and first eurovision, now pride. buttin reports an increase in its wild tiger population, it has gone up wild tiger population, it has gone up in the past decade, as it has in india and nepal. we start in ukraine where president volodymyr zelensky has been visiting "advanced positions" of ukraine's special forces near the hotspot of bakhmut, as kyiv ramps up its counter—offensive. these pictures of the president were released of him meeting soldiers. and this morning he said on messaging app telegram... "the bakhmut direction, advanced positions of the special operations forces. " the visit comes after a multi—storey residential building and a security service building was struck

in the central city of dnipro on friday. ukraine blamed russian missiles for the attack. at least nine people were injured, and the strikes caused widespread damage. live now to justin crump, chief executive of the risk assessment company sibylline, and a former tank commander in the british army. where are we at with the conflict? what we are seeing in the last week, a lot of talk about ukraine increasing its counteroffensive, but we are seeing operations taking place in the same main areas, along the attic front line, you can see from space, it is the area when the grain has not been collected due to the front lines and minefields. quite a clear sway to ukraine that hasn't moved in that long. you are seeing ukraine attacking around bakhmut and in three places along

the front line in the south. russia in turn has mounted its own offensive near the russian border, north—east of the front line on the edge of it, a spoiling attack against what ukraine is doing. still slow progress for both sides whenever they managed to make any advance, and as we know, very gruelling combat on the ground for months now with no real changes ukraine has launched its counteroffensive and the nature of the battle. , ._ counteroffensive and the nature of the battle. , ., the battle. yesterday resort to litiaation the battle. yesterday resort to litigation video _ the battle. yesterday resort to litigation video of— the battle. yesterday resort to litigation video of ukrainian . the battle. yesterday resort to . litigation video of ukrainian forces retaking the town of sievierodonetsk, not farfrom bakhmut, the latest video shows the president. this progress is slow, what is holding ukraine back? it is very difficult _ what is holding ukraine back? it 3 very difficult objective to what is holding ukraine back? it 1 very difficult objective to attack into defence lines, and have months and months to prepare, no matter how much, troops might be quite poor on the russian side but they have had

so much time to prepare, so many minds and obstacles the nature of droughts in the modern battlefield meals is persistent surveillance and neither side has any control —— the nature of drones. this will be a challenge for any military, let alone one that has been built in doing a conflict, for the ukrainians and russians, both having soviet command legacy which is static and deliberate, it doesn't lend itself to the sort of tactics required breakthrough defensive lines in nature we've seen. this works both ways. russia didn't make progress itself during winter. the main culmination of that was the capture of bakhmut, not even a significant city by any means. that is looking quite tenuous at the moment. ukraine slowly taking ground south of it. a lot of videos on the front line, particularly from ukrainian forces, saying if you think this is easy, come and do it, showing how

difficult it is to advance to a hundred metres in the circumstances. without taking horrific losses. that is a balance, gaining ground but not taking disproportionate losses to do it. very slow and steady and deliberate, small mistakes have huge casualties. ~ _, , deliberate, small mistakes have huge casualties. ~ , ., casualties. when it comes to the state of the _ casualties. when it comes to the state of the russian _ casualties. when it comes to the state of the russian forces, - casualties. when it comes to the l state of the russian forces, earlier this week the russian parliament approved raising the conscription age from 27 to 30 four russian men. what do you make of that? what does that tell us about the state brush russia's military?— russia's military? nothing that comes out _ russia's military? nothing that comes out of— russia's military? nothing that comes out of russia _ russia's military? nothing that comes out of russia suggest . russia's military? nothing that i comes out of russia suggest that russia's military? nothing that - comes out of russia suggest that war is going in a fantastic direction for them, they have also raise the upper limit for mobilisation observers, anyone who has had former military experience. an unpleasant age, people who should be collecting their pension could be sent to the franchise. these are not things you do things are going well. they are rolling out tanks from the 1950s, for limited use in the battlefield

but you don't do that if things are going well. all of the shows that russia's trying to dig in for the long—term, their best strategy at this point, having escaped together a lot to do it. they put forward a strong front but they are quite weak underneath. the question for ukraine is at the weekend have to visually crack, there is the moment when ukraine can commit its reserves. it does around ten reserve brigades, it hasn't committed to the fight yet, they are increasingly well—trained but once it finds them in, it doesn't have much else, so for ukraine it is about the right moment to commit weight of forces, take a lot of losses at that stage but do enough to effectively win the war, at least put themselves in a strong position. that is the calculus. russia tried to stop them from doing that, were down ukraine and western support and hope the front lines don't move over the rest of the year. in order to really do show that they are staying and not negotiating are getting out all

giving up. what they have managed to get so far. at least four people are feared dead after an australian military helicopter crashed into the ocean off the coast of queensland. the helicopter came down in an area near to where us and australian soldiers have been taking part injoint military exercises. police in australia have said they've recovered debris from the helicopter. this crash comes as us?secretary of state antony blinken and the defense?secretary lloyd austin are meeting their australian counterparts in brisbane. they're holding talks on the aukus defence agreement, which will see the us supply nuclear submarine technology to australia. here in the uk, up to 20,000 rail workers in the rmt union are taking part in their latest strike today, in the long—running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions. it's the second consecutive weekend of industrial action on the railways.

just over half of the usual services are expected to run across the network. for the second saturday in a row, some of the ia affected train operators are running very limited services. after more than a year of industrial action, many people have got used to changing their plans or found other ways of travelling on strike days. but hospitality businesses say they're still feeling the impact. every time there is a strike day, we do see trade fall off a cliff in certain parts of the country, certainly towns and city centres. you know, the last week we've had sort of three strike days that affect the rail. we've had an overtime ban during the course of that week. we know that we've lost around £340 million worth of sales across the uk. now, it's getting better. right now, there aren't any more full strikes in the diary, and unions have to give two weeks notice of action. but further walkouts are very possible. and after today's strike by rail workers in the rmt, the train drivers union aslef has two more overtime bans coming up at 15

operators from this monday until saturday the 5th of august, and again from monday the 7th to saturday the 12th of august. those are likely to mean disruption in some places. the rmt and aslef rejected the train companies' latest offers back in the spring, which set out changes to ways of working in exchange for pay increases. government ministers and the industry continue to insist their proposals were fair and have given no indication they'll change them. clearly, we've been negotiating with the leadership of the rmt for over a year now and it's real... it's a real shame that the offer that we made to them worth i3% in terms of an increase in pay for the lowest paid, has not been put to their membership, which would have brought this industrial dispute to an end. when it comes to the disputes on the railway, it feels like we're still far from the end of the line. katy austin, bbc news. wildfires have left a trail of destruction across parts

of southern europe and the mediterranean. in greece, emergency services have tried to prevent new wildfires in the central area of magnesia. fires there triggered explosions at an air force ammunition depot on thursday. authorities say the outlook is improving for firefighters on the islands of rhodes, corfu and evia. 0ur correspondent bethany bell has been giving us the latest from rhodes. we have been told that around 50 fires, new fires have broken out, and although this situation is improving in general, firefighters, quite a large crew of firefighters is still hard at work here on rhodes, and also on corfu and the peloponnese, tackling these places, some of them new fires, some of them flare—ups of old fires, because you have to imagine that the ground is still smouldering in many places in these forest areas. it doesn't take much for a spark to fly in these very windy conditions that we have been seeing over the last few days, and set off new blazes. people here still very much on high alert but also beginning to count

the cost of the fires that have ravaged parts of this island. we have been told that 50,000 olive trees were destroyed here, and around 2,500 animals and beehives destroyed. to west africa, where niger is grappling with the aftermath of a military coup. niger's democratically elected president, mohamed bazoum, was overthrown and detained as part of the coup this week. he was first elected to office in april 2021 in niger's first peaceful democratic transfer of power. us secretary of state antony blinken has called for mr bazoum's immediate release and the restoration of democratic order in the country. meanwhile, the man who led the coup, general abdourahmane tchiani, made this address on state tv. 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. earlier i spoke to our correspondent who gave us the latest on the international reaction. starting with the african union, they are coming up with the strongest reaction yet. on this political development in niger. they are demanding that mutinous soldiers return to their barracks and restore constitutional order. they gave the soldiers a maximum of 15 days to restore democracy in that country. they said they condemn the coup strongly and are not in support of the soldiers taking over from the democratically elected president mohamed bazoum.

that reaction is also similar to what we heard from the eu, who said economic and financial security support to niger until the restoration of constitutional order. antony blinken, us secretary of state, said that niger risked getting the aid from america, running into several millions of dollars, suspended, and security support also suspended. these are very strong reactions to the development in niger, and it seems that the coup leaders, who led the overthrow of the government of mohamed bazoum, may be facing an

uphill task, diplomatically, to try and convince those against them that they are in business. but i have seen reports of the head of the military in niger, that is the coup leader, generalabdourahmane tchiani, who had met with senior civil servants in the country. he asks them to continue work instead of the ministers to ensure that the machinery of governance keeps running without stop. now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello from the bbc sport centre.

france got the better of brazil, held byjamaica initial draw in the opener, took the lead. then the beanie and pulled brazil back level in the second half, a win for brazil would have seen them into the last 16 but they will have to wait as france captain headed a late winner in brisbane, they held on for a vital 2—i in brisbane, they held on for a vital 2—1 win. two games in group f on saturday, the result from the france match could put them any fantastic position to qualify for the knockouts with their win over panama, kicking off in the ten minutes. earlier, sweden progressed to the knockouts with a game to spare after a stunning 5—0 victory against italy. new arsenal signing amanda ilestedt was the scoresheet twice, putting sweden one up, and she got their fourth as well. the 2019 semifinalists showed why they're one of the ones to watch. substitute rebecka blomqvist added an impressive fifth in stoppage time. they'll face one of the united states, the netherlands or portugal in the last 16.

on saturday, sam kerr trained for the first time since her injury struck on the eve of the world cup. she says she has been doing everything under the glittering australia captain sam kerr says she is "definitely" available to face canada in monday's crucial group match. the chelsea striker has missed the co—hosts' opening two games with a calf injury, which she suffered on the eve of the tournament. here's our reporter mani djazmi. on saturday, sam kerr trained for the first time since her injury struck on the eve of the world cup. she says she has been doing everything under the glittering queensland sun to get ready, and she is ready, she is available and excited for monday's game. will she start, be a substitute? how long can she last? all questions being pondered by everyone, including the canadians because sam kerr and the australians don't want to give anything away to the opposition. i've done everything under the sun to make sure i'm ready for the next day. it is always the plan, so the plan for me is to be involved, and i'm excited, i've done everything i can, and no matter what happens, i have given everything, notjust in the last ten days, the last four years i've given

everything to be here. the knockout stages have come a game early for australia — realistically they have to beat the olympic champions to stay in the world cup. it is a game sam kerr's team—mate describes as "do or die". the world cup�*s poster girl says she is ready to step out of the billboard and onto the biggest arena of her life. if she does, australia will need her to deliver. the striker will win the norway game because of injury, she withdrew from the last match after feeling discomfort in doing the warm up. norway are bottom of group e with a point from their two games so far. england have reached 131 at lunch in their second innings on the third day of the fifth and final test at the oval —

that's a lead of 118. a win for england would level the series. it's been another entertaining morning. 0ver over five rounds and over stop zak crawley has raised to 71 not out, australia will retain the ashes regardless of the result but i chasing an outright series victory in england for the first time in more than 20 years. new zealand have retained, a victory over chile, the author retain the cup, cellulite 7—5 at one stage but were overwhelmed by a ramp at all black side in front of 80,000 fans at melbourne cricket ground, the australia coach has lost all three matches in the rugby championship. finally, the netball world cup continues. we've reached round two of matches in the the first pool stage. remember, there are four pools initially, with the top three teams in each pool progressing to the second stage. so far on saturday, there've been wins for holders new zealand, australia, fiji and jamaica. you can see the rest of saturday's matches there on your screen.

and red bull's max verstappen is on pole for the sprint race at the belgian grand prix, which gets underway later this afternoon. it's the precursor to the main race, which is on sunday. verstappen serves a grid penalty for that one. charles leclerc of ferrari heading the grid. that's all the sport for now. donald trump has been setting out why he thinks he should be the republican party candidate for next year's presidential election at a fund—raising event in the us state of iowa. mr trump has already insisted he will still run for office, even if he's convicted of any of the criminal charges he currently faces. 0ur north american editor sarah smith was at the event. there are about 1,200 republican supporters in this ballroom this evening, listening to all the different republican candidates, trying to decide who they should support for the republican nomination. but of course, the night was dominated by one man. and, of course, that one man was donald trump. this is the first speech he's given since the new criminal charges were unveiled against him. he's a man whose legal problems just

keep piling up and up and never seem to stop. but he won't let that deter him. and he didn't tonight. i mean, this was not the best speech he's ever given. he was rushing through his script, trying to stick to the ten—minute time limit. but nonetheless, he still grabbed everybody�*s attention and did what he always does best, made it all about him. that's what all these other candidates are up against, what they're trying to compete with. one of the lesser—known candidates, former congressman will hurd, well, he dared to say the only reason donald trump is running for president is to try and stay out of prison. well, he nearly got booed off the stage for that. ron desantis, well, he got a very enthusiastic reception, in fact, and he approached the whole issue rather differently. he didn't say donald trump's name, but he did say that if he's elected president, he would end the weaponization of the federal government and fire the director of the fbi. that's his way of saying to trump supporters, "look, iagree

"with you that the charges against donald trump are politically "motivated, but i'm still the guy that you should elect to put "in charge of all of this." but, you know, when he's having to make that case, it still means this race is all about donald trump, who is still very clearly the front runner in the polls and very much the man that all the other republican candidates have to try and beat. you can follow that story on a us politics pages of the bbc news website. rains from typhoon doksuri have begun falling on northern china, with the prospect of more than 100 millimetres to come. the storm has triggered landslides and forced the closure of schools and businesses, and the evacuation of workers from oil and gas fields. rescue operations have begun as forecasters warn of severe disruption over the next three days. the authorities in the capital beijing have suspended indoor and outdoor sports events.

doksuri is the most powerful typhoon to hit china this year. the port of dover has warned that people traveling to continental europe are having to wait up to two hours to clear border controls. it's asking travellers to be patient and please check with their ferry operator for information on next sailings. now let's get some good news, as the asian country of bhutan reported a marked increase in its wild tiger population. this survey, organised by the country's government as well as the environmental ngo wwf reported that the himalayan kingdom is home to 131 tigers, up from 27% from the last census in 2015. the news was welcomed by biodivesity experts. as a top predator, tigers are considered essential for preserving the ecosystem. however, they are an endangered species. according to wwf statistics, the global wild tiger population has dropped by around 95%

over the past century. with more on this, i am joined by our world service environment correspondent navin singh khadka. tell us more. basically we have been heafina tell us more. basically we have been hearing about _ tell us more. basically we have been hearing about all _ tell us more. basically we have been hearing about all the _ tell us more. basically we have been hearing about all the biodiversity - hearing about all the biodiversity losses, rememberthe hearing about all the biodiversity losses, remember the report that said 1 million species are heading towards extinction within decades? in that context it is important that tigers have come up with these figures. the numbers are increasing, we have seen it in other parts of the region. also quickly, what conservation estate is notjust tigers, when you protect them, you are talking about protecting an entire area because tigers live in forests and you are preserving huge swathes of conservation areas, national park. that is why kids

important. top predator species, this indicates the health of the ecosystem. but there's a price to this conservation work, what is bhutan asking for in return? it is talking about money and there are two reasons. first of all conservation needs money as we know, but my sources tell me that increasing number of people, farmers particularly, are coming to their administration demanding compensation because there is an increasing incidence of conflict between human and wildlife. bhutan says they need support, therefore they are organising a major conference and also bhutan is soon graduating from street to developing a status, so it will need money. that is why it is talking about finance. let's get a wider perspective on the whole region. how are other countries doing?

we have been reporting india's figures going up, 200 tigers plus in the past four years. the power doubled in the past decade. now we are talking about bhutan, so overall it seems good —— in nepal doubled. a worrying study came out today, global tiger day, this report talks about bangladesh emerging as a major harp in terms of poaching and trafficking of tigers. also supplying tiger products to places like india, malaysia and other parts can even myanmar. this is quite worrying, the challenge is how you deal with all these different issues and also the sinking habitat, like we have these figures come out good figures that is good enough, but what is not good enough is the habitats are shrinking, how do you balance development, highways, infrastructure? eating up all those habitats. that is why experts say

what used to be all different places, they are confined to these countries, sporadic population of tiger. countries, sporadic population of tier. ., ~ ,, you can get more on all these stories on the bbc news website and app. thank you for your company, see you next time, goodbye. it isa it is a fresh day out there with sunny spells and scattering of showers. no surprises there. the story ofjuly and more of that to come over the next few days. looking at the satellite picture, low pressure just to the west of scotland. showers circling around

the centre of the low. he was the radar from the last few hours. you can see the pockets of rain moving across the country from west to east. the temperature today peaking at 22 celsius in london, norwich and hull, in the north—west closer to the high teens. showers most frequently closer you are to the centre of this low pressure. northern ireland, scotland, north—western parts of england least frequent showers, further east and south—east. temperatures early in the morning on sunday will range from seven in rural parts of scotland but for most towns and cities around 12—13. showers in the morning in the north, sunshine to start the day. the next weather front and area of low pressure suites in off the atlantic. temperatures on sunday typically in the teens, doesn't bode well for the ashes because that weather front will be sliding across the uk during

the course of the afternoon. some rain is certainly possible. you can see the heaviest rain further north. low pressure, still with us on monday. fairly slow—moving low, that implies a lot of cloud, outbreaks of rain. heaviest probably because northern parts of the country, further south quite blustery, a lot of cloud, occasional showers. a few sunny spells to come kimmich is more or less what we have been used to for quite some time. low 20s at best. have about the jet stream? it is to the south of the uk, through the week ahead and if that opens the door to yet more cool weather streaming in from the northern climes. no change to our overall weather pattern. looking at the outlook into thursday, it is a case of showers pretty much every single day. that is it for me, goodbye.

live from london, this is bbc news. president zelensky visits advanced positions near the hotspot of bakhmut as ukraine ramps up its counter—offensive against russia. the visit comes after a multistorey residential building and a security service building were struck on

friday. much of britain's railways are at a standstill again in a long—running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions. around half of the usual services are expected to run across the network. donald trump tells republicans he's the only candidate who can win the next presidential election, even as his legal troubles mount. he suggested this is the reason he faces a range of criminal charges. he was addressing a party fundraiser in iowa along with presidential hopefuls. it'sjust gone in iowa along with presidential hopefuls. it's just gone 1:30pm. good afternoon, that is it from me for now. we'll be back at the top of the hour to take you through the headlines but now take me to the opera. i've been an opera fan for decades and i want to share my passion with you, so i'm on a mission to find out how opera is trying

to attract new audiences and reinvent itself.