ultra low emission zone, aimed at reducing air pollution, can go ahead. donald trump says he will not end his 2024 presidential campaign if he is convicted and sentenced on the charges against him. hello, i'm nancy kacungira. welcome to verified live — bringing you breaking stories and checking out the truth behind them. the head of the presidential guard in niger has appeared on state television as the country's new ruler after leading a coup on wednesday. general abdourahamane tchani wore military fatigues as he read a statement on behalf of the national council for the safeguarding of the homeland.

niger's elected president, mohamed bazoum, is still being detained. it's reported that president bazoum spoke to the french president emmanuel macron early on friday and told him that he was "in good health". the new authorities have banned all public demonstrations. they said "acts of vandalism and wickedness" would not be tolerated after crowds looted the headquarters of the ousted president on thursday. some waved the flags of niger and russia. the united nations secretary—general, antonio guterres, has demanded the immediate and unconditional release mr bazoum. the european union has threatened to withdraw eird from niger in response to the coup. here is what abdourahamane tchiani had to say when declaring himself head of state a little earlier. translation: the action of the (nsf is motivated by the sole desire - to preserve our beloved homeland in the face of the continuous deterioration of the security situation of our country.

the fallen authorities have failed to give a real solution to the crisis and have provided poor economic and social governance. our correspondence has been tracking the story from neighbouring nigeria and give us the latest earlier. this cou has and give us the latest earlier. this coun has sent _ and give us the latest earlier. ti 3 coup has sent strong messages to the west african bloc and there are indications that ecowas leadership would be meeting in nigeria as soon as sunday to discuss developments in niger. this is the latest. back in that country, there is going to be some form of division as there has been a lot of support to the new leader as well as the president has been deposed, he has a large following base two. the other problem is the issue of ties with

the western allies. it is not clear yet the focus of the new military leadership of the country, if they are going to be remaining with the western allies or they are going to cut ties with them and join the neighbours, mali and burkina faso, in pushing towards russia. what neighbours, mali and burkina faso, in pushing towards russia. what we know about where _ in pushing towards russia. what we know about where the _ in pushing towards russia. what we know about where the ousted - know about where the ousted president is now? at know about where the ousted president is now?— know about where the ousted president is now? know about where the ousted resident is now? �* ., president is now? at the moment, we are hearin: president is now? at the moment, we are hearing that _ president is now? at the moment, we are hearing that the _ president is now? at the moment, we are hearing that the ousted _ are hearing that the ousted president is still being detained around the presidential palace and what many are suggesting is that he might be forced to write a resignation or sign his resignation, at least to pave way for the total takeover by the government by the military. takeover by the government by the milita . , ., ,, . ., , ., military. the permanent secretary at the uk department _ military. the permanent secretary at the uk department for— military. the permanent secretary at the uk department for economic - the uk department for economic development and served as secretary general for humanitarian affairs at the un. hejoins us now to discuss

what is happening in niger. thank you for making time to talk to us. what is your reaction to the events of the past few days, seeing a military leader installed himself as the new president in niger? niger for uuite a the new president in niger? niger for quite a long — the new president in niger? niger for quite a long time _ the new president in niger? niger for quite a long time has - the new president in niger? ii 33: for quite a long time has been a decent democratic government, an island of stability really in a sea surrounded by lots of military governments in places like child and burkina faso and mali. it is a very unstable, fragile region, badly affected by climate change, leading to competition for resources with livelihoods under tremendous pressure. so i think it is extremely sad. it is also quite dangerous for the region. it is not exactly clear to me how this is going to play out. there are some important regional countries that will not like what is

happening, nigeria being the most important of them. but it is a dark day, i think. important of them. but it is a dark day. i think-— day, i think. and be heard in a statement _ day, i think. and be heard in a statement from _ day, i think. and be heard in a statement from the _ day, i think. and be heard in a| statement from the mutineers, day, i think. and be heard in a - statement from the mutineers, who specifically warned against international military intervention. who do you think that message was aimed at and why?i who do you think that message was aimed at and why?— aimed at and why? i have no idea, frankl . aimed at and why? i have no idea, frankly- as — aimed at and why? i have no idea, frankly- as your— aimed at and why? i have no idea, frankly. as your correspondence i aimed at and why? i have no idea, i frankly. as your correspondence said just now, it is not clear which way this particular military regime is going to point. there is certainly little interest from any neighbouring country or a wider appeal i would imagine to intervene militarily, the only exception to thatis militarily, the only exception to that is russia and the waggoner group. they will be very interested in its phosphates and other minerals. and i'm sure they are already trying to make contact if they haven't already with the military leaders to offer help in exchange for access to those

resources. exchange for access to those resources-— exchange for access to those resources. ~ ~ ., ., . resources. we know that the french resident, resources. we know that the french president, emmanuel— resources. we know that the french president, emmanuel macron, - resources. we know that the french president, emmanuel macron, was| resources. we know that the french | president, emmanuel macron, was in touch with the former president, who told him he was in good health. how much of this coup... i told him he was in good health. how much of this coup. . ._ much of this coup... i think that the west as _ much of this coup... i think that the west as a _ much of this coup... i think that the west as a whole _ much of this coup... i think that the west as a whole has - much of this coup... i think that the west as a whole has made l much of this coup... i think that the west as a whole has made a mistake over too many years now in not providing enough development, assistance, economic assistance, support and humanitarian response, and also military support, so that governments with a democratic desire to meet the will of their people and provide better services have a higher chance of surviving. the french, to their credit in my opinion, tried quite hard to do that in mali, but it was too focused on a military response and there wasn't really enough developmental and humanitarian response, so the population could see some benefit of

western engagement. i think what we are likely to see is things get a lot worse for most of the population across most of these countries, but the west has made a mistake over many years in not engaging sufficiently, in my opinion. those who carried _ sufficiently, in my opinion. those who carried out _ sufficiently, in my opinion. those who carried out the _ sufficiently, in my opinion. those who carried out the coup - sufficiently, in my opinion. those who carried out the coup said - sufficiently, in my opinion. those l who carried out the coup said their motivation was the deteriorating security condition and bad governance in niger. just help us understand what life is like for the populous and why this movement has received as much support as it has? well, i think one of the things to understand is that it is is a region thatis understand is that it is is a region that is heavily infested by extremist groups motivated by getting assistance from islamic state, both in its original place of origin in iraq and syria, but in other places as well. and they are coming into a context where many local people have grievances because

of huge poverty and inadequate government provision of essentials, and they are able to exploit that. the military and many of these countries feel they need to take charge in order to head off that insurgency. but a better approach would be to keep civilian governments, to provide more support for those governance across the range of economic, development, humanitarian and military, there is need for military support because these insurgencies do need to be tackled, but unless you have a comprehensive approach like that you do open yourself up to the kind of risks we are seeing across the region and now in niger. we will continue to _ region and now in niger. we will continue to watch _ region and now in niger. we will continue to watch developments there. thank you very much for joining us with your thoughts. thank ou. the high court in london has ruled that a major plan which aims to reduce air pollution in the capital can go ahead.

the plan is to expand the city's ultra low emissions zone, known as the ulez. it currently covers the central area — shown in pink — on this map. drivers of the most polluting vehicles in the zone are charged £12.50 a day. london's labour mayor — sadiq khan — wants to extend the boundary of the zone to cover the whole of greater london. five conservative—led councils tried to have the expansion of the scheme halted — arguing that mr khan had exceeded his powers, but they have now failed. the extension is due to go ahead on august 29th. ulez has been at the centre of a major political row — and is thought to have contributed to labour's failure in last week's uxbridge by—election. here's our transport correspondent, katy austin. in harrow in north—west london, the prospect of the ultra low emissions zone arriving in just a month's time provoked some strong reactions. buying a new car — we can't afford it, it's rubbish. it's just to get more money out of the public, and it's not fair. others we spoke to agreed with the idea but had had to change their vehicle.

we sold the car, didn't get much for it because the demand for diesels wasn't great. and then had to have a big outlay into purchasing a new car. inside london's ulez area, a £12.50 daily charge applies for driving vehicles which don't meet certain emissions standards. it's aimed at reducing air pollution. it currently reaches up to the north and south circular roads but is due to take in all london boroughs from the 29th of august. while clean air campaigners support this, it has proved controversial, and it was a big issue in the recent uxbridge by—election. five local councils mounted a legal challenge against the expansion plan. they argued the mayor didn't have the power to extend the zone that far, and they attacked the consultation process and the scrappage scheme. today, a high courtjudge dismissed their challenge. the mayor has continued to insist his plan is necessary, and today he vowed to press ahead. the decision to expand ulez was a difficult one,

not one i took lightly — but it's essential because in our great city every year around 4,000 people die prematurely linked with air quality. there are children who have stunted lungs forever because of air pollution, adults with a whole host of health issues from asthma to cancer, dementia to heart disease. one of the conservative councils involved in the legal action says they won't appeal but will call on the government to intervene. we thought it was the wrong thing to do and the wrong time. we don't think it has the impact the mayor is now claiming it does. i really suggest the mayor goes and reads his own report that was part of his decision—making process that actually says this will have a very, very small impact on air quality in outer london. clean air zones have sprung up in other places, too, in recent years, including birmingham and bristol. the ulez expansion looks set to go ahead. the political debate will continue. katy austin, bbc news. around the world and across

the uk, this is bbc news. let's take a look at some other news making headlines across the uk. the natwest group has said it's launching an independent review into how coutts bank — which it owns — closes accounts. it comes after a major row over the closure of the former brexit party leader nigel farage's account at coutts and the resignaton of the natwest chief executive. the consumer group, which, has criticised the way portion size information is displayed on food packaging. it's described it as "confusing and unrealistic". in a new report, the body found people often couldn't work out how much sugar, fat and salt they were putting into their bodies. it says well—known brands of crisps and chocolate displayed inconsistent information. new data has revealed that serious allergic reactions are rising in england. they're now responsible for around 25,000 nhs hospital stays annually. health officials say the rate has more than doubled over 20 years.

members of the public are being encouraged to recognise allergies and respond. you're live with bbc news. and now to ukraine where the military says its forces are making steady progress in a counterattack against russian troops on the south—eastern front line. western officials say a major thrust is under way, although reports indicate ukrainian advances are relatively minor. ukrainian troops said they had taken a village to the east of zaporizhzhia city under intense artillery fire and air strikes. the russian president has said ukraine's attacks had significantly intensified. 0ur correspondent, james waterhouse, gave us his assessment of the latest developments on the battlefield in ukraine. i developments on the battlefield in ukraine. ~ . ukraine. i think there are interesting _ ukraine. i think there are interesting levels - ukraine. i think there are interesting levels to - ukraine. i think there are interesting levels to this | interesting levels to this counteroffensive, where it seems that for weeks we have had ukraine

probe for russian weaknesses while keeping the bulk of its forces in reserve, and we have seen russia pretty much do the same. and now, if you look at some corners of the west, we have had some us officials described today as being the start of a major thrust. there is a lot of excitement but ukraine isn't using the same kind of language. in terms of what we know, it seems ukraine has concentrated a lot of men and a lot of machinery in a south—eastern pocket of the front line where it is claiming to have liberated a village. which would equate to a gain of only a few kilometres. however, to even make that kind of a gain with the russian fortifications there, with landmines and the reports of heavy artillery and russian forces fighting back in some areas, it is clear that the ukrainian effort has dialled up to some degree. and this is somewhere

where ukrainian forces really want to try to push through and break a russian occupied land corridor in half. whether this is part of a much bigger trend, half. whether this is part of a much biggertrend, it half. whether this is part of a much bigger trend, it is too early to say. for now, it seems part of the typical too and fro of the front line, which has been the case for months, frankly.— line, which has been the case for months, frankly. james waterhouse re ortina . former us president donald trump says he won't stop his bid for relection in 2024 — even if he's convicted and sentenced. mr trump made the comments during an appearance on an online conservative us radio show. mr trump faces three new charges over his handling of classified documents after he left the white house. federal prosecutors filed an indictment on thursday evening — superseding formal federal charges made injune — to which trump has pleaded not guilty. mr trump and two of his employees at his florida estate, mar—a—lago, have been charged with obstructing the investigation into the former president's retention

of top secret documents. court documents claim that employees were asked to delete camera footage recordings of the basement, where classified documents had been stored, after they'd been ordered to produce the footage. for the latest, live now to our correspondent in washington, nomia iqbal. despite even these new charges, it seems like former president donald trump is not letting that deter his bed? . , trump is not letting that deter his bed? ., , ., , ., , bed? no, he is doubling down 'ust as ou would bed? no, he is doubling down 'ust as you would expect * bed? no, he is doubling down 'ust as you would expect donald h bed? no, he is doubling down just as you would expect donald trump - bed? no, he is doubling down just as you would expect donald trump to. l bed? no, he is doubling down just as. you would expect donald trump to. he said there that he said nothing would stop him from running for the presidency, and the truth is nothing can. there are very few qualifications you need to actually run for the presidency. in the latest, the updated charges of this indictment shows that the department ofjustice has always said that this isn't just about donald ofjustice has always said that this isn'tjust about donald trump possessing documents that he shouldn't have possessed, but they say it is also about him allegedly refusing to legally hand them over when he was asked to and then also

allegedly obstructing any attempts to retrieve them. but he has dismissed these charges, he has referred to the special council, the prosecutor who has brought them, jack smith, as deranged. this all comes as he is potentially facing a third indictment, and this is over his alleged role in the capital riots 202i. his alleged role in the capital riots 2021. and what we are looking at potentially next year during the election campaign season, when you have got this former president running to be the future president, potentially, is that he is facing five cases, four of them potentially criminal, in the face of six months. quite an extraordinary situation. and unprecedented. how are people reacting to this situation? does he still enjoy a lot of support despite these charges? he still enjoy a lot of support despite these charges?— still enjoy a lot of support despite these charges? he is the clear front runner for the _ these charges? he is the clear front runner for the republican _ these charges? he is the clear front runner for the republican party - runner for the republican party presidential runnerfor the republican party presidential nomination. we have seen with the previous two indictments that they actually

improve his standing among his core base of supporters come up with a lot of republican voters. he says this is a political persecution, all about president biden trying to weapon eyes the department of justice and stop him from running for the presidency, and there are lots of his supporters to believe that. whether the general american electorate back that is another thing. i rememberafter electorate back that is another thing. i remember after his first indictment in new york, speaking to a lot of trump supporters, and one man said to me, look, i am a trump supporter, but i don't think the general american public will go for a president that has been indicted, and i was after the first indictment. he is potentially facing a third and a fourth. we will have to see nearer to the time just how this does with the american public. indeed. it is always good to see you. thank you very much for your analysis, nomia iqbal. a 14—year—old boy has been arrested after a seven—year—old girl died, following what the police say

was a hit and run involving a motorcycle in walsall. the crash happened shortly after seven o'clock last night. police have given this update. about 7pm last night, in turnstone road in an area of walsall, emergency services started to receive calls about a terrible accident, and what we now know is that a seven—year—old girl was knocked over by a youth on a motorbike. that motorbike and rider did not stop and carried on, leaving the girl behind. numerous calls, unfortunately the young girl did during the night succumb to her injuries and has passed away." tell me about the arrest. if the action happened about 7pm, within two hours we had made an arrest and that young person, who is only 14 years of age, a suspect at this stage and has been arrested under suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. what about the bike?

yes, there's somebody out there who thinks it's acceptable to help hide the bike that killed a seven—year—old and failed to stop, being driven illegally. that's not ok. i'm appealing to the community developers find that bike as a matter of urgency because it's a key piece — of evidence as to what happened. can you expand on that? you say somebody thinks it's ok to hide that bike. there's are strong words. we were there very, very quickly. there were lots of members of the public. that bike would be in our possession right now but for someone in my view frustrating that. i am asking the community to help us find that bike.

the uk and ireland's chances of hosting euro 2028 appear to have improved significantly after uefa confirmed turkey and italy had requested to merge their bids to host the tournament in 2032. it is understood that turkey have not withdrawn their bid to host euro 2028, so remain a rival to the five—nation bid involving england, northern ireland, the republic of ireland, scotland and wales. a reporter gave us his assessment of where the tournament might end up. there are a few permutations here. that's the first thing we have to saw _ that's the first thing we have to saw we — that's the first thing we have to say. we are joining a few dots here but i _ say. we are joining a few dots here but i think— say. we are joining a few dots here but i think that is fair. next year, we have got the european championships in germany, but we are talking about the two championships after that, 2028 and 2032. in october, uefa are going to get around a table and they are going to look at the bids before awarding those competitions to host nations. those bids, which finalised a couple of years ago, i will come in now and for 2028 there are too interested parties. there is turkey and then there is also the uk and ireland. for 2032, you've got italy and turkey, they put

in independent bids. today, and this is the important bit, turkey and italy have said they want to merge their bids, they want to co—host the 2032 tournament. if that goes through, if uefa feel that meets their requirements and they get awarded that tournament in 2032, you have to think are they also going to give turkey the 2028 tournament? if the answer is no, which i think is quite likely, that means that england and the republic of ireland, northern ireland, scotland and wales, will see the tournament come here in 2028. and a lot of people are getting really excited about that prospect. some decisions still to be made, but as you say quite an exciting prospect. talk us through this idea of co—hosting. it is quite a pragmatic solution for countries that might otherwise not have met the requirements for an individual bid? there's two ways of thinking, you've got this cost of living at the moment, it costs a lot to put on tournament so you are spreading the cost. you could also say that turkey

were hedging their bets, they put their hat in the ring for both tournaments, so by saying so by saying "we're going to co—host with italy", italy then of course agreeing and there being no one else bidding for that tournament, they are ensuring that they get the tournament. co—hosting or having competitions over a vast number of countries is nothing new. we saw it during 2020 when the euros were going to be held over 11 or 12 different countries. as it happened, the pandemic got in the way of that and change the plans, and the men's final was played here in 2021. last year, we saw the european final here for the lionesses beating germany for european glory. it won't be too long, just five years to wait, we will see back here in 2028. at the women's football world cup, england have beaten denmark 1—0 to maintain their winning start to the tournament. laurenjames scored the game's only goal. england are now on the brink of reaching the knockout stages. earlier, argentina came

from two goals down to draw with south africa. their dramatic comeback in the final 20 minutes denied south africa their first—ever victory at a world cup. in the last game of the day, china took a 1—0 victory againt haiti. 0ur reporter yasmin dewan has spent the day watching the game with fans at a watch party in east london. she caught up with two women who created baller fc — a space dedicated to broadcasting women's football. a win for england, and now they're through to the next round. i mean, what's it going to be like for the games to come? there's no easy games. the way that the draw goes, we're going to be playing one of canada, australia, nigeria, whether we finish first or second. every single one of those teams has got something to fear, some momentum behind them, the home support, canada, have got so many world cup veterans in theirteam.

but the momentum is behind us. two wins, two clean sheets. we're just growing into the tournament and there's a lot to be positive about from today. are there any particular teams england need to watch out for? i mean, almost every team in this world cup! with what's been going on, it's been amazing to see particularly some of the smaller sides really step up and into it, particularly now that the world cup is expanded from 24 to 32. everyone's here on merit and it's fantastic. so i don't think, as em just said, there's no easy games. but obviously there are the usual contenders of, you know, the us, the netherlands, etc. spain have looked pretty amazing, germany scored a lot of goals already. so if we can get past either australia, nigeria or canada than it's going to get hard. but if we want to win it, we've got to beat the best. this is verified live. stay with us on bbc news. hello. friday was a pleasant enough day for most of us. how about the weekend? i

don't think it is going to be as bad as last weekend. but on the satellite picture, low pressure is close by and a fair amount of cloud and low pressure is heading our way. 0ver and low pressure is heading our way. over the next few days, we will see a succession of lows sweeping across the country. here is the picture, early in the picture it is not particularly cold, 13—15 c, sunny spells, already a few scattered showers. some of them on the heavy side. as we go to the course of the morning and into the afternoon, the showers may become frequent, particularly in northern ireland, scotland and northern england. these frequent showers, i think the further south and south—east you are. frequent sunny spells here. temperatures up to about 22 celsius, norwich, high teens expected in belfast and the lowlands of scotland. how does that but for the cricket? showers on the cards and of

course it is scheduled into monday, i think showers are expected until then as well. here is the spit early macro picture per sunday. another low heading our way and the weather front at this stage in the morning approaching ireland, with more persistent outbreaks of rain then reaching the south—west of wales. across much of northern england and scotland, there will be 20 of bright weather and actually quite sunny there in aberdeen and stornoway with highs of up to 18 celsius. i mentioned at the beginning of the forecast that there is a succession of low pressure is heading our way. indeed, thejet of low pressure is heading our way. indeed, the jet stream of low pressure is heading our way. indeed, thejet stream is pointing right at at us. look at all that rainfall notjust in the uk but right across europe. further south in the mediterranean, it is going to be dry. in northern ireland, 184% of the average rainfall, and in england around 163 of the average. but that does vary from region to region.

here is the outlook for the weekend and into next week. it is more of the same. 0n the cool side but not far off the average. and of course changeable. goodbye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... there are fears of another flare—up at the israel—lebanon border after a growing number of incidents.

after wildfires leave a trail of destruction in parts of southern europe, greece's prime minister calls for more action to tackle climate change. and kylie minogue announces her first las vegas residency — promising extravagance and glamour. the israeli military has said the country would be "totally united" against any attempt by militant groups to exploit its current social unrest. for months there have been protests over legal changes aimed at limiting the israeli supreme court's powers. earlier this week, the iranian—backed lebanese armed group suggested the demonstrations —— which have included dissent by military reservists — had left israel weakened. it comes after months of on—off tensions at the line separating israel and lebanon, which

have shown signs of escalating, as our middle east correspondent