this is bbc news. to some breaking news now — the russian foreign ministry says it's imposing restrictions on british diplomats, requiring them to give russian authorities prior notice of any plans to travel beyond a 120km radius. it comes after the mi6 chief sir richard moore appealed yesterday to russians disaffected by the ukraine war to defect and work with his organisation. he made the appeal during his sole public appearance this year at the british embassy in prague, 55 years after the crushing of the prague spring by russian tanks. he also said that mi6 had recruited

a number of russians disaffected by the invasion and the war in ukraine. it is not clear if these things are linked, but the timing is certainly interesting stuff we will get some analysis of that, i'm sure, very shortly. an investigation by bbc newsnight and the british medicaljournal has uncovered a row over controversial research regarding the impact of abortion on the mental health of women. an independent panel resigned from the britishjournal of psychiatry after their recommendation to withdraw the research, which is still being used in us legal cases restricting abortion access, was not followed. newsnight�*s science correspondent, kate lamble, reports. this decision must not stand! we will abolish abortion! legal threats to uk publishers may be having a ripple effect on major us health care decisions. in 2011, us psychologist professor priscilla coleman produced research concluding women who'd had an abortion have an 81% increased risk of mental health problems.

the paper was mentioned in briefs submitted to the us supreme court as part of efforts to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. and it was cited by a texas judge who ruled that a major drug used for abortion should be withdrawn. but this influential research, published in the british journal of psychiatry, has been widely criticised. some argue it doesn't meet best practice guidance. because it does not meet those standards, we don't believe that the results are reliable or credible, and we called in 2012 for the retraction of that paper. the royal of psychiatrists, which owns the journal, also co—authored a review which found methodological problems brought coleman's results into question. professor coleman insists her work made relevant recommendations, and suggests that criticism is driven by the political nature of the topic. calls for a retraction were repeated in 2022. an independent panel investigated and recommended the paper should be taken down. the royal of psychiatrists are the owners of the journal

and just said that they were not prepared for that to happen, which is, i think, concerning, because usually you would have expected that to be an editorial decision. at that point, those of us on the panel who had been part of that investigation felt that we had to resign. some panel members are concerned legal threats may have influenced the college's actions. the bbc has seen letters sent during the investigation, saying that professor coleman would take any and all legal options available should the paper be retracted. if it truly becomes a thing where all they have to do is send a strongly worded legal letter, i think that will undermine confidence in the journal's ability to police the content that it publishes. the royal of psychiatrists says it rejected retraction request, given the distance in time since the original article was published, the widely available public debate

on the paper, and the fact it had already been subject to a full investigation in 2011. what might seem academic here in the uk continues to have real—life implications for women in the us. kate lamble, bbc news. you can hear more on this story on newsnight on bbc tonight at 22:30. yesterday was a historic moment that lg bt veterans had waited decades for — the prime minister, rishi sunak, apologised to those who had been sacked or forced out of the military, for being gay. it was illegal to be homosexual in the british military until the year 2000. a report into their treatment — which recommends that affected veterans are financially compensated — is now being considered by the government. lgbt and identity correspondent lauren moss has more. the ban on lgbt people serving in our military until the year 2000 was an appalling failure

of the british state. it's an apology they've waited decades for. many endured the most horrific sexual abuse and violence, homophobic bullying and harassment, all while bravely serving this country. today, on behalf of the british state, i apologise. an apology that means everything to those whose hopes and dreams were taken away because it was illegal to be who they are. but what's being called a watershed moment for lgbt veterans is just the latest in a battle for equality that's lasted more than 20 years. the decriminalisation of homosexuality in britain began in 1967. but it wasn't until 33 years later, the year 2000, that the ban on gay people serving in the military was lifted, when these four veterans took their fight to the european court of human rights. more than 20 years later, the government launched the lgbt veterans independent review

into the impact of the ban. yesterday, the prime minister apologised. the ban resulted in some people being investigated, imprisoned and left without a pension. dame kelly holmes served during the ban and being forced to live a lie stayed with her for years. so i lived in fearfor 3a years of the ban that was instilled while i served in the military. it stopped me living my life authentically. it caused me a lot of mental health problems and i wasn't able to actually officially come out until last year as a gay woman because, in my mind, i would still be persecuted or in trouble or, like, injail. a report has made more than 60 recommendations and suggestions, including financial compensation. the prime minister says the veterans should be proud of everything they've done to keep our country safe. laura moss, bbc news.

cows used to wear bells around their necks — but things have changed somewhat in somerset. animals grazing on national trust land are now remotely controlled — thanks to a collar they wear which is linked to satellites. it alerts the animals — with music — if they stray too far in the wrong direction. scott ellis reports. cows controlled by the collars around there next. you cows controlled by the collars around there next.— cows controlled by the collars around there next. you can see we have a solar— around there next. you can see we have a solar panel _ around there next. you can see we have a solar panel on _ around there next. you can see we have a solar panel on the - around there next. you can see we have a solar panel on the back- around there next. you can see we i have a solar panel on the back which charges the battery. they are nice and lightweight and flexible so the cow has plenty of room to move around, then there is a gps locator on the top so we can see exactly where the cows are at anyone time, and that links to the virtual fence behind us, or wherever we wanted to be. . ., . , . behind us, or wherever we wanted to be. ., , ., ., ., ., be. the collars mean the national trust can map _ be. the collars mean the national trust can map out _ be. the collars mean the national trust can map out an _ be. the collars mean the national trust can map out an area - be. the collars mean the national trust can map out an area they i be. the collars mean the national. trust can map out an area they want grazed on a mobile phone app. if the cow approaches an invisible boundary, it is music alerts. if it doesn't turn back, and tries to

cross the virtual fence, it gets a mild electric shock.— cross the virtual fence, it gets a mild electric shock. once they learn to no to mild electric shock. once they learn to go to the — mild electric shock. once they learn to go to the music, _ mild electric shock. once they learn to go to the music, everything - mild electric shock. once they learn to go to the music, everything is . to go to the music, everything is good _ to go to the music, everything is good it— to go to the music, everything is good. it takes about ten days for them _ good. it takes about ten days for them to— good. it takes about ten days for them to work it out. with a proper electric_ them to work it out. with a proper electric fence, they will always test the — electric fence, they will always test the boundaries. with the music, they are _ test the boundaries. with the music, they are less lucky to get a shock. you can _ they are less lucky to get a shock. you caniust — they are less lucky to get a shock. you canjust hear that musicjingle you can just hear that musicjingle coming from one of the cows' collars who stop you can see the cows immediately turn around to avoid a shock. all of this tech ensures the whole of this beautiful limestone landscape is kept grazed. the?t whole of this beautiful limestone landscape is kept grazed. they can be ic , landscape is kept grazed. they can be picky. they _ landscape is kept grazed. they can be picky. they will _ landscape is kept grazed. they can be picky, they will choose - landscape is kept grazed. they can be picky, they will choose the - landscape is kept grazed. they can be picky, they will choose the best grass. sometimes you want them to get into the scrub, some of the less

delicious stuff. now we can do that using the virtual fence. the high-tech _ using the virtual fence. the high-tech collars _ using the virtual fence. the high-tech collars are - using the virtual fence. the high—tech collars are useful in areas like this where the national trust isn't allowed to put up fences. expect to see and hear them soonin fences. expect to see and hear them soon in the cheddar gorge. a rare plant at the university of leicester's botanic garden, has finally bloomed again much to the delight of fans who have been waiting a very long time for it to happen. the agave succulent plant last flowered in 1998 — 25 years ago — as helen astle reports. standing at over 15 feet tall and peeping through the roof, this is no ordinary plant. the agave succulent is also called the century plant because originally early explorers thought it took a hundred years to flower. thankfully, they were wrong and it's just been the 25—year wait. it then has to be grown indoors.

there are a few botanic gardens that have got them and they nearly always have to take glass out the roof to get them to flower because the greenhouses is not tall enough. so we've had to take the top of the plant, which was an almighty shame. now, the last time the agave plant was flowering was back in 1998. tony blair was prime minister. the search engine google had just been launched and interest rates weren't 5% like they are now. they were 7.5%. we were there too to capture the moment. now, there are some weird plants in here gathered from around the world, settled in leicestershire, but none is settled better and none is weirder than this. the plant is certainly attracting a lot of attention. the botanic gardens had a big plant sale and family day at the beginning ofjuly, and for the first time ever, people were queuing to get in the greenhouse. i was just looking at the stem and it's like that big. i think it's pretty incredible. it kind of amazes me.

well, it's quite extraordinary, really. we've never seen anything like it before. just absolutely amazing. yeah. so i've been giddy as a kid. ram singh and his wife saw the last agave flower and have come back to see this one. 25 years is a long time. although it doesn't look long. it seems as if it's going like that. what does it mean to you to see it? better than even looking at taj mahal or something like that. it's much better than that. better than the taj mahal? because it is, of course, in nature. once it's finished flowering, it will gradually die and the whole plant will die. by the end of the year it will have been removed. visitors are being encouraged to come and see the once in a generation flowering plant as soon as possible. police in berlin are searching for an animal they think is a lioness on the loose.

residents are being told to stay indoors while the search is under way. but here's a twist — it's not clear where the big cat came from, as no local zoos or circuses are missing a lioness. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello. 0ur fairly unsettled spell of mid—july weather is set to continue. we've got relatively cool conditions out there at the moment. next few days, we'll see sunny spells and scattered showers. temperatures on the cool side for this stage of the month, but then wet and windy weather moves in during the course of the weekend. so this is the rainfall that we're expecting to accumulate over the next few days. some areas receiving 50, perhaps as much as 70 millimetres of rain. so some wet weather certainly on the way, and it's really looking unsettled for the remainder of the month. now through this afternoon, sunny spells, a few scattered showers, particularly across parts of scotland. this is an occluded front here. cool to the north of that, just 13 or 1a degrees. further south, high teens, low 20s. few scattered showers

for parts of eastern england, one or two further west, but they fade away through the evening and overnight for most of us. bit more rain working in tonight across parts of northern ireland. and we've got a few patchy showers across parts of scotland as well. to the north of that, a fairly cool night, eight or nine degrees and we could see temperatures down in single figures for parts of central england too. so tomorrow morning then starts off for many of us on a dry and bright note. more cloud moving in across northern ireland. also parts of northern england into wales as well will see a bit more cloud bringing the odd shower. during the afternoon, sunny spells and again scattered showers. like previous days, most of them are going to be across parts of eastern england, but you could catch one elsewhere. 15 to 19 degrees for most of us, perhaps the low 20s in the southeast. but of course, for the men's ashes and for the open golf that continues, the weather is looking, i think, predominantly dry, but there is at both of those events, a chance of a passing shower. heading on into saturday now, anf this area of low pressure moves its way in from the atlantic. so really from the word go, it affects western parts of the uk. gales developing down towards the southwest in particular. but wherever you are it's going be

a blustery day with that rain spreading eastwards, i thinkjust the far north of scotland getting away with some slightly quieter weather there. temperatures between about 17 to 19 degrees for most of us on saturday. and it looks like low pressure lingers into sunday as well. so here it is, just slowly edging its way eastwards. quite a few isobars on the map. so a spell of blustery weather for sunday into monday. we've still got the tail end of that area of low pressure as well. so it is looking a little bit up and down for sunday and into monday. some sunshine, but also some scattered, blustery and at times fairly heavy showers. bye— bye.

welcome to the programme. we start with the fifa women's world cup which is well under way in new zealand. co—host australia beat the republic of ireland but it was the