i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. the nation of niger is grappling with the ramifications of a military coup. niger's democratically elected president mohamed bazoum was overthrown as part of the coup and detained. bazoum was first elected to office in april 2021 in niger's first peaceful democratic transfer of power. on friday, general abdourahamanay tchiani, who also goes by omar tchiani, appeared on state television, announcing himself as the country's new ruler. he was dressed in full military gear as he read a statement on behalf of niger's national council for the safeguarding of the homeland. he urged the population to remain calm. have a listen.

translation: the action is motivated — translation: the action is motivated by _ translation: the action is motivated by the _ translation: the action is motivated by the sole - translation: the action is| motivated by the sole desire translation: the action is i motivated by the sole desire to preserve our beloved homeland in the face of the continuous deterioration of the security system in our country. the foreign authorities have failed to give a real solution to the crisis and have it provided poor economic and social governance. our bbc correspondent chris ewokor has been following the developments from niger's neighbouring country of nigeria. the coup has been condemned by both the regional and international community, although it's gotten the support and backing of the wider military hierarchy in niger, as well as some of the citizens who had come out to demonstrate and show their support for the action of the soldiers. niger, a landlocked country rich in uranium but one of the poorest in the world, has joined three other countries that have been under military rule to become the fourth country in the west african subregion

under military rule. the regional bloc will now be working to see how it can negotiate a quick transition to military rule. at the moment we are about of president bazoum is not known. he is believed to be detained by the military in the presidential palace and there are indications he would be forced to sign a resignation that we effectively hand over the government of niger to the hands of the military. niger is used as a hub in the fight againstjihadist extremism, but there are now indications that the coup risk affecting the fight againstjihadist extremism and collaboration of western allies, especially france and us, which have their bases in the country. chris ewokor, bbc

news, abuja, nigeria. the 2024 campaign season is getting fully under way tonight as 13 republican presidential candidates are taking to the stage in the us state of iowa. here is a live look at the event where larry elder is speaking. we believe that he is speaking. the candidates are addressing a major republican dinner with donors at a critical moment for their presidential campaigns. former president donald trump is expected to speak as he faces new legal charges and a looming third indictment. it's the first time his main rival, florida governor ron desantis, is appearing on the same stage as mr trump. my colleague carl nasman spoke earlier with cbs news senior white house and political correspondent ed o'keefe for the latest on the campaigns. ed o'keefe, thank you so much forjoining us. i just want to start with these latest charges that were unveiled against former president donald trump. how has his campaign

responded today? they've essentially brushed it off and said that, you know, this continues to be part of what they call a witch hunt, politically motivated work by the biden administration and prosecutors that they question and don't believe that it will have any real detrimental effect on their standing politically. he made clear in a radio interview on friday that despite all of this, he intends to continue running for office, that there's nothing in the constitution that stops him from doing so. and he's right about that. and look, despite the legal issues, he enjoys high double digit leads over the rest of the field. right now here in iowa, it's somewhere between 30 to a0 points. in national surveys it can be as much as 30 or a0 points as well, and nobody yet has been able to really catch him. i want to ask about your recent interview with donald trump's rival, florida governor ron desantis. rival, florida governor ron desantis-— desantis. does all of this le . al desantis. does all of this legal stuffy _ desantis. does all of this legal stuffy is _ desantis. does all of this legal stuffy is facing - desantis. does all of this legal stuffy is facing to i

legal stuffy is facing to qualify him? fist legal stuffy is facing to qualify him?— legal stuffy is facing to qualify him? legal stuffy is facing to auali him? �* ., qualify him? at the end of the day voters _ qualify him? at the end of the day voters make _ qualify him? at the end of the day voters make their - qualify him? at the end of the day voters make their own - day voters make their own decision _ day voters make their own decision. people ask me if someone indicted should they be able to— someone indicted should they be able to run and we have had political _ able to run and we have had political indictment so that we -ive political indictment so that we give any— political indictment so that we give any prosecutor the ability to render_ give any prosecutor the ability to render someone ineligible so i to render someone ineligible so i have _ to render someone ineligible so i have not— to render someone ineligible so i have not said that and i also think— i have not said that and i also think at— i have not said that and i also think at the end of the day the election— think at the end of the day the election has got to be about the future. it has got to be about— the future. it has got to be about what people are concerned about _ about what people are concerned about and — about what people are concerned about and the more it is about other— about and the more it is about other things the more biden is able _ other things the more biden is able to— other things the more biden is able to hang out in the basement and cruised to a victory— basement and cruised to a victory and i know republicans don't — victory and i know republicans don't want that to happen. what did ou don't want that to happen. what did you make — don't want that to happen. what did you make of— don't want that to happen. what did you make of the _ don't want that to happen. wiagt did you make of the governor's response? well, it's an example of of how they're trying to work around direct criticism of the former president. he said, look, it's up to the voters to decide whether this is something that disqualifies him. he himself won't go that far. some of his other lesser known opponents have, and they're not doing as well in the polls. but what he also says repeatedly when asked about trump is the country republican voters in this primary want to think

about the future, need to be focused on that. and how can the gop find a way to defeat president biden? because if the party gets mired in the legal troubles of the former president again, then, as desantis says, the current president, joe biden, will be able to run again from his basement in delaware, as he did during the pandemic, and get away with a lot of things he says. let's focus instead on defeating the current president. i'm the better option for that and not necessarily the former president. but at this point, his standing continues to slip. the florida governor this week had to trim his sails, cut. about 38 staffers, travel with a far smaller footprint than he had before because of concerns that he's spending too much money too quickly and may not have enough to even survive into the fall. you've been watching him in iowa. he spent a lot of time there, much more time than the former president, donald trump. has he been able to get any traction? you mentioned those poll numbers, but what have you seen

in terms ofjust the one—on—one interactions with florida governor ron desantis and iowa voters? well, it's still very early. so, you know, what's happening injuly isn't necessarily indicative of what will be happening injanuary. and just like in a long season of football, american or otherwise, you don't want to peak six months before the championship. you want to be doing better when it comes to the playoff season, and we're not there yet by any means. live now to sarah smith, who's watching the speeches in iowa. good to see you sarah. what's stood out to you from what you've heard so far? well, what has been fascinating is how the candidates do or do not talk about donald trump and the fact that they had been additional criminal charges laid against him. most candidates have avoided mentioning him at all and no—one yet has said his name but — that is not true, actually. a congressman got the

only booze of the evening when he said the only reason that donald trump is running for president is to stay out of jail. the audience did not like that one bit. they were rattling cutlery and billing him off the stage. ron desantis, though, he came at it from a completely different angle. it was a pretty strong performance from him tonight. he is not always the greater speaker when he gets up on a stage but he was fired up on one of the points he made was that if he was president the first thing he would do good and the weaponisation of the federal government. he would fire the director of the fbi. he would fire a lot of people at the department ofjustice and that was sending a message to trump supporters say "i am on your side. i agreed the former president is being unfairly targeted by the justice system." so he is trying not to alienate the people voting for trump while trying to get them to his side.

this is going to be the first time that we see donald trump sharing the stage with ron desantis. how do you expect that you play out?— that you play out? well, unfortunately _ that you play out? well, unfortunately they - that you play out? well, unfortunately they won't that you play out? well, i unfortunately they won't be onstage at the same time stop as you can probably see behind me one speaker comes up for ten minutes at a time. if they go over, the mic is turned off and the next one comes up. you might imagine in this huge ballroom with diners and tables you can see how people will react and read their body language, afraid not. each candidate has a sweet backstage. they come onstage and delivered their ten minutes and delivered their ten and leave again and we don't see any interacting with each other but we are able to judge their performances against each other. it has been clear that some people have had a better reception here and the most excitement was when ron desantis took the stage. he is

treated as a celebrity among this crowd but there is still happy anticipation waiting for donald trump who should be on in about ten minutes and i imagine we will see a barnstorming performance that will be what everybody came to hear. it will be what everybody came to hean will be what everybody came to hear. . ., , , will be what everybody came to hear. . . , , ., hear. it will certainly be an interesting _ hear. it will certainly be an interesting and _ hear. it will certainly be an interesting and closely - hear. it will certainly be an - interesting and closely watched performance, sarah. it comes at a time when the former president is facing myriad legal concerns — cases stacking up legal concerns — cases stacking up against him. do you expect him to mention those? he never has it shied _ him to mention those? he never has it shied away _ him to mention those? he never has it shied away from _ him to mention those? he never has it shied away from it - him to mention those? he never has it shied away from it when . has it shied away from it when he has been facing other charges, and i talked to lots of people before the dinner began. many said they have not made their mind up yet. they are keeping an open mind about who to support but there are a lot of trump stickers worn by people at this dinner and several of them, as you hear all over the country, they don't believe any of the charges that have been laid against president trump. they think it is a political plot to

stop him returning to the white house and that this has been made up by the biden administration to attack someone who they see as their biggest rival for the 2024 elections and there is huge scepticism in this room full of republican supporters about the charges that have been laid against donald trump, so if you want to come out here and tell them he is an innocent man who is being unfairly targeted, i think he will get a pretty good reception. think he will get a pretty good rece tion. ,,. ., ,, think he will get a pretty good recetion. ., ,, ., . reception. sarah smith in iowa. good to talk — reception. sarah smith in iowa. good to talk to _ reception. sarah smith in iowa. good to talk to you. _ reception. sarah smith in iowa. good to talk to you. thank - reception. sarah smith in iowa. j good to talk to you. thank you. extreme heat that began in the us south—west is now being felt across the central and eastern regions, putting some 200 million americans under extreme weather warnings. we're seeing record breaking temperatures in several major cities including phoenix, arizona, which saw its 28th consecutive day with a high temperature exceeding 110 degrees fahrenheit, which is over 43 degrees celsius. the ongoing heatwave is also threatening our allergies. the centers for disease control

and prevention is projecting a steep increase in cases of alpha—gal syndrome. that's because the tick that carries it has been moving north as temperatures warm. what is alpha—gal syndrome? it is a rare meat allergy from tick bites that may have already impacted as many as 450,000 americans. symptoms vary from person to person, but according to the cdc can include include stomach cramps, diarrhoea, hives or itchy rashes, and shortness of breath that could trigger fatal anaphylaxis. mosquito—bourne disease cases are also of concern in the us. just last month, the centers for disease control and prevention said they identified a handful of cases where malaria was transmitted locally from mosquitos in texas and florida. that's the first time that has happened in 20 years. a short while ago my colleague carl nasman spoke to dr vanessa kerry, the world health organization's first special envoy

for climate change and health. first of all, we heard earlier the shocking number — 200 million americans under some sort of a weather warning today in the us. we have seen record—breaking temperatures. how have you been seeing this extreme heat impacting our public health during this crisis? ., ~' , ., , public health during this crisis? ., ~ , ., , . public health during this crisis? ., ~ , . ., crisis? thank you very much for havin: crisis? thank you very much for having me _ crisis? thank you very much for having me join _ crisis? thank you very much for having me join you. _ crisis? thank you very much for having me join you. the - crisis? thank you very much for having me join you. the reality| having me join you. the reality is the — having me join you. the reality is the climate crisis is a health— is the climate crisis is a health crisis and we are seeing people's— health crisis and we are seeing people's health impacted in every— people's health impacted in every possible way — whether it is in _ every possible way — whether it is in an— every possible way — whether it is in an increase in vectorborne diseases, you talk about — vectorborne diseases, you talk about the _ vectorborne diseases, you talk about the alpha—gal and the lone — about the alpha—gal and the lone star tech and malaria and our mental— lone star tech and malaria and our mental health is being impacted. extreme heat is actually— impacted. extreme heat is actually killed 60,000 europeans last year and as you mentioned is affecting hundreds of millions of americans but it

is affecting our health. it is also — is affecting our health. it is also affecting our ability to id also affecting our ability to go to— also affecting our ability to go to work and our productivity and we — go to work and our productivity and we are _ go to work and our productivity and we are seeing more and more of this _ and we are seeing more and more of this the — and we are seeing more and more of this. the reality is we need to take — of this. the reality is we need to take climate change immensely seriously because it is impacting our ability to be well— is impacting our ability to be well and _ is impacting our ability to be well and to be a part of our lives — well and to be a part of our lives on _ well and to be a part of our lives on a _ well and to be a part of our lives on a daily basis. we saw some steps — lives on a daily basis. we saw some steps being _ lives on a daily basis. we saw some steps being taken - lives on a daily basis. we saw some steps being taken by i lives on a daily basis. we sawl some steps being taken by the white house on thursday — some climate —related and heat —related steps including temperature alert inspections for workplaces that are outdoors and very susceptible to high heat. in your opinion, has the white house, has the biden administration, been doing enough to adapt the country to the extreme temperatures we have been seeing? i temperatures we have been seeinu ? , ., seeing? i fully agree with the resident seeing? i fully agree with the president that _ seeing? i fully agree with the president that climate - seeing? i fully agree with the | president that climate change is an existential threat to our time and to our population and to this world right now, and i think the reality is that we as a global community have to look very seriously at whether we

are making enough and quick enough and bold enough progress to reduce greenhouse gases and to reduce greenhouse gases and to protect ourselves and our well being going forward. one person dies every five seconds from air pollution. that means 7 million people a year. that is more than it died in the entire covid pandemic globally throughout that time. further, the us and extreme heat for example is expected to use 100 billion a year in productivity, lost labour, in all of these pieces. we are experiencing an existential crisis of health, of our ability to have economic growth and well being. 1.2 billion people are expected to be displaced between now and 2050 so we are facing a crisis of migration and we are not on track to meet the paris goal of 1.5. we are looking at a 2.4— 2.6 increase in degrees celsius at the rate that we are going by the deadline and that is

going to have massive and even unforeseen complications. so, we have to get very serious about this now and today and we need to be bolder and we need to really understand the profound implications of climate change on every aspect of our lives, but especially our health, which really is the human face of climate change. i human face of climate change. i want to ask about we heard earlier about the mosquito and tickborne diseases. ten people across the united states are believed to have contracted malaria in the united states and this was a disease all but eradicated for many decades. what is it the link here between the climate change and now something like malaria? well, so climate change is changing our habitats with the warming of temperatures and the changes in ocean currents and winds and all these pieces what we are happening as we are seeing the warming temperatures, the vectorborne diseases are able to move into new places they haven't been

for a long time. dengue fever is now expected to impact over half the world, for example. so we are seeing a real change and where text live, where mosquitoes live, and where we are able to contract some of these diseases and it's going to have very, very profound impacts again on our health but also on the economic burdens of our ability to go to work, earn a living, take care of our family and all of these pieces as we get sick. so i think that we arejust at as we get sick. so i think that we are just at the tip of the iceberg on this at this point, but it's really a reflection of how changing weather patterns are making it easierfor these diseases to spread and to go into new environments that they haven't been in before.- haven't been in before. given what we have _ haven't been in before. given what we have seen, - haven't been in before. given what we have seen, not - haven't been in before. given what we have seen, notjustl haven't been in before. givenl what we have seen, notjust in the united states but also you mentioned that statistic, 60,000 or something people dying last year in europe during the heat wave, how prepared you think the world is for these heatwaves which

scientists say will only become more extreme and more frequent in the future? it’s more extreme and more frequent in the future?— in the future? it's not 'ust heatwaves i in the future? it's not 'ust heatwaves though. i in the future? it's not 'ust heatwaves though. it h in the future? it's notjust heatwaves though. it is i in the future? it's notjust - heatwaves though. it is extreme weather events, it is flooding and monsoons, there are going to be rising sea levels, it will be a change in vectorborne diseases, is the air pollution that again is killing someone every five seconds. we are getting hammered across every number of, you know, different aspects of our health by climate change and we have not done enough to prepare ourselves for this moment. the covid pandemic shows us that. despite all of the money that we put into various aspects of health all that was spent on health all that was spent on health like in the united states, we still were stopped in our tracks by covid. the reality is we need to be investing in strong preventative care systems and primary—care systems in a strong health workforce that is able to manage all of these different disease burdens and if we make those investments today we actually will have

savings in the long run. we spend so much more reacting to disease than we do on the front side prevention. mil disease than we do on the front side prevention.— side prevention. all right, dr vanessa kerry, _ side prevention. all right, dr vanessa kerry, the - side prevention. all right, dr vanessa kerry, the world . side prevention. all right, dr- vanessa kerry, the world health organization's special envoy for the arts climate change and health, you so much for being here. ., ~ health, you so much for being here. . ~ i. the second day of the russia—africa summit in saint petersburg saw african leaders pressing russian president vladimir putin to end the war in ukraine and restore the grain deal that ended last week. putin promised to deliver up to 300,000 tons of free russian grain. but some leaders said that might not be enough. the african union commission chairman told putin quote:

rotterham president vladimir putin has today said a peace deal that was shared by african countries in order to end the war in ukraine. just last month a delegation of african leaders led by saul ramaphosa of south africa offered to mediate in the conflict between russia and ukraine, in st petersburg today the leaders called for a renewal of the graham bell that allow the safe passage of ukrainian grain through its ports in the black sea —— ukrainian grain. prices of wheat have gone up and this is having an effect on other commodities, threatening the food security in the region. vladimir putin also announced his country will be allocating more than $90 million in funds to ease the debt burden was most countries in africa are currently facing. he says that he wants to grow trade and economic ties, which are currently relatively low between russia and africa.

meanwhile in ukraine, president volodymyr zelensky posted this video to social media, saying a multistory residential building and a security service building was struck in the central city of dnipro friday. he blamed russian missiles for the attack. ukraine's interior minister says at least five people were injured. earlier, moscow released this footage of damaged buildings in southern russia, allegeding it shot down two ukrainian missiles close to its border. the russian defence ministry claims ukraine carried out an attack on the residential area. well, ukraine's counter—offensive does appear to be intensifying, but questions over its success still remain. our correspondentjames waterhouse is in kyiv with more. how successful this counteroffensive has been depends on who you ask. now, it is clear on this south—eastern part of the frontline that there has a major push, that ukraine is concentrating a lot of men and machinery and the claim this morning was that a

village had been liberated. the advances are relatively small, we're talking five kilometres, there are reports of heavy shelling. analysts are describing a full frontal assault towards the city of robert neave, which is further southeast of zaporizhzhia. so it is clear that ukraine is trying to make moves. there are unnamed sources, unnamed us officials who see this as the start of a major thrust. but ukraine, kyiv is trying to water down a bit, than any talk of the major push through is premature. but a push through is what ukraine needs. needs to push through. it is open to in this part of the front line to effectively cut russia's occupied land corridor in half. what that would do is isolate tens of thousands of troops and bring crimea comfortably within its size and what he have hopes is that will bring moscow to the negotiating table and force

a sizeable compromise, in a way. but, i've got distress, a loss needs to happen. it's too early to say whether this is the start of something much bigger. an australian military helicopter has crashed into the sea off the country's eastern coast. in a press conference earlier, australia's defence minister, richard marles, said the incident happened overnight during a military exercise. the helicopter was engaging in a two helicopter mission. there were four aircrew aboard. because there was another helicopter presents, a search and rescue was able to commence immediately. as we speak to you now, the four aircrew are yet to be found. the search and rescue continues. us and australian soldiers have been taking part in operation talisman sabre, a biennialjoint military exercise, which us secretary of state antony blinken and the defence secretary, lloyd austin, are both

currently attending. the operations have been suspended as the search takes place. we wa nt we want to take you to are now. the lincoln dinnerware former president donald trump is currently speaking. we can dip in and listen to what he is saying. —— dinner. it in and listen to what he is saying. -- dinner.- saying. -- dinner. it is a terrible _ saying. -- dinner. it is a terrible thing _ saying. -- dinner. it is a terrible thing they - saying. -- dinner. it is a terrible thing they have | terrible thing they have allowed to happen to our country. we will turn around very fast. under my leadership we created the greatest economy in the history of the world. the greatest. and in fact they actually did it twice, as you very well know. they appointed over 300 federaljudges and three great supreme court justices... applause — . and last year those justices, . and last year those 'ustices, and ou . and last year those 'ustices, and you know h . and last year those justices, and you know exactly - . and last year those justices, and you know exactly what . . and last year those justices, i and you know exactly what they did, they ruled two and roe v. wade and now pro— lifers have a tremendous power to negotiate, gave them a tremendous power to negotiate, which they didn't

have until this termination took place. this moves the issue back to the states where all legal scholars, whether you believe in it or not in it, they felt it should be. unlike ronald reagan a support exceptions for rape, incest, and the health of the mother... the former president there donald trump speaking in iowa along with 13 other presidential hopefuls. you are watching bbc news. we will have more news coming up for you at the top of the hour. to join more news coming up for you at the top of the hour. tojoin me thanif the top of the hour. tojoin me than if you can. goodbye for now. hello there. so far thisjuly looks like it's going to be a little bit below average for our temperatures, but a long way above average for rainfall. yes, there are some places, for example, blackpool, that have already seen 2.7 times their average july rainfall. so it's been a lot wetter than normal and that pattern really has been repeated across most of the uk. now the satellite picture from friday shows this curl of cloud out towards our north—west. it's an area of low pressure

and you can see the weather fronts spiralling into the centre of the low. now, over the next few hours, as that low continues to move closer to the north—west of the uk, so increasingly we'll see some heavy downpours working in, especially to northern ireland and western areas of scotland. these are the kind of temperatures you'll have as you start off the weekend, 14 or 15 degrees. so it is going to be quite a mild start to things on saturday. however, we will see plenty of downpours around. and as i say, the closer you are to that area of low pressure, the more likely you are to see some fairly heavy and even some fairly prolonged outbreaks of rain. that's especially the case for northern ireland and west scotland, but to a degree, north—west england and north—west wales will probably have a lot of showers as well. elsewhere, well, probably not that many showers across the midlands and eastern areas of england. so some dry weather and lengthy dry spells for these areas, showers few and far between. temperatures still by and large, a little below average. now for the cricket, the ashes, i suspect it will probably stay mostly dry on saturday. if you catch a shower, it will be a fleeting light one. on sunday, rain on the way but late in the day. so again, it should be a largely unaffected day for play. different story, though

for monday, we are going to see low pressures working and bringing more rain. sunday's forecast then — we have an area of low pressure that's going to be pushing rain into northern ireland, wales and western areas of england should stay mainly fine to the north and east, although there will be a few showers here. temperatures continue to run a little bit below average for the time of year. on into monday and tuesday's forecast. well, even as one area of low pressure crosses the uk, there's another one brewing and developing to our west. so it'd be nice to think as we finished the month and started a new month going into august, that we'd see a change in the weather pattern. but no, that's not the case. it stays unsettled with further showers or some lengthier spells of rain.

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. abba are one of the most popular groups in musical history, having sold hundreds of millions of albums. they won the eurovision song

contest in 1974 and split up around eight years later, but it's never really felt like they have been away. after a 39—year gap, the band recorded a new album in 2021, and returned to the stage last year in london, not in the flesh, but as digital avatars — 2d recreations of themselves from 1979. in a worldwide exclusive interview to mark 12 months of the abba voyage show, i went to the studio of the band in stockholm to talk to bjorn ulvaeus and benny andersson — two of the globe's most successful songwriters. it's the one year anniversary of the abba voyage show. it took years to create.