into the titan submersible, which was destroyed last week. all five people on board were killed. we start with what has been an extraordinary 2a hours in russia. the head of the wagner mercenary group, yevgeny prigozhin, has left for belarus. prigozhin told his forces to return to their bases earlier to "avoid bloodshed" after negotiations with belarusian leader alexander lu kashenko to end their rebellion against the russian defence ministry. wagner fighters have been leaving the southern city of rostov—on—don according to reports. security had been tightened in moscow, with the mayor telling residents to avoid travelling. all mass outdoor events have been cancelled untiljuly 1. but russia's tass news agency is now reporting that all restrictions previously

imposed on russia's motorways have now been lifted. here you see the wagner leader departing russia for belarus earlier, following the announcement to cancel the rebellion. prior to that announcement, a huge convoy had been heading towards moscow in what vladimir putin had described, as an attempted mutiny. charges against prigozhin and his wagnerforces will be dropped. president putin's press secretary said that wagner mercenaries who wish to sign a ministry of defence contract can, and fighters who took part in the uprising will not be prosecuted. a video substantiated by bbc verify shows a wagner fighter firing his rifle into the sky as he and other mercenaries withdraw from rostov. and here you see tanks boarding trucks and leaving the area. earlier in an audio message posted on telegram, prigozhin said the time had come to stand down. translation: they wanted

to disband the wagner. - on 23june, we went out on a justice march. within a day, we were just 200 kilometres away from moscow. during that time, we did not spill a single drop of blood of ourfighters. now, the moment has come when the blood can be spilt. therefore, understanding all the responsibility for the fact that russian blood will be spilt on one of the sides, we're turning our columns back and leaving in the opposite direction, to the field camps, according to the plan. in the last hour our colleagues at bbc russian have also reported on an explosion heard in the southeast ukrainian city of zaporizhzhia. that's according to the public broadcaster in ukraine. an air raid alert has apparently been declared in the region. zaporizhzhia is the site of the largest nuclear power plant in europe that was captured by the russians last may. this news comes after ukraine's president zelenskyy accused russia of plotting a terror attack on the plant.

moscow denies it. earlier i spoke with former cnn pentagon correspondent and senior fellow at university of southern california, barbara starr for her thoughts on all of this. prigozhin, as we know, is reportedly headed to belarus. is this it for this open feud with the defence ministry? i know it is a huge question, but where could this potentially go? you know, the question does anybody think prigozhin is going to quietly go into retirement and live happily into old age — people who challenge russian leadership, that does not often happen to them. so that will be one thing to watch. what will happen with the wagner group? they had some 50,000 fighters inside ukraine, according to the british mod, at one point. and the big question perhaps right now is, what about putin? how damaged is he? is his position weaker?

will he lash out? and the russian military high command, the defence minister, shoigu, the chief of staff, gerasimov, these are guys that putin... he had been estranged from them in recent days. perhaps the one thing he had in common with prigozhin is neither of them liked the way the war was being prosecuted at some point, and it was a few days ago that the us intelligence community began to see the signs of this — that prigozhin might have been stockpiling ammunition and weapons. what was he going to do with all of that? that is still a big question. did he really think he was going to get to moscow and depose putin? it seems extraordinarily unlikely. so what happened here, and what is going to happen now? very few people know the answer. huge question marks, as you say, barbara, right now. in light of these remarkable events, what kind of conversations do you think the us administration is having

behind closed doors right now? well, i think they are probably trying to figure out topic number one — what happens with putin now? will he remain in power? will he remain in power as strong as he is right now? is his position damaged? if it is, does that emerge right away or does it sort of chip away over time? and if there is that kind of instability in russia, further instability, what does that mean? what does it mean for the russian military? what does it mean for the war in ukraine? what does it mean for nato�*s eastern flank that butts up against russia in ukraine? because it is one thing the intelligence community needs to gather as much information on as it can — learn more. they know that's theirjob. for the us military and for the military services in europe, along the eastern flank, what they don't like is uncertainty. they want to know what they need to be prepared for,

and right now they just can't be sure. on that point about uncertainty, do you think there will also be a conversation here about being a little bit caught out? are there any indications that us officials were slightly surprised by this? right, i think that there are indications they knew but they didn't know exactly. so was it knowable, if you will, what prigozhin was going to do and how putin might react, and that lukashenko would be brought into all of this? this became a very complicated mix of developments within several hours, so was that even knowable? and they will have to go back and look at that. will we ever find out the answer? maybe not, but they will need to go back and figure out what they heard, what they saw, what intelligence they had and what it really all added up to — and did they miss any signs, so they don't miss it next time.

according to the new york times, us security officials were warned as early as wednesday that prigozhin was preparing to act. the newspaper cited us intelligence sources and noted their immediate concern had been how it would affect moscow's control of its nuclear weapons arsenal. well, in the last hour i spoke to democratic congressman jason crow who shared his perspective on the latest developments. just to begin, your thoughts on what we are seeing? it is what we are seeing? it is surprising _ what we are seeing? it is surprising that _ what we are seeing? it is surprising that it - what we are seeing? it 3 surprising that it happened but not necessarily that it happened. we have been watching the wagner group for a while and we have seen how yevgeny prigozhin has been consolidating power. he has been testing his power over the past years are not surprising it happened but the speed on

which he marched on moscow and how quickly he got and as far as he got in moscow is pretty shocking. as he got in moscow is pretty shockina. ., as he got in moscow is pretty shocking-— as he got in moscow is pretty shockina. ., ., ,, ~ , shocking. how do you think this could impact — shocking. how do you think this could impact the _ shocking. how do you think this could impact the us, _ shocking. how do you think this could impact the us, russia? . shocking. how do you think this | could impact the us, russia? in a could impact the us, russia? in a couple of ways. number one, putin is absolutely weaker, no doubt about that but also the russian military is significantly weaker. you have disrupted commanding control of the russian military, was in a lot of changes in the weeks ahead. you have drastically hit the morale of the russian military and author taken one of the biggest and most powerful tools that putin had, the wagner group, the mercenary army of almost 30,000, some of the most experience, battle tested soldiers they had in their arsenal and you have taken that out of it. this is what has been holding the line from russian to the last six months in many places in the south and in the eastern provinces. they are now effectively neutralised on the

battlefield and at the same time ukrainians are pushing the counteroffensive so it will absolutely have an impact upright congressmen, how do you think the ukrainians can use this to their advantage on the battlefield? i'm a former army ranger so i have been in war a few times in afghanistan in a special operations capacity one of the principles of war is that when there is an opening and something happens you can move quickly, boldly and aggressively to take advantage of that. that is what i think the ukrainians will do. they have never missed an opportunity to take advantage of an opening. the being bold right now is something that they will probably do. you had that situation _ they will probably do. you had that situation happening - they will probably do. you had that situation happening on i they will probably do. you had | that situation happening on the ground in ukraine. you have yevgeny prigozhin going to belarus and we don't essentially know what his role will be there but we know that the feud between putin and yevgeny prigozhin has clearly been spilling out into the open. 0ther been spilling out into the open. other concerns that essentially we can set spill over into a more serious

conflict and if that is the case what should the us do? h0 case what should the us do? no doubt case what should the us do? in? doubt about that. a week and insecure joe doubt about that. a week and insecurejoe biden or putin is not a good thing, don't get me wrong, i'm no fan of putin. i would love to seem not be the leader of russia but when you look at the global political element, the wagner group has its arms in many places around the world, africa, middle east and a number of autocrats that rely on the wagner group for their own security to prop up their own security to prop up their regimes. it becomes interesting when one of them withdraws in those areas, whether it destabilises and whether it destabilises and whether other conflicts in africa and the middle east in particular might be coming to the surface here in the weeks ahead. ., , ., �* ahead. how should the biden administration _ ahead. how should the biden administration respond - ahead. how should the biden administration respond to - ahead. how should the biden i administration respond to that? one thing the biden administration is already doing is they have been engaging over the last couple of months with some of the countries that have

been very reluctant to take sides in the conflict and have been silent about russia's aggression in ukraine. they have been talking to the countries and saying look, this is the battle for freedom and democracy. you cannot stay neutral. russia is not a stable, reliable partner and should come our way, it is more beneficial to align with democracy then it is autocracy. actually, as a matter of fact, there are senior officials in new york right now meeting with those countries and delegations from places in the global, south africa, and other places, trying to make the case and frankly all they have to do is turn the television on and it makes the case for them. there is no future in partnering with an autocratic country, particularly russia, because there is no predictability and stability in that.— stability in that. thank you, ou sit stability in that. thank you, you sit on — stability in that. thank you, you sit on the _ stability in that. thank you, you sit on the health - stability in that. thank you, - you sit on the health committee of foreign affairs and thank you for being with us. —— on

the house committee. let's look back at the past 2a hours. early friday, prigozhin questioned the war in ukraine, blaming russian defence minister sergei shoigu, claiming he did it to gain military honours. prigozhin called for an armed rebellion and accused the kremlin of hitting his troops with a missile strike on friday. in moscow, security is stepped up as wagner takes rostov—on—don. on saturday, prigozhin declared 25,000 of his troops crossed the borderfrom ukraine in the early hours of the morning. russian president vladimir putin denounced the "criminal adventure" and warned of punishments in a tv address. over the course of the day, wagner forces made progress towards moscow, seizing military facilities in voronezh. just hours ago, prigozhin said that he had agreed to stop the movement of his troops, turning them around from their route to moscow. belarus revealed its leader, alexander lukashenko, had been holding talks with prigozhin and putin. russian state media reported prigozhin is leaving for belarus and criminal

charges against him and his troops will be dropped. as wagner's leader leaves for belarus troops, i spoke to hanna liubakova, a belarusianjournalist and researcher. welcome to the programme and thank you for being with us. firstly, what you have reports that it was president lukashenko that brokered the deal. why was he the person to do that, you think? i deal. why was he the person to do that, you think?— do that, you think? i think we should not — do that, you think? i think we should not exaggerate - do that, you think? i think we should not exaggerate his - do that, you think? i think we | should not exaggerate his role here and first both minsk and moscow kept saying that he played a really significant role but at the same time he may have been just the technical player here. you may have just served as a, sort of support after the renegotiations took place between the real actors, who is putin and yevgeny prigozhin said the results of that. we have seen that prigozhin has

been sent to minsk, belarus but the question is what role, what prigozhin would do in minsk? what role he played there? willie stay in power, in of the wagner group and so on? most importantly hear what it shows to us is that lukashenko plays the role of putin's puppet and belarus has become a backyard for russia. d0 belarus has become a backyard for russia-— for russia. do we know more about the _ for russia. do we know more about the deal— for russia. do we know more about the deal that _ for russia. do we know more about the deal that he - about the deal that he reportedly brokered and the reportedly brokered and the reported guarantees? i reportedly brokered and the reported guarantees? i don't have many — reported guarantees? i don't have many details _ reported guarantees? i don't have many details now, - reported guarantees? i don't have many details now, the l have many details now, the kremlin spokesperson said that prigozhin will go to belarus. at the same time, wagner mercenaries will, those who did not participate in this armed rebellion, they could continue fighting, they could send agreements with the russian army and it's not clear what they want to do with the rest.

they also said that prigozhin�*s criminal case will all be forgotten, basically, so if like an amnesty, i think, for prigozhin. like an amnesty, i think, for prigozhin-— like an amnesty, i think, for priaozhin. ~ ., ., ., prigozhin. what about the role of lukashenko _ prigozhin. what about the role of lukashenko here? - prigozhin. what about the role of lukashenko here? will- prigozhin. what about the role of lukashenko here? will it. prigozhin. what about the role of lukashenko here? will it bej of lukashenko here? will it be his role to try to ensure that yevgeniy prigozhin does not do something like this again in the future? it something like this again in the future?— the future? it might be the case but — the future? it might be the case but i _ the future? it might be the case but i don't _ the future? it might be the case but i don't really - the future? it might be thej case but i don't really think that lukashenko has enough tools to stop prigozhin from doing the same thing again. let's remember that in just one day, yevgeniy prigozhin was able to almost reach moscow. so, i don't really think that a man with such ambitions and an ability to risk in this situation would really listen to lukashenko. but again, i think if putin will ask lukashenko to somehow control prigozhin or somehow speak with him so lukashenko will certainly do this.-

him so lukashenko will certainly do this. and what does this _ certainly do this. and what does this say _ certainly do this. and what does this say about - certainly do this. and what does this say about the - does this say about the relationship between vladimir putin and lukashenko and also belarus's role in this war? it had previously been used as a staging post at various points. do you think we could see that happening again? {iii do you think we could see that happening again?— happening again? of course. lukashenko _ happening again? of course. lukashenko is _ happening again? of course. lukashenko is fully - happening again? of course. lukashenko is fully involved | happening again? of course. l lukashenko is fully involved in this war in the sense that he supports routine in every way possible. all the rest became a springboard for the egg invasion at the beginning of the forced invasion in february and now it says mostly as a training ground —— belarus. lukashenko supports routine in every way but this recent rebellion of prigozhin shows the weakness of putin. and i think this will also have effects on lukashenko and on the entire regime, on the entire system in belarus and certainly we can make for a week and lukashenko, a weakened

printing means a weakened lukashenko so certainly this is one of the greatest results of this situation because it will definitely affect the moods inside belarus. it may seem victorious right now, may seem as one who benefited from the situation is this negotiated in chief but i think it is not, in the longer term, it will only affect him. the longer term, it will only affect him-— the longer term, it will only affect him. . , ., ., affect him. ultimately, what do ou think affect him. ultimately, what do you think this _ affect him. ultimately, what do you think this means _ affect him. ultimately, what do you think this means for - affect him. ultimately, what do you think this means for the . you think this means for the belarusian people? will they be seeing a feud essentially between prigozhin and pretend play out in the open and lukashenko as a strong ally once again of putin? what do they think this will mean for them? i they think this will mean for them? ., , they think this will mean for them? ~ , ., ,., they think this will mean for them? ~ ., , them? i think this also shows them? i think this also shows the belarusian _ them? i think this also shows the belarusian people - them? i think this also shows the belarusian people that i them? i think this also shows| the belarusian people that the future of the regime depends on the situation of putin in russia on the kremlin. so, this brings belarus again closer to the kremlin and this definitely makes this friendship, in no way, orthis makes this friendship, in no way, or this alliance between lukashenko and pretend stronger for now but also we see that

russian instability also affects the liveris and it's not really invincible as lukashenko keeps showing to the belarusian population.— belarusian population. hanna liubakova, — belarusian population. hanna liubakova, thank _ belarusian population. hanna liubakova, thank you - belarusian population. hanna liubakova, thank you for - belarusian population. hannal liubakova, thank you for being with us. . ., liubakova, thank you for being with us. ., ~ , ., and for more on this story, please head to the bbc news website and app with full background, analysis, and the latest bbc reporting. it's been a year since the us supreme court overturned the 1973 roe versus wade ruling that gave women the constitutional right to abortion. as activists marched across the country to mark the day, anti—abortion rallies also took place. former us vice president mike pence urged his republican rivals in the race for the white house to support a nationwide ban on abortion after 15 weeks. as we celebrate the progress that we've made we gather here knowing that we have not come to the end of this course.

we've come to the end of the beginning. and the work for life goes on. all across america. meanwhile, vice president kamala harris said the overturning of roe versus wade has created a "health crisis". right now in our country, 23 million women of reproductive age live in a state with an extreme abortion ban in effect. 23 million women, which means right now in our country, one in three women of reproductive age live in a state with a band. —— a ban. here's more from our north america correspondent sophie long. legal abortion on demand! all: legal abortion on demand! as news broke of the supreme court's ruling, protests erupted across america. abortion became illegal automatically in some states. in others, bans were swiftly signed into effect and clinics closed.

mississippi's last abortion provider is now a furniture shop. but those who worked here are still performing the procedure two states and 17 hours' drive away in new mexico. we moved everything from jackson here and we opened the facility here for women. mostly — we mostly serve texas women here. i think it's a great loss for the women in mississippi. i think it's a... i think they have taken it, just like they have everything else in mississippi, and they've taken mississippi backwards. in mississippi, everything has changed and nothing has changed. in the poorest parts of america's poorest state, for some, accessing an abortion was almost impossible before the ban. often, the only support available is at crisis pregnancy centres run by anti—abortion organisations. i understand single parenthood. tearily: | understand not. knowing if food will be there.

i understand the lack of resources. i understand what a lot of these women are going through. i understand infertility. i understand the decision of do i abort, do i keep? i understand a lot of things that maybe, when you look at women like me or others that run facilities like this, that we don't understand, but we — we do. over the past 12 months, the united states has become a confusing patchwork of abortion laws. in texas, where i am now, it's illegal. butjust across the border in new mexico, women still have the right to choose. and so, doctors like aaron campbell travel thousands of miles every week to perform out the procedure legally. i'm not in my own clinic because we had to close. it's a felony in tennessee to provide abortion. i believe in this right for people to be able to make this decision for themselves

and i believe that they should be able to get that care from someone who knows how to do this safely. meanwhile, in mississippi, even though terminating an unwanted pregnancy is now illegal, anti—abortion activists continue their campaign. the abortion pill, the poison pill, in mississippi — we know that it can be sent through the mail or across the border, so we're concerned about women still obtaining unsafe abortions without the proper medical care. and then also, women can still go across state lines. last year, an important battle may have been won by the anti—abortion lobby but the fight over reproductive rights in america continues with no end in sight. sophie long, bbc news, mississippi. investigators in canada have boarded the support ship used to launch the titan submersible last week.

all five people on board were killed. the ship, the polar prince, returned to port in newfoundland, where officials are gathering information. bbc�*s nomia iqbal reports. the polar prince made its long journey home nearly a week since it left for the high seas. a flag flew at half—mast out of respect for the five men who died. these are among the last known pictures of the submersible. the polar prince launched it into the atlantic last sunday but contact was lost an hour and 45 minutes later. they notified the coast guard after more than four hours. following an international search lasting days, parts of the sub were eventually found on the seabed near the titanic wreckage. it had suffered a catastrophic implosion. as the polar prince gets ready to dock, this isn't the end of its story. the vessel is going to be investigated. there are lots of questions about how, why and when did this disaster happen? the buoyancy tanks used to launch the sub were towed away.

inspectors from canada's transportation safety board entered the vessel. they will interview staff and crew. the us coast guard will also be involved. wreckage of the sub will be examined, too. its owner 0ceangate is facing criticism. the bbc has seen e—mails which accuse the late ceo stockton rush of putting clients at risk, which the firm has denied. once you leave that dock, it's very, very dangerous... the tragedy has affected people here in a province used to maritime disasters. you've got to have respect for the ocean. because you might not fear it but you've got to have respect for it because if not, the ocean comes first. we hope for the best outcome but it was really tragic to hear. i — you know, deep down, we always have a little bit of hope but, yeah, it was really, really sad. my god. what they're going i through, you know? you don't wish that on no family. - no family whatsoever.

i would've wished a better. outcome, maybe, but it's too unforgiving out there. the chances of the men's bodies being recovered is near impossible but these investigations will aim to bring answers and some closure to their grieving families. nomia iqbal, bbc news, stjohn's, newfoundland. you're watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey in washington, dc. thanks for your company. i'll see you soon. goodbye for now. hello. a hot night out there, very humid indoors, too, after what was a hot day. on saturday in the south—east of england, temperatures hit 29 degrees celsius and sunday is going to be hotter still. again, humid for many of us and there's a chance of storms, particularly across northern parts of the uk.

now, some of the storms could be pretty nasty with frequent lightning, hail and gusty winds. this is what's happening right now. there is a cold frontjust to the west of our neighbourhood. it is going to sweep in some fresher conditions but ahead of it, we've got that plume of heat and also moisture, that humidity coming in from the southern climes, so there is a change on the way. this is what it looks like early in the morning on sunday, those temperatures still holding around the high teens. this is where the weather front is. it's ready to sweep across the uk. not everybody�*s going to get the rain. the rain will fall in northern ireland during the morning, then the skies will brighten up and it'll be a fresh afternoon. and then, that rain will reach scotland and parts of northern england. there'll be a few showers in wales, too, but it's across northern and eastern scotland, the north—east of england and all the way down to lincolnshire — this is where we're likely to see the heaviest downpours with the hail and the gusty winds as well. south of that, that's where we'll have the heat and humidity.

in london and the south—east, temperatures could hit 32 degrees celsius but for the west, it's going to be fresher — plymouth, 23, about that in cardiff, and i think a very pleasant 19 degrees celsius in belfast in the sunny spells and maybe the odd shower. and during the course of sunday evening, still some showers there across parts of scotland and northern england but for many of us, a very pleasant end to the day. let's have a look at monday now. we're sort of in between weather systems. 0ne weather front clears away, another one waiting in the wings out towards the west of the uk. so, the morning starts off sunny on monday. through the course of the afternoon, clouds will bubble up. there'll be a few showers here and there, particularly across northern parts of the uk but, essentially, a very pleasant day — a lot fresher, too. you really will notice the difference across many parts of england. in london, from the 32 degrees, more like 23 degrees celsius. and if we have a look at the weather for the week ahead, you can see the weather is looking a little bit mixed every now and then but still pretty warm in the south — temperatures low or mid 20s. the high teens expected

further north. bye— bye.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme.