welcome to bbc news. i'm david willis. our top stories: a dire warning about the near—critical situation in ukraine's zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, under russian control, as they train for a crisis that some fear could be more serious than the chernobyl disaster. translation: it's impossible to ensure the safety _ of the nuclear power plant while the russian occupying forces are there. this is the key concern that we all need to clearly understand. a powerful blast at a kabul mosque during evening prayers amid reports of multiple casualties. we'll have the latest from the afghan capital. a desperate scramble for safety as firefighters in spain battle wildfires, which have seen thousands of homes evacuated.

rolling out the rocket that could pave the way for astronauts to return to the moon. after one venue cancels his latest production, over comments on trans rights and the #metoo movement, monty python's terry gilliam says british theatre needs to be more courageous. i think the whole artistic community has to be brave. that is what art is about — it is pushing the limits. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. officials in ukraine are warning that the situation at the russian—occupied zaporizhzhia nuclear power station is approaching critical. emergency workers have been

staging drills and practising cleaning operations in the event of radioactive contamination. russia took control of the nuclear plant — the biggest in europe — in early march, and there's recently been heavy shelling at and around the site, with both sides blaming each other for the attacks. our correspondent james waterhouse reports from zaporizhzhia city. ukraine's vast, rich landscape, full of produce, industry, but still under threat. we are being taken to see preparations for a worst—case scenario. if you want to get anywhere quickly these days, this is how you do it. we are travelling very low to stay out of range of russian missiles and aircraft. you get a real sense ofjust how vast this country is. in zaporizhzhia, they are training for a crisis

which some fear could be more serious than the chernobyl nuclear disaster, the worst ever. the region's power plant further south has been under russian control since early march and officials say the situation is approaching critical. it's changed dramatically, and of course we are concerned. that's why we are here, that's why we created this group, that's why we are involved in everyday communication with this. translation: it's impossible to ensure the safety _ of the nuclear power plant while the russian occupying forces are there. this is the key concern that we all need to clearly understand. there are growing concerns that russia has been using it as a military base. the city of enerhodar where the plant is has seen recent heavy shelling, both ukraine and russia blame each other. elena has just escaped from there with her children and just wanted to get out. translation: there has been

many more explosions - and it became much more dangerous to stay there. i didn't want to leave home, but when it became unbearable i had no other choice. the nato alliance is the latest voice to call for international inspectors to be let into the plant. with ukraine unable to force the russians out, it's instead preparing for the worst, if it happens. james waterhouse, bbc news, in zaporizhzhia. a huge explosion has ripped through a mosque in the centre of the afghan capital, kabul. the blast is thought to have occurred during evening prayers, killing at least three people, and injuring dozens more. it's not yet clear who was responsible for the attack, which comes just a week after the death of a prominent taliban cleric in a suicide bombing. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in kabul, and sent us this update. what we know is that there

is a powerful bomb ripped through a fairly crowded mosque after night fell in that evening prayer at times when the mosque will be crowded. and this mosque was notjust full of adults but many children attending religious prayers. a religious student said he was just outside the mosque when the explosion happened and saw many dead and injured bodies sprawled inside the mosque. and what we know from the main hospital here, emergency, run by an italian ngo, which is often the hospital which treats the victims of violence, it has received dozens of casualties, including several children. i'm not going to be specific on that because we expect those figures to get ever higher as the hours go by. it is just two days since the taliban celebrated, we saw and heard the celebrations here in the capital of kabul,

celebrating what they call their independence day, crowing about their defeat of the us military as well as other powerful nato armies. saying they had finally brought peace and security to this land. but with every day for afghans, while they do occasionally savour these moments of calm where they can drive on roads which previously were impossible because of taliban attacks, because of the us—led military campaign, they're now asking and legitimately so, whether what happened on september 15, 2021 was simply the end of another chapter of war and it ushered in yet another. we do not know for sure whether it was islamic state, but it follows the pattern of their killing. their signature used to be devastating attacks against the shia community, but in the past few months, they appear to have targeted three prominent religious figures in one month alone.

the us congresswoman, liz cheney, has condemned her own republican party for embracing what she called donald trump's �*cult of personality�*. ms cheney, a leading critic of the former president, was speaking a day after her emphatic defeat in a primary election in the state of wyoming. she was beaten by a candidate hand—picked by mrtrump, and asked if she might run for the presidency in 2024, ms cheney said she'd make a decision in the coming months. that is a decision i am going to make in the coming months and i am not going to make any announcement this morning but it is something that i am thinking about then i will make a announcement in the coming months. joining me now to discuss this is the congressional correspondent for the new york times, catie edmondson. welcome to bbc world news. liz

cheney says she is thinking about a presidential run, but without the backing of the republican party, help much of a challenge could she beat you donald trump?— donald trump? well, she has said that she _ donald trump? well, she has said that she has _ donald trump? well, she has said that she has no - donald trump? well, she has said that she has no intention of going quietly off to the sidelines and that her mission, really, used to prevent former presidentjumped from ever president jumped from ever reaching presidentjumped from ever reaching the oval office again. to that end, i think if she were to decide to run for president in 2024 she could serve as a powerful presence on a debate challenging former president trump to denounce his lie about the election in goading others to go to the right under capitol injanuary right under capitol in january 6 right under capitol injanuary 6 and you are right in saying that the electoral path to her even winning the republican nomination in 2024 would be quite slim but she could really

have a powerful presence in that field by virtue of the fact that she is willing to call out truths that very few republicans are willing to do right now. republicans are willing to do right "ow-— republicans are willing to do riaht now. ,, _ right now. summer saying liz chene 's right now. summer saying liz cheney's defeat _ right now. summer saying liz cheney's defeat marks - right now. summer saying liz cheney's defeat marks what i right now. summer saying liz| cheney's defeat marks what is being called the end of an era for the republican party and that it for the republican party and thatitis for the republican party and that it is now the party of donald trump. they correct in that? , ., ~ ., that? the start i think that really comes _ that? the start i think that really comes to _ that? the start i think that really comes to mind - that? the start i think that really comes to mind that l that? the start | think that| really comes to mind that i look at is that there were ten house republicans who voted to impeach former president trump the second time, condemning him for his role in stroking the riots at the capitol of january 6 and if you look across the map at those, only two out of the ten of those republicans now that miss cheney has lost will be returning to congress next year and that i think is a really stunning stat and will rock conservatives who were cast out of the party, purged from the party, because of this boat that they took it because

they were willing to essentially say out loud that former president trump did have a role in, again, stoking the attack on the capitol. liz cheney betrays this as a battle for the soul of the republican party, as she puts it, but realistically, that battle has already been won, hasn't it? and she is not the victor. i think that the and she is not the victor. i think that the momentum certainly is not in it ms cheney's favour as we saw from this race last night, and i think again, when you look at these — the fates of these ten house republicans who voted to impeach former president trump, their races sent a very clear message to their colleagues in the congress, their republican colleagues who maybe were looking to test which way the wind was blowing, who were watching the races to see how republican primary voters would weigh in, and i think that the message they have been sent by primary voters across the country is extremely clear which is that they want

candidates who, even if they don't embrace former president trump himself, who will use a — people will use his same playbook. people will use his same playbook-— people will use his same -ia book. . ., playbook. catie edmondson, thank you — playbook. catie edmondson, thank you very _ playbook. catie edmondson, thank you very much - playbook. catie edmondson, i thank you very much forjoining us. thank you very much for “oining us. . ~' thank you very much for “oining us. . ~ , ., the latest trial of the singer r kelly is now underway at a federal court in chicago. the 55—year—old is accused of sexually abusing five under—age girls in the late nineteen—nineties, as well as of bribing and threatening witnesses during a 2008 case which saw him acquitted. r kelly, who's already serving 30 years in prison for a string of other offences, denies wrongdoing. there have been further developments into investigations surrounding the attempts to overturn the us 2020 presidential election. donald trump's former lawyer, rudy giuliani, has appeared before a special grand jury in georgia. state prosecutors have told him he's a target of the probe,

meaning he could be subject to charges. lawyers for the former new york city mayor had said he'd refuse to answer any questions that violated attorney—client privilege. let's speak now to tara setmayer, senior adviser at the lincoln project, whojoins us from washington, dc. thank you very much forjoining us on it bbc world. he was trump's lawyer of course, but how much legaljeopardy is rudy giuliani himself in now?- giuliani himself in now? well, it appears _ giuliani himself in now? well, it appears that _ giuliani himself in now? well, it appears that rudy _ giuliani himself in now? well, it appears that rudy giuliani l it appears that rudy giuliani is inconsiderable legal jeopardy, not only in this case in georgia but also facing legal jeopardy in georgia but also facing legaljeopardy in other cases in new york, so there are multiple factors going in to rudy giuliani's potential illegal exposure here but in georgia specifically this idea

that attorney—client privilege applies to his testimony is a weak argument. attorney—client privilege only applies to advice and discussion with your client about legal advice, but there is also exceptions to that — if it is involved in an ongoing crime, it does not apply. and rudy giuliani made plenty of statements publicly that were not attorney—client privilege, not covered under that. public statements are not covered. so, he can try and use the attorney—client privilege argument. he may try and litigate that before another judge, but it is not going to hold legal water. he judge, but it is not going to hold legal water.— judge, but it is not going to hold legal water. he spent six hours today — hold legal water. he spent six hours today giving _ hold legal water. he spent six hours today giving testimonyl hold legal water. he spent six i hours today giving testimony to the grand jury. so, hours today giving testimony to the grandjury. so, he hours today giving testimony to the grand jury. so, he is clearly not cleaning the fifth. he clearly has something to say about all of this. hat about all of this. not necessarily. - about all of this. not necessarily. you - about all of this. not necessarily. you can| about all of this. not - necessarily. you can plead about all of this. iirrt necessarily. you can plead at the fifth that with each individual question. it is not just the blanket i plead the fifth and then he leaves. the prosecutors have wide latitude in their ability to ask him

every single question that they had prepared to ask him, and he would have depleted the fifth to each and every question. that can take several hours. so, it is not abnormalfor that length of time, even though he may have been pleading the fifth. i would may have been pleading the fifth. iwould highly may have been pleading the fifth. i would highly doubt that he was talking about anything outside of his name, the data, acknowledging that he was there, and then pleading it the fifth to everything else. it would be legal malpractice to do anything otherwise because he is the target of a criminal investigation. find because he is the target of a criminal investigation. and all this, of course, _ criminal investigation. and all this, of course, potentially, i this, of course, potentially, raises the legal pressure on donald trump as well, doesn't it, on top of the usjustice department investigation and the new york state investigation? it the new york state investiuation? . ., , investigation? it certainly seems like _ investigation? it certainly seems like the _ investigation? it certainly seems like the centres i investigation? it certainly - seems like the centres around donald trump in its orbit are closing in on him. he is obviously the big fish that everyone is looking to, almost at the mob boss in the case here. but it is difficult to get to him, as we have seen,

but there are a lot of layers to get there but we also see that there are multiple cases. there are a lot of legal tentacles that are out there and donald trump is at the centre of it. whether it is the grand jury is conveyed in washington, dc in a separate cases concerning the fake collectors, concerning january 6, all this case here in georgia, the pressure on donald trump is a lot of legal tentacles that are out there and donald trump is at the centre of it. whether it is the grand jury is convened in washington, dc in separate cases concerning the fake collectors, concerning january 6, all this case here in georgia, the pressure on donald trump is certainly mounting, and i suspect that we will be having more conversations about this as time goes on and the investigations continue. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we'll tell you about nasa's latest rocket that could pave the way for astronauts to return to the moon. washington, the world's most political city, is today assessing the political health of the world's most powerful man. indeed i did have a relationship with ms lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong.

in south africa, 97 people have been killed today, in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. over the last 10 days, 500 have died. crowd chant: czechoslovakia must be free! _ man: czechoslovakia must be free! - crowd chant: czechoslovakia must be free! _ russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 submariners who died on board the kursk. we are all with them now, within our hearts. the pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than 2.5 million people in his hometown of krakow. "stay with us, stay with us," - chanted this ocean of humanity. "well, well," joked the pope. "so, you want mej to desert rome?"

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a dire warning about the near—critical situation in ukraine's zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, under russian control, as they train for a crisis that some fear could be more serious than the chernobyl disaster. a powerful blast at a kabul mosque during evening prayers — amid reports of multiple casualties, we'll have the latest from the afghan capital. in spain, firefighters continue to battle wildfires that have led to the evacuation of thousands of residents. in one instance, a train service running between valencia and zaragoza narrowly avoided being engulfed by fire. gareth barlow reports. firefighters shouting. as flames reap through the land, firefighters shouting, "run, run" scrambling for their lives. the might of mother nature here in spain,

combined with the impact of climate change, presenting a terrifying threat to communities facing the flames. as the fire spread north—west of valencia, ten passengers were hurt, three seriously, when they tried to escape a train caught up in a sweeping fire. this thermal image showing flames encroaching on the tracks. translation: when they came out of the tunnel, _ they found the fire was coming in front of them, so the driver stopped the train. the injured were in bad condition. the passengers were scared. we gave them water and did everything we could for them. more than 2000 people have been evacuated from the region. firefighters fear as much as 6000 hectares of land has been ravaged by the fire. another blaze, also near valencia, started by lightning late on saturday has devastated an area twice as large. in neighbouring portugal,

and aerial operation brought a close of fire that has burnt for over a week. more than 25,000 hectares left smouldering, a reminder of the power of the flames. while this fire may be out, the summer fire season still has several months to go. gareth barlow, bbc news. thejury in the rape trial of the former the us space agency, nasa, is preparing to launch a new rocket to the moon. it's jsut been rolled out to a launchpad, ahead of it's first flight, currently scheduled for august the 29th. they'll be no crew on board the vessel when it takes off from the kennedy space centre, in florida, but if the mission is successful, it could pave the way for astronauts to head back to the moon. our science editor, rebecca morelle, has the story. inch by inch, slowly and carefully, nasa's new rocket embarks on the first stage of what's going to be

a long journey. it's heading towards the launch pad at cape canaveral, in florida, and getting into position, ready for its maiden flight to the moon, the start of the artemis mission. the rocket is carrying a capsule, which will go into lunar orbit, circling the moon, before it returns to earth. it's a test flight, so there won't be any people inside, but if this works, the next step is to get astronauts on board. jessica meir has already been into space. now she's part of the artemis team and could be selected for a future trip, because nasa's ultimate aim is to see the first woman and first person of colour walk on the lunar surface. i think it's still difficult for me to believe that it might be reality, thinking that i could possibly be one of these people to be walking on the moon, to be in orbit around the moon, to be looking back at the earth from that incredible distance. boy, is this fun!

charlie duke is one of only 12 astronauts who have experienced this for themselves, during the apollo missions. you were looking out the window a lot, " look at that rock over there." it is 50 years since he set foot on the moon and he didn't think it would take so long to go back. this test flight will pave the way for a landing scheduled in 2025. he's upbeat about its chances of success. he's upbeat about its chance of success. i'm excited about artemis and as we build up the capability, they have picked the south pole, near the south pole, this for the landing, because that's probably — if there's any ice on the moon it will be down in that region. so, that's going to be difficult because, it's really rough down there, but we'll pull it off. nasa's rocket is aiming for lunar lift off in less than two weeks, but this is just the beginning. rebecca morelle, bbc news.

the monty python star and director, terry gilliam, has told the bbc that "theatres have got to be braver," in his first broadcast interview since london's old vic cancelled his production of into the woods, last year. it comes after some old vic theatre staff were said to be unhappy about the director's remarks about trans rights and the metoo movement. the musical has since been picked up by the theatre royal, in bath. our culture editor, katie razzall has been speaking to terry gilliam and the show�*s co—director, leah hausman. the show goes on at bath's theatre royal. # into the woods to grandmother's house, # into the woods to grandmother's house...# a production axed by the old vic reportedly because some of the london theatre staff were upset by comments director

terry gilliam had previously made about the metoo movement, race, and trans rights. i think theatres have got to be braver. i think the whole artistic community has to be brave. that's what art is about, it's pushing the limits. and when you start censoring, closing down, making a safe little world to go to the theatre is boring, folks. and it's death to a healthy civilisation. cinderella had planted a branch at the grave of her mother. into the woods feels like a good fit for the intensely imaginative former python. # why, then, am i left behind? # mother, is there something more that i should do?# gilliam and his fellow director are promising surprises in their production of stephen sondheim's classic musical, which subverts some of our best—known fairy tales. # silver and gold throw down on me.# so on one level, you get the stories of cinderella, jack and the beanstalk,

you get rapunzel and her tower, you get the princes, you get all sorts of wonderful, delightful things, but then you get the flip side of the story, which is the genius of sondheim. you get what happens after the happy ending. what do you think he would have made of your production? i think he would like it. he's very ironic, sardonic, he's asking for trouble half the time. takes one to know one. this octogenarian stands by the comments he made that apparently offended some old vic stuff, though he points out he is often making jokes. comedians have a responsibility to speak recklessly. the last straw, it's been claimed, was when gilliam encouraged his facebook followers to watch the comedian dave chappelle's netflix show, criticised by many as transphobic. i'm very worried that people are frightened to think freely and to express their thoughts. that's what i am frightened by. trans people say they don't have a voice. i'm wishing them good luck, good luck, be whatever you want,

but remember to learn to take a joke. i'm not attacking anybody. the controversy around this production is yet another example of the debate raging about where the lines are drawn when it comes to free speech. for terry gilliam, art is about pushing boundaries, but too far for the old vic, which says it wishes the show well for its future. katie razzall, bbc news, bath. a 16—year—old elephant in pakistan, who's been suffering for years from a dental infection and pain caused by a broken tusk, has finally found some relief. madhubala is one of four african elephants being treated in karachi, and after a six—hour operation, performed by a team from a global animal welfare group, she's back on the road to recovery. isn't that good news and you

can get a lot more on that and all our other stories on our website. i'll be back shortly with the headlines. hello there. over the past couple of days we have seen some torrential downpours across parts of england and wales. localised flooding in places. but those heavy thundery showers have now eased away, and it looks like, over the next few days, we will see a little bit of rain at times, mainly in the north and west, with increasing amounts of sunshine, particularly in the south and the east. low pressure pushing in off the atlantic will bring more of a breeze during thursday, and this weather front will bring a band of cloud and rain, which will slowly spread from west to east across the country. so, initially we start off with quite a bit of cloud around. one or two heavy showers in the south—east there, but increasing amounts of sunshine for central, southern and eastern areas into the afternoon. this weather front will bring patchy rain across scotland, northern ireland and then into western parts of england and wales. behind it, some heavy showers for scotland, and northern ireland,

into the afternoon. further south and east, it'll tend to stay drier, with temperatures reaching 25 degrees, the high teens further north and west, and it will be quite breezy, too. that weather front continues to cross england and wales during thursday night. a bit of a hang back for east anglia and the south—east. elsewhere, clearer skies, the odd shower. temperatures a little bit cooler in the north and the west, but quite warm and quite mild in the south and the east. that weather front eventually clears away from the south—east on friday. we've got low pressure to the north of the uk, fairly brisk westerly winds, and it's going to be one of sunshine and blustery showers. so we lose that cloud and rain in the south—east on friday morning. plenty of sunshine in central, southern and eastern england, but scotland, northern ireland, perhaps north—west england, west wales, will see a mixture of sunny spells, scattered blustery showers, the odd heavy one at times. temperatures will range from around the high teens, up to 20 degrees in the north, 20—25 celsius further south and east. temperatures around the seasonal norm. on saturday, low pressure sits to the north of the uk, so it's northern and western

areas which will see most of the showers. some of them could be quite heavy. some sunshine in between. a greater chance of staying dry across southern and eastern england. again, highs 25 degrees, mid—to—high teens further north. as you move out of saturday, into sunday, that area of low pressure clears away, but we look to the west to another one, pushing in across the uk. it'll arrive later in the day, so, actually, much of the country will have a dry sunday before it turns more wetter and windier. initially across western areas, then gradually spreading into eastern areas during sunday night and into monday.

this is bbc news. the headlines — officials in ukraine are warning that the situation at the russian—occupied zaporizhzhia nuclear power station "is approaching critical". emergency workers have been practising cleaning operations, in the event of radioactive contamination. russia took control of the nuclear plant — the biggest in europe — in early march, and there's recently been heavy shelling there. a huge explosion has ripped through a mosque in the centre of the afghan capital, kabul, killing at least three people. it's thought to have happened during evening prayers. us republican liz cheney is bouncing back from her

primary defeat, saying she's thinking about running for president.