this is bbc news broadcasting in the uk and around the globe. our top stories... the former president of pakistan, general pervez musharraf, has died at the age of 79. shot out of the sky — the us continues to search and recover the wreckage of a chinese balloon — suspected of spying — which was brought down by an american fighterjet. when he successfully took it down and i want to compliment the aviators who did it. china condemns the move — accusing the us of an over—reaction — insisting the balloon was for meteorological research. the former uk prime minister, liz truss, blames what she's calls a "powerful economic establishment" — for her downfall.

hello and welcome to bbc news. pakistan's former president, general pervez musharraf, has died following a long illnes. he was 79. president musharraf seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999 — serving in office for seven years from 2001. and in 2019 he was sentenced to death in absentia, for treason charges for absconding the murder trial of one of his successors, benazir bhutto. at the time of his death he had been living in exile in dubai, recieving medical treatment. the bbc�*s gordon corera looks back on his life. 1999. and when troops stormed the national television headquarters to put pervez musharraf in power, the people of pakistan heard a familiar refrain. the nation needed another leader in uniform to save it from self—serving politicians.

in the past, our governments have ruled the people. it is time now for the governments to serve the people. pakistan had already been under army rule for more than half the time it had been independent. general musharraf portrayed himself as a moderniser out to rid pakistan of islamic extremism. the attacks in the us in september 2001 severely tested his resolve. controversially, within pakistan, he decided to support the american—led military campaign to oust the taliban regime in neighbouring afghanistan. the best way to fight this common enemy is to join hands. he faced protests that he'd sold out to the americans. later, he only narrowly escaped an attempt on his life. challenges to his authority were put down with military force.

he later handed over control of the army. but the killing of the former prime minister benazir bhutto in 2007, soon after her return from exile, undermined president musharraf's claim that the nation was safe in his hands. then his party was trounced at the polls, and the coalition that came in decided to impeach him for his alleged misrule as president. pervez musharraf, though, moved first and resigned. he went into self—imposed exile but returned to pakistan six years later, intending to stand in the forthcoming general election. but he was placed under arrest — a move musharraf described as politically motivated. allowed to seek medical treatment abroad, he was convicted in his absence of treason and accused of involvement in bhutto's assassination. pervez musharraf once said pakistan would help to shape the future

for both islam and the west, and the relations between them. on that, there would probably be little disagreement, but there undoubtedly will be over pervez musharraf's own contribution. 0ur correspondent caroline davies is in islamabad. what has been the reaction so far to the death of the former president? i think some of the reaction tells you a little bit about the man and how contentious he was. we heard initially this morning from the army who confirmed the death through their press wing and offered condolences and they said may allah bless the departed soul and give strength to the bereaved family. we have also heard from the former party of pervez musharraf saying this is a loss to the country and we have heard from the current prime minister offering his condolences. we have heard from the former aide

and spokesperson to pervez musharraf who is now the leader of the party that imran khan belongs to. he's been described as a great person and the ideology of keeping pakistan first and we've recently heard from the main opposition in the congress party saying once the implacable foe of india, he became a realforce for peace in 2002 in 2007. we have also heard indirectly from the foreign minister in pakistan, the son of the former pakistani prime minister benazir bhutto and he posted pictures of his mother saying she will live forever. this is obviously being seen as a reference to the fact benazir bhutto herself before she died so do something were to happen to her she labelled several people including pervez musharraf as one of those that she suspected it would be behind it, that was

something he denied all the way through his life but i think that gives you an indication of how this man is viewed. in gives you an indication of how this man is viewed.— man is viewed. in terms of the military impact. _ man is viewed. in terms of the military impact, and _ man is viewed. in terms of the military impact, and the - man is viewed. in terms of the i military impact, and the military influence that has been hard in pakistan since a petition of india in a7, you have a military that has on more than one occasion taken powerfrom on more than one occasion taken power from elected government and deposed, pervez musharraf is the most recent case of it happening. is the military still at the faucet has beenin the military still at the faucet has been in pakistan, in politics and therefore the generals still people therefore the generals still people the figures that people worry or care about?— care about? that's a really interesting _ care about? that's a really interesting question - care about? that's a really interesting question at - care about? that's a really| interesting question at this care about? that's a really - interesting question at this stage. pervez musharraf was the fourth military leader in the history pakistan since a7 to take power and as you say, the most recent one, and interestingly at the moment, the military here is probably at its

least popular that it has been throughout the course of pakistan �*s history, it has taken a real battering and the army often views itself as being scapegoated by politicians and criticised for that. this is an interesting time that this discussion about pervez musharraf is being hard, at this point, in an election year and exactly the role of the army in pakistan, what was the relate the army in pervez musharraf and what will be the future role of the army as well? they are saying they are not involved in politics, they are neutral and are taking a step back but of course they are still quite often criticised by politicians as having much too strong a role in politics here in pakistan. caroline, thank yom — i'm joined now by the political analyst imtiaz gul. thank you for talking to us about the legacy of president pervez musharraf but if we talk first of

all about his impact on democracy because he seized powerfrom all about his impact on democracy because he seized power from an elected government but at the time, it seemed quite a popular move? i think we have lost the line there, we will try and get that line back, apologies to you for that because i know he has a lot of interesting things to say. moving on. the giant chinese balloon that had been floating across parts of the united states — has been shot down by an american fighterjet — off the coast of south carolina. the balloon, which the us says was being used to spy on military sites — appeared to plummet into the sea. china continues to insist it was a stray civilian weather observation airship. china's foreign ministry says it strongly disapproves of — and protests against — the us attack on a civilian unmanned airship by force. it also said american use of force — is a "clear overreaction — and a serious violation of international practice". tim allman reports. for days now, all eyes have

been on this solitary object, floating serenely through us airspace. was it a harmless weather balloon or a spy in the sky, sent by the chinese? whatever it was, the american government had decided enough was enough. look at that trail of white vapour on the left of the screen. that is a us f—22 fighterjet, streaking towards the balloon. then, a second trail, this time from a sidewinder missile, about to bring its journey to an abrupt end. suddenly, we saw something take off from the jet and we knew it was a missile and you could see the explosion. didn't hear anything but saw the explosion of the balloon. gosh, it was almost like it was a moving cloud coming down. then the smoke was gone and then it started slowly going down towards the ocean. explosion.

whoa! did you hear that? a few moments after the impact, the sound of the explosion could be heard at ground level. then the remains of the balloon — its canopy torn to shreds, falls to the earth. a satisfying moment for president biden although he had to wait a few days for the operation to be carried out. i ordered the pentagon to shoot it down as soon as possible and they decided without doing damage to anyone on the ground and decided the best way to do that was to wait till it got over water. in a statement, chinese foreign ministry accused the us of overreacting: it added: the whole incident has caused tensions in what is already a delicate relationship. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, cancelled a planned trip to beijing as a result. the balloon is believed to have come down in relatively shallow

water and any wreckage should be easily retrieved. the americans hope they will then be able to work out exactly what the chinese were up to. tim allman, bbc news. let's return to the top story this hour, the death of the former pakistani general pervez musharraf. i'm joined now by the political analyst imtiaz gul. i'm so sorry we had technical difficulties earlier. pervez musharraf launched his coup against the elected government of the then prime minister mr sharif but it seemed at that time to be a popular measure but why?— seemed at that time to be a popular measure but why? people have been fed u- with measure but why? people have been fed up with the _ measure but why? people have been fed up with the kind _ measure but why? people have been fed up with the kind of— measure but why? people have been fed up with the kind of democracy . fed up with the kind of democracy that pakistan had seen, it had been

basically a 1% ruling elite, the military as well as the civilians and the civilians took their power as something for self rule and guaranteed and instead of proving governance, various areas of governance, various areas of governance, we saw in the decades of the 80s and 90s how the civilian leaders enrich themselves instead of attending to the governance and that is what general pervez musharraf called sham democracy. he basically promised a load of reforms and he started with the promise of radical reforms but eventually ended up compromising on a lot of that for self—preservation and prolonging his own role. ihis self-preservation and prolonging his own role. , ., , , , self-preservation and prolonging his own role. , . , , , ., own role. his life in a sense is a kind of fascinating _ own role. his life in a sense is a kind of fascinating snapshot - own role. his life in a sense is a l kind of fascinating snapshot really of the history of pakistan because he was born in delhi before partition, before the british empire had come to an end in india and in

petition his family moved to pakistan because they were muslims and they were worried about what it would mean in a majority hindu state. we end up in a situation he becomes less powerful military figure taking control from elected politicians. there seems to be a paradox at the heart of pakistan but has come any nearer to resolving that, do you think? hat has come any nearer to resolving that, do you think?— has come any nearer to resolving that, do you think? not really. as for himself. _ that, do you think? not really. as for himself, he _ that, do you think? not really. as for himself, he was _ that, do you think? not really. as for himself, he was known - that, do you think? not really. as for himself, he was known as - that, do you think? not really. as for himself, he was known as a i that, do you think? not really. as l for himself, he was known as a bold and daring and courageous person because of his commando training in the military. he took some bold initiatives like one of the meetings of the regional cooperation he went forward and shook hands with the then india prime minister who got stunned because it was a time of high tension between the countries. he also took some bold initiatives

in politics, local government systems, he created some space for women in parliament and allowed a lot of women into parliament. he also opened the immediate landscape and allowed private television so from that perspective, the court that he staged in the two that 0ctober that he staged in the two that october 99 was not clearly a coup but a lot of people do not recall what have prompted that because he was on his way back from colombo and pervez musharraf denied landing permission to the aircraft with 150 people on board and the aircraft at two of the airports, one of them shut down on the flight and they were told to leave pakistan airspace. i've been speaking to the chief pilot and flight engineers of the pilot and eventually went the military takeover in a slum about,

was the aircraft then able to land with just under ten minutes of fuel in the aircraft. —— in islamabad. they had taken over power. i'm sorry. they had taken over power. i'm sor . ~ , ., sorry. we must leave it there, i ho -e we sorry. we must leave it there, i hepe we are — sorry. we must leave it there, i hope we are able _ sorry. we must leave it there, i hope we are able to _ sorry. we must leave it there, i hope we are able to talk - sorry. we must leave it there, i hope we are able to talk again i sorry. we must leave it there, i| hope we are able to talk again at some point about this because it is a fascinating period of the history of pakistan and shaping so much of the politics we see in your country today. thank you so much forjoining us from islamabad. pope francis has addressed an open air mass congregation injuba at the end of his visit to south sudan. it was the final part of a wider trip to africa dubbed a "tour of peace". he told the congregation he brought a message of hope and pleaded with south sudan's leaders to focus on bringing about lasting peace. pope francis has now left south sudan. he was the first pope to visit the country since it achieved independence in 2011 and then swiftly descended into ethnic conflict.

the pope's appeal for peace throughout his trip was echoed on saturday by the heads of the churches of england and scotland. the former uk prime minister, liz truss, has blamed what she's called a "powerful economic establishment" — and a lack of support from the conservative party — for her downfall in number ten. in a a,000 word article — published in the sunday telegraph — ms truss admitted she's not blameless, but doesn't think her tax policies were given a "realistic chance". 0ur political correspondent helen cattjoins me now. thank you forjoining us, what is her message? she thank you for “oining us, what is her message?— thank you for “oining us, what is her message? she has written this 4000 word — her message? she has written this 4000 word essay _ her message? she has written this 4000 word essay but _ her message? she has written this 4000 word essay but in _ her message? she has written this 4000 word essay but in essence . her message? she has written this i 4000 word essay but in essence her a000 word essay but in essence her message can be distilled in four words, i was still right, she fundamentally believes it was right she pursued this policy and she fundamentally believes it was the right recipe for growth and this is what the uk economy should be doing.

as you said, she said she was not blameless, she has talked about perhaps doing it differently but she has then also listed quite a lot of different groups of people that she saysin different groups of people that she says in effect blocked her from enacting her policies on the way she wanted and that extends to the uk treasury, the media, in passing, presidentjoe biden is in the mix somewhere and even her own mps that she did not have the political backing of her own mps and there have been some people who suggested this might be much too soon for a defence of this kind from liz truss of her time in office. i suppose what's interesting is she fundamentally still believes in these economic policies and there are others in the party who are keen to see tax cuts. we are in a period the uk government is coming up to setting its budget, this is a live conversation among conservative mps and in the party but here's what the business secretary grant shapps said

earlier. liz truss does accept that actually, you can'tjust go straight to those tax cuts without not only— laying out the groundwork. that was her point. my point would be without dealing with the other things, first, inflation, first of all, getting growth into the economy, keeping debt under control. your question is, in my heart, do i think we should have a lower tax economy? answer, yes, absolutely. my question is in your heart, do you think that liz truss approach was the right one? well, clearly it wasn't. you can understand some of the tensions that must exist from that difficult period for the conservative party but the danger presumably with an article like this is creates a massive political opportunity for the opposition to say they do not agree, she still thinks she was right which means she

does not agree with the approach that rishi sunak is taking and they can play up divisions?— that rishi sunak is taking and they can play up divisions? grant shapps was appointed _ can play up divisions? grant shapps was appointed by — can play up divisions? grant shapps was appointed by liz _ can play up divisions? grant shapps was appointed by liz truss - can play up divisions? grant shapps was appointed by liz truss for - can play up divisions? grant shapps was appointed by liz truss for six . was appointed by liz truss for six days! was appointed by liz truss for six da s! , ., but days! the point, quite right. but ou are days! the point, quite right. but you are right. — days! the point, quite right. but you are right, it _ days! the point, quite right. but you are right, it is _ days! the point, quite right. but you are right, it is not _ days! the point, quite right. but you are right, it is not useful- days! the point, quite right. but you are right, it is not useful for| you are right, it is not useful for the current government to have a big reminder of months of turmoil they have been trying to move on from and at the end of the month they have been fighting political fires and have struggled to get their message out, it is something the opposition are picking up and commenting on particularly the fact within this a000 word essay is not really any sense of apology who felt the effects of what happened as a fallout from that period of aa9 days in office. listen to liz kendall from the labour party. we in office. listen to liz kendall from the labour party. we have a clear lan from the labour party. we have a clear plan on _ from the labour party. we have a clear plan on growth. _ from the labour party. we have a clear plan on growth. one - from the labour party. we have a clear plan on growth. one of- from the labour party. we have a clear plan on growth. one of your former_ clear plan on growth. one of your former guest, the chair of tesco

said we — former guest, the chair of tesco said we were the only team on the pitch— said we were the only team on the pitch in_ said we were the only team on the pitch in terms of growth whether it's hiking — pitch in terms of growth whether it's biking businesses are clean energy. — it's biking businesses are clean energy, working in partnership or investing — energy, working in partnership or investing in — energy, working in partnership or investing in the skills we need for the future — investing in the skills we need for the future. that is the unspoken thing _ the future. that is the unspoken thing in — the future. that is the unspoken thing in the room and an grant shappe— thing in the room and an grant shapps interview and it leads back to what— shapps interview and it leads back to what the discussion we are having on strikes _ to what the discussion we are having on strikes and pay and the state of our public— on strikes and pay and the state of our public services. because unless we grow— our public services. because unless we grow the economy we will not have the money— we grow the economy we will not have the money to put into public services _ the money to put into public services |_ the money to put into public services. ., the money to put into public services— services. i think what is also strikin: services. i think what is also striking and _ services. i think what is also striking and so _ services. i think what is also striking and so for— services. i think what is also striking and so for reaction l services. i think what is also l striking and so for reaction to services. i think what is also - striking and so for reaction to the article this morning has been quite muted. among her supporters in particular you have not got them coming out really going for it, you have seen quiet retweets, her party chairman jake berry was on have seen quiet retweets, her party chairmanjake berry was on the same programme and said i agree with her diagnosis but we got the prescription wrong so i think the takeaway at the moment is there is not that flaming division right now within the conservative party that we have seen, certainly not at the

surface, overso we have seen, certainly not at the surface, over so many months of last year. surface, over so many months of last ear. . ~' surface, over so many months of last ear. ., ~ , ., the uk business secretary, grant shapps, has given energy firms a deadline of tuesday to outline what action they will take to compensate vulnerable customers who wrongly had pre—payment meters installed by force. it comes after an investigation by the times newspaper revealed that some debt agents working for british gas had broken into the homes of people struggling to pay their bills, in order to install the equipment. police investigating the disappearance of nicola bulley say they've spoken to a woman they'd described as a key witness. 0fficers said last night they were trying to trace the woman, who'd been seen pushing a pram in st michael's on wyre, in lancashire, close to where ms bulley was last seen nine days ago. detectives said the woman had come forward "very quickly". voting is underway in cyprus for a new president. 1a candidates are standing with the winner needing half the votes to take the job. that looks unlikely in the first

round meaning the two leading candidates will face a run off next week. christodouldes in the lead. a british family are to travel to grenada later this month to apologise publicly for their ancestors�* ownership of more than one—thousand african slaves. the trevelyans owned six sugar plantations on the caribbean island in the nineteenth century. the family includes the bbc�*s new york correspondent, laura trevelyan — who is paying reparations by donating a £100,000 fund. violence has erupted in peru between demonstrators and riot police in the capital lima. there were clashes when a group of protesters stormed through a street, throwing objects — including firecrackers — at a wall of riot police officers, who fired teargas canisters to disperse the crowd. the demonstrators are demanding the resignation of president dina boluarte and for new elections

to be brought forward. a 16—year—old girl has died after being attacked by a shark in western australia. she was pronounced dead after being pulled from the swan river in perth. it's thought there hasn't been a fatal shark attack on the stretch of water in more than 100 years. police gave this update. very early on, what we're being advised that she was with friends on the river, on jet skis. there was possibly a pod of dolphins being seen nearby and the young female jumped in the water to swim nearby the dolphins. so we've spoken to the department of fisheries in relation to the location and whether it is unusual for a shark to be in that area. and the information that we're being provided is that it is unusual for a shark to be that far down the river. but again, we're relying on the experts and their knowledge. and at this point in time, an alert has been put out. a text alert as a shark warning just to let people know that this incident has taken place.

after three years of toned—down celebrations, the famous venice carnival has returned to its former grandeur. 0ur reporter emb hashmi has more. dancing and sparkling masks are back with a bang in venice. the two—week—long festivities were launched by this colourful unicorn, a magical creature that transports dreamers to the stars. the narrow alleys and bridges of the city were lit up by dazzling dancers and spectacular floats for the parade down the canal grande. over the next two weeks the city will be filled with thousands of tourists from across italy and the world. translation: it's great, it's - magical, what else is there to say? come and feel the spirit here! masked balls are held

in ancient venetian palaces, while concerts and gondola parades are organised in the piazzas and canals, and costumed participants gather at the epicentre, st mark's square. the tradition of this carnival dates back to the 11th century, and it is still going strong. then a spy night. we will leave you with pictures of venice in the daytime as those beautiful is there my pitiful carnival celebrations continue. —— venice by night. congratulations to the definitions for bringing that wonderful celebration to the world and a chance to see the colour and spectacle and to be reacquainted with something of the history of this remarkable city, once one of the most powerful states on the planet. you are watching bbc news.

thank you for your company. we will leave you with these pictures of the revived venice carnival. hello. part of the weekend looking brighter than the first part. a lot of cloud on saturday, today it feels different, sunshine around but feeling chillier than what we have been used to and temperatures close to normal for the next few days. for much of the upcoming week as well. i pressure on top of the uk bringing fine unsettled weather, more of a breeze for the four south and northern and western scotland and many are northern and western parts will see high cloud at times which will turn the sunshine hazy but it's a fine and bright afternoon, cooler than of late. tonight the area of high pressure pushes towards the eastern

side of the country influencing much of england and wales, light winds and clear skies, turning cold with a widespread frost and mist and fog patches which could be dense. scotland and northern ireland more cloud and breeze, from monday we will see more cloud generally, scotland and northern ireland the old shower, england and wales it is cold and frosty with some early mist but bright with the best of the sunshine here, albeit it is hazy. temperatures in single figures for most, 10 degrees in the north and west with more breeze. 0n most, 10 degrees in the north and west with more breeze. on tuesday, more cloud, mist and four will be stubborn to clear across england and wales but here we see the best of the sunshine although the temperatures low here. we see, they're able cloud for sunshine and northern ireland. wednesday, this area of high pressure hose on across the continent, influencing the weather for the majority of the time

but these weather fronts try to flirt with the north and west of the uk so it will be windy on wednesday across the north west, one or two showers generally in scotland and northern ireland, gusts could be higher than the mean wind speeds indicated. some mist unfold, the best of the sunshine heading through the course of the afternoon and again, for most of us temperatures in single figures, closer to frobisher bay for the time of year. wet and windy weather for a time across scotland on thursday but otherwise it's staying fine and settled and on the cool side.

this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines: the former president of pakistan, pervez musharraf, has died in hospital in dubai after a long illness. he was 79. general musharraf took power in a coup in 1999, and served as president for seven years from 2001. he portrayed himself as a moderniser, but his opposition to islamist extremism made him a controversialfigure. the united states is trying to find the wreckage of a chinese surveillance balloon, which it shot down over the atlantic. the pentagon believes it had been spying on sensitive sites. beijing has accused the us of an overreaction, insisting the balloon was for meteorological research. pope francis�* historic visit comes to an end with an open air mass. he's urged people to make themselves immune to the "venom of hatred"