good afternoon. train passengers are facing a further day of disruption after thousands of rail workers started another 2a hour walk out in a dispute over pay and conditions. across the country, only around 20% of services are running. the government say the strikes could be ended if the unions put the pay deals on offer to their members. this report from our

correspondent, helena wilkinson. a now familiar rail passengers and the rest of the country, home remedy stations, weekend plans and services are severely disrupted.— are severely disrupted. ending stations. we _ are severely disrupted. ending stations. we had _ are severely disrupted. ending stations. we had to _ are severely disrupted. ending stations. we had to leave - are severely disrupted. ending| stations. we had to leave early are severely disrupted. ending - stations. we had to leave early from home due to the strike action, it will take a lot of time to go to the stadium and we are worried about what time we will get back and what time the trains are running too. i time the trains are running too. i am young, without me getting back to liverpool. _ am young, without me getting back to liverpool. i— am young, without me getting back to liverpool, i am stranded. am young, without me getting back to liverpool, lam stranded. it's am young, without me getting back to liverpool, i am stranded. it's not really— liverpool, i am stranded. it's not really like — liverpool, i am stranded. it's not really like the best for anyone trying — really like the best for anyone trying to — really like the best for anyone trying to get back to somewhere out of london _ trying to get back to somewhere out of london. we trying to get back to somewhere out of london. ~ ., ., ., ., of london. we are going to get on one in an hour— of london. we are going to get on one in an hour or _ of london. we are going to get on one in an hour or so _ of london. we are going to get on one in an hour or so unless - one in an hour or so unless something _ one in an hour or so unless something happens- one in an hour or so unless. something happens between one in an hour or so unless- something happens between now one in an hour or so unless— something happens between now and then. a, . something happens between now and then. ., i: i: i: something happens between now and then. ~ ., ., i: i: i: ., something happens between now and then. a, ., i: i: i: ., ., ~ , then. more than 45,000 male workers are takin: then. more than 45,000 male workers are taking part — then. more than 45,000 male workers are taking part in _ then. more than 45,000 male workers are taking part in today's's _ then. more than 45,000 male workers are taking part in today's's action, - are taking part in today's's action, its the sixth one—day strike this summer —— rail workers. its the sixth one—day strike this summer —— railworkers. reading station is normally one of the busiest rail hubs in the country. today, some services are operating

that they are limited. it's a similar picture across the rail network with only 20% of trains running today. the unions are still in dispute with the government and rail companies. they stay salaries and should increase to reflect the rising cost of living. the rmt union whose members are on strike has accused the government on blocking train companies from offering its workers a better deal. and insist that the majority of the public are behind them. we that the majority of the public are behind them-— that the majority of the public are behind them. we are seeing public su ort for behind them. we are seeing public sunport for this — behind them. we are seeing public support for this dispute _ support for this dispute intervention. there are campaigns and rallies being launched right across the country in support of these type of activities. we have seen unite bus workers coming into this dispute had many groups of workers winning significant pay deals. i think the british public are fed up of being ripped off by this government. but are fed up of being ripped off by this government.— are fed up of being ripped off by this government. but as travellers in york struggled _ this government. but as travellers in york struggled to _ this government. but as travellers in york struggled to get _ this government. but as travellers

in york struggled to get to - this government. but as travellers in york struggled to get to the - in york struggled to get to the races, ministers of the unions causing the block, adding that if the block, adding that if deals on offer when pushed to workers, they would be likely to accept them stop —— were. the negotiations were expected to resume early next week that the rmt has warned more strikes are very likely. helena wilkinson, bbc news, reading. our correspondent, alison freeman, is in york for us now. alison, what is the situation where you are? as you can see there will be happy because lying behind us and people have been tooting their horns in support of those that are on strike, some trains running coming and going from york but only about 20% of what you might expect from operators like cross country and lner. some towns and villages have no train services at all because operators like trans— pennine is expressed and northern are only operating a fraction of those services. it is having an

effect in york because it is a clean festival at york racecourse. the last race as well after the last train to nicer people have told us they have had to book hotels and get expensive taxis. the last train south from here isjust expensive taxis. the last train south from here is just after 4pm and the last train north is about 6pm. effectively, this station effectively shuts at six and service are due to resume tomorrow but the trains might not be in the right places to get need to go. the home of russia's black sea fleet in crimea appears to have come under drone attack. the russian—installed regional head said a ukrainian drone had been shot down over naval headquarters in sevastopol. it's the latest in a series of attacks on military infrastructure on the russian—occupied peninsula. live now to the ukrainian capital kyiv, and our correspondent there, james waterhouse. james, how significant are the events in crimea?

it isa it is a continuation of crimea being destabilised, frankly. this a palatial place which russia has for eight years. and all of the territory that it has eased in ukraine, crimea is where it's grip is tied to stash this is a place which russia has occupied. we have seen ukraine uses new abilities of longer range attacks apparently although it hasn't officially accept any responsibility. we have seen ammunition depots explode, watched on by russian holiday—makers who, until that point, had felt confident enough to use it as a regular holiday destination. crimea is getting pulled into this conflict and for moscow, it would be embarrassing as it looks to portray the conflict as a success back home. with some thanks for that, james. . let's take a look at some

of today's other news. michael gove has said he'll back rishi sunak to be the next leader of the conservative party, saying he has what it takes to do the job. the former levelling—up secretary criticised leadership candidate liz truss, i'm not one central p&0 ferries won't face criminal action over the way it fired nearly 800 employees, the government's insolvency service has said. the shipping company sacked staff without notice in march and replaced them with foreign agency workers who were paid less than the uk minimum wage. and, according to official figures from ucas, more than 50,000 students were in clearing trying to get places on higher education courses a day after a—level exam results were released. it's the highest number for at least nine years, and compares with just over 39,000 students in clearing last year. with all the sport now, here's ben croucher at the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. the countdown is on in saudi arabia for the heavyweight rematch between anthonyjoshua and oleksandr usyk. joshua says he's mentally ready

after being heavily beaten last year by the ukrainian. for usyk — who was helping with the war less the six months ago — he's fighting for more than just his titles. ade adedoyin is injeddah. once champion, now challenger. anthonyjoshua is a man on a mission. what gives you the confidence that, this time around, it will be different? because i have been in there with him before. i know his tricks, i know what he's doing, and i know what i want to do. go on, aj! standing in his way is this man, the fearsome and formidable oleksandr usyk. eccentric, entertaining and an exceptional boxer, he hasn't lost in 13 years. a new heavyweight champion of the world. in the last few months, though, he's been fighting on a different front. usyk, there, back in ukraine, where he was part of the war effort

before being given special dispensation to resume his boxing career. the priority for now is retaining the titles, with this bout being shown on free—to—air tv in ukraine. and home is clearly where his heart is, the cuddly toy given to him by his daughter, a poignant reminder of what he left behind. translation: this fight is very important, - because the people of ukraine need to feel pride, to become happy. jeddah as a fight venue is a controversial choice. human rights organisations say this is another example of saudi arabia trying to deflect from the country's poor human rights record. the authorities insist that sport is a vehicle for change. and the two fighters will meet here later tonight to settle their differences. the last time they met in the ring, by his own admission, anthonyjoshua adopted the wrong strategy, so what does he need to do this time round to secure the victory? i think anthonyjoshua's got to start really quickly. if he allows oleksandr usyk to get into that rhythm, that in and out, side to side, dictating with his jab,

then it could be a hard night. when i'm big, when i'm small, so the big guy got to fight the big fight, the little guy got to fight the little fight. it was a long and intense final face—off with neither man wanting to blink first. the question is — was joshua staring defeat in the face, or will he prove the odds makers wrong? we will find out later tonight. ade adedoyin, bbc news, jeddah. about 10pm for the ring walks. great britain's jack laugher and jordan houlden have both qualified for the men's 3 metre springboard final at the european aquatics championships in rome. laugher won gold in thei metre final and qualified in second place behind italy's giovanni tocci, with houlden in fifth. the final takes place just after 3.30pm this afternoon. before that, andrea spendolini—sirieix and lois toulson compete in the women's synchronised platform final. britain's cameron norrie is one win away from reaching

the final of the cincinatti open — he'll face the unseeded croatian borna coric later. it's after an impressive win over the third seed, carlos alcaraz, in the quarter—finals. he was up a set and a break but lost the second set tie break before coming through 6—4 in the decider. of it is funny how tennis works, you know? i started the tournament playing so tight, playing terribly, i won a couple of tough matches, and i found some confidence yesterday, and i found myself in the semifinals, and i'm feeling really good about my game and hitting the ball really well. both tottenham and rangers can move to the top of the premier league and scottish premiership respectively this lunchtime. both their matches are approaching half—time and... spurs, who host winless wolves, are goalless.

there's more on the bbc sport website, including the preliminary round of the fa cup. 1882 semifinalists marlow taking on thame united. mahmoud 2—0 up. but her ability to work proposals forward was like what will —— marlow. is you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is at the later than usual time of 6:40pm. bye, for now. hello. you're watching the bbc news channel. there are fears that the cost of living crisis will make it easier

for criminals to recruit children into drug dealing and violence. youth workers are concerned that as families fall into poverty, more young people could be exploited by so—called county lines gangs. zoe o'brien has the story. do you know what? it's the money. it is easy money. money, money, money. it starts with the promise of family, of quick cash and fast cars. to some young people, the draw is irresistible. but the reality of being in a county lines gang is very different. i've been attacked. i've attacked people. i have been stabbed twice. i was carrying crack cocaine. about five grand's worth. you have to be cold when you're out on the streets because that's how the streets are. i wasn't going to do it for the rest of my life. let's just say that. and i wanted out. ijust didn't want to end up dead. jordan — not his real name — sold drugs across essex and cambridge. he was recruited by his friends. he saw it as helping them. six months ago, he left the gang, but he still sees

others being drawn in. everyone gets involved in it. it can be like family matters at home. you know what i mean, someone could even...you could even be walking down the road. and if you haven't got a lot of money at the time, someone could criticise you like about look at the shoes he's wearing. he needs a haircut, he needs this, he needs that. that's real talk. and i wasn't going to be, i wasn't going to be pinpointed like that. refocus, a crime and gangs intervention charity, say that's directly linked to family finances. it's got easier for county line gangs. it's kind of like the best time to be doing the crimes that they're doing because people are more willing to consider earning money illegally. police are now changing tactics. they're targeting areas where vulnerable children gather, closing in on recruiters. it's very difficult to sometimes identify the exploiters, but what we're doing is working a lot with partner agencies. every service is stretched.

officers agree as family finances decline, drugs gangs�* chances of recruiting rise. some of these children come from nothing. so obviously when they get a lot of money in their pocket, they think they're brilliant. they think they're, you know, friends. and due to the cost of living, young people are getting more involved in criminal activity to get that quick money. this team, which the force hopes to expand, say bringing down adults is their best chance of saving vulnerable youths. developing intelligence and understanding the methods that these exploiters may use. and once we get an understanding of that, we can utilise some good police tactics to identify and disrupt and hopefully prosecute them people. nowjordan is working with refocus. he says he's seen the county lines image is a lie, that it's never worth the risk.

county lines, i'll be honest with you, is probably the worst thing you could get yourself involved in. offices and charities are dedicated every day to pulling children out of county lines and preventing new recruitment in east anglia. but now they fear the draw of drug gangs as the cost of living crisis deepens. zoe o'brien, bbc news. rivalry can be fierce on the rugby pitch, but you'd never expect a team to become involved in mafia warfare. when a rugby club in sicily became a target for organised criminals, the players found unlikely allies — hundreds of miles away in bolton. richard askam has the story. divided by 2,000 miles, but very much united by a common cause — to keep a rugby club threatened by organised crime afloat. what they does there, it's unbelievable. unbelievable, amazing.

they try to help kids they take off the street and they give them an opportunity with sport. briganti is a rugby club from a poor district in sicily�*s second biggest city, and it has been successful in turning youngsters away from crime and out of the hands of the local mafia, who many believe have tried to shut the club down. the clubhouse was burnt down and a minibus set on fire. this was impossible like one year ago, one year and a half ago. so we know that if we work together, we can reach important goal. bolton rugby club heard about briganti's plight and as well as offering to buy a new bus, raised money to bring dozens of players and staff over from sicily to the north west. these are pictures of them being welcomed by bolton's families. we offered to buy them a minibus. we didn't know how we were going to pay for it at the time,

but we knew that we could do, we had the means to do it. but then they really wanted to get the kids out of the city to give to open their eyes, really, to a different way of life. and the rest is history. a welcome that's also been extended by sale sharks, who invited the sicilians to watch them train, with a couple of stars on hand to offer tips and an arm around the shoulder. it's a pleasure and an honour for the club and especially for me to be able to do that. and for briganti's players, many haven't been outside their own district, never mind sicily. it's been an experience they will treasure. yes, when we started, we never thought that we could be here or achieve this. so it's huge, it's huge. it's a dream come true. wearing shirts created

by bolton for the occasion, the two clubs will play each other in a series of matches later today. richard askham, bbc news. from the early leaf fall and auburn colours, you might be thinking autumn has already arrived, sooner than expected. but according to experts, this hint of a change in the seasons isn't genuine, but a result of the heatwave and drought. leigh hunt, from the royal horticultural society, told us more about this phenomenon. yes, we normally expect to go crunching amongst the leaves in kind of september and october at the very earliest but it's already happening and normally autumn occurs when we have short days and lower temperatures, but we are not there yet, it's very much an autumn thing, so the plants have responded to the stress of the dry conditions, the drought we have got and basically they are losing some of their older leaves or the leaves inside the canopies, and that is a response to stress

and a way of reducing the amount of leaves they've got and the amount of water they need to get to those leaves because there are less of them. so, stressed leaves. is this a proper threat to some trees? could it kill them off? lots of mature trees are well able to withstand it and have good root systems but things on drier soils, porous soils and young trees as well, they don't have the roots. you will see some that look very brown and if you see trees with brown leaves still attached to those stems and branches, that might be a sign that they are not doing well and will struggle to come through. but thankfully we have had some rain, so maybe not all is lost yet. on that then, if we get a load more rain now, can the process go into reverse? yes. it's interesting. that will give the key thing the plant needs, which is water and any gardener will know if you have a plant that has wilted, you get some water

on in time and it will pick up and survive. it will look a bit peaky for a while but it will get on and do ok. the odd thing, although it is good news, you might start to see some other curious things and that is effectively that the plants go white. this is a tough time, but i have the water that i need so i will try and grow a bit more, flower a bit more and effectively try and set seed and ensure another generation. you might see some odd things. in autumn, once we have had the rain we will start to see things like primroses flowering again, so after a false autumn we get a funny second spring which is more like a mediterranean climate. a false autumn and a second spring. i am learning every day. what about, inyour long years, not too long, not being offensive, but in years watching this stuff, have you seen this phenomenon happen before and is it

happening more often? it's an interesting one. definitely back in the mid—90s and in the early 2000s we saw these kinds of springs, but it does feel like they are getting more frequent and if we think towards climate change with more erratic conditions, hotter, driersummers, but the rain coming in big packets as well, so erratic rainfall rainfall through the period, it does feel, certainly to gardeners, because we are out there every day, seeing literally what is going on and how plants are responding and this is becoming more of a challenge and we are using our green—fingered skills to keep things going. so we are learning how to adapt at the same time to the future. it's been one year since the taliban took control of afghanistan. to show solidarity, people across the uk and europe are taking up the ancient afghan tradition of kite—flying. organisers want the kite festivals to remind the world of the freedoms which have been lost in afghanistan — and the help its people still need. megan paterson reports.

on a hillside in bradford, naweet shows off his kite—flying skills, learnt in his homeland afghanistan, a tradition stretching back hundreds of years, a little piece ofjoy from a place he had to flee. what is it like flying the kites here today? it looks like you really enjoyed doing it. translation: i truly en'oyed it today, it took me h back to my memories, it really felt like i went back to afghanistan, to the same location, it felt as if the same kite, the same experience, i really enjoyed it, it took me back to afghanistan, i felt i am there. the delicate art of making and then flying a traditional afghan kite is being celebrated today with events across the uk, europe, and america, a skill passed down through generations, a key part of many special occasions. and when you would make kites like this in afghanistan, would you sit around with your family and do it with your friends? with friends, of course. you should make it with friends, with partners. because we need people to help us make it. yes, it is not a one—handed job,

you need a couple of pairs of hands. that looks a bit rough around the edges. is that all right? yeah, that's fine, that's fine. aljaz, my very patient teacher moved to bradford injanuary. living in temporary hotel accommodation, leading the kite—making workshops has helped him make sense and share his own story. i myself, i enjoy teaching other people how to make kites and how to fly kites and telling them about our culture and tell them how we make kites and how we send messages to other people through kite flying. i can tell, when you talk about it, your whole face lights up, you clearly love doing this, what is it like being able to do it here in bradford and share it with other people? it is amazing because you share parts of your culture to other people and you tell them your stories about kite flying. you share your feelings, how you feel when you fly kites, when you make kites, so that is really amazing. during the taliban's first period of control in afghanistan, kite flying was banned. the fly with me festival organisers

hope the event will remind people of the freedoms lost in the last year and the help still needed. it has been a year since the taliban took over afghanistan and people were forced to flee, and there is a humanitarian crisis happening over there, the culture is under threat, music has already been banned, women are denied an education, people are dying from starvation. and nobody really talks about that any more, it was in the news in the beginning and then we kind of forgot about it. so, we just wanted to remind our government and the world to remember afghans and to remember afghanistan. my kite made, it is safe to say i will not be much competition for the professionals. how challenging is the wind here, compared to in afghanistan? it is very challenging here because the wind is very strong here. it needs a bit more skill to control it. a skill i don't think i have! there we go, a bit close to the trees! the first flight didn't go too well, we have a kite casualty here, there was a lot of spin in the air,

a bit of height and then a crash. so, my first kite has not survived very long so we will give it another try. the kite—flying festival is raising money for afghan aid, supporting women in rural afghanistan, everyone welcome to take part, share their stories and experiences, helping those without such simple freedoms. megan paterson, bbc news, bradford. a sight familiar to tourists in paris is that of people selling books along the banks of the river seine. but they disappeared when the pandemic hit. there were fears that covid might put them out of business. but now that tourists are finally flocking back to the city of light, those fears have finally been shelved. wendy urquhart reports. avid readers have been rummaging through the book stores on the banks of the seine since the 16th century. translation: we are a ma'or symbol of paris in the eyes * of the whole world. we have millions of people

visiting us every year. the number of people who consider us as important as the eiffel tower or notre dame is phenomenal, so we really take pride in doing this work. after a two—year hiatus because of covid, the book—sellers are back in business, but you can't just turn up in paris and set up shop. each spot is allocated by the city council, and only a few are approved each year. they don't have to pay rent, but there are rules. every so—called bookanista that gets one of the much coveted five—year contracts must be open on at least four days a week all year round, and it's notjust the tourists that love to browse. it's one of the most wonderful things about paris, you walk by, and there's all these posters, these old vintage nudie mags and philosophy books, and whatever other treasures you can stumble upon. it's only in paris where

you get these stores. with wonderful books. we just saw magazines, magazines from the time when we were born and somebody kept them for 60 years. my goodness. wonderful. there are now 230 book—sellers on the river bank, including 18 new ones that have just been approved, and tourists and locals are clearly thrilled to have them back. wendy urquhart, bbc news. it sounds like something out of a children's book — a seal taking up residence in a family's home — but that's what happened in new zealand. this is the moment the creature was discovered exploring the house, which is about 150 metres from the sea, after squeezing through the cat flap. after posing for some photos, the seal — who's been named oscar — was collected by conservation officers and returned to the ocean. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker.

0h, oh, my god, isn't that cute? ok. the weather today, oh, my god, isn't that cute? ok. the weathertoday, pretty oh, my god, isn't that cute? ok. the weather today, pretty fresh across the north west of the uk. certainly has improved in scotland and northern ireland after that wet start, but sunshine i think for the second half of the day as the weather front moves through. through this afternoon we will have rain across parts of the lake district and the north—east of england elsewhere apart from the odd shower, a mostly bright or sunny day with scattered fair weather cloud. through the course of this evening and overnight, the winds which were blustery in the north—west ease down and we still have a scattering of showers but for many of us it is case of clear spells, between ten and 14 degrees. tomorrow it starts bright for many but come the afternoon southern parts of the uk will cloud over, particularly out towards the west and south—west with outbreaks of rain and heading to wales and possibly the north west of england but further north in scotland and northern ireland it should be a bright if not sunny day,

in glasgow. that's it. enjoy your day.

hello. this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughanjones and these are the headlines: sevastapol, the home of russia's black sea fleet in crimea, appears to have come under drone attack again. mexico's former attorney—general is arrested in connection with the disapppearance of 43 students eight years ago. human rights campaigners call for the immediate release of a saudi studentjailed for 34 years over critical tweets. the widow of the basketball legend kobe bryant tells a court of her devastation by leaked photos of a crash that killed her husband and daughter and six others. more travel disruption on train lines across the uk as thousands of rail workers go on strike for the second time in three days

over pay and working conditions.