is being driven - economy. well, we all know that inflation is being driven by - economy. well, we all know thatj inflation is being driven by global energy prices, not by wages. inflation is being driven by global energy prices, not by wages_ and inflation is being driven by global energy prices, not by wages. and the government seems to be blaming working people for wanting to have a fair pay increase. what working people for wanting to have a fair pay increase.— fair pay increase. what do you mean b that

fair pay increase. what do you mean by that when — fair pay increase. what do you mean by that when you — fair pay increase. what do you mean by that when you say, _ fair pay increase. what do you mean by that when you say, they - fair pay increase. what do you mean by that when you say, they seem . fair pay increase. what do you mean by that when you say, they seem to | by that when you say, they seem to be blaming working people? weill. be blaming working people? well, the seem be blaming working people? well, they seem to _ be blaming working people? well, they seem to be _ be blaming working people? well, they seem to be picking _ be blaming working people? well, they seem to be picking a - be blaming working people? -ii they seem to be picking a fight with union what do you mean by that, though? as representatives of working people. they have been blaming working people for asking for a pay rise and saying they are going to have to tighten their belts. in saying they are going to have to tighten their belts.— saying they are going to have to tighten their belts. in what way, 'ust to tighten their belts. in what way, just to clarify — tighten their belts. in what way, just to clarify this, _ tighten their belts. in what way, just to clarify this, in _ tighten their belts. in what way, just to clarify this, in what - tighten their belts. in what way, just to clarify this, in what way l just to clarify this, in what way have they been blaming people for asking for a pay rise?— asking for a pay rise? well, they have said it _ asking for a pay rise? well, they have said it publicly _ asking for a pay rise? well, they have said it publicly that - asking for a pay rise? well, theyj have said it publicly that workers should expect to take some pain and what we are saying is that we have seen city bonuses at bumper levels, we have seen the boardroom top pay also at bumper levels and of course profits are recovering and all working people are asking for is a fair share of the wealth that we produce and decent public services. we can't have nurses and social care workers queueing up at food banks to feed theirfamilies. you know, it is just not sustainable after ten years of pay cuts and pay freezes, so the

government is going to have to get its priorities right, on some of those bad practices that we are seeing like zero—hours contracts. we have got 4 million people on insecure low—paid contracts in britain. and yet, the government said it was going to promise a high wage economy and for britain to be the best place in the world to work. well, we have had 20 separate promises of an employment rights bill and to crackdown on zero hours and so on and yet, nowhere to be seen. i think it is time the government stopped picking fights with the working people and started being on the side of ordinary working families. find being on the side of ordinary working families.— being on the side of ordinary working families. and in practical terms, working families. and in practical terms. back— working families. and in practical terms, back to, _ working families. and in practical terms, back to, what _ working families. and in practical terms, back to, what would - working families. and in practical terms, back to, what would you i working families. and in practical. terms, back to, what would you like to see done there? what do you think should be done in order to help find the money to give people the pay rises that would be equitable with the speed and the pace of inflation and the cost of living increase? well, we have in particular called for an increase in the national minimum wage because those are the

lowest paid workers who really need help now. we would like to see workers having a fair bargaining rights, so that those companies that we have seen in the private sector making huge profits actually are encouraged by government to sit down with unions and negotiate fair deals. and of course, the government has got to do the right thing by key workers, public service workers who put their health on the line during the pandemic for the rest of us and at the very least deserve a fair reward. �* , ., . , at the very least deserve a fair reward. �*, . . , �*,., , reward. the tuc's frances o'grady sieakini reward. the tuc's frances o'grady speaking to _ reward. the tuc's frances o'grady speaking to me — reward. the tuc's frances o'grady speaking to me earlier. _ some asylum—seekers who arrive in the uk in small boats or on the back of lorries could be electronically tagged under a new home office trial. the prime minister says it's important to "make sure asylum seekers can't just vanish into the rest of the country". critics say the plan treats those fleeing persecution as criminals. 0ur political correspondent, damian grammaticas, reports. after the plane charted at a cost

of... after the plane, chartered at a cost of several hundred thousand pounds to take asylum seekers to rwanda could not leave this week, the legality of the government's policy of deporting those seeking protection here must now be decided by british courts. so, in the meantime, some of those who were due to be on board may be part of this trial and be electronically tagged while their cases are decided. when people come here illegally, and when they break the law, it's important that we make that distinction. that's what we're doing with our rwanda policy, that's what we are doing with making sure that asylum seekers can'tjust vanish into the rest of the country. it's not illegal to seek asylum, but the government is under pressure to stop the channel crossings and tagging rather than detaining some whose immigration cases are being decided has been under consideration for several years. the home office says it could be used in cases where there may be an increased risk of absconding and less incentive to comply with any conditions of immigration bail. i think that the government is chasing headlines. what i want is a serious response — a serious response,

because nobody wants these journeys across the channel to be made, these perilousjourneys. everybody wants to clamp down on the gangs. that requires grown—up work with the french authorities and upstream work to actually tackle these gangs. you don't do that if you're a government that is asking the national crime agency to make cuts. tagging and monitoring is used for people subject to court or prison orders. those who work with refugees say extending it to them is cruel and amounts to treating those who come seeking a welcome as criminals. actually, this is a diversion tacticj from the government's complete failure to run the asylum system in an orderly fashion. _ at the moment, we have utter chaos. we have over 100,000 people in the asylum system, - waiting for a decision. we have more than 70,000 waiting over six months - and tens of thousands waiting over a year, . some even waiting up to five years. so, refugee groups say in the face of the huge issues with the

asylum system, tagging is a gimmick and no other western nation does it. the numbers involved in the trial is likely to be small. damian grammaticas, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... union leaders say that talks trying to prevent rail strikes next week have failed — and the walk—outs will go ahead. passengers across the country will be affected. tens of thousands of people have marched in central london calling on the government to do more to help tackle the cost of living crisis. the government is to trial a scheme allowing asylum seekers who cross the channel in small boats to be electronically tagged. president zelensky has visited the front line in southern ukraine. the city has been under near constant shelling since late february — resisting russian offensives and preventing its forces

from advancing on the key port city of 0desa. in his first visit to the city since the invasion began, mr zelensky pledged to help restore water supplies, which have been severely disrupted by the near continuous bombardment. mr zelensky then travelled on to 0desa, where he inspected a national guard base and presented awards to a number of soldiers. in eastern ukraine, the donbas region continues to see intense fighting. the governor of luhansk says the situation there is "difficult but controlled" in reference to street fighting in severodonetsk, which russian troops largely occupy, and attacks on the neighbouring city of lysychansk. uk prime minister, borisjohnson, has warned of what he called "ukraine fatigue" that he said was beginning to set in around the world. on his return from his second trip to kyiv since the russian invasion, mrjohnson said it was important to show that allies were standing with ukraine for the long haul. the worry that we have is that a bit of ukraine fatigue is starting to set in around the world, but what you have got understand but what you have got to understand

is that the ukrainians are suffering terribly. in the east of their country, putin is continuing to commit appalling atrocities. the russians are grinding forward inch by inch and it's vital for us to show what we know to be true, which is that ukraine can win and will win. the russians are still sustaining huge casualties. they're running out of a lot of their most sophisticated weaponry. their precision weapons are starting to run down very severely and we've got to get over the message to the ukrainians and to the world how strongly we're backing them and how important it is that they succeed. militants in afghanistan have killed at least two people during an attack on the last sikh place of worship in the capital, kabul. seven others were injured after they threw hand grenades at the building. the taliban authorities say a car bomb also detonated before reaching the gurdwara. 0ur correspondent secunder kermani

who is in kabul has more details. the attack here began at around 6:30 this morning. if you see those big, grey metal doors covered in shrapnel marks, that is the main entrance to the gurdwara, the sikh temple, and that's where this attack began with a number of assailants firing and using hand grenades to overpower a security guard and then get inside. now, there's also a number of taliban checkposts around here, and so, members of the taliban who were stationed here immediately engaged the attackers in a firefight. and at some point a car that was parked around here, in which a bomb had been planted, that exploded, killing the commander of this taliban check post and causing all the damage that you see to these shops, many of which were owned by members of the sikh community, too. the fighting here lasted for around three hours, and you get a sense ofjust how

intense it must have been from the state of this room. this was the main prayer hall, and it's been left completely devastated. once upon a time, there were thousands, tens of thousands of sikhs living here in afghanistan. over the years of the conflict, that number dwindled and dwindled. there's been a spate of attacks carried out by the local branch of the islamic state group. one on another gurdwara two years ago, in which around 25 people were killed, another attack in the eastern city ofjalalabad back in 2018. this was their last functioning gurdwara. now it's been attacked, too. there's only around 150 sikhs living in this country any more and the ones that we've been speaking to say they don't feel safe here any more — they want to leave. they're appealing to the indian government to help get them out. secunder kermani reporting. police in brazil have confirmed that a body found buried in the amazon

is that of the missing british journalist, dom phillips. a second body — believed to be his travelling companion bruno pereira — is still being examined. mr phillip's sister said he was a "leading light in journalism". katy watson reports. the grim news confirmed — dom phillips' family can now, in the words of his wife, ale, say goodbye to him with love. these are the two men as their friends and family want to remember them — dom phillips, a passionate journalist writing a book on saving the amazon. i think he was a leading light injournalism. he was shining a light on an area which is a global problem and i would like to see any changes that we can make as a positive outcome of a tragedy. his travelling companion, bruno pereira, was an indigenous expert who knew the community so well and was loved by so many here. the authorities are still trying to establish whether the human remains also include

those of bruno pereira. suspect amarildo da costa de 0liveira confessed to the crime and lead the search teams to the place he buried the two men. authorities are also looking for a third suspect, jeferson da silva lima. they say he's currently on the run. the area where the two men disappeared is vast, remote and lawless. 0n the border with colombia and peru, there are illegal fishermen and poachers and drug trafficking, too. indeed, bruno's work trying to protect the indigenous communities from illegal activities made him enemies. he'd been threatened in the past because of his work. police, though, say the investigation suggests the suspects acted alone, not with a criminal organisation behind them. but, that was rejected by univaja, the association of indigenous communities, which had taken part in the search and had been calling for more to be done to find theirfriend, bruno, and his travel companion, dom. they believe it was a crime planned in detail.

katy watson, bbc news. long covid is becoming a growing and under—addressed problem among children — that's the warning from scientists as new figures suggest nearly i in 20 primary school pupils in england are living with the illness. 0ur reporter, jamie coulson, has been to meet ii—year—old freya, who has been suffering with debilitating symptoms since last october. this was freya chilvers before she caught covid last october — energetic, sporty, and full of life. and this is her now, living with a long list of debilitating symptoms which frequently leave her exhausted and often in pain. i get backache, headache, rashes. sometimes i get tinnitus. i'm tired all the time. from going 100 miles an hour, all day long, just bubbly, zesty, really active,

jumping around constantly, we see herjust very tired and having to have a rest even after going to school for a few hours. "your physiotherapist can teach you how to take your heart rate..." long covid has impacted every aspect of freya's life. having missed large periods of school, the 11—year—old still only manages three half—days a week, and she struggles to take part in normal activities. it's very difficult and frustrating that i can't do the things that i wanted to do and that i did do before, like all my dancing and football and theatre shows. for months on end, we were in a, what they call a boom—bust cycle. so freya's also been diagnosed with me and chronic fatigue syndrome as a result of long covid, so we were... she was, like, going to school for a day, and then it'd end up being

two days in bed, three days in bed, not well enough to walk across the landing because she was just doing too much. how are you feeling? i'm a bit tired, but i'm 0k, thank you. freya is seeing a fatigue specialist, but her recovery has been slow and frustrating. it'sjust hard. it's... it's soul—destroying and devastating, and we just hope for more good days than bad days. and they think maybe nine months... i'll get a bit better after nine months of having it, but i don't know. jamie coulson, bbc news. you're watching bbc news, it is just coming up to 6:23pm. if you are afraid of heights, you might want to look away now, but if you're not here is a view that could take breath away. it's a new suspension bridge in georgia that's opened, nearly 200

metres above a canyon and river. but it's the diamond—type structure in the middle of the bridge that officials hope will draw the tourists. it doubles as a viewing platform. what a view you would get! and if that is still not enough of a thrill, there's a bicycle zip line that runs parallel to the bridge — just don't look down! 0h, oh, boy! yes, ithinki oh, boy! yes, ithink i need to recoverjust from seeing those images. now it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell. hello. cooler, fresher conditions working their way south across the uk. this saturday the best of the sunshine is to be found across scotland and northern ireland, somewhat of a contrast of the week just gone where we often saw cloud lingering here. england and wales sitting through much grey skies for the remainder of saturday with some showery rain sweeping through. that is the boundary between some very hot air to the south of the uk still

extending up from spain and france where we have heatwave conditions at the moment and this cooler air trying to work in funny north. draw a line between those two air masses and what have you got? a weather front and that is what will be bearing rain as we move through saturday evening. don't take it too literally, however, because yes, it marks the boundary between the two masses, but because the area so warm across these regions as we go on into the evening there is the chance we could see some locally sharp showers breaking out even before the front moves through. through the evening wetter weather for the midlands, east anglia, thunderstorms getting to the south—east and into the hours of sunday a focus on the livelier weather perhaps shifting down towards the channel islands. but the cooler air should get into the majority of the uk by the end of the majority of the uk by the end of the night, still quite warm and muqqy the night, still quite warm and muggy across the channel islands and perhaps the far south of england, but much fresher for london and low 20s on the small hours of saturday.

sunday a lot of fine weather on the whole, a low spelling out from the north sea and that will pick the breeze up in scotland and northern ireland. a few showers here, but also some sunshine. just to? as to how well those showers clear through sunday, some southernmost counties seeing some heavy and persistent showers through the course of the day and if anything we could see them making a bit of a resurgence northwards across england, may be as far north as east anglia and the midlands through sunday evening. looking to the week ahead, always low pressure on the coast of the uk to the south, and between the two a ridge of high pressure, a low pressure ridge above, so i think there will be a lot of fine weather for the majority, but the closer you are to the coast of the greater your chance of picking up some showers and to the north—west of the uk it will be a lot brazier and showery outbreaks of rain at times. so more returns to the heat, but not the heat of recent days.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines... union leaders say that talks trying to prevent rail strikes next week have failed — and the walk—outs will go ahead. passengers across the country will be affected. i think there are so many sectors of our society at the minute and people who are struggling and we need to help each other where we can. theyjust want more money and they can hold the country to ransom. tens of thousands of people have

marched in central london, calling on the government to do more to help tackle the cost of living crisis. the government is to trial a scheme allowing asylum seekers who cross the channel in small boats to be electronically tagged. police in brazil confirm a body found in the remote amazon rainforest is the missing british journalist, dom phillips. my my colleague will have your bulletin coming up at the top of the hour, but now on bbc news... now on bbc news, it's time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm isaac fanin. tigers on top again — leicester are premiership kings after late drama at twickenham. day three of the us open is underway — rory mcilroy is one shot off the lead and in contention

for a fifth major. the defending queen's champion remains on course to successfully defend his crown. and england brush aside france as they prepare for 0ctober�*s home rugby league world cup. hello and welcome to sportsday. we're going to start at twickenham, where there was late drama as leicester tigers claimed their first premiership title for nine years. it was the eleventh in their history and one witnessed by our reporter, adam wild. adam, a day to remember at twickenham and for leicester a return to the pinnacle after some disappointing recent times? isaac, nine years does seem like a isaac, nine years does seem like a

lon- time, doesn't it, for a side long time, doesn't it, for a side like leicester