tonight at 10pm... ukraine says 40,000 people need to be evacuated after a major dam is damaged in the south, causing widespread flooding. the dam separates russian—held territory to the south from ukrainian land in the north — each side has blamed the other. 80 towns and villages along the dnipro river are flooded but there's no let—up in the shelling, as our team on the ground found out. can you tell me what happened here? loud explosion. they pushed us away from the flooding because of that threat. this is by the river, which is a front line, and date got wider. decimal group today it got wider. the eu has accused russia of a war crime but rishi sunak is more cautious, saying it's too early to say definitively what has happened.

also on the programme... prince harry makes history, becoming the first senior royal to give evidence in court for more than 100 years, in his phone hacking trial. destroying fields of poppies in afghanistan, after the taliban banned their cultivation for opium, but farmers ask how they're to feed their families. and the rift that rocked the world of golf is suddenly healed, to the astonishment of onlookers. 0n newsnight at 10.30pm: another british woman has made allegations of sexual violence against andrew tate. she speaks exclusively to newsnight — and we'll hear from the lawyer representing four women pursuing a civil claim against him. good evening. after the destruction of part of a crucial dam in southern ukraine, thousands of people have been forced to evacuate towns and villages to escape rising flood waters. the dam sits between russian—held territory to the south and ukrainian territory to the north.

kyiv says that moscow is to blame, and so do nato and the eu, which has called the destruction a "war crime." rishi sunak is more cautious, saying it is too soon to make a definitivejudgment. russia claims ukraine is behind the damage — tonight, we'll be looking at whether there is any evidence to back that up. and, with the help of our expert team at bbc verify, we'll study images of the damage done to the dam. we'll also be examining the risks to europe's largest nuclear plant at zaporizhzhia, up riverfrom the dam. first, our ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, has spent the day travelling to the affected area and hejoins us now. we have been pushed away from the flooding. this is a city, because sun dash kherson, which is in darkness because of where it is situated the it was occupied, it was

deliberated after heavy fighting and now this, where its streets are now filled with water from the river dnipro. this war has another devastating dimension. a breach, a barrier designed to protect. this is the major nova kakhovka dam failure to contain a reservoir resembling a c. the waters of the dnipro river surge downstream towards dozens of towns and villages, effectively front line separated territory ukraine controls from russia occupied areas. close to the dnipro mouth the city of kherson. 0fficials the dnipro mouth the city of kherson. officials are worried the flooding could become catastrophic. when our team arrived this afternoon, it didn't take long to find out what life is like. it's dangerous, says katarina. then...

explosion. russia may have retreated last year but they're not far away to top it takes a lot in these parts to make people live. back upstream, you can't really see what's left of the dam and hydroelectric plant. so who did this? russia controls this area but blames ukraine. kyiv is in no doubt. translation: , , ., translation: the dnipro hydroelectric _ translation: the dnipro hydroelectric power - translation: the dnipro| hydroelectric power station translation: the dnipro - hydroelectric power station was a deliberate, prepared explosion. they know sadly what they were doing. tonight, the kyiv regime emitted another_ tonight, the kyiv regime emitted another terrorist crime. the nova kakhovka — another terrorist crime. the nova kakhovka hydrants a plant was up, leading _ kakhovka hydrants a plant was up, leading to — kakhovka hydrants a plant was up, leading to flooding. this kakhovka hydrants a plant was up, leading to flooding.— leading to flooding. this dam su lies leading to flooding. this dam supplies water _ leading to flooding. this dam supplies water to _ leading to flooding. this dam supplies water to suede - leading to flooding. this dam - supplies water to suede threshold for land, including in crimea, and there is a pot behind it provides water to cool the zaporizhzhia

nuclear plant upriver. both areas are under russian control. the repertoire is huge —— reservoir is huge. the river is very white here. up huge. the river is very white here. up to ito miles across. this is what the dam looks like undamaged. 0ur colleagues at bbc verify say this image of a smaller bridge was taken days ago but, since early this morning, this is what the dam has turned into. thousands of people at risk from flooding. whole villages are underwater. here, the landscape is transformed. whoever destroyed the dam knew this would happen and decided it was worth it. one ukrainian mp watched as the river burst its banks. translation: ., , ., translation: you can see how the water is coming _ translation: you can see how the water is coming up _ translation: you can see how the water is coming up every _ translation: you can see how the water is coming up every second, i translation: you can see how the | water is coming up every second, he says. it's starting to rise.— says. it's starting to rise. ukraine has been ravaged _ says. it's starting to rise. ukraine has been ravaged by _

says. it's starting to rise. ukraine has been ravaged by becoming i says. it's starting to rise. ukraine has been ravaged by becoming a | says. it's starting to rise. ukraine - has been ravaged by becoming a giant battlefield. a country forever remoulded and now a region partially submerged. as we heard, the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant relies on water flow from the reservoir upstream of the dam to cool its reactors. nuclear experts say they are monitoring the situation closely, but there's no evidence that the plant's safety has been compromised. 0ur science correspondent, pallab ghosh, explains the risks. the threat of an explosion at one of ukraine's nuclear plants has come several times during the conflict and now, once again, at the russian—controlled zaporizhzhia facility, with reports that water levels were dropping from a reservoir that is needed for cooling the plant. the un's nuclear safety body said the situation was under control, at least for the time being. our current assessment is that there is no immediate risk to the safety of the plant. we are following this by the minute,

as you can imagine. the nuclear power plant is nearly 100 miles from the dam. so what are the risks? the first is the nuclear reactors, which are used to generate electricity, but they're all shut down and well below their normal operating temperatures. experts say they don't really need any additional water. the second is the cooling pond, which is topped up by the reservoir. it supplies the area that keeps spent nuclear fuel rods from overheating. because the fuel has been in there for a long time, it's getting quite cold now, so it's not generating that much heat and therefore would take months to have any problem where they would need to replenish the water. and, when additional water is needed, the un's nuclear safety body says that the cooling pond has enough water to meet the plant's needs for several months. palab ghosh, bbc news. we'll have more from james injust a moment, but first to our russia editor,

steve rosenberg, in moscow. steve, what's the russian public being told about what happened to the dam? well, i watched the main evening news bulletin on russian tv tonight and it was all about, quote, ukrainian terrorists, ukrainian nationalists, ukrainian saboteurs. in other words, russians are being told in no uncertain terms that the destruction of the damp was a ukrainian terrorist attack, nothing to do with russia. it's notjust a tv telling them that, senior russian officials were lining up today to pass on the same message, but that message doesn't come through so well outside russia. political leaders from canada to brussels were making the point today that, whatever was the point today that, whatever was the specific cause of this disaster, it was russia's war that was the reason why it happened. if there was no war, that dam would still be

intact and standing. in the words of the un, what happened was a devastating consequence of russia was invasion. as far as the ukrainian counteroffensive is concerned, the russian defence minister came out today and claimed it had started three days ago but had been thwarted. he claimed there were heavy ukrainian casualties and presented no evidence to back up that claim. , . , presented no evidence to back up that claim-— presented no evidence to back up that claim. , ., , ., ., , ., �*, that claim. james, how does what's ha--ened that claim. james, how does what's happened effect _ that claim. james, how does what's happened effect ukraine's - happened effect ukraine's counteroffensive? i happened effect ukraine's counteroffensive?- happened effect ukraine's counteroffensive? i think it is still, if you — counteroffensive? i think it is still, if you go _ counteroffensive? i think it is still, if you go on _ counteroffensive? i think it is still, if you go on what - counteroffensive? i think it is still, if you go on what us - still, if you go on what us officials are saying today, it is still in its early phases. it has started nevertheless, where ukrainian forces, new units are probing different parts of this vast front line. they are trying to find different weaknesses, so what the destruction of the nova kakhovka dam means is that a major potential

crossing point has effectively been taken off the table. it means ukrainian forces couldn't cross along the dam itself and it also means they couldn't mount some kind of amphibious assault involving boats, involving troops making their way across, trying to form some kind of temporary crossing and eventually pushing forward. that would be the most ambitious attempt in military circles it will be seen as one of the least likely paths for a counteroffensive. for kyiv, it's about making russia guess, and i think what we've seen from invading forces is an effective counterpunch after months of ukraine at the west talking up this counteroffensive, russia, previously so deliberately trying to seize control of the narrative and information war, and should moscow be behind the destruction of the dam, should moscow be behind the destruction of the darn, it said counterpunch, but working out exactly who is behind it and this apparent destination, i don't think we will ever realise, but we need to be bright eyed to the military

dynamics around at a crucial phase for ukraine in this conflict, as it tries to unlock months of static fighting. tries to unlock months of static fiuuhtin. . ~' tries to unlock months of static fiuuhtin. ., ~ i. g. , fighting. thank you, james waterhouse, _ fighting. thank you, james waterhouse, live - fighting. thank you, james waterhouse, live in - fighting. thank you, jamesl waterhouse, live in kherson fighting. thank you, james - waterhouse, live in kherson and steve rosenberg in moscow. prince harry has become the first senior member of the royal family to give evidence in court for 130 years, after taking to the witness stand in his civil case against mirror group newspapers. he's accused the publisher of using unlawful methods, including phone hacking, to get stories about him, something they deny. 0ur media editor, katie razzall, has been following the case at the high court in london and has this report. in a cul—de—sac in central london, the world's media... ..focused on itself and one man. others have settled claims over the years, but here was prince harry, determined to have his day in court, telling those inside a packed court 15 and an overflow annex that every single article written about him had caused him distress and agreeing

he had felt hostility to the media, even before he knew about their methods. he was asked about this line in his witness statement... prince harry told the court he was talking aboutjournalists responsible for causing a lot of pain, upset, the press in general. asked if he was in the witness box to "put a stop to the madness," he replied, "that is my hope." harry's case is that specific articles in mirror group newspapers from 1996 to 2011 were based on phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering, often by private investigators. today he was questioned about them in detail. he says the journalist behind this story, about visit from his mother on his 12th birthday, was a known user of private investigators. mgn's barrister told him journalists could not have hacked his mobile phone as he did not have one back then. harry replied, "it could have been my mother's." how could journalists know he was at the particular pub

as reported in this article, prince harry asked. isn't it likely the celebrity chef owner contacted the paper, mr green suggested. and mgn's barrister told him this story of a thumb injury had already been reported by the press association the day before. harry claims thatjust encouraged others to take stories further, using illicit methods for that extra information. he says he was often teased at school after these kinds of articles. it caused him paranoia and distress, led him to dump friends, even to distrust his own brother william when a disagreement leaked. mgn denies phone hacking and unlawful information gathering for the articles under scrutiny, in a civil trial in which a judge, not a jury, will decide, explains this lawyer. 0n the balance of probabilities, is it more likely than not that the mirror engaged in phone hacking? or is it more likely than not that they didn't? they are weighing up just to see where that balance tilts so it is a slightly different standard — a lower standard, if you like.

the prince also had sharp words for the former daily mirror editor, now tv presenter, piers morgan, saying he makes him physically sick and that he wants to hold him and others accountable for their vile behaviour. mr morgan denies wrongdoing. for the best part of the five hours inside here, prince harry calmly, quietly, seriously answered the questions put to him, questions designed to show that his claims are wrong. in his witness statement, he was broad in his criticism of the media and he raised eyebrows and some hackles when he described notjust the british press but the government as at rock bottom. but then he has broken so many of the rules of being a royal, political criticism is just another one to add to the list. he, though, has found his calling — to make reform of the press his life's work. it has been an intense day for prince harry. the first time a senior royal has been cross—examined in more than a century, and there is more to come tomorrow.

katie razzall, bbc news. the world of golf has been stunned by the sudden merger of tours which had been bitter enemies. the pga and dp world tour have agreed to merge with liv, a breakaway circuit backed by saudi arabia. the launch of liv rocked men's professional golf over the past year after it poached several top players, lured by its huge prize money. here's our sports editor, dan roan. for the last year, it has been tearing the world of golf apart. bankrolled by saudi arabia, the rebel liv series lured some of the biggest stars of the game away from the traditional tours, sparking an unprecedented dispute. but today came news of a shock merger and an end to their feud. in a joint statement, the pga tour, dp world tour and saudi public investment fund hailed a landmark agreement to unify the game of golf on a global basis, with a new collectively owned

for—profit entity, vowing to work together to best feature and grow team golf going forward. notably, today's announcement, they said, would be followed by a mutually agreed end to all pending litigation between the participating parties. featuring huge prize money, a shorter three—day format and a team element, those behind liv claimed its innovations would attract new audiences, but critics saw it as an attempt to seize control of the sport. i hate what it's doing to the game of golf, i hate it. with legal disputes in both the us and europe, where several liv golfers lost a case over the fines and suspensions they faced for playing in the series. the time was right for all three parties to come together and there is no question that all three partners shared the appetite to get a deal done. as for the players, there was a mixed reaction. phil mickelson, paid a reported £160 million to sign up to liv, tweeted, "awesome day today."

but, for other leading pga tour players, it seemed to come as a surprise, with two—time major winner collin morikawa saying, "i love finding out morning news on twitter." ian poulter and sergio garcia were among several top liv players who walked away from the dp world tour and became ineligible for the ryder cup, but they could now return. already the chair of saudi—owned newcastle united, another of the kingdom's growing list of sports investments, pif governor yasir al—rumayyan will now chair the new golf entity, with the pif also providing fresh funds, reinforcing the concerns of human rights campaigners that this is sportswashing, something i put too al—rumayyan last year. it's the big thing in golf and we are going to enjoy it. that is why i'm here. thank you very much. can i just ask you very quickly about the suggestions of sportswashing? what do you say to that? i am really not sure about this. for many in the sport, however, today's peace deal will come as a major relief. dan roan, bbc news.

more than 80% of the world's opium — which is the main ingredient of heroin — used to be produced in afghanistan. but last year, opium poppy cultivation was banned by the taliban. the bbc has found evidence that the taliban government has had major success in cracking down on it, with experts suggesting that opium farming is down by as much as four—fifths in a year. but, in a country reeling from an economic crisis, farmers say this is another blow. 0ur correspondent yogita limaye has sent this report from afghanistan. men who were once fighting for this land now control it. and they're enforcing the diktat of their leader. this is a taliban antinarcotics unit. deep in eastern afghanistan, they stop when they see a field of poppy. while the men raze it...

..their commander shouts at the family that owns the land. "i told you to destroy it yourselves." hidden from view, a woman screams back in anger but then retreats indoors. within minutes, it is all gone. the poppy that this family spent months growing. their son is detained for defying the ban. released later with a warning. we've been given rare access to the taliban's campaign to eradicate poppy in nangarhar province. they have been at it for five months already. so now we have to get more remote areas near the border with pakistan to find standing crop. so, the field to the right, that's already been destroyed.

and we're walking to another one, which they are in the process of destroying right now. farmers here know how harmful opium is. there are high levels of addiction in their own country. but there is no other option, says ali mohammed mir, whose field was destroyed. translation: if you don't have enough food in your house - and your children are going hungry, what else will you do? if we grew wheat instead, we won't earn enough to survive. when they hit those stalks hard, they sometimes come flying in the air. what definitely comes flying is the sap from these buds, that is the opium resin. there is a very pungent smell of it in the air right now. the taliban go armed and in large numbers. there have been instances of clashes with angry locals.

they are accused of profiting from opium when they were fighting against foreign forces and the former afghan regime — a claim the taliban deny. but now, from what we've seen and from satellite images, there's evidence of an unprecedented reduction. this is helmand province. it used to be afghanistan's opium heartland. wheat now stands where poppy was grown. this man tells us that in this taliban stronghold area, farmers have all but complied with the order. translation: we are very upset. we can't meet our families' needs. i've had to take a loan. hunger is at its peak and we haven't got any help from the government. we met the main spokesman

of the taliban government, who told us they banned opium because it's harmful and goes against their religious beliefs. farmers say they're not getting any support from your government. how do you plan to help them? translation: we know that people are very poor, - but opium causes a lot of addiction. we call on international organisations to help afghans facing losses. but then, at the same time, you're making the operations and the funding of aid agencies in this country extremely difficult by the ban on afghan women working for them. you can't have it both ways. they should not link humanitarian issues with political matters. 0pium isn't just harming afghanistan. the whole world is affected by it. 0pium ferried from afghan fields produces nearly all of the heroin sold in europe. how will prices be impacted? we went to kandahar — another major poppy growing province — to find out.

we met a farmer holding onto a small stash of his harvest from last year. we are not naming him to protect him. he told us the price of each of these bags is now five times what it was before the ban. he is waiting for it to rise further so it can sustain his family longer. for now, the taliban appear to have accomplished what no one else could. but there are questions about how long they can sustain it. yogita limaye, bbc news, kandahar. here, the lobby group the cbi, which represents thousands of british businesses, has won the backing of its members for a series of proposed reforms after a crisis that threatened its future. 93% of those who voted supported the plans. it follows a series of allegations of serious sexual misconduct which prompted many businesses to end their membership.

the government hasn't said if or when it'll re—engage with the cbi. there's been a sharp rise in sexually transmitted diseases in england, with a record number of cases of gonorrhoea last year and the highest levels of syphilis since the end of world war ii. 0ur medical editor, fergus walsh, is here. fergus. after a dip during covid, these sexually transmitted bacterial infections are back with a vengeance. there were more than 82,000 cases of gonorrhoea last year in england. that's up 50% on 2021. and it's the highest number since 1918, the year the first world war ended, when cases began being recorded. as for syphilis, there were more than 8,600 cases last year — that's the largest number since just after the second world war. chlamydia was the most commonly diagnosed sti,

with almost 200,000 cases recorded, with the 15 to 21l age group most likely to get an infection. the uk health security agency says only some of the rise can be accounted for by increased testing. it says condoms are the best defence. young people in particular often regard condoms as a means to prevent unplanned pregnancy however it is vital that people of all ages use condoms to reduce the risk of sti is to protect their health and their partner's health. there are concerns that gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics and at risk of becoming untreatable in future. the terrence higgins trust said cuts to sexual health services were making a bad situation worse, with many people struggling to get appointments. thank you, fergus. in rugby, london irish have become the third club to be suspended

from the premiership this season following financial issues. they won't play in any league next season after failing to prove they have the money to continue operating and missing a deadline to pay staff and players. the government has now appointed independent advisers to support the sport, as our correspondent natalie pirks reports. chanting. this was the end of their season, but it turned out to be the end of an era. london irish players and staff tonight learned their fates on a zoom call. 125 years of history potentially gone. fans are struggling to understand just how it came to this. i would say heartbroken is a very accurate description. it can't get any worse than this, to be honest with you. i can't imagine a life now, not supporting london irish. well, london irish's demise isjust the latest chapter in a sorry story

of premiership rugby. they're the third club to fall injust nine months, with a recent report saying the problems were a stain on the reputation of the governing body. bad news, eh? the dream's over. worcester warriors were the first club to go under, players discovering they'd been relegated in october. they still can't operate as a professional club. and last month, six times english champions wasps were demoted to the foot of the rugby pyramid after debts of more than £95 million forced them into administration. all three clubs were being chased for unpaid taxes. it gets to a point whereby the three clubs are losing way too much money, too much debts need to be paid and it comes to a point where those debts calling. the pandemic exacerbated clubs' already perilous finances. the government is worried and has appointed independent advisers to help the sport. he's still going, mitchell, gives it to arundel! what a score!

one of the stars of london irish, whose future now lies elsewhere. 0n the pitch, rugby union enjoys sold—out internationals, but off it, clubs have been accused of sleepwalking into a crisis. natalie pirks, bbc news, twickenham. henry arundel. astrud gilberto, considered one of the greatest brazilian singers of all time, has died at the age of 83. # tall and tan and young and lovely # the girl from ipanema goes walking...# with her soft and sultry voice, her version of the girl from ipanema was an instant hit, propelling her to fame, winning her a grammy, and helping to popularise bossa nova around the world. in later years, she withdrew from the limelight, concentrating instead on animal welfare and on her painting. the brazilian singer astrud gilberto, who's died at the age of 83.

that song will stay with us all evening. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. almost fits this picture, it looks kind of tropical. this was the setting sun over the highlands of scotland, this picture sent in in the last hour what a beautiful picture it is. might have noticed the weather has not been changing much over recent times, i have been looking in the stats book and in warwickshire it has not rained since the 11th of may which is nearly four weeks of dry weather. 0ver recent times, one of the warmest places in the uk has been in county tyrone in northern ireland. there have been nine days over 20 degrees and today we had 21l degrees and that is five of the last nine days with those temperatures, six above average. back to today and we have a lot of cloud which is moving back in at the moment from the north sea thickening up moment from the north sea thickening up and they could be some drizzle

across eastern scotland, central