this is bbc news. our top stories: senior republicans condemn the fbi search of donald trump's florida home. the white house insists it only learned about it from media reports. moscow plays down a series of explosions which have shaken a russian military airfield in western crimea. president zelensky predicts ukraine will eventually recapture the peninsula. this russian war against ukraine started in crimea and must and and in crimea with its liberation. it is impossible to say when that will happen but we are getting there. after dominating women's tennis for a quarter of a century,

23—time grand slam champion, serena williams suggests she's planning to retire. us animal protection workers, carry out the largest ever masss dog rescue — freeing around 4,000 beagles from a drug experiment lab, in virginia. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. senior republicans in the us have condemned the fbi's unprecedented search of donald trump's florida home on monday as an abuse of power. the former vice—president mike pence called for the us attorney general to give a full public account of why it happened, saying it caused him deep concern. the former president, who was not at mar—a—lago at the time, said a number of agents had occupied the compound and broken into his safe.

the white house says president biden learned about the search from media reports. 0ur north america correspondent john sudworth reports from washington. cars beeping their horns. save america! the trump bandwagon is fuelled by conspiracy, and news of the search brought supporters to his florida resort even more convinced of their theories of stolen elections and deep—state plots. you feel like you might be in venezuela or china, or russia. we feel the fbi's doing a political hitjob on president trump. it's a two—tiered justice system, so we're out here just gathering and showing support. the american people see the state of this country. | they see what's going on. so, yeah, this is all. about stopping trump from running in 2024. they are views that match the former president's own. in a statement, he spoke of his home being under siege, raided and occupied by the fbi, describing the action as "prosecutorial misconduct" and the weaponisation of the justice system

in an attempt to stop him run for president again. there's been no comment from the fbi here, but their search is thought to relate to official records and the possibility that mr trump, who's already been forced to return some documents since leaving office, may have squirrelled away more. but it's worth pointing out, of course, that to execute that search, they will have needed to convince and obtain a warrant from a federaljudge. now, the authorisation did not come from the department ofjustice. it came from a lifetime appointee, federaljudge, a third branch of government, and that's the huge difference, and that's the checks and balances that we have in our united states constitution that are so important. trump: we are a nation in decline... _ but within hours of the search, donald trump released this video. but soon, we will have greatness again. he hasn't yet officially announced a 2024 presidential bid, but this is now a man increasingly looking to be in full campaign mode. we need back—up! as the investigations

into his attempt to cling to power continue, there's a danger here for his opponents. the more serious the congressional committees or criminal inquiries become, the more republicans can claim he's being persecuted. the fbi, when it comes to trump, has lost their way. this unending desire to destroy trump and his family is frustrating. the legal implications are farfrom certain. even if he's charged, it may not bar him from office. the political implications seem clearer, though. if anything, it's galvanising him to run again. john sudworth, bbc news, washington. gary abernathy is a contributing columnist for the washington post. and he's worked in republican party politics in the past. i spoke to him earlier and began by asking if this raid has actually galvanised donald trump and his supporters.

i wonder if it didn't get out of control as far as the d0] is concerned. this was announced yesterday by donald trump, this whole raid, no—one knew anything about it all day long until around seven o'clock last night, something like that. trump put out a press release announcing the raid. he is in new york, he is not even in florida. you have to think in some way he revels in this. in fact, naive and go to wondering, he knew they wanted these documents, he knew he had turned over some documents, but he knew they wanted others. and he didn't give them to them knowing that they would eventually come and take them, and knowing when they did he got to play the aggrieved party again. it's an interesting situation because if it is for real, this is a proper investigation being carried out by the federal bureau of investigation. it should not be a pr exercise for them orfor donald trump. right. but everything is a pr

exercise for donald trump. frankly, let's be honest, we live in a world, in our social media world, in our 24/7 news world where whoever controls the narrative has a big advantage. so people say, the narrative should not have anything to do with the evidence or what is right orwrong, no, in a perfect world it shouldn't but guess what, it really does. trump has gotten out in front of this. what is interesting, david, is that we are at a time where a lot of republicans were starting to separate a little bit from trump. starting to talk about other candidates for the future and then this happens, the greatest gift trump can have because all of a sudden what happened today as you are reporting, republicans have coalesced back around him, built a wallaround him. and it's just the greatest boost he could have at this point in time. it certainly feels like the white house is on the back foot as well in terms of having to say, it didn't come from us. we heard about it through you on the media. that said, this will blow

over in some respects, one would imagine, if donald trump stands, he will probably use it as he might very legitimately do in terms of the way he is being treated. but will it matter? will it persuade anyone that we should stick with donald trump again rather than democrats? good question. i think it really depends. it is very early. i want to leave the door open to see what really did they come out of there with last night. did they really come out of that maybe with some kind of smoking gun that nobody really can imagine right now because i cannot believe that the 00], the fbi, signed off on going in there for just these documents, these unclassified or sorry, classified documents that they say were at issue. i have to believe there is more than that to take the unprecedented step of basically raiding the home of a former president no—one can ever remember any such thing being done before.

i have to believe something bigger but if not, if not you are exactly right, this will play to trump's favour. whether there is something there or not, do you believe that the doj, the department ofjustice has been — as trump's camp will put it — weaponised? i'm not here to say that. i don't want to believe that, and it's going to take more for me to believe that. i will say they didn't do anything to shoot down that perception. they played right into the hands of those that want to claim that. and frankly, it seems to me they should be smarter than that because we do need to trust our institutions, we do need to get back to having faith in them. this, right now, seems like a very politicised event last night. let's get some of the day's other news. the beluga whale stranded in the river seine in northern france has been removed from the water in the first

stage of a rescue operation. after nearly six hours of work, the whale was lifted from the river by a net and crane and placed on a barge under the immediate care of a dozen veterinarians. a grand jury in the us state of mississippi has chosen not to indict a white woman, whose accusations of assault against a fourteen—year—old black boy led to his brutal murder nearly 70 years ago. the lynching of the teenager, emmett till, galvanised the civil rights movement in the united states in the 1950s. vote counting is under way in kenya where a new president is being chosen to succeed uhuru kenyatta. polling day was largely peaceful. however, voting was suspended in one constituency in the volatile northern region. kenyans are eagerly waiting to find out if the next leader is the former prime minister, raila 0dinga or the vice president, william ruto. police in new mexico have arrested a �*primary suspect�* in the killings

of four muslim men. muhammad syed was held on monday and is charged with the murders of two of the men. police say they are working with investigators to charge the afghan with the other two deaths. president zelensky says ukraine will eventually recapture the russian—controlled crimean peninsula but is not taking responsibility for a series of explosions that killed at least one person there on tuesday. moscow says the blasts came from detonations of stored ammunition at a russian military airfield in western crimea, close to seaside resorts, as mark lobel reports. explosions running for cover in russian—controlled crimea. children nervously urging their mother to flee the area. homes were hit in novofedorivka, which neighbours a russian airbase where

the blasts occurred. translation: when the explosions happened we were hiding behind garages. we didn't know where to go. we abandoned the apartment immediately, ran away, just grabbed water and that was it. visiting the airbase, the head of the russian appointed regional administration said one person was killed. translation: the situation is under control. _ only the houses next to the military airfield will be evacuated. we will not leave anyone without help. russia says ammunition was detonated, but there are suggestions supporters of ukraine may have caused the blast. ukraine's military sarcastically reminded russia on facebook of its fire safety rules and the ban of smoking in unsettled places. but an advisor to ukraine's president flatly denied responsibility, though his desire to retake the peninsula remains.

translation: this russian war against ukraine, - in a free europe, started in crimea and has to end in crimea, with its liberation. it is impossible to say when it will happen, but we are getting there. many fear the consequences of ukrainian attack in crimea would be severe. over the past two months, russia has accused ukraine of firing on black sea oil drilling platforms in crimean waters, and of a drone attack on their naval facility in sebastopol. if this latest incident was found to have been a ukrainian attack, it would be deemed a significant escalation in an already bitter war. mark lobel, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: after dominating women's tennis for a quarter of a century — serena williams suggests she's planning to retire after the us open — we'll hearfrom tennis

legend pam shriver. the big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached. as the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a huge job of crowd control. idi amin, uganda's brutal former dictator, has died at the age of 80. he's been buried in saudi arabia where he lived in exile since being overthrown in 1979. two billion people around i the world have seen the last total eclipse of the sun to - take place in this millennium. it began itsjourney off the coast of canada, . ending three hours later,

when the sun set over the bay of bengal. - this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: senior republicans have condemned the unprecedented search of donald trump's mar—a—lago home. the white house insists it only learned of the fbi's action from media reports. moscow has played down a series of explosions, which have shaken a russian military airfield in western crimea. president zelensky is predicting ukraine will eventually recapture the peninsula. to south africa, where the gang rape of eight women a fortnight ago has caused nationwide outrage. the women were aged between 19 and 35 and were part of a group

filming a music video near a disused mine outsidejohannesburg. they were attacked there and raped. police say they've detained more than 130 men, many believed to be migrants. no rape charges have been brought so far. a warning that nomsa maseko's report does contain some distressing details. all of us were crying, we were praying, it was so scary. we all thought we were going to die. held hostage and viciously attacked, these three women were part of a group of eight that were gang raped nearan abandoned mine while filming a music video. the crime sent shock waves across south africa. as the music video shoot was wrapping up on the other side of this mine dump, armed men, some with ak—47s, emerged from the bushes and below the surface. they robbed all the male crew members of their belongings and then took turns raping the women.

what followed was a horrific and prolonged sexual assault. i was giving up. i had no power over what was happening. there was no way i could escape or get help. i was sure i would die. one of the girls was singled out because of her build. they told me that i was too skinny for them, so they put me in a hole and they poured sand on me. they tried to bury her alive, but they were rushing and didn't cover her properly and she was able to get out. despite the arrest of 130 suspects, all believed to be undocumented african migrants, angry locals are demanding a tougher clampdown by police. they blame organised groups of illegal miners, known here as zama—zamas, for being behind a spate of violent crimes, including the rapes. in this township, those thought to be illegal miners

were stripped and beaten. their homes were also torched. gunfire the suspects remain in police custody. for now, they are only facing charges of entering south africa illegally and possessing unlicensed firearms. rape charges will only be added if their dna links them to the crime. we just want justice for all the girls that went through this. we want our bodies to be secured. we don't want to have to be scared just to go outside. south africa's rape statistics are amongst the highest in the world, but the conviction rate is low. august is women's month here. it's meant to be a time for celebration, but the reality is that many women here live in fear. the japanese fashion designer issey miyake has died at the age of 84. he was known for his creative

use of technical fabrics and designs driven by technology. he developed a new way of pleating fabric by wrapping it between layers of paper in a heat press, leading to his famous pleats please collection. issey miyake was born in hiroshima where he witnessed the nuclear bombing in 1945. tennis star serena williams has announced plans to retire from the sport she's dominated for much of her career. in an article for vogue magazine, the american 23—time grand slam champion said she didn't like the word �*retirement�*, but would be "evolving away from tennis" after the us open, which starts later his month. in an instagram post, she said: "there comes a time in life when we have to decide to move "in a different direction." she also went on to say: "now, the countdown has begun. "i have to focus on being a mum, my spiritual goals "and finally discovering

a different, "butjust exciting serena. "i'm gonna relish these next few weeks." i don't know, i guess there isjust a light at the end of the tunnel. laughs what is that light? i don't know, i'm getting closer to the light. laughs yeah, lately that's been it for me — can't wait to get to that light. i know you are joking... i'm notjoking. ok then, so explain what the light is to you, what the light represents. freedom...yeah. i love playing, though, it's amazing, but i can't do this for ever, so it's just like sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments and do the best that you can. that and do the best that you can. was serena williams earlier, i spoke to pam shriver, a former professional tennis player,

a 22—time major doubles champion and olympic gold medallist. i asked her if she thought serena made the right decision. it's the right decision, the right time, she is in the sunset of her career and has been there for a while. it was great to see her play at wimbledon, and 3—hour and 11—minute match, but clearly showing the signs of not playing for a year, but what she has done in the sport since managing her first major in 1999 — winning herfirst major is truly remarkable, her 25—year professional career, there are so many things that are off the charts with what she has done, and her legacy off the court is onlyjust beginning. you mentioned steffi graf there. we have some greats that you are among this pantheon of greats — chris evans, steffi graf. where do you put serena williams? i think when you look

at the entire longevity of her career, singles record, doubles record, mixed doubles, majors, four 0lympic golds. the only thing she is missing from a great star, like navratilova, who won 167 to titles, serena has only one about half as many, but during her whole career, it was really about winning majors, and that is what he has focused on, especially the last 10, 15 years. so when you look at everything, i would say she is the goat, but i know it is tough to compare eras, and it's a time in tennis where we are focused on the majors, and she's also been number one for so long, but i don't think anyone will ever play for as long and win over as many decades as she did. it's always a bit of a invidious question, who was the greatest. another very interesting thing, you had two children relatively late in your 40s, and serena has said she wants to have another child, and she doesn't want to be pregnant again

as an athlete. i guess you can appreciate where she is coming from there. yeah, when i read the vogue article, or the essay that she wrote, that was the part that really hit home to me, and i actually had two pregnancies, three kids, which means my second pregnancy was tweens, and i had my first at 42, and my second and third, the twins, at 43, and this is what she is looking at, and to read her essay and to see how difficult it was to make the decision and realise that she could not be a champion tennis player and have a sibling for her daughter 0lympia, who wants a sister so badly, so parts of the essay were really touching on what she's going through to realise that she needs to give up something she loves, professional tennis, in order to really do something that she loves even more, which is to expand herfamily. yeah, she certainly wasn't saying that she is looking forward to stopping. it's obviously going to be a very difficult

decision for her. i must ask you one other point, though — here was a young woman who came as a black tennis player and very much a world, and i always think tennis fans are quite fickle, they hold on to their champions for a very long time and they don't like newcomers necessarily coming in and stealing the show. it has taken serena a good chunk of those 25 years to become the much—loved serena williams. well, yes, that's true, and that's true for a lot dominant athletes. i play doubles with martina navratilova for ten years and she was not truly beloved until the end, and the new york crowd, the us open crowd will embrace serena williams and leave nothing on the table, and we saw at wimbledon, said the court when she lost to harmony tan, and there was more love out there for her then, and people tend to appreciate these dominant, amazing athletes at the end of their career even more than when they are champions, because

they often look to the underdog and they want to cheer for the underdog, but i don't think there will be any mixed emotions, it is all in for serena williams, but can you imagine if she plays venus in the us open first round! there could be some crazy stories coming out of the last major of the year. the humane society of the united states has rescued 4,000 beagle dogs and puppies from being sold to laboratories for drug experimentation. an investigation into evigo rms, the company running the facility, found several breaches of animal welfare laws, including overcrowding and starvation. 0livia 0tigbah reports. a wide yawn perhaps signifying relief after a long day of being rescued. life certainly hasn't been squeaky toys and cuddles for these beagles. they were destined to be sold to laboratories to drug experiments. us humane society is leading the operation.- is leading the operation. 4000 is leading the operation. 4000 is a big number, _ is leading the operation. 4000 is a big number, and _ is leading the operation. 4000 is a big number, and it - is leading the operation. 4000 is a big number, and it is - is a big number, and it is going to take 60 days to get

all of these animals out, and working with our shelter and rescue partners across the country, working with them to get these dogs into, eventually into ever loving homes. in get these dogs into, eventually into ever loving homes. in may, the us department _ into ever loving homes. in may, the us department of _ into ever loving homes. in may, the us department ofjustice i the us department ofjustice sued evigo rms, dog breeding facility in cumberland, virginia, citing animal welfare violations. government inspectors found beagles being starved, locked in cages and even killed. republican state senator bill stanley has been involved in the rescue effort. backin involved in the rescue effort. back in 2019, we discovered that there was a place in cumberland county that was breeding beagles, dutiful beagle dogs for experimentation. i tried to shut them down in 2019 but was not successful. 0ver shut them down in 2019 but was not successful. over the years we never stop fighting. imo??? we never stop fighting. now away from _ we never stop fighting. now away from danger, - we never stop fighting. now away from danger, the - we never stop fighting. now away from danger, the task begins to find 4000 copies there forever home. 0livia 0tigbah, bbc news.

let us hope they all end with a happy ending for those 4000 beagles. that is bbc news. thank you for being with us. goodbye for now. hello. 0ur spell of largely dry and increasingly hot weather is set to continue for the rest of this week. over the next few days, we see those heatwave conditions building and hardly any rain in the forecast. just the far north—west of scotland, where we see a weather front close by, we see a little bit of rain, but for the rest of us, high pressure dominates. as that high pressure shifts its way slightly more towards the east, that will draw in this really hot air from the near continent, so particularly by the time we get to thursday and friday, we'll see those temperatures soaring, particularly across a good part of england and wales. but temperatures to start your wednesday morning between about 11 to 15 in our towns and cities, a touch lower in the countryside first thing. lots of hot sunshine on the cards for wednesday, that weather front bringing a bit more cloud to the far north—west, bit of rain for the western isles, perhaps. but temperatures in england,

scotland and northern ireland in the mid—20s, but down towards the south and south—east, 30, 31 degrees pretty widely. and then, from thursday onwards, that's when that amber extreme heat warning kicks in across a good part of england and into eastern wales as well. but wherever you are, you can be feeling the heat and disruption due to the those high temperatures in terms of health problems, potentially transport problems as well. so, thursday, another hot, dry day away from the north—west of scotland, and temperatures widely in the mid—to—high 20s in the north, mid—30s in the south. 34 degrees, possibly 35 degrees on thursday, could be even a degree or so hotter than that as we head on into friday. again, a bit more cloud and rain for the western isles, highlands, northern isles as well where it's a little bit cooler, but most of us baking in that hot sunshine, so the mid—20s to mid—30s during the course of friday. if we zoom into the hottest spots — probably across parts of central and southern england, just into wales as well — somewhere here could well see 36 degrees on friday. and then looking towards the weekend, perhaps even

a degree or so hotter than that into saturday. so, warm sunshine once again lasting for many of us through the course of the weekend. we are hopeful that things will start to change a little bit later on sunday, particularly overnight and into monday. a few thunderstorms developing across france, which could really do with the rainfall, and then they look like they'll develop more widely across the uk, but still quite a lot of uncertainty at this stage about exactly when and if those thunderstorms are coming. but we're hopeful that, into next week, things will start to turn cooler with an increasing chance of rain. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: senior us republicans have condemned the fbi's unprecedented search of donald trump's florida home on monday as an abuse of power. the former president was not at mar—a—lago at the time. the white house has insisted it only learned about the raid from media reports. russia has played down a series of explosions at a military airfield on the crimean peninsula. authorities in moscow say munitions exploded in a store and denied that the airfield had come under ukrainian attack. kyiv has refused to take any responsibility for the explosions. south korea has experienced its heaviest rainfall in 80 years, with floodwaters

submerging homes and roads, in the capital seoul.