the eu has suspended all security cooperation with niger after the country's army took power in a coup. it comes shortly after the us declared its "unflagging support" for ousted president mohamed bazoum, seen as a key western ally in the fight against islamist militants. on friday, the head of the presidential guards unit general tchiani declared himself niger's new leader. he said insecurity, economic woes and corruption led him to seize power. but there are now concerns in the west about which countries the new leader will align with. niger's neighbours, burkina faso and mali, have both pivoted towards russia since their own coups. nick westcott was the british ambassador for niger between 2008 and 2011. i spoke to him earlier and asked him what his thoughts

were on the current situation there. the last coup that took place in 2010 was a relatively good coup. it removed a president who had decided he wanted to stay on for a third term, probably indefinitely in the military, intervened, removed him, and then managed a transition to civilian rule. this coup is exactly the opposite. there was a duly elected, democratically, popularly chosen president who has been removed by the military, it seems primarily for their own individual interest. so the reaction from both african countries and western countries is not entirely surprising. but there's a dilemma because, if western countries come down very heavily on the new regime, there is a risk that they will turn to moscow. they will look to wagner to come in and protect them. but not to do that encourages further coups in other countries. and the key factor is what african

neighbours of niger are doing. and there, the african union, as your correspondent said, has been very tough and said, we must restore civilian rule in one week, the regional organisation in west africa is going to meet tomorrow and i expect they will also take a very tough line because african countries are worried that there will be contagion, either ofjihadist involvement, because the military have not been very effective at dealing with jihadists where they've taken over, as in mali and burkina faso, or simply of coups. so there is a big african interest and the western tough line that you're seeing reflects that. and in terms of what i said about it being a key ally in terms of the counter—terrorism, can you put that into some sort of perspective? how important a role does niger play on that front? the jihadist organisations, and there are two or three of them in the sahel, have been becoming more powerful lately. they control a number

of the gold mines. they therefore have a source of revenue. their attacks have been spreading further and further south. the countries along the coast of west africa — ghana, cote d'ivoire, nigeria — are very concerned that this is going to spread so, locally and internationally, because some of these jihadist groups are linked to islamic state, to al-qaida, is very real. and both the french and the us have forces based in niger. this has been become their base for tackling the counter—terrorism effort across west africa. so there is a vital strategic interest there. the french have a vital strategic interest from being... niger is their main source of uranium forfuelling their nuclear power industry. so there are some critical interests in the region which do concern... the eu has a big interest because niger is part of the migration route north to the mediterranean and then across

the mediterranean into europe. so i think that's why we're seeing such a strong and quick reaction to this coup because, if niger falls to an uncontrollable government, there are high risks for the neighbours and for the west. and you mentioned moscow and i mentioned also how burkina faso and mali have also turned to russia since their coups. do you expect wagner group to be brought in? do you expect that to be a turn to russia? i don't at the moment. i think there is a lot of pressure being put on the military coup leaders to restore civilian rule. what are they going to get out of this if they stay? and only if that fails, then prigozhin, the leader of the wagner group, has already offered his support to the coup leaders. and if the experience of central african republic and mali is anything to go by, they will simply come in and prop up

the regime and take most of the money that they can, so of no benefit to the nigerian people. so there's a real interest in maximising the pressure now to restore civilian government. that's what the west is trying to do. if that fails, then, yes, there is a risk that the coup leaders will turn to whoever will offer them support. and the first in line is mr prigozhin. england cricketer stuart broad has announced he will retire after the conclusion of the fifth ashes test at the oval. the 37—year—old bowler has taken 602 wickets in 167 tests, making him the second most successful paceman in test history, behind team—mate james anderson. he has been one of england's great performers in ashes cricket, taking a record 151 test wickets against australia. the tributes are already pouring in, here's great aussie bowler

glenn mcgrath on stuart broad. he has been incredible, his whole career, from when he started and got better, he loves the big moments, he has been such an incredible player for england for england for a long time, it has been a privilege to watch him and tomorrow will be brilliant, to see the fans come out and support him, the way he deserves, he has been brilliant. the bi est deserves, he has been brilliant. the biggest compliment you can pay him, he reminds you of you a little bit! there are some similarities. he said he looked up to me. that is a huge sign of respect in itself for what he has achieved, he has surpassed me, 600 test wickets and along with jimmy anderson the record they have will stand the test of time.— will stand the test of time. plenty more on the _ will stand the test of time. plenty more on the bbc _ will stand the test of time. plenty more on the bbc website - will stand the test of time. plenty more on the bbc website if - will stand the test of time. plenty more on the bbc website if you i will stand the test of time. plenty i more on the bbc website if you want to read more reaction.

rail passengers in the uk have faced a day of disruption as up to 20,000 members of the rmt union stage another strike over pay, jobs and working conditions. around half of services are thought to have been affected. our business correspondent, hannah miller, has more from leeds in the north of england. with almost half of train services across the country ground to a halt for the second saturday in a row, at this coffee shop in leeds, it's grinding down their business too. james says customer numbers fall every time there's a strike. i sympathise with the workers because you're going to take a day's pay lost then they're not going to be striking for nothing, but it's extremely difficult for businesses like ours. it's a complete disaster for us. you know, my staff still need paying, the suppliers still need paying. you know, it's really, really tough and i just wish they could get round the table and fix it. but the government and train operators insist that their proposals, rejected by this union back in the spring, are fair. we've been negotiating with the leadership of the rmt for over a year now, and it's a real shame that the offer

that we made to them, worth 13% in terms of an increase in pay for the lowest paid, is not being put to their membership, which would have brought this industrial dispute to an end. but the unions say it's about more than pay. the government is in control of what the train operating l companies say to us and, i even when they speak to us, they're not allowing them to come i back to the table with revisions i to their proposals. we are available to do that . but at the moment we've got a situation where cuts are being imposed. i 2,300 job cuts. every booking office _ in the country is going to close. and after more than a year of strike action, passengers arriving for a night out in leeds have got used to finding ways around it. i understand why they do it, but i also think it's inconvenient to everyone, people who need to get to work and people who need to go out. the last couple of weeks, actually, quite a few of myjourneys have been affected by train strikes. i work quite a bit down in london, so having to change plans, change meetings and stuff like that. it was annoying in the beginning,

but now you make the plans, - plan ahead and accept it. it's becoming life, becoming a normal part of life. - today was the last day of industrial action in the diary for the rmt but the drivers�* union, aslef, has two more overtime bans in the coming weeks and the two sides in this argument still have a long way to travel before this dispute comes to an end. wildfires that have raged across parts of greece for more than a week are beginning to die down but around 100 are still active. the effects of the fires on farming and agriculture are starting to become clear. 0fficials estimate that on the island of rhodes alone more than 2,500 animals have died.

earlier, i spoke to charlotte von croy. since the beginning of the fires, the situation is pretty catastrophic, so since the beginning of the fires, there were more than 35,000 hectares all around greece that was burned, 20,000 people evacuated, and at some point there were 61 fires raging at the same time across greece. most damage was on the islands of rhodes and corfu, it is important to note that the area burnt now is equivalent to 2.5 times the usual average for the time of year, so it's a lot. it's a bit early now to estimate the amount of wildlife that was affected, so the amount of injured or dead animals, but we assume that there will be a lot of them. what sort of animals

are we talking about, is it mostly, i would presume, we are looking at pictures of cows, i would presume the smaller animals that are less likely to be able to run away from the fires? absolutely. especially difficult is for the smaller animals, the smaller species, slow—moving species such as tortoises and juveniles of species which are unable to escape the flames, so there are a lot of burnt tortoises found in the greek countryside, but also larger species which can run away, that can outrun the flames, are often disoriented and confused and they often enter into collisions with cars, so it's not only the smaller species but also the bigger ones and the larger ones. in a second time when they get hit by cars unfortunately.

jamaica have won their first ever world cup match, joining france as top of group f, england have ruled out keira walshe in adelaide. the midfielder will continue her recovery. let's hear now... we have been speaking to katie wyatt, a footballjournalist. that been speaking to katie wyatt, a football journalist.— been speaking to katie wyatt, a footballjournalist.— football “ournalist. that was a reall football journalist. that was a really exciting _ football journalist. that was a really exciting one _ football journalist. that was a really exciting one for - football journalist. that was a j really exciting one for arsenal football journalist. that was a - really exciting one for arsenal fans to watch, all of their strikers among the goal—scorers there, their new signing as well, so that secured their place in the next round as well where they will face the usa, netherlands or portugal in the last 16, said they will be one of the first teams to progress but there is still so much to be decided elsewhere.— still so much to be decided elsewhere. , , , , ., elsewhere. pretty impressive to get throu~h elsewhere. pretty impressive to get through with _ elsewhere. pretty impressive to get through with the _ elsewhere. pretty impressive to get through with the game _ elsewhere. pretty impressive to get through with the game to _ elsewhere. pretty impressive to get through with the game to spare, . elsewhere. pretty impressive to get through with the game to spare, so | through with the game to spare, so france and brazil, then, france were

pretty good?— pretty good? this was a hugely excitin: pretty good? this was a hugely exciting game. _ pretty good? this was a hugely exciting game, i— pretty good? this was a hugely exciting game, i had _ pretty good? this was a hugely| exciting game, i had colleagues pretty good? this was a hugely - exciting game, i had colleagues out there who had their smart watches on. they were being told it was a factory machine level of noise, it was really exciting with wendy, who for those who follow the women's games is a real cup hero foot lyon, the french team that when everything. and for her to get the winner was fitting because this is a france team that in recent months have been protesting against their coach and the conditions there, they did not feel they were conducive to success, and now it looks like they are kicking into gear and starting to show what they are made of, so they are going into a very exciting last round of fixtures, hoping to secure their place in the last 16. and then also today we have had panama versus jamaica, jamaica winning theirfirst ever panama versus jamaica, jamaica winning their first ever women's world cup match but a big

disappointment for panama because they are out now. timer;r disappointment for panama because they are out now.— they are out now. they are, this is an enormous _ they are out now. they are, this is an enormous achievement - they are out now. they are, this is an enormous achievement for - they are out now. they are, this is - an enormous achievement forjamaica, this site did not win any of their matches at the world cup in 2019, lost all three of them, they have had a very difficult build—up, they have had to crowdfund for their expenses for this world cup, there has been a lack of support, they went into this game without shaw, she is a crucial player, manchester city's top scorer, she was one of the players you thought jamaica would not get anywhere if they did not have her on the pitch but the them to win in the manner that they didn't get that result gives them a chance of getting through to the last 16 and they are joint top of their group so again that sets up an exciting last day in that group. an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in southern thailand has killed at least nine people and injured more than 100 others.

it also destroyed a large part of the town of sungai golok. it's thought the blast was caused by welders working on the warehouse. a man has died in hospital after a crash involving an ambulance and a scooter in barnsley. south yorkshire police say the ambulance was responding to an emergency call last night when the collision happened. detectives are appealing for witnesses. a 14—year—old boy who was arrested after a seven—year—old girl was killed in a hit—and—run crash in walsall has been released on bail. katniss selezneva died on thusday after being struck by a motorbike. officers say they've recovered two abandoned bikes, which are now being forensically examined. environmental groups claiming to represent 20 million people have written to the british prime minister, warning they will "not stand by" if the government waters down its commitments on tackling climate change. ministers have faced calls to reconsider their green pledges in the hope it could boost the conservatives' chances at the next election.

the party's narrow victory in last week's uxbridge and south ruislip by—election has been linked to local opposition to the expansion of london's ultra low emissions zone. the letter calls for "courage and leadership" and says the environment should not be treated "as a political football". this seat on the edge of london used to be borisjohnson�*s seat. when he resigned and left parliament, that seat came up. it had been a tory seat for quite some time. labour were hopeful that they could take it, but they fell just short. and the issue, as you say, at the heart of that campaign, which the conservative party made much of, was this plan by the labour mayor of london, sadiq khan, to expand the charging zone for polluting cars, old polluting vehicles, to the edge of london, which would have just taken in that constituency.

people in the constituency with old cars could face a cost of £12.50/$15 a day to drive their cars. and that was credited with tipping it. in the wake of that, as you say, pressure or calls from the right wing of the conservative party and rishi sunak to water down climate policies as a potential vote winner. and now what we have is the sort of backlash to that, if you like. so these environmental groups, some of the biggest in the country, the national trust, the royal society for the protection of birds, the woodland trust, they say between them they have 20 million members. they say they've mobilised those members in the past. and on what they call a critical policy area, they say they are alarmed at reports that the government might be looking at watering down environmental policies. so they say that should not happen and they want an urgent meeting with rishi sunak to get him to publicly commit to those policies. now, mr sunak, interestingly this

week, has said on that emission charging zone, which actually is to do with air quality, it's not to do with climate emissions or carbon emissions. he's said he doesn't think that should be expanded. but elsewhere on climate policies, he says there should be a pragmatic approach, and he has faced criticism recently from his own side. so one minister, former minister resigned. zac goldsmith resigned, saying that there had been a lack of leadership on climate issues under mr sunak. but mr sunak�*s government is saying that they have no current plans to water down climate targets. there should just be a pragmatic approach. the balancing act, which is required both here and for countries around the world, is the cost of living crisis and balancing that with the need to tackle climate change. but it's asking people to pay for it. that's the issue, isn't it, that people are getting upset about it? and labour themselves have been criticised recently for a bit of a u—turn on their climate change policies, haven't they?

yes, exactly. so this is the sort of balance that the parties are facing in the current or trying to find and work out where they want to pitch their electoral sort of appeal. their electoral prospectus to parties, we're coming up for an election in what, in the next 18 months here in the uk. it's part of the reason why this is sort of becoming more central. and we have this backdrop of high inflation, cost of living pressures on people. the labour party has a policy, it's been pledging a sort of green revolution. they've been talking about pumping £28 billion a year into the economy to stimulate green low carbon jobs, low carbon electricity generation. but what it did is then said, well, that wouldn't happen from the very beginning. if it won power, it would be phased in, criticised for doing a u—turn there. the government has many of its own policies, such as phasing out all petrol and diesel engines or solely petrol and diesel engines from 2030.

that's one particular target, more efficient heating for homes at the same time as well, and being under pressure to water down some of those commitments because of the higher costs that would impose on homeowners and drivers. and all of this is now up for discussion. but these environmental groups saying that it is a core concern for them and for many voters when you look at surveys that green policies are kept on the agenda. here in the uk, liverpool has been hosting ukraine's biggest gay pride march, kyiv pride. organisers hope it'll cement the city's links with the country after hosting this year's eurovision song contest on behalf of ukraine. our correspondent, josh parry, has more from merseyside in liverpool. in this rainbow, the yellow and blue take centre stage. thousands of people, including hundreds of ukrainians, marched through liverpool's streets as the city played host to kyiv pride. we understand that people are kind

of tired of the war, but you cannot be tired because people are dying on the front line, our friends and loved ones, queer people, are dying on the front line to protect freedom. liverpool and ukraine already have a special relationship after the city stepped in to host eurovision back in may. organisers see this march as a chance to continue that legacy. those marching carried messages of support for those on the front line back home. like combat medics boris and alina. are you looking forward to the day that you can both march together? yes, because it will mean the war is over and we can return to some sort of normality in our lives. why was it important that liverpool played host to kyiv pride this year? i think when we stepped in to do eurovision we found

that the reception that we got from the country about hosting it on behalf of ukraine was really positive. so planning for pride wasjust going on as normal anyway, and it was suggested to us that at that point we do a joint pride. the logistics were tricky, but we have managed to do it today. while eurovision may have united liverpool and ukraine in music, today, pride has united them in protest. new figures released by the indian government show the estimated wild tiger population in the country is growing by more than 6% a year. india is home to about three quarters of the world's wild tigers, and it counts them every four years. the latest census recorded more than 3,600. meanwhile, there's also good news from india's much smaller neighbour, bhutan, which recorded 131 tigers,

that's up 27% since 2015. the new figures coincide with international tiger day, which aims to raise awareness of conservation efforts, as sam harrison reports. an iconic mountain nation nestled in the himalayas. bhutan's landscape is both brutal and serene and, in the shadow of some of the world's highest peaks, something is stirring. this remarkable camera trap footage proof that tigers are making a comeback here. global tiger populations fell by 95% over the past century but, in this tiny himalayan kingdom, they're finally rising again. it's now home to at least 131 tigers, an increase of 27% since 2015. and at today's tiger survey conference in bhutan's capital, the key message was that this number is just the beginning. let this tiger report be a beacon

of hope in a call to action. let it inspire everyone to redouble the commitment and channel resources towards protecting wildlife in natural ecosystems. let's keep the momentum going stronger hereafter. momentum is indeed crucial, as shown in nearby nepal, where continuing efforts to improve habitats have helped tiger numbers double in the country over the last decade. this latest research in bhutan shows that it too can help regional populations, and it's hoped the tigers�* presence there will attract more conservation projects. when somebody wants to give funding for large—scale forest or ecosystem conservation, pick an area that has tigers. pick an area that has its large carnivores because that's a functioning ecosystem. not all forest is the same. biodiversity is not evenly distributed around this planet. bhutan is blessed in many ways. the path to restore tiger

populations to where they were a century ago is long. but these rare images show that the tide is turning and prove that, even in some of the world's harshest and highest environments, this iconic creature can thrive once again. sam harrison, bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news. for the third weekend in a road low pressure _ for the third weekend in a road low pressure is — for the third weekend in a road low pressure is in charge of our weather, _ pressure is in charge of our weather, bringing us rain during saturday, — weather, bringing us rain during saturday, much of that rain came in the form _ saturday, much of that rain came in the form of— saturday, much of that rain came in the form of sharp showers and sunny spells _ the form of sharp showers and sunny spells in _ the form of sharp showers and sunny spells in between. the the form of sharp showers and sunny spells in between.— spells in between. the sunday more reneral spells in between. the sunday more general rain — spells in between. the sunday more general rain spreads _ spells in between. the sunday more general rain spreads from _ spells in between. the sunday more general rain spreads from the - general rain spreads from the south—west as we go through the day. you can see this swell of cloud,

thatis you can see this swell of cloud, that is the area of low pressure, then behind me this shield of cloud rolling in from the atlantic, bringing rain to the south—west and england to the first part of sunday morning. further north and east, scattered heavy showers and then to the day our band of rain gets into northern ireland, wales and the south—east of england by sunday afternoon. and with that, strong wind at times, it will turn misty and murky for some coasts and hills in the west. temperature wise, the highest values will be in eastern england. so, for the cricket, at the oval, i think there is the increasing chance of rain as we go through the day, some disruption to play through the latter part of the afternoon is likely, and then as we head through sunday evening, our band of rain continues to make progress, getting up into southern and central parts of scotland, a lot of cloud further south and west, but

misty and murky in places, and very warm and muggy in the south, 16 or 17 degrees. we head on into monday, ourfirst band of rain 17 degrees. we head on into monday, our first band of rain pushes northwards, could well see further, wet weather moving across the channel islands and fringing into southern counties of england and elsewhere quite a lot of cloud, showers at times and temperatures between 17 and 22 degrees. as we head deeper into the week, this area of low pressure will push your way eastwards, another one may push on from the west around the middle part of the week. the general pattern though through the week ahead is for us to bring air in from the north, so that will make it feel rather cool at times, temperatures as we move into the start of august, generally below the average for the time of year, there will continue to be heavy showers around at times, some dry interludes.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the european union suspends all security cooperation with niger after the country's army seized power and head of the presidential guards unit general abdourahmane tchiani declared himself leader. it comes shortly after the us declared its "unflagging support" for ousted president, mohamed bazoum, seen as a key western ally.

england cricketer stuart broad announces his retirement after the conclusion of the fifth ashes test at the oval. the 37 year old bowler has taken 602 wickets in 167 tests in his career, making him the second most successful paceman in test history. here in the uk, up to 20,000 rail workers in the rmt union are on strike for the second weekend in a row. it's part of a long running dispute about pay, jobs and working conditions. around half the usual services are expected to run across the network. now on bbc news, life at 50 degrees.