of putin's narrative. these create more cracks in the russian facade. and bbc�*s exclusive interview with christine dawood, the wife and mother of the father and son who died in the titan sub disaster. hello. i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. we start tonight in russia where many questions remain unanswered a day after the wagner chief yevgeny prigozhin abandoned his short—lived rebellion against the kremlin. currently, the whereabouts of both prigozhin and russian president vladimir putin are unknown. the wagner chief was thought to be heading into exile in belarus after agreeing to end his advance on moscow. well, the rebellion and subsequent retreat surprised many, and is being seen as the most

serious challenge to president putin's grip on power in over 20 years. here's us secretary of state anthony blinken ealier. i think we're in the midst of a moving picture. we haven't seen the last act. we're watching it very closely and carefully. but just step back for a second and put this in context. 16 months ago, russian forces were on the doorstep of kyiv in ukraine, thinking they'd take the city in a matter of days, thinking they would erase ukraine from the map as an independent country. now, over this weekend, they've had to defend moscow, russia's capital, against mercenaries of putin's own making. prigozhin himself in this entire incident has raised profound questions about the very premises for russia's aggression against ukraine in the first place, saying that ukraine or nato did not pose a threat to russia, which is part of putin's narrative, and it was a direct challenge to putin's authority. so this raises profound questions. it shows real cracks. we can't speculate or know exactly where that's going to go. we do know that putin has a lot more to answer for in the weeks and months ahead.

to assess how ukraine's allies will be reacting to the situation in russia, i spoke with ian brzezinski, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for europe and nato policy. thank you so much forjoining us here or that the programme. we understand that president zelenskyy has been speaking to nato allies including us president biden about the turmoil we have seen in russia. how do you think nato allies should be supported to ukraine in light of what we have seen in light of what we have seen in russia so they can capitalise on the situation? now is the time for nato to step up support for ukraine as ukraine is taking a challenging counter offensive the alliance to do several things — increase economic functions on russia, further exacerbate the economic

divisions and stresses the country is facing and were repealed over the last couple of days. now is the time to further step of the flow of military equipment to uk, particularly long—range strike capabilities that ukrainians have been asking for and have been using the was that they have which a limited range, using them effectively. third, now is the time for the west to demonstrate to russia decisively that putin's hegemonic ambitions are unattainable, that it will never be able to subordinate ukraine again and towards that end we approach the summit and now is the time for the alliance to really fully extend alliance to really fully extend a invitation for nato membership to ukraine. i a invitation for nato membershi to ukraine. . membership to ukraine. i wanted to ask - to _ membership to ukraine. i wanted to ask - to you — membership to ukraine. i wanted to ask - to you think _ membership to ukraine. i wanted to ask - to you think there - membership to ukraine. i wanted to ask - to you think there is - to ask — to you think there is a possibility that a putin could change at the timeline for ukraine entering nato? it should actually accelerate the timeline because russia has been demonstrated

timeline because russia has been demonstrated to timeline because russia has been demonstrated to be timeline because russia has been demonstrated to be not really in a very strong position to be really able to block that. certainly look geopolitically based on the performance of its military, not only gives the ukrainians but against a small, armed mutiny. it does not have the military capacity to really exercise a confirmed deterrent against such nato action. [30 against such nato action. do ou against such nato action. do you think — against such nato action. do you think nato allies will do that? ., ~ ., ., ., , that? you know, i am not sure they will. _ that? you know, i am not sure they will. but _ that? you know, i am not sure they will, but i _ that? you know, i am not sure they will, but i am _ that? you know, i am not sure they will, but i am struck - they will, but i am struck by they will, but i am struck by the fact that i think there is a consensus in nato that would allow for something bold at the summit, such as an invitation to nato if the united states were believed to take that position because today literally the united states is the only roadblock to uk's aspirations to join nato. the only roadblock to uk's aspirations tojoin nato. it is the one that has been most hesitant to initiate the process of ascension. antony

bfinken process of ascension. antony blinken said _ process of ascension. antony blinken said that _ process of ascension. antony blinken said that the - process of ascension. antony | blinken said that the rebellion showed fresh cracks in president putin �*s leadership. what do you think nato allies are thinking right now about the future of putin in power? i think they are properly stunned by the fact that putin's authority has been revealed to be not as robust as previously assumed. his resume has been demonstrated to be divided to the point where they are factions worry against each other. prigozhin was one of his closest allies. we are struck probably by the fact that the russian military was not able to do much against prigozhin mutiny that seized the southern command centre responsible for the conduct of operations against ukraine. it is a mutiny that featured a convoy that was several hundred kilometres north with some of 400 vehicles, defeating russian helicopters that were attacking it. it is a mutiny that has

revealed deep dissatisfaction within russian society about putin's wall. i mean, the fact that prigozhin was able to seize rostov—on—don without a shot being fired at them when he left the other day was cheered off by the russian population shows that putin's authority has significantly diminished.— diminished. what about prigozhin _ diminished. what about prigozhin and _ diminished. what about prigozhin and what - diminished. what about prigozhin and what the | diminished. what about - prigozhin and what the kremlin has been calling a mutiny? do you think you will fade away quietly? is this the last that we will hear from quietly? is this the last that we will hearfrom him? it is we will hear from him? it is hard for _ we will hear from him? it is hard for me _ we will hear from him? it is hard for me to _ we will hear from him? it is hard for me to think- we will hear from him? it is hard for me to think that i hard for me to think that prigozhin�*s future is a healthy one. this is a man who was one of putin's most supposedly most trusted allies and partners within the regime. he conducted an insurrection. richard called it a stab in the back, treason, said that would be fierce punishment. to allow prigozhin to write peacefully off into the sunset is not very pretty

like it will raise real questions about the control over his own government so he has to act properly it the new term to instill greater discipline within his regime that i think that will require him to probably impose some sort of punishment on prigozhin —— putinesque like. sort of punishment on prigozhin -- putinesque like.— -- putinesque like. amid all of this instability _ -- putinesque like. amid all of this instability that _ -- putinesque like. amid all of this instability that we - -- putinesque like. amid all of this instability that we appearl this instability that we appear to be seeing unfolding in russia right now, how concerned do you think nato allies are about the possibility of this spilling over? should they be looking more closely at the eastern flank?— looking more closely at the eastern flank? they should, of course. look, _ eastern flank? they should, of course. look, when _ eastern flank? they should, of course. look, when you - eastern flank? they should, of course. look, when you have l eastern flank? they should, of. course. look, when you have an insurrection of this magnitude at a major operational command seized by mutineers, one has got to raise questions and concerns about the security of russian nuclear weapons. it has got to raise concerns about how putin might try to respond and

divert attention from this attack to instill greater — re—establishes community not only within his regime but the russian people, to try to edit escalate horizontally so i would watch and monitor carefully the borders with russia. the fact that the russian armed forces have been demonstrated to be so inept that they could not even really handle a mutiny by a small force, not an insignificant force, not an insignificant force, but a force that should have been easily crushed, probably demonstrates to putin and his commanders they are not ready for a wider war. trier? ready for a wider war. very interesting _ ready for a wider war. very interesting analysis - ready for a wider war. very interesting analysis there l ready for a wider war. very - interesting analysis there from the deputy assistant secretary of defence for europe and nato policy. you for being with us. thank you. the past 48 hours call into question just how firm vladimir putin's grip on russia actually is. for now, at least, his main opponents are in exile or in prison. so what happens next? bill browder is an anti—corruption activist and author and putin critic. i spoke with him earlier.

welcome to the programme. after a startling 24 hours in russia, what do you think full president putin? putin comes out of this whole mess looking much weaker than he did going into it 48 hours ago and that is a real problem for him. that kind of weakness will attract other people do have a go at him, to challenge his authority and to potentially try to do the same thing, so from putin's perspective, he needs to be what i call the meanest guy in the prison yard. he needs to show his teeth. he needs to show that he can be more brutal than anyone else, and what that means is he is going to start rounding up anybody that he thinks is disloyal, anyone who isn't completely on his side,

and those people will end up either injail or dead. there is going to be a purge in russia that would make stalin blush, and that is the only way that putin can reassert his authority and exit this risky moment that he is in where other people will try the same thing. bill, do you think ultimately that he can survive this? i think that this is the beginning of the end for putin, but how long that end process takes, i could not predict. i think that it is truly a game changer because everybody thought he is a polular guy, that people support him, but these trips of prigozhin�*s rolled into rostov without any type of opposition. they did not even have to fire a single shot. they then rolled into another town and they were cheered. what this suggests is that putin is not popular, that people were actually rooting for the other guys and that is

a really damaging realisation for the russian people, for everyone to look around and say, "actually, everyone shares my views which is that these guys are not doing any good," and that will be difficult may be an impossible thing to recover from. what about prigozhin? do you think you will go quietly to belarus or challenge putin again? i think that he is still a very integral part of the whole russian system. remember that he was a guy who was doing all the hacking of the us elections using his internet research agency. he is a guy who is running some mercenary operations in africa for different african leaders which is effectively russia's foreign policy in africa, and he is a person who was integrally involved in the whole invasion of ukraine. i think that he is probably too important a person to disappear, and what he did was unforgivable,

but at the same time, if they got rid of him, they don't have anyone else like him. in fact, his wagner mercenary group was the only fighting group that the ukrainians had respect for. everyone else in the russian military ukrainians laugh out as they killed them. so, i think we are a long way from seeing prigozhin quietly disappear into the sunset. i don't think that will happen in any way, shape or form. how does he behave towards putin? that is an important question but i am sure he will remain a player in russia. what about further opposition? ijust wonder, bill, if watching the further developments, could opposition to putin's rule be emboldened now from other quarters, and if so what could that mean? i think it is absolutely going to be emboldened. anybody who dislikes putin, and there are many people who do will say, "wow, the king is not wearing

"clothes. "let's think of our plan. "let's come up with something." so, at the end of the day, those opportunities for those people will very much depend on how ruthless putin becomes in his crackdown. and we are going to see a crackdown like we have never seen before in russia, and how effective that crackdown is and how scary it is for regular people who don't like putin will determine how much opposition comes and how many other people decide to have a go at him. well, tell us more about how you envisage a potential crackdown, because these events, they will not have gone unnoticed by the russian people. what do you think that this could mean for them? i think we are going to see many, many people arrested, many people — government officials, military officials, oligarchs — anybody who putin thinks is not 100% supportive of him, 100% loyal, will find themselves in jail or killed, and putin will make a public display of this in order to demonstrate

to everybody in russia that there is either death or prison on one side or total loyalty on the other side. and he has to do that as a dictator in order to stay in power. and what do you think this could potentially mean on the battlefield then? what could this mean for ukraine? it is great news for ukraine. first of all, the wagner private military company was the only effective fighting force against the ukrainians. they no longer exist, and many of those people will disburse. the ones thatjoined the regular ranks are going to be led by inferior officers. so, wagner disappears, and then you have this other problem which is russia has now witnessed how weak their differences are in all cities like rostov and voronezh and all of the places that wagner was, and so russia is going to have to devote

military resources to reinforcing their own internal security, and that means less people on the front in ukraine, less resources in ukraine. and, thirdly, what this shows is that the more that ukraine has a success, the more people fight with each other in russia. so, i think that all these things really play into ukraine's hands in the counteroffensive and i think this is excellent news for ukraine. with all of that in mind, how do you think other countries right now are viewing president putin? i think everyone around the world is looking at him as a weak leader, as somebody much less in control than before before, much powerful, less vicious than we saw before, and that weakness will cause him all sorts of troubles, both internationally and domestically. it is a total disaster for putin.

this last 48 hours is really the worst thing that i have ever seen happen to him in the 23 years that he has been in power. thank you for being with us. thank you. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news, bring you different stories from across the uk. nara is showing me a laminated photo of her then two—year—old son from a set she had when she was on an isolation ward in bristol during her treatment 30 years ago. i was consciously aware that, if i died, he wouldn't remember me — and i didn't want that. despite chemotherapy, nara's cancer came back aggressively, and she says she was the first patient with hodgkin's lymphoma to be offered a stem cell transplant in bristol. i knew that it was very serious at that point. i'd been told that my cancer was very aggressive and aggressive treatment was needed. it has led to other health problems for nara throughout her life, but she says she's grateful to have survived longer than expected as a result of the doctors' pioneering work

in the early �*90s. and i increase the numbers every year, every year that i live. and without the unstinting support of the nhs, i certainly wouldn't be here today. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. in the uk, rishi sunak has urged people to "hold their nerve" over rising interest rates as the bank of england tries to bring down inflation. the prime minister told the bbc�*s sunday with laura kuenssberg programme that the uk would "get through" concerns over higher mortgage rates for millions of homeowners if the government stuck to its plan. here's our political correspondent tony bonsignore. soaring food prices, sky—high energy bills, rents and mortgages going through the roof. today the prime minister again sought to calm growing fears about the state of the economy.

this week you have told people it is going to be ok. do you understand why people looking at their mortgage bills, shopping bills, worrying about keeping the roof over their heads, they will listen to you and think, "it is not going to be ok for me"? i have never said it is not challenging, i have never said it will not be a difficult time to get through, but i want to give people the reassurance and confidence is that we have a plan, the plan will work and we will get through this. that is exactly what people should be hearing from their prime minister and government. but with interest rates already at a 15—year high and more rate rises likely from the bank of england, there are fears this could push the uk into recession. there isn't an alternative to stamping out inflation. is there an alternative to putting up interest rates? that is one component of what we need to do to tackle inflation, that is what the bank of england's responsibility is. my responsibility is to manage the government's

borrowing responsibly. to millions of worried households, the prime minister's message was this. i get it is challenging, it will have an impact on the short term, but we have to stick to the course and i want people to be reassured we have to hold our nerve, stick to the plan and we will get through this. the government has moved to help some mortgage owners, a move largely backed by labour, but it is clear that there are no easy answers. we are asking the government to make sure this applies to all banks and all lenders by making those proposals mandatory. but most of all the difference between us and the tories is we are saying you have to fix the underlying problems here. mps return to westminster on monday knowing the cost of living crisis is the number—one concern for many voters. tony bonsignore, bbc news. in greece, authorities are facing new allegations about failing to help people on board a sinking migrant boat last week. the bbc has now heard evidence

from several survivors who accuse the greek coastguard of sailing away from the boat, when it was clearly in trouble. the heavily overcrowded vessel, which had set out from libya, began sinking about 50 miles south—west of the coastal town of pylos. on board were migrants, many of who were believed to be pakistani. 0ur correspondent khalid karamat from the bbc�*s urdu service reports. at least 82 people died when this vessel sank, with fears up to 500 more people perished. in athens, i spoke to this man via video call. he says that the boat that eventually rescued people moved away from him in the water. translation: i was in the water for an hour. l i swam to the ship as it was far away. they had to put a speedboat and were rescuing, but had gone far away. 0n hearing the news of the boat sinking, many pakistanis from around europe travelled to greece. many said they had relatives on board.

they came here with pictures and details of their loved ones, hoping someone might be able to give them a lead. translation: he says the agent has - taken 2.5 million rupees and isn't answering calls now. the boy's mother is really worried and so is the father. the boy is only 15. for many of the families, their struggle ends here. the only hope they have left is to submit their dna to the greek authorities. if the dna is matched with the bodies recovered, they may get some closure. 0therwise, their struggles continue. the greek authorities have ended the search operation and little hope is left for the recovery of further bodies. but the survivors' testimonies continue to cast doubt on the version of events presented by greek authorities. and there's now calls for an independent inquiry. khalid karamat, bbc news, athens. in other news: sierra leone's main opposition leader says soldiers have opened fire on his party's headquarters, as votes are counted in the country's

presidential election. samura kamara described it as an assassination attempt. it's unclear why the troops were deployed. in sweden, one person has died and nine others have been injured, including children, after a rollercoaster accident in the capital, stockholm. the incident happened at the i40—year—old grona lund amusement park. eyewitnesses say the park's jetline rollercoaster partially derailed during a ride. the park was evacuated after the accident and will be closed for at least a week, while police invesitgate. —— closed for at least a week, while police investigate. sir eltonjohn has performed his final uk show with a headlining performance at glastonbury. he was joined by four surprise guests and his final song was rocket man. sir elton is nearing the end of his final tour after a 52—year career. people across england, scotland and wales were unable to call 999 for around two hours this morning after a technical fault forced people to use an alternative to get help. bt, which manages the service, says the glitch has been resolved.

a woman who lost her husband and son when a submersible imploded in the atlantic last week has told the bbc she was supposed to be on board, but gave her place to her 19—year—old son. shahzada and suleman dawood were among the five men who were on board the titan. christine dawood has been speaking to nomia iqbal. the sentence, "we lost comm." can you give us a sense of what it has been like for you the past week. it it has been like for you the past week-— it has been like for you the ast week. , ., ., ., , past week. it is unfathomable but what is — past week. it is unfathomable but what is it _ past week. it is unfathomable but what is it like? _ the sentence, "we lost comm." i think that would be a sentence i will never want to hear in my life again. like, lost comm, as in, we lost communication. were you aboard the vessel, were you here? yes, i was aboard the vessel, i was on the ship.

somebody came down and said we lostn _ somebody came down and said we lost and — somebody came down and said we lost and i— somebody came down and said we lost,. and i think i didn't comprehend at that moment what that meant. and then itjust went— that meant. and then itjust went downhill from there. so the first— went downhill from there. so the first day was when the communication was lost and then it was_ communication was lost and then it wasjust — communication was lost and then it wasjust waiting, communication was lost and then it was just waiting, like, communication was lost and then it wasjust waiting, like, 0k. are — it wasjust waiting, like, 0k. are they— it wasjust waiting, like, 0k. are they going to come back up? we were — are they going to come back up? we were waiting for them and they— we were waiting for them and they said _ we were waiting for them and they said it was not uncommon but they— they said it was not uncommon but they will come up. so then we were — but they will come up. so then we were able that they —— able to confirm _ we were able that they —— able to confirm that they were coming _ to confirm that they were coming back up and from there it was— coming back up and from there it wasjust... . when we passed

the 96 — it wasjust... . when we passed the 96 hours mark that is when i the 96 hours mark that is when i lost _ the 96 hours mark that is when i lost hope and that is when i sent— i lost hope and that is when i sent a — i lost hope and that is when i sent a message to my family onshore _ sent a message to my family onshore and said i am preparing for the — onshore and said i am preparing for the worst. that is when i lost — for the worst. that is when i lost hope _ you can see the full exclusive interview with christine dawood at the top of the next hour, here on bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. we ended the weekend with some very big contrasts in our weather. across many northern parts of the uk, the heavens opened — downpours in places with thunder and lightning, gusty winds, too. this is what it looked like earlier on the satellite image as that cold front swept across the country and you can see where all lightning has been. this is now mostly out to sea and the skies have cleared across many western areas. all the while, further south in lincolnshire,

temperatures reached 32.2 celsius. and many will be pleased to hear that the week ahead is looking a lot fresher, but it will be a changeable one with some rain at times for our parks and gardens. let's have a look at the forecast, then, as we head through monday. that weather front is now well out to sea, and behind it, we've got these fresher atlantic conditions, so in the morning, belfast, 12 celsius, 13 in birmingham and around 15 expected in norwich and london. and it's going to be a beautiful sunny morning and a fine afternoon as well with scattered fair—weather clouds developing and, yes, a few showers will develop across northern ireland, parts of scotland and northern england, too. how about the temperatures? about average for the time of the year — 18 in glasgow, 23 expected in london. now, tuesday's weather map shows another low pressure heading our way, so cloud and rain, yes, but this one

is also going to push in rather humid and warm air from the southern climbs — subtropicalair, infact, so extensive layered cloud across the uk. a lot of rain across northern and northwestern areas. towards the southwest, quite murky around some coasts, and it will feel quite close, even though the temperatures won't be that high — 22 in london, 20 in belfast. if the sun pops out, it will turn a little warmer. and it will be a slow process for this low pressure to swing by because on wednesday, this cold front is still moving across the uk, and that will give one or two downpours, especially across the northern half of the uk. ahead of that cold front, it's still very warm on wednesday in london, and norwich about 25 celsius. that takes us towards the end of the week, and the jet stream will push in yet another low pressure, but that one will bring rain mostly to northwestern parts of the uk — not much rainfall expected in the south. so, let's have a look at the week ahead — at a glance, quite a changeable week. i think temperatures will be pleasant. 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.