i'm helena humphrey, great to have you with us. the eu has suspended all security cooperation with niger after the country's army to our in a coup and has refused to recognise the new leaders. it comes shortly after the us declared its unflagging support for the ousted president seen as a key western ally in the fight against islamist militants. on friday, the general declared himself the new leader and 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. burkina faso and mali have both pivoted towards russia since their own coups.

there has been a lot of pressure piled on the leaders of the coup. this evening we are hearing that france has also suspended financial and other aid to niger with immediate effect. this is as a result of the coup and political development in that country. it is similar to the eu's position, the eu has suspended aid, both financial and military aid. the united states secretary and the countries�*s risk, also having millions of dollars in aid be suspended because the african union, which is given niger 15

days maximum and have called the immediate release of president mohamed bazoum who, at the moment, we know is still being held by the military. i asked an expert about the response to the coup from the international community. i think a lot of western countries, the united states, european union and others, there is an almost automatic response when there is a military coup, there is a suspension of military assistance, certainly in a place like niger, which has such a large population. and i would expect that to be the same. but we're also looking at of these countries, trying to let the africans lead on this issue. there is being

widespread condemnation from the regional organisation ecowas, the african union has given the leaders two weeks to �*s restore civilian rule in the country so as much as western nations have a playbook that they tend to follow when there is a coup, they also trying to give space to let the region come together in defence of democracy before theyjump in and lead with sanctions and other tactics. and lead with sanctions and othertactics. in and lead with sanctions and other tactics.— and lead with sanctions and other tactics. in the interim, the junta _ other tactics. in the interim, the junta says _ other tactics. in the interim, the junta says it _ other tactics. in the interim, the junta says it has - other tactics. in the interim, l the junta says it has dissolved all state institutions. some aid is being pulled out. what could this mean for the people of niger? could this mean for the people of nicer? �* could this mean for the people ofniuer? �* , ., of niger? are the people of nicer, of niger? are the people of niger. they _ of niger? are the people of niger, they will _ of niger? are the people of niger, they will suffer - of niger? are the people of niger, they will suffer the l niger, they will suffer the most and immediately stop the western contribution to niger's budget is more than half so whether it is maintaining the doors of ministries opens,

schools open, clinics open, all that depends on western donor assistance coming in to the government. in addition, if they are not able to export their principal exports which mostly go to europe, so uranium, which goes almost entirely to france, then again, they are going to see a cut—off of their export earnings in a massive and very quick ways of the government is going to see their earnings dry up very quickly and if we can't continue to support citizens of the country, they are going to feel the effects of this very, very soon and let's not forget, they are still trying to recover from the covid downturn, the effects of climate change and the ukraine war costs which continue to pound that economy. president mohamed bazoum _ pound that economy. president mohamed bazoum has - pound that economy. president mohamed bazoum has been . pound that economy. president mohamed bazoum has been a i pound that economy. president i mohamed bazoum has been a key ally for the west in its fight against islamist extremists. you envisagejihadist you envisage jihadist organisations you envisagejihadist organisations in the region

look to move into niger and increase risks from outside the region as well? the increase risks from outside the region as well?— region as well? the 'ihadist entities have * region as well? the 'ihadist entities have been _ region as well? the jihadist| entities have been targeting niger, they have been encroaching on the capital for two years and we have seen an uptick in terrorist attacks inside of niger so if you see western military aid and support, assistance, training suspended to niger, you're going to see a further encroachment and certainly the jihadists will see it as a new opportunity to expand their territory. i think it's very likely in fact that we see rather quickly degradation of the security environment in the country but again, i think this is the irony of the coup, and the coup in mali and mckenna fell so, —— burkina faso, you have military leaders who don't believe civilian rulers can

handle security threats in the country so this is the same playbook they are playing from right now but what has resulted in mali and burkina faso since those coups is a degradation of security, not an improvement so i would expect to see the same in niger. i would expect to see the same in nicer. �* ., , ., in niger. i'm glad you brought u . in niger. i'm glad you brought u- those in niger. i'm glad you brought up those two _ in niger. i'm glad you brought up those two countries - in niger. i'm glad you brought up those two countries of - in niger. i'm glad you brought| up those two countries of well, burkina faso and mali because we have seen them pivot towards rosser —— russia since their own coups. you see a possibility of this happening with niger? i possibility of this happening with niger?— with niger? i think it's a concern _ with niger? i think it's a concern that _ with niger? i think it's a concern that we - with niger? i think it's a concern that we had - with niger? i think it's a concern that we had to l with niger? i think it's a - concern that we had to have. we haven't seen the same level of anti—western, anti—french sentiment within the public. it certainly there, there is no denying that. but i think the public of niger had understood that because bazoum was doing the right thing and his predecessor was doing the right thing in terms of transparency and anti—corruption and democratic intervals, it was a great deal of benefit to the country from western donors. so

i think that we will see that there is pressure on this new regime. we've seen protests both for and against the coup in niger but i think it's really, how does russia tie and take advantage of this and are they able to take advantage of it i'm using the tactics we know they've used in mali and burkina faso, disinformation, propaganda, those kind of things. it will be something we have to watch closely for sure. cameron, what comes next? we have calls from the african union for the coup leaders to return to their base. they've given that deadline within 15 days. ecowas is also due to meet. do you see this coup is a done deal? i meet. do you see this coup is a done deal?— done deal? i would like to not see it as a _ done deal? i would like to not see it as a done _ done deal? i would like to not see it as a done deal- done deal? i would like to not see it as a done deal and - done deal? i would like to not| see it as a done deal and using the words of anthony blank, there is still time for diplomacy and that seems to be the message we're getting, from washington. —— blinken. ithink

there is a lot of behind—the—scenes diplomacy at work but now it countries in the region. the nigerian president has come out forcefully as the head of ecowas, trying to walk this back so i think there is no small amount of effort under way right now trying to walk this back. will it be successful, i don't know, but i certainly don't think that 48 hours after the coup, we can abandon the billions of dollars in the tens of millions of people that we have been engaging with and supporting in niger, just because some very small group of disgruntled army officers decides that they don't want to lose theirjobs and take this entire country hostage. i think that would set a very bad example for the rest of the region.— a very bad example for the rest of the region. cameron hudson, an analyst _ of the region. cameron hudson, an analyst on — of the region. cameron hudson, an analyst on african _ of the region. cameron hudson, an analyst on african security i an analyst on african security at the centre first strategic and international studies, as always, great to get your insights. protests are taking place across israel against the government's planned judicial overhaul for the thirtieth week in a row.

it's the first saturday of mass demonstrations since the first bill in the overhaul was passed by the israeli parliament earlier this week. the new law limits the supreme court's ability to nullify legislation it deems unreasonable. on friday, israeli media reported military intelligence officials had warned the prime minister benjamin netanyahu that israel's enemies viewed the current crisis as a historic weak point that could be exploited. an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in southern thailand killed at least nine people, and injured more than a hundred others. with the latest, here's our reporter, callum tulley. we know that at least three of those killed in this incident were children and over 120 people were seriously injured. this is where it happened, in the south of thailand close to the south of thailand close to the malaysia border in the town of sungai kolok and if we look at some pictures of the aftermath of this incident, we

can see the level of destruction caused. the impact wasn't confined to the fireworks warehouse. we know that neighbouring buildings were shaken, windows were shattered, roots collapsed. as these pictures show and we actually heard from one eyewitness who lives 100m from the site and he said that he was at home when he heard a loud thunderous bang and his whole house shook. i saw my roof was wide open, he said. i looked outside and i saw a house collapsing and people lying on the ground everywhere. it was chaos. we understand the fire has now been contained in the local are governesses it was caused by a technical error in steel welding during construction of the building but thailand doesn't have a brilliant record when it comes to incidents involving fireworks and just five days ago, one woman was killed and ten others were seriously injured in a similar accident injured in a similar accident in the north of the country so although this is a particularly

tragic case, it's not an isolated one and that is why we are seeing some public pressure on the authorities with regards to safety in the workplace over the last couple of years. kenya says it's ready to lead a multinationalforce in, haiti, where clashes between the police and criminal gangs have displaced tens of thousands of people. the country's foreign minister says nairobi would deploy 1,000 police officers in the caribbean nation. the mission is subject to a mandate from the un security council and formal authorisation from the kenyan authorities. earlier this month, the un secretary—general, antonio guterres, called for the creation of a multinational force for haiti. a federaljudge has thrown out former president donald trump's defamation lawsuit brought against us cable network cnn. mrtrump sued cnn for $475 million for describing his unsubstantiated claim that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from him as the "big lie",

arguing the phrase had created a "false and incendiary association" between him and hitler. trump alleged the "big lie" referred to a nazi propaganda campaign used to justify the persecution of the jews. us districtjudge raag singhal, who was appointed by trump, ruled that cnn's comments were not defamatory — writing in his verdict:. neither cnn or mr trump have commented on the ruling. republican presidential hopefuls, including donald trump, gathered in iowa on friday. the candidates pitched themselves to the party's supporters. but few of the former president's rivals chose to criticise him directly for the criminal charges he faces including top rival, florida governor ron desantis.

earlier this week cbs news' ed o'keefe asked mr desantis for his views on the charges. does all of this legal stuff he is facing disqualify him? that is facing disqualify him? at the end of the day, voters make that decision. somebody asked me, that decision. somebody asked me. if— that decision. somebody asked me, if somebody is indicted, should — me, if somebody is indicted, should they be able to run? the problem — should they be able to run? the problem is, we've seen political indictments. i thought brad was political, these _ thought brad was political, these other pupils that would 'ust these other pupils that would just give any prosecutor the abiiity— just give any prosecutor the ability to render someone ineligible so i've not said that_ ineligible so i've not said that but_ ineligible so i've not said that but ijust think at the end — that but ijust think at the end of— that but ijust think at the end of the day, the election has — end of the day, the election has got _ end of the day, the election has got to be about the future, it's got— has got to be about the future, it's got to — has got to be about the future, it's got to be about what heapie _ it's got to be about what people are concerned about and the more — people are concerned about and the more it's about other things. _ the more it's about other things, the more biden is able to hang — things, the more biden is able to hang out in the basement again— to hang out in the basement again and end up cruising to a victory— again and end up cruising to a victory and _ again and end up cruising to a victory and i know republicans don't — victory and i know republicans don't want that to happen. my colleague carl nasman asked ed what he made of mr desantis�*s answer. what did you make of the governor's response? well, it's an example _ governor's response? well, it's an example of _ governor's response? well, it's an example of how— governor's response? well, it's an example of how they -

governor's response? well, it's an example of how they are - an example of how they are trying to direct criticism of the former president. he said 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 are not doing as well in the polls but what he says repeatedly when asked about trump is that the country, republican voters in this primary, want to think about the future, need to be focused on that. 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 he 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, 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. he cut 38 staffers. travelled 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.— into the fall. you've been mentioning _ into the fall. you've been mentioning him - into the fall. you've been mentioning him in - into the fall. you've been mentioning him in iowa. | into the fall. you've been i mentioning him in iowa. he spent — mentioning him in iowa. he spent a _ mentioning him in iowa. he spent a lot of time there — much _ spent a lot of time there — much more than former president donald _ much more than former president donald trump. has he been able to gain _ donald trump. has he been able to gain any— donald trump. has he been able to gain any traction it? you mentioned the poll numbers, but what _ mentioned the poll numbers, but what have — mentioned the poll numbers, but what have you seen in terms of the one—on—one interactions with— the one—on—one interactions with ron _ the one—on—one interactions with ron desants and iowa voters? _ with ron desants and iowa voters? , with ron desants and iowa voters? . .. . with ron desants and iowa voters? , ., . �*, voters? first of all, it's still very _ voters? first of all, it's still very early. - voters? first of all, it's still very early. what's| still very early. what's happening injuly isn't necessarily indicative of what will be happening injanuary. 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 play—off season. we're not there yet by any means. he, though, has seen his support slip since he launched his campaign in may. and others are beginning to rise in the polls amid concerns about whether desantis can connect with voters here, whether his policies are correct, and he's demonstrated no ability to cut

into trump's lead. trump doesn't have to campaign anywhere across the country right now that often, because he has been able to sustain his support — again, by double digits — doing very little work. maybe that's just name id. maybe it's that most republicans aren't paying attention to the alternatives right now. but either way, he doesn't have to do much to maintain that lead.- doesn't have to do much to maintain that lead. there are some black — maintain that lead. there are some black republicans - some black republicans criticising desantis�* new criticising desa ntis' new education criticising desantis�* new education reforms made in florida when it comes to slavery. how is ron desantis handling those critiques from members of his own party? br; members of his own party? el: doubling down on what the florida education commission has approved. it's a 21—page set of standards for students from kindergarten through the end of high school on how african—american history should be taught. it mentions within it that, when it comes to slavery, perhaps there has to be a mention of the benefits that enslaved people may have had after they learned certain skills and once they were free. it's that language that's been

so criticised by members of both parties — but notably now in the last several days by republicans who are black. tim scott, his opponent, who's the only black republican senator from south carolina, and three black republican congressmen from michigan, texas and florida, who all support donald trump, saying that desantis needs to retract his defence of this, needs to understand that there is nothing about slavery that was beneficial or, as tim scott said, there's no silver lining when it comes to slavery. desantis continued to say they don't understand what we did — i'm defending what florida has decided to do, and he's standing by that position. whether that's sustainable in the coming days, we'll see. but it has drawn unexpected — and some campaigners would say unwanted attention to legislation that's been passed in recent years with desantis�* support which strips away inclusion and racial history

across the state of florida. ed o'keefe. _ across the state of florida. ed o'keefe, political respond there in iowa for us. thank you so much. there in iowa for us. thank you so much-— president zelensky has been visiting ukrainian special forces near the city of bakhmut as kyiv continues its counter—offensive. the city has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war. alexander vindman is a retired us army lieutenant—colonel. i asked him for his analysis of recent developments in ukraine. colonel vindman, 18 months into this war now, i want to ask you about putin's strategy here. does he have anything else in his war chest that he can commit to this war? he really has nothing — commit to this war? he really has nothing new— commit to this war? he really has nothing new in _ commit to this war? he really has nothing new in terms - commit to this war? he really has nothing new in terms of. has nothing new in terms of capabilities. but what he can rely on is kind of the brutality that he's experienced thus far, or he's leveraged thus far, or he's leveraged thus far, or he's leveraged thus far, to continue to punish the ukrainian population. the callousness with which he treats his own troops — he continued to mobilise tens of

thousands of russian soldiers to put into the meat grinder. frankly, he may very well choose some time in the fall when he's out of resources, when he's out of resources, when he's out of resources, when he's out of military resources, to mobilise hundreds of thousands of troops, like he did last fall. and that's really all he has. he's looking to buy time to see if he could exploit some fractures, what he perceives to be fractures, divisions, between eastern and western europe, between western europe and the united states, and he's going to look to exploit those to see if he could actually pull victories out of the jaws of defeat. he may very well choose to hang on through 2024 to see if he gets a more favourable outcome in us elections in 2024, in european elections in 2024, in european elections in 2024, and to see if that's the way he actually causes a political victory, even though he can't achieve military victory on the battlefield. the vity of liverpool in the uk has been hosting ukraine's biggest pride march, kyiv pride. organisers hope it'll further cement the city's links

with the country after it held eurovision. here's josh parry. in this rainbow, the yellow and blue takes 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 about... of the war, but you cannot be tired because people are dying on the front line. ourfriends 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. # stefaniya, mamo, mamo, stefaniya...# 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 elena. are you looking forward to the day that you could both march together? yeah, because when pride will happen in kyiv,

it means, like, the war is over and we...we can, like, back to... some kind of normality to our life. 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 we got from the country about hosting it on behalf of ukraine was really positive. so planning for pride was just going on as normal anyway. and it was suggested to us that, at that point, that we'd do a joint pride. the logistics were tricky, but we've managed to do it today. while eurovision may have united liverpool and ukraine in music, today, pride has united them in protest. josh parry, bbc news, liverpool. since russia's invasion of ukraine, the bbc�*s russia editor, steve rosenberg, has been charting the dramatic events — notjust in words and pictures, but also in music.

he's been writing a piece for the piano that expresses what he's experiencing in a country transformed by the war it started. ina in a world that feels as if it's been turned upside—down, writing music has become my way of charting what's happening around me. sombre piano playing i wrote isolation a few days after russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine. after russia embraced war and faced international isolation.

months pass. the war drags on. the second movement — parallel reality. from morning till night, the state media in russia declares, "we didn't invade ukraine. russia never starts wars. it's the west waging war on russia!" the picture presented here is back to front, inside out, a parallel reality.

after 16 months of war, you could feel the instability in russia — armed mercenaries have mutinied and marched on moscow. and so, the third movement. time of troubles — or, in russian, smorta. that russian word, "smorta", refers to a murky time of turmoil and dayuse and coups. it is a recurring feature of russian history.

"where will my peace go from here? how many more movements? how will they sound?" it's impossible to predict. just like russia's future. music by the rather remarkable steve rosenberg there. you're watching bbc news. join us at the top of the hour if you can. bye for now. hello. for the third weekend in a row, low pressure is in charge of our weather. it has already brought us some rain during saturday. much of that rain came in the form of some sharp showers. some sunny spells in between. for sunday, we will see more general rain spreading from the south—west as we go through the day. on the earlier satellite picture, you can see the swirl of cloud.

that's the area of low pressure that brought the showers on saturday. then behind me, this shield of cloud rolling in from the atlantic — already bringing some rain into the south—west of england through the first part of sunday morning. further north and east, sunny spells, scattered heavy showers. through the day, our band of rain pushes northwards and eastwards, getting into parts of northern ireland, wales, the midlands, down into the south—east of england by sunday afternoon. and with that, quite afternoon. and with that, quite a strong wind at times as well. it will also turn really quite misty and murky for some coasts and hills in the west. temperature—wise, i think the highest values will be in eastern england, up to around 23 degrees. 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 the day, certainly through the latter part of the afternoon, is quite likely. as we head through sunday evening, our band of rain continues to make further progress northwards and eastwards, certainly getting up into southern and some central

parts of scotland. a lot of cloud further south and west. a bit misty and murky in places. and very, very warm and quite muqqy and very, very warm and quite muggy in the south — 16 or 17 degrees. we head on into monday — ourfirst band of rain pushes a little bit further northwards across scotland. could well see some further very wet weather moving across the channel islands and fringing into some southern counties of england. elsewhere, quite a lot of cloud. some showers at times. temperatures between 17 and 22 degrees. as we head deeper into the week, this area of low pressure is going to push away eastwards. it may be that another one pushes in from the west around the middle part of the week. the general pattern, though, through the week ahead is bringing ourair though, through the week ahead is bringing our air in from the north. that is going to make it feel really 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 some heavy showers around at times — some dry interludes.

fux of

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. 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. this time i meet sir antonio pappano in the run—up to the end of his remarkable tenure as music director of the royal opera house in london, one of the top jobs in opera. as a celebrated conductor, he wins praise and plaudits for his style and brilliance. he wants to smell every little new idea that comes up, every glimpse. tony is the music. he unites everyone. he cares about securing the future of opera and helps to train the big names of tomorrow. maestro pappano has been a great help into nurturingl talent of people like me who are young artists. l he's very encouraging. i go behind the scenes at the royal opera house to see tony in action and ask if opera

is losing its relevance