welcome to bbc news. 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. �*s impossible to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant or the russian occupying forces are there. this is the key concern 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. the latest trial of singer r kelly opens at a federal court in chicago — with accusations of sexually

abusing underage girls in the 1990s. 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's what art is about is pushing the limits. 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 i 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 ocurred 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 was that there was a powerful bomb that ripped through a fairly crowded mosque after night fell in at 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, 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 202a. that is a decision i will make in the — that is a decision i will make in the coming months today, and i'm not— in the coming months today, and i'm not going to make any announcements here this morning, but it is something that— morning, but it is something that i'm _ morning, but it is something that i'm thinking about and i will make a decision in the coming _ will make a decision in the coming months. earlier, i spoke to new york times congressional correspondent, catie edmondson. she has said she has no intention of going off quietly to the sidelines, and that her mission, really, is to prevent

former president trump from ever reaching the oval office again. and to that end, i think, if she were to decide to run for president in 2024, she could service a powerful presence on a debate stage, challenging former president trump to denounce his lie that he won the election in 2020, goading other potential presidential nominee is to denounce the riot at the capitol on 6th of january. so i think although i think you are right in saying the electoral path to her even winning the republican nomination in 2024 would be quite slim, she could really have a powerful presence in that field, by virtue of the fact that she is willing to call out true 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. somewhere saying that liz cheney's _ right now. somewhere saying that liz cheney's feet - right now. somewhere saying that liz cheney's feet marks l that liz cheney's feet marks what has been called the end of an era for the republican party —— her defeat, and that it is now the party of donald trump.

now they correct in that? you know, now they correct in that? you know. the _ now they correct in that? you know, the stat _ now they correct in that? you know, the stat that _ now they correct in that? 7m, know, the stat 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 stoking the riot at the capitol on january six, and if you look across the map at those races, only two out of the ten of those republicans now that ms cheney has lost will be returning to congress next year and i think thatis congress next year and i think that is a really stunning stat, when you look at the number of early rock red conservatives who were cast out of the party, who were cast out of the party, who were cast out of the party, who were purged from the party because of this motivator, and because of this motivator, and 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 portrays 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 hasn't it, and she is not the victor? ~ ., victor? i think that the momentum _ victor? i think that the momentum certainly l victor? | think that the | momentum certainly is victor? i think that the - momentum certainly is not in miss cheney's favour, as we saw from this race last night, and i think from this race last night, and ithink again, from this race last night, and i think again, when you look at 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 may be were looking to sort of 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 are people who will use his same playbook. there have been further developments into investigations surrounding the attempts to overturn the us 2020 presidental 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. earlier, i spoke to tara setmayer, senior adviser at the lincoln project, who said rudy giuliani's legal difficulties are mounting. yellow it appears that rudy giuliani is in considerable legaljeopardy, not only in this case in georgia but he is also facing legaljeopardy in other cases in new york. so there are multiple factors going into rudy giuliani's potential legal 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, discussion with your client about legaladvice, but discussion with your client about legal advice, but there is also exceptions to that. if it is involved in an ongoing crime, it doesn't apply. and rudy giuliani made plenty of statements publicly that were not attorney—client privilege, not attorney—client privilege, not covered under that. public statements are not covered. so he can try to use the attorney—client privilege argument. he may even try to 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 he is clearly not pleading the fifth, he clearly has something to say about all this. hat about all this. not necessarily. - about all this. not necessarily. you l about all this. not l necessarily. you can about all this. not - necessarily. you can plead about all this. not _ necessarily. you can plead the fifth with each individual question. it is notjust a blanket i plead the fifth and then he leaves. prosecutors have wide latitude in their ability to ask him every single question that they had prepared

to ask him, and he would have to ask him, and he would have to plead the fifth to each and every question. that can take several hours. so it is actually not abnormal for 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 date, acknowledging that he was there, and i'm pleading the fifth to everything else. it would be legal malpractice to do anything otherwise, because he is a target of a criminal investigation.— he is a target of a criminal investigation. and all of this course potentially _ investigation. and all of this course potentially raises - investigation. and all of thisj course potentially raises the legal pressure on donald trump as well, doesn't it? on of the us justice as well, doesn't it? on of the usjustice department us justice department investigation and the new york state investigation. it certainly seems like the concentric circles around donald trump and his orbit are closing in on him. he is honestly the big fish that everyone is looking to come all 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, but we also see that there are multiple cases. there are a lot of legal tentacles out there right now, where donald trump is at the centre of it, whether it is the grand jury of it, whether it is the grand jury that are convened in washington, dc in separate cases concerning the fake electors, concerning january six, or this case here in georgia. the pressure on donald trump is certainly mounting, and i suspect 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 have the latest on the wildfires raging in spain, with more than a thousand firefighters tackling the blazes. 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. the latest trial of the singer r kelly has opened at a federal court in chicago. the 55—year—old is accused of sexually abusing five underage girls in the late 1990s, 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. i'm joied now byjon seidel, federal courts reporter for the chicago sun—times.

thank you very much forjoining us. r kelly stands accused of, amongst other things, attempting to obstruct the course ofjustice by rigging the 2008 trail that he was involved in and although the united states rules that, had rules in place that prevent double jeopardy and therefore somebody being prosecuted for a crime that they have previously been acquitted of, this will does look a little bit like the 2008 trail all over again, does it not? it 2008 trail all over again, does it not? ., ., ~ it not? it looks a lot like the 2008 trail— it not? it looks a lot like the 2008 trail all _ it not? it looks a lot like the 2008 trail all over _ it not? it looks a lot like the 2008 trail all over again - it not? it looks a lot like the 2008 trail all over again butj 2008 trail all over again but of course the double jeopardy protection doesn't exactly apply if you cheat your way to an acquittal in your previous trail which is exactly what federal prosecutors are saying r kelly did, that specifically there was a central victim in that case who did not take the

stand, jurors at the time said that's why they acquitted him. now we are hearing that kelly intimidated her and herfamily, intimidated her and her family, took intimidated her and herfamily, took them out of the country, had her in hotels, kept away from everybody and make sure that she denied the sexual abuse allegations that were swirling at the time. so that was all part of an obstruction of justice was all part of an obstruction ofjustice conspiracy was all part of an obstruction of justice conspiracy that was all part of an obstruction ofjustice conspiracy that he has now charged with, and that victim who did not testify in 2008 is expected to take the stand this time.— 2008 is expected to take the stand this time. and in 2008, r kell 's stand this time. and in 2008, r kelly's lawyers _ stand this time. and in 2008, r kelly's lawyers argued - stand this time. and in 2008, r kelly's lawyers argued amongst| kelly's lawyers argued amongst other things that the girl who was captured on video with him, didn't involve r kelly, and indeed that was their defence that time. what is their defence going to be this time around, do you think? we defence going to be this time around, do you think? we got a little bit of— around, do you think? we got a little bit of preview _ around, do you think? we got a little bit of preview of _ around, do you think? we got a little bit of preview of that - little bit of preview of that during opening statements today. r kelly's attorney spent a lot of time actuallyjust attacking the credibility of

all of these witnesses, when it comes to the central victim from the 2008 case, she said that there was actually a long—running relationship between mr kelly and her whole family. she openly questioned why now is this person turning on to kelly in testifying against him. she said that person will have to explain that to the jurors herself and then she spent a lot of time accusing other witnesses of extorting r kelly, being criminals themselves, so this time around it seems largely the defence is all aboutjust giving up the government's witnesses. r giving up the government's witnesses.— giving up the government's witnesses. , , ., , , ., witnesses. r kelly is appealing his 30 year _ witnesses. r kelly is appealing his 30 year sentence _ witnesses. r kelly is appealing his 30 year sentence imposed l witnesses. r kelly is appealing l his 30 year sentence imposed on the new york case but one or two convictions in this trail could add, what, decades to the time he spends in prison? certainly, yeah it could. i

believe there are certain counts that if he is convicted on all of them, a mandatory minimum about 55 years in prison. it could be possible that could be applied and he could serve that is the same time as the 30 year sentence but that still adds like another 25 years to his sentence and he is already looking at a time in prison until his late 70s.- looking at a time in prison until his late 70s. thank you very much — until his late 70s. thank you very much for— until his late 70s. thank you very much forjoining - until his late 70s. thank you very much forjoining us. - let's get some of the day's other news. malaysia's highest court will today hear a final appeal from the former prime minister, najib razak, against his conviction in a high—profile corruption case. he was sentenced to 12 years in 2020 for his role in the imbd scandal, in which billions of dollars were embezzled from the state—owned development fund he set up. heavy rain has flooded several parts of london and the south east of england on wednesday. the met office issued an �*amber warning' for thunderstorms, as downpours caused chaos on roads in the capital and on the m25.

emma raducanu is on good form. she's already beaten tennis legend, serena williams at the wta event in cincinnati. on wednesday she saw off the former world number one, victoria azarenka in straight sets, which sets her up nicely for the us open later this month. 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. 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,

and you can get more on that story on our website. thanks forjoining us. 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.