cricket. welcome to bbc news now — three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we are going to start in russia, where president putin has said that the authorities will now investigate how money is paid to leave wagner group mercenaries was spent. vladimir putin has thanked troops and members of the fsb security service for their performance during last weekend's aborted mutiny by wagner group mercenaries. he held a minute silence for pilots killed during the mutiny. the authorities have confirmed that a criminal case against the wagner group has been dropped. our russia editor steve rosenberg gave me his assessment. l editor steve rosenberg gave me his assessment-— editor steve rosenberg gave me his assessment. ~ ,., , assessment. i think we saw the pomp and ceremony — assessment. i think we saw the pomp and ceremony that _ assessment. i think we saw the pomp and ceremony that we _ assessment. i think we saw the pomp and ceremony that we saw _ assessment. i think we saw the pomp and ceremony that we saw in - assessment. i think we saw the pomp and ceremony that we saw in the - and ceremony that we saw in the kremlin, pump with a purpose. the

whole wagner rebellion, the mutiny has been a big challenge to vladimir putin's authority. what we saw this morning i think was an attempt to change the optics in a way, to reframe what happened as a victory, a victory for vladimir putin. as the kremlin said, he was the one who averted major bloodshed. and a victory for russia. that is what came across in what he was saying when he spoke to the troops and the police. he congratulated for defending the constitutional order, silently basically stopped a civil war. there was a minute's silence for the russian air force war. there was a minute's silence for the russian airforce pilots war. there was a minute's silence for the russian air force pilots who had been killed in the mutiny. then at the national anthem played. so a lot of pomp. i think that's because at the kremlin was to show the russian people that, actually, as bad as it was to have a military uprising going on in the country, that they came through this and are

stronger. interestingly, that's the message that some of the ultra—pro— kremlin newspapers had been putting out this week. there was one incredible article i read yesterday which basically said that, actually, russia is stronger now. this is going to boost russia's stage, because it shows we can get through any crisis, external and internal. but we have opposition activists locked up for 25 years, and now we have this deal at the end of the mutiny which will see the wagner grip not prosecuted at all. what are people making of what appears to be that double standard? this people making of what appears to be that double standard?— that double standard? this is a disconnect — that double standard? this is a disconnect. on _ that double standard? this is a disconnect. on the _ that double standard? this is a disconnect. on the one - that double standard? this is a disconnect. on the one hand . that double standard? this is a - disconnect. on the one hand vladimir putin is saying that the leaders of the mutiny were criminals, traitors, they stabbed russia in the back. yet on the other hand the kremlin has done a deal with wagner to end the mutiny. as part of that deal, the

wagner fighters will have immunity from prosecution. so, round, although he has to leave russia and go to belarus, he is free, he is not arrested or locked up. questions have been asked. people are asking, hang on, how can you be locked up in russia for criticising the war in ukraine, and yet you can start an armed uprising in russia and not be locked up? so there is a disconnect. we can speak now to journalist leonid ragozin who has been watching the developments from riga. steve rosenberg reflecting on the words that vladimir putin had to say inside the kremlin. he later made a statement talking about the wagner group and their bravery and their heroism, then go on to say that the whole of the group was funded by the

state budget, and that they pay at the wagner company over $1 million. what they think vladimir putin is trying to do around that narrative when it comes to the wagner group? h when it comes to the wagner group? i think you are trying to point out that wagner was separate to the russian government, so it is therefore still to some extent controlled by the russian government. what he is trying to achieve is first of all there are the members of wagner back into the ranks of the russian armed forces. this is going to continue in the coming weeks. his message to them is basically that there is no way that yevgeny prigozhin will be able to pay their salaries even if they stay with him in belarus. the other message i guess is that there will be some kind of criminal case into, or our investigation into how this

money was spent. putin was saying that clearly some money might have been stolen. so that is what russian authorities are going to look into. we might see some criminal cases being opened because of that. we still don't know for sure where mr prigozhin is. that is speculation that a player that he was on has landed in belarus. what do you think is plan is now? —— a plane that he was on. it is plan is now? -- a plane that he was on. , , ., ., is plan is now? -- a plane that he wason. , , ., ., ., was on. it is very hard to say what he is planning. — was on. it is very hard to say what he is planning, are _ was on. it is very hard to say what he is planning, are not— was on. it is very hard to say what he is planning, are not sure - was on. it is very hard to say what he is planning, are not sure that l was on. it is very hard to say what. he is planning, are not sure that he has a definite plan. there is the expected handover of the heavy equipment, the hardware, by wagner to the defence ministry, but that is

not yet happening. and of course prigozhin is going to use this as a bargaining chip with the russian government. he is not going to hand it overjust because the russian defence ministry wants it. so this is still an ongoing situation. i don't think any agreements are set in stone. we will need to watch the coming days and weeks. [30 in stone. we will need to watch the coming days and weeks.— in stone. we will need to watch the coming days and weeks. do you think he could be — coming days and weeks. do you think he could be controlling _ coming days and weeks. do you think he could be controlling the _ coming days and weeks. do you think he could be controlling the wagner. he could be controlling the wagner group operations in africa? that he could be controlling the wagner group operations in africa?- group operations in africa? that is kind of what _ group operations in africa? that is kind of what he _ group operations in africa? that is kind of what he suggested - group operations in africa? that is kind of what he suggested in - group operations in africa? that is kind of what he suggested in his . kind of what he suggested in his latest statement, when he said that wagner group will continue to exist but in a differentjurisdiction. we now know that this new jurisdiction is belarus. alexander lukashenko,

the president of belarus, was saying today that belarus will be able to gain from wagner's experience. so it is becoming clear that wagner will still exist in some shape or form, despite the russian defence minister trying to dissolve it prior to this whole conflict.— whole conflict. thank you for “oininu whole conflict. thank you for joining us- — whole conflict. thank you for joining us. on _ whole conflict. thank you for joining us. on the _ whole conflict. thank you for joining us. on the ground - whole conflict. thank you for joining us. on the ground in| joining us. on the ground in ukraine, kyiv says its counteroffensive against russian forces has made advances on all fronts. president volodymyr zelensky has been seen handing out medals to soldiers who have been fighting in bakhmut in the east of the country. pro—russian commentators say ukrainian troops have crossed the dnipro river and retaken a village near kherson in the south. he was a key figure in britain's response to the covid—19 pandemic. and today matt hancock apologise again for every death that occurred. he told a covert inquiry that the comment had not prioritise pandemic planning. the former health

secretary said that resources were taken away from pandemic planning to focus on the threat of a no—deal brexit. i focus on the threat of a no-deal brexit. . ~ , , , , brexit. i take full responsibility for the fact _ brexit. i take full responsibility for the fact that _ brexit. i take full responsibility for the fact that in _ brexit. i take full responsibility for the fact that in the - brexit. i take full responsibility for the fact that in the face - brexit. i take full responsibility for the fact that in the face of l for the fact that in the face of brexit and the threats that a disorganised brexit could do, resources were moved across the department to focus on that threat, including away from pandemic preparedness planning. this was proposed to me by the cn and i signed i regarded the secretary of state's job not to run the department in terms of resource allocation, but to set the direction. but i signed off that decision. the thing is, you face a lot of risks and threats. mr hancock said at the uk _ lot of risks and threats. mr hancock said at the uk plus _ lot of risks and threats. mr hancock said at the uk plus my _ lot of risks and threats. mr hancock said at the uk plus my attitude - said at the uk plus my attitude towards a potential attitude was completely wrong. —— the uk's

attitude. i completely wrong. -- the uk's attitude. . , completely wrong. -- the uk's attitude. ., , . attitude. i was concerned the -- invented the _ attitude. i was concerned the -- invented the uk _ attitude. i was concerned the -- invented the uk planning - attitude. i was concerned the -- invented the uk planning was i attitude. i was concerned the -- - invented the uk planning was among the best in the world. of course, in hindsight i wish i spent that short period of time as health secretary before the pandemic struck also changing the entire attitude to how we respond to a pandemic. perhaps one of the reason that i feel so strongly about the importance of this inquiry and why i am so emotionally committed to making sure that it emotionally committed to making sure thatitis emotionally committed to making sure that it is a success, with full transparency and total, brutal and is honesty in answering your questions to get to the bottom of this, is because of this huge error

in the doctrine that the uk, and by the way that the whole western world had, and how to tackle a pandemic. that flawed doctrine on many of the problems that made it extremely difficult to respond. and if i may say so, i am profoundly sorry for the impact that that had. i am profoundly sorry for each death that has occurred. let s take you to sudan now, general and eddie also the... we are seeing early results from sierra

leone's presidential election, but that being branded as a daylight robbery by the challenger. with those from 60% of the polling stations tallied, the elections is that the incumbent has a 56% share. mr kamara fails on 42%. an audio recording has emerged of donald trump allegedly handling papers and saying they were "highly classified" during a post—presidential interview. during an interview with an author working on a memoir of his former chief of staff, mark meadows, mr trump is heard rifling through papers and saying "this is highly confidential�*". earlier this month he appeared at a federal court in miami charged with 37 counts of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing the government's efforts to get them back. he has denied the charges. let's take a listen to the audio recording obtained by cnn.

isn't that incredible? i was just saying because we were talking about it. and he said he wanted to attack iran. this was done by the military given to me. i think we can probably... we'll have to see. we have to try to... declassify. ..figure out, yeah. when i was president i could have declassified it, but now i can't, you know. isn't that interesting? cbs news correspondentjarred hill gave us more details of what donald trump said in the recording. there is not much more of this recording that at least cbs news has gotten a hold of yet. it is about 2.5 minute long, and in it you can hear president trump describing what hear president trump describing what he calls some documents, some sort of papers that he says are confidential, there are secret information, that he could have classified he said when he was in the white house, but does not have

the white house, but does not have the authority to do so now he is not president. this comes from a conversation that he was having in 2021 with people at his golf course in newjersey. going back to what we are seeing in this indictment in the case against him, there's a big question about what exactly the papers are that you hear rustling. if those documents are in fact the classified material that he is said to have been in possession of, or if these are just other papers and he is talking generally about the information.— is talking generally about the information. , ., , . ., , information. just to be clear, this could be the _ information. just to be clear, this could be the same _ information. just to be clear, this could be the same document - information. just to be clear, thisj could be the same document that prosecutors have used and that their indictment of donald trump? what prosecutors have used and that their indictment of donald trump? what we are hearin: indictment of donald trump? what we are hearing in — indictment of donald trump? what we are hearing in this _ indictment of donald trump? what we are hearing in this audio, _ indictment of donald trump? what we are hearing in this audio, although - are hearing in this audio, although these special counsel, the doj has not yet commented on the release of this audio. ~ . ., , not yet commented on the release of this audio. ~ . .,, ~ ., ., not yet commented on the release of this audio. ~ . ~ ., ., ., this audio. what has mr tom had to sa about this audio. what has mr tom had to say about this? _ this audio. what has mr tom had to say about this? he _ this audio. what has mr tom had to say about this? he has _ this audio. what has mr tom had to say about this? he has put - this audio. what has mr tom had to say about this? he has put a - this audio. what has mr tom had to say about this? he has put a couple of truth lay —

say about this? he has put a couple of truth lay on _ say about this? he has put a couple of truth lay on his _ say about this? he has put a couple of truth lay on his social— say about this? he has put a couple of truth lay on his social media - of truth lay on his social media platform last night, one saying the doj illegally leaked on the audio with this one, saying that this is an effort to essentially define him and that he did not do anything wrong. this morning he is reiterating essentially that he did nothing wrong here. but there isn't nothing wrong here. but there isn't no real question between whether he is admitting in this tape, in this audio, that he understood that he could have declassified this information when he was in at the white house and are not after the fight, which has been an argument from him and his team all along. what is happening now in terms of the trial? the what is happening now in terms of the trial? . ., , ., ., ., the trial? the trial, as of now at least, is scheduled _ the trial? the trial, as of now at least, is scheduled to _ the trial? the trial, as of now at least, is scheduled to start - the trial? the trial, as of now at least, is scheduled to start in i the trial? the trial, as of now at i least, is scheduled to start in mid august. butjust on friday at the department ofjustice requested that they pushed back until december so that trump's legal team has a lead time to get security clearances to deal with these classified documents. thejudge is yet deal with these classified

documents. the judge is yet to deal with these classified documents. thejudge is yet to make a decision on that one, but we have not got a decision yet. so as of now at least this is set to start in august. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's ta ke let's take a look now at some of the other stories making them easier in the uk. the government says it cost an estimated £60,000 more to send a migrant to a country like rowan that led to keep them in the uk. the figures come from an economic impact assessment of the illegal migration bill going parliament. it finds the cost of relocating an individual is £169,000. supermarket executives had been grilled over mps over why food prices are still rising, as are some wholesale costs are falling. a parliamentary committee is examining the cost of a weekly shop, with the uk present biggest grocers, tesco, sainsbury�*s and morrisons, set to appear. parents are being forced to spend hundreds of pounds on school

uniforms despite rules to lower the cost. £420 a year on secondary and during the £80 on primary school uniforms. as of last year, schools in england are meant to be helping to cut costs for parents. your life of bbc news. strike action by nurses at the royal college of nursing after the union's ballot of members in england failed to achieve a mandate. a majority of members voted to take industrial action but the numbers taking part in the about virtue though. speaking today at the ginger health minister maria caulfield said she welcomed in news and was pleased the government's pay offer which cannot into effect. obviously we are happy with the news that there will be no strike action. we found when we took the pay deal, which pat colin herself said was a fair deal and recommended it to her members, the other nursing and

health care unions, such as the gmb, royal college of midwives, recommended and accepted up for their members. it is a fair deal, 5% for this year, an extra 2% on last year, which was already about 1400 for average nurse. we welcome the fact that we did reach an agreement. now, captagon is a highly addictive drug that has brought misery to many people across the middle east in recent years. a joint investigation by bbc news arabic with investigative journalism network, occrp, has revealed new direct links between this multi—billion dollar drug trade and leading members of the syrian armed forces. emir nader reports. onjordan's border with syria, its army is fighting traffickers of a drug called captagon. translation: they are smugglers. our ground forces were informed and were ready for them. they fired directly at them, forcing them to retreat. they were crawling for their lives.

captagon is little known outside the middle east, where this highly addictive, highly accessible amphetamine—like pill is wreaking havoc. the syrian regime has been accused of making vast profits from the manufacture and export of this drug. now bbc news arabic has uncovered fresh evidence about exactly how this trade is being managed by members of the syrian elite. in sweida, close to syria's border withjordan, raji falhout led a militia aligned with the government of bashar al—assad. injuly 2022, falhout�*s bases were overrun by a rival militia. they found this machine, that could be used for pressing captagon, bags of pills, his military id and an unlocked phone. gaining exclusive access to the phone, we found a series of messages describing the purchase of the machine. what do you think, brother?

are you sure that the hummer can accommodate the machine? yes. but this drug trade is much larger than one man. in 2021, a trial began in lebanon against a well—known businessman called hassan daqqou. he was found guilty of captagon trafficking after a shipment was seized in malaysia worth over $1 billion. the case was heard behind closed doors, but we met with the judge to find out what was uncovered. translation: he said he was collaborating i with the fourth division. did he give any evidence of his connection to the fourth division? an id card issued by the fourth division. the fourth division is an elite unit of the syrian army. it's led by president bashar al—assad's brother, maher. the judge concluded that there was no evidence of links between syrian officials to daqqou's trafficking, but in a 600 page

confidential court document we found a series of whatsapp messages daqqou sent to someone he called �*the boss', whose phone number mostly consists of the same digit repeated many times. it's known as a golden number. translation: this number - was obtained from the company in the very first days and belongs to an important person in the authority. we've traced the number. high level syrian sources have told us it belongs to major general ghassan bilal. bilal is maher al—assad's number two in the fourth division and is understood to run its powerful security bureau. could you kindly renew the id cards for the guys i sent you? if the boss really is ghassan bilal, the conversation suggests that one of syria's most senior officers is linked to the illegal captagon trade, worth billions of dollars. the syrian government, ghassan bila and raji falhout didn't respond to our questions. hassan daqqou maintained that he's innocent and was working with authorities to prevent drug trafficking.

only last month, the arab league welcomed bashar al—assad back to the fold. as arab governments struggle to contain an epidemic of drug abuse, elites within syria continue to profit. a long—awaited report into cricket in england and wales has found that racism, sexism and class—based discrimination is widespread and deep rooted within the game. an inquiry was commissioned two years ago following allegations of racism at the english county team, yorkshire. it's concluded that most ethnically diverse players experience racism, that women are treated like second—class citizens and that cricket is dominated by players from private schools. no ship the chairman of the ecb has apologised unreservedly. dan roan reports. for england's cricket teams, this is a summer to be savoured. both men's and women's sides hosting ashes series. but the sport now faces a reckoning after a damning report laid bare entrenched discrimination.

the woman who led the independent commission for equity in cricket told me the game needed urgent reform. i think it's a watershed moment for cricket, i really do. our findings are unequivocal. racism, sexism, class—based discrimination, and elitism are widespread and deep—rooted throughout the game. the stories were absolutely horrific, and it goes to show that the culture in cricket is rotten. the report called holding up a mirror to cricket heard from more than 4000 people, with 50% saying they had experienced discrimination in the game. 75% of those who suffered it did not report it to the cricket authorities. i think the first thing i need to do, dan, is to apologise. and that's the first recommendation that the report made. so i think to those individuals that have been discriminated against, excluded, all of those individuals, the game, the ecb, the game as a whole owes them a real genuine apology, a heartfelt apology as to the fact

that this should be a game for all and unfortunately this report identifies the fact that it has not been a game for all. among many failings, the report found that women were treated as subordinate and second—class citizens, routinely experiencing sexism. that there was little to no focus on addressing class barriers with scarce provision of cricket in state schools. that a heavy drinking culture excludes many people. and that the ecb had failed to support black cricket. maurice chambers came to essex from jamaica as a teenager and said he experienced racism at the club. an investigation is ongoing. he wonders if young black players will even consider cricket as a career. how many people of my background do you see playing professional cricket now, these days? there's not many of them, are there? is this the kind of stuff i'm going to be faced whenever, whatever club that i will be playing for? nobody wants that. tomorrow, lords will welcome

a full house for the start of the second men's ashes test, one of the highlights of the sporting calendar. but alongside the excitement, the game is also now reeling after one of the most chastening reports to rock english sport in recent years. the game was already under scrutiny over the yorkshire racism scandal exposed by the county's former spinner, azeem rafiq. now with this fresh report making 44 recommendations including an independent regulator, the ecb has three months to come up with a plan to salvage trust across the whole of the sport. dan roan, bbc news. let's ta ke let's take you to new zealand because one of the most read stories on our website concerns the kiwi facing a conservation oil crisis because of invasion of species like rats. this unit is extending

extensive rat eradication websites. you can read all about how volunteers in wellington are on this big mission to eradicate the last rats that are there, but there is a big goal of the government. they want to complete eradication of rats from the by 2050. huge numbers of pilgrims gathering at is a lamb house holy site. it is the start the hajj. we had one or two love through the sunrise pictures sent to us this morning, like this one from the isle of wight. early cloud is associated with low pressure near iceland. a1 front brings damp to the northern with low pressure near iceland. a1 front brings damp

half of the uk. the air will be coming more humid as you go through the day and night. through the afternoon, the cloud will be thick enough to bring some patches of rain, most of the light, spotty from the midlands northwards. but we are going to see heavier bursts of rain across scotland for a time, it should stay dry and bright across the south, temperatures still quite widely into the low 20s. is it that she made way to macro air works its way into night we have increasingly thick cloud across western areas of the uk with extensive drizzle developing overnight. the other found that humid and cloudy weather will do is stop temperatures from falling very far. tomorrow morning is going to be a damp start to the day. probably staying dry in the east throughout the whole day. but another band of rain starts to move

across northern ireland, getting into scotland as we go through the day. this could be one or two heavier bursts on that front. temperatures could peak at 25 degrees if we see a few brighter spells across east anglia and south—east england. the best of any sunshine will be for western scotland and northern ireland late in the day. by thursday, fresher air arrives from the north—west. however, a band of rain to start the day across east anglia in south—east england could be particularly slow—moving, it might even at last all day. if that had happens the rain to be quite heavy, for example parts of essex who have only seen 7 millimetres of rain this month, so i'm sure gardeners and farmers would welcome that rain. any weekend of low pressure stays to the north—west of the uk, widespread showers on friday, and showers or longer spells of rain through the weekend across the north—west.

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