we will be speaking to the deputy ceo of shetland space port. we will speak to an estonian athlete who walked between these two towers in qatar. incredible stuff. sport now and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. hello from the bbc sport centre. england admitted their first two performances at the women's world cup didn't meet the standards they set in winning euro 2022 but the third bucked that trend. they ensured top spot in their group with a thumping 6—1 win over china in adelaide. 3—0 up at half time, england were pegged back to 3—1

before three more second half goals. laurenjames with her second and third of the tournament. and a record—equalling world cup victory for the lionesses. i am very delighted. i said we would have to do things a bit different than we did before and we did really well, that shows how much the team can adapt and they are enjoying themselves on the pitch. we expected from china that they would press a bit higher because they had to win to make a chance of going through. but they just stayed in shape. i do not think they expected us to play this way and they did not find a solution. denmark have gone through alongside england. their 2—0 win over haiti sealed with a 100th minute goal for sanne troelsgaard in perth. they also had two goals disallowed. haiti go out of their first world cup without a point or a goal. this is how group d finished. three out of three for england has them top. and they'll play nigeria in the next

round in brisbane on monday. denmark's runner up spot means it's co—hosts australia in the last 16 for them. holders the usa were a post's width from going out of the women's world cup but they squeezed through to the knockout stage with a 0—0 draw against portugal in auckland. but they've only qualified as runners up in their group. it's the usa's second draw in a row but could have been worse. having failed to take the chances that came their way, they nearly lost in injury time with ana capeta hitting the post for portugal. it's likely the usa in their last 16 match will be against sweden in melbourne. it is tough, what we have been doing is incredible. we have got to be proud. this is football but i think we showed that in football there is no impossible things. we have been working so hard in our clubs. we deserve much more.

the netherlands finished top of group e and comfortably so in the end. they beat vietnam 7—0 in dunedin. jill roord and esmee brugts both scored twice. brugts scored another one exactly like this to make it 6—0. the win is the biggest of the tournament so far. and the final group e standings show it would have been enough for the netherlands to go through as group winners on goal difference even if the usa had won their game. a match with the runners up from group g awaits them — that's currently italy. liverpool have sold two players to clubs in the saudi pro league so far. but their managerjurgen klopp is concerned about something else. how long the window is open for in the country? the four clubs that are funded by saudi investment fund continue to spend huge amounts on transfers particularly for europe—based players. the first thing i said, the transfer window in saudi arabia, it is not

helpful, and there must be a way for fifa to find a solution for that. but in the end, i don't know in this moment what will happen. it is already influentialfor moment what will happen. it is already influential for us, for sure, but we have got to learn to deal with it. australia still have a 100% record at the netball world cup with their latest win over malawi in cape town. the world's number one team have won four out of four despite being held at half time by malawi. but 28—all became 70—116 by the end. with australia top of their group above england, having played a game more. the two meet on thursday. tonga and scotland are about to start ther match in this second group stage. tonga are leading scotland 19—1; at the moment. and that's all the sport for now. the bbc has learned that thousands of pakistanis are taking a dangerous route to reach

europe illegally. many are travelling from pakistan to libya, sometimes via egypt. almost 300 pakistanis are thought to have drowned taking this route injune when their boat sank off the coast of greece. our pakistan correspondent, caroline davies, has rare access to a smuggler who police allege was involved in the greek wreck and a family who lost their two teenage sons. the sharp end of the crackdown on illegal migration. all of these are men that you've arrested in association with human smuggling? all of them. the majority here are alleged to have been involved in filling the migrant boat that left libya and sank off the coast of greece, including husnan shah. he denies that he was involved, but willingly admits that he's been a smuggler for more than ten years. translation: we started this - because there was no other business

and because of greed and the difficult situation, everyone is ready to take this journey. the government is not doing anything for the young generation here. i do not have a main role. it's the people who are sitting in libya who are very big and rich. do you feel guilty for the sort of things that have happened to people on these routes? i felt very sorry and we are really ashamed over this. but what can we do? if i don't do this, someone else will do it. hundreds of pakistanis are thought to have drowned when the packed boat sank injune, including teenage brothers fahad and tahid — theirfamily may never have a body to bury. praying instead, they only have photos and voice messages. translation: they messaged their father early _ morning from somebody�*s mobile saying we are leaving. "tell mother this

is our last message." her sons took a newly popular route, flying from pakistan to egypt, then to libya. officials told us that nearly 13,000 pakistanis travelled to the two countries in the first six months of this year, almost double the number of all of last year. around 10,000 are unaccounted for. do you have any idea where these thousands of people are? yeah, but we don't have it because they have gone to libya and we don't know whether they are still in libya or they have gone to any of the european countries. their flights out of the country are legal. these people have legal documents. they have legal visa, they have legal passports. so, we wouldn't stop them. some who hope to cross are still stuck in libya. this group didn't want us to show theirfaces, afraid that their young men held

there might face retaliation for their family speaking. translation: my son is living in a lot of difficulty. _ sometimes the only give food after 2 to 3 days. my son cries a lot and says, "what kind of trouble have you landed in?" we gave the money and we are dying here. pakistan's economy is in turmoil. youth unemployment is high. and despite the dangers and the crackdown, some still want to play the odds. many are afraid to appear on camera in case they are arrested. but we've spoken to multiple pakistanis who've told us that they would still take an illegaljourney. we've also spoken to a smuggler who says that they are still taking people out of the country. and we've spoken to police authorities who confirmed that they know that people are still leaving illegally. farid and najma spent months weighing up whether to let their teenage sons go. farid agreed.

they went with the same smuggler that had taken him to germany illegally eight years before. translation: i thought, we are poor people. - even if they get educated, they won't find a job. we don't have much land. so i thought they will go there, get educated and work. it doesn't matter how much anyone convinces you, you shouldn't go. this village may remember those that died in greece's waters, but many we spoke to hold little faith in what pakistan can offer and the pull to go can outweigh the fear. caroline davies, bbc news, punjab, pakistan. new figures show the rate at which food prices are rising in british shops has slowed down — to its lowest level this year. according to the british retail consortium, food inflation fell last month to 13.1t% — thanks to the lower cost of staple goods like oils,

breakfast cereals and fish. here's our business correspondent emma simpson. it may not feel like it but the worst of food price rises could now be over. grocery bills, though, are still way too high for many shoppers. like, before you can just walk in with £10 and get a lot of things but now even £10 can't even buy what you actually want to buy. i mean, at the moment i'm ok but i guess i'm very lucky. but if it increased any more, just like mortgage rates as well, just like, yeah, the whole thing's going up, isn't it? instead of buying luxuries now i buy the basics. - today's food price figures come from the trade body for retail which also monitors the change in shop prices. let's take a look at this chart which tells the story. now, you can see how food prices jumped from last year. they were going up before the war in ukraine, but then they really started to rocket from last summer. food inflation on this survey peaked at nearly 16% in april this year.

but it has been falling ever since, down to 13.1t% forjuly. the brc says that is helped by some key items like oils and fish coming down in cost. we are seeing that prices are falling in some areas and they are still continuing to rise but much more slowly. there are cause for concern around the ukraine exports of core cereals and also india have introduced rice restrictions. so there are cause for concern in those areas. but overall the picture is more optimistic. and poor weather on the high street lead to bigger discounts on clothing and footwear to persuade us to part with our cash. that led to overall shop prices falling month on month. it's very encouraging to see the rate of shop price inflation fade finally, after two years

in which we have all felt the pinch. but unfortunately the bank of england probably still have to press ahead with higher interest rates on thursday. services inflation still is far too high relative to their target, and so they need to squeeze the economy a bit harder to get that down, too. consumers are trying to cope by changing what they buy in the aisles. for now, overall food prices are still going up. it's just that they're not going up quite as fast as before. emma simpson, bbc news. police in australia say a former childcare worker has been charged with more than 1,600 child abuse offences, including 136 counts of rape. the man's alleged victims, more than 90, were all young girls. police say they were alerted when they found material on the dark web, that they could trace back to a childcare centre. 0ur correspondent — phil mercer — gave us this update from sydney — a little earlier.

well, these are deeply disturbing, disturbing allegations. it goes without saying, given that this is an individual who's charged with more than 1,600 child abuse offences against alleged victims numbering more than 90. investigators here in australia say that this man, 45 years of age, was responsible for abusing young girls at childcare centres, mostly here in australia, but some overseas, between 2007 and 2022. they allege that he was preying on girls for a 15 year period and investigators say that this is one of the worst cases of child abuse they've ever seen. now we do understand that certain images were detected by australian police on the dark web almost a decade ago and it's taken them a very long time to identify the alleged individual involved

and also his alleged victims. so this is a case that spans many, many years. dozens of alleged victims and the police here in australia have been giving more details. an investigation that has led to a former child care worker being charged with 1,623 child abuse offences against 91 children, including 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under ten in brisbane, sydney and overseas between 2007 and 2022. that was the police talking about that about that around the world and across the uk.

the city would be divided into five zones with improvements made to existing routes and motorist would have to drive around rather than across the city to go between zones. 0r potentially face a fine for crossing boundaries. the idea was to get people out of their cars and to travel by foot, bike or public transport but the new leadership of the council is officially reviewing the council is officially reviewing the scheme which is a way of saying it will be scrapped. balancing the needs of motorists and the need to protect the planet is becoming a big issue and the conservatives had condemned the expansion of the ultra low emission zone by the mayor of london.

the uk could soon be able to launch its first rocket into space from an island north of the scottish mainland. the land on unst, one of the shetland islands, was bought by a husband and wife team around 15 years ago — now the site could now be just weeks away from securing a spaceport licence. scott hammond is one of those planning the launch. he's the deputy ceo of shetland space port — and we can talk to him now. how excited are you? are you nervous?— how excited are you? are you nervous? ~ ., ., ., , ., nervous? we are not nervous about the licence _ nervous? we are not nervous about the licence and _ nervous? we are not nervous about the licence and we _ nervous? we are not nervous about the licence and we have _ nervous? we are not nervous about the licence and we have been - nervous? we are not nervous about l the licence and we have been working very hard with the civil aviation authority because the number one priority is safety and that is what they are responsible for, so we are working hand—in—hand with them and making good progress. the excitement when the launch happens, i will be on tender hooks, no doubt about it. when do you hope that is? hopefully

towards the end _ when do you hope that is? hopefully towards the end of _ when do you hope that is? hopefully towards the end of this _ when do you hope that is? hopefully towards the end of this year. - towards the end of this year. anybody who promises a launch date in this industry is probably lying to you but certainly we will be looking for three orbital launches next year. looking for three orbital launches next ear. , , ., ., looking for three orbital launches next ear. ., next year. tell me why you are so determined _ next year. tell me why you are so determined to _ next year. tell me why you are so determined to do _ next year. tell me why you are so determined to do this _ next year. tell me why you are so determined to do this because - next year. tell me why you are so i determined to do this because there are so many big players in this market launching satellites, so isn't it too late to be gate—crashing the party? isn't it too late to be gate-crashing the party? isn't it too late to be aaate-crashin the -a ? ., ., �* gate-crashing the party? no, i don't think so. gate-crashing the party? no, i don't think s0- it — gate-crashing the party? no, i don't think s0- it is _ gate-crashing the party? no, i don't think so. it is a _ gate-crashing the party? no, i don't think so. it is a valid _ gate-crashing the party? no, i don't think so. it is a valid question - gate-crashing the party? no, i don't think so. it is a valid question but i think so. it is a valid question but europe needs access to space and at the moment we have the launch site but there are none on the european mainland and there is a huge satellite market in the uk and europe that we can tap into, and glasgow, they make small satellites, more than anywhere in the world outside of silicon valley. so a valid question but we very much

think there is a market here in europe and the uk.— think there is a market here in europe and the uk. what has it taken to net to europe and the uk. what has it taken to get to this — europe and the uk. what has it taken to get to this point? _ europe and the uk. what has it taken to get to this point? we _ europe and the uk. what has it taken to get to this point? we have - europe and the uk. what has it taken to get to this point? we have seen i to get to this point? we have seen pictures of the launch site but what has it taken to get here? i am pictures of the launch site but what has it taken to get here?— has it taken to get here? i am only 21 and i has it taken to get here? i am only 21 and i look— has it taken to get here? i am only 21 and i look like _ has it taken to get here? i am only 21 and i look like this! _ has it taken to get here? i am only 21 and i look like this! we - has it taken to get here? i am only 21 and i look like this! we have - 21 and i look like this! we have been going 5—6 years and it has taken a long time for people to take us seriously and then raising all the money because we are privately financed and we have not had any money from the government. and then bringing on clients. we have had to do all of that and also planning permission. if you go to a town planner and say you want to build a spaceport they look at you like you are a madman.— spaceport they look at you like you are a madman. quick final question, are a madman. quick final question, are ou are a madman. quick final question, are you confident _ are a madman. quick final question, are you confident in _ are a madman. quick final question, are you confident in the _ are a madman. quick final question, are you confident in the rockets? - are you confident in the rockets? when you get to launch them, the spaceport in cornwall has horizontal

launches from a jumbo jet and that was done recently but did not succeed. ., ., ., ., , , succeed. you have got to be prepared for failure. that _ succeed. you have got to be prepared for failure. that is _ succeed. you have got to be prepared for failure. that is very _ succeed. you have got to be prepared for failure. that is very much, - succeed. you have got to be prepared for failure. that is very much, when i for failure. that is very much, when we designed the spaceport, it is all around safety, so if it fails, it will fail safely, and that is an industry risk. the local population is safe, we have got to make sure. there will be failures, but you have got to learn through failure to actually achieve what you want. scott hammond, good luck in the coming weeks and maybe we will talk again before you get to that first launch but thanks forjoining us. if you were watching the programme yesterday — you might remember these incredible pictures from qatar.

jaan roose — an estonian athlete — walking across this slackline — between two iconic towers — 185 metres above the ground. incredible stuff — and i'm delighted to say that jaan joins us live. we are looking at these pictures and thatis we are looking at these pictures and that is absolutely astonishing. what was that like? it that is absolutely astonishing. what was that like?— was that like? it was really tough. ma be not was that like? it was really tough. maybe not the _ was that like? it was really tough. maybe not the longest _ was that like? it was really tough. maybe not the longest line - was that like? it was really tough. maybe not the longest line i - was that like? it was really tough. maybe not the longest line i have | maybe not the longest line i have done. i was doing ten times longer before that but this time, this was the hardest because it took a lot more time than expected because of harsh wind conditions. i iffiiiii more time than expected because of harsh wind conditions.— harsh wind conditions. i will come back to that _ harsh wind conditions. i will come back to that in _ harsh wind conditions. i will come back to that in a _ harsh wind conditions. i will come back to that in a moment - harsh wind conditions. i will come back to that in a moment back- harsh wind conditions. i will come back to that in a moment back to | back to that in a moment back to ordinary people it looks absolutely mad doing that so do you get frightened? what is going through your mind? what are you actually thinking about in these moments? i’m thinking about in these moments? in getting scared of heights and that

is one of the reasons i am also doing it and overcoming those fears. i'm also thinking about step—by—step, trying to fight the wind. trying to calculate the next steps. so much noise coming from the city. steps. so much noise coming from the ci . ., . ., steps. so much noise coming from the ci . ., , steps. so much noise coming from the ci. ., , ., ., steps. so much noise coming from the city. you can see the amount of movement _ city. you can see the amount of movement on — city. you can see the amount of movement on that _ city. you can see the amount of movement on that line, - city. you can see the amount of movement on that line, it - city. you can see the amount of movement on that line, it is - city. you can see the amount of l movement on that line, it is quite something. the slack line is different to a tightrope? fit, something. the slack line is different to a tightrope? a slack line is flat and _ different to a tightrope? a slack line is flat and also _ different to a tightrope? a slack line is flat and also the - different to a tightrope? a slack| line is flat and also the dynamics are different.— are different. does that mean it moves more? _ are different. does that mean it moves more? yes, _ are different. does that mean it moves more? yes, it _ are different. does that mean it moves more? yes, it moves - are different. does that mean it i moves more? yes, it moves more are different. does that mean it - moves more? yes, it moves more in the wind. moves more? yes, it moves more in the wind- it — moves more? yes, it moves more in the wind- it is _ moves more? yes, it moves more in the wind. it is not _ moves more? yes, it moves more in the wind. it is not stable. _ moves more? yes, it moves more in the wind. it is not stable. it - moves more? yes, it moves more in the wind. it is not stable. it can - the wind. it is not stable. it can move, the length of the slack line. so i have to control the whole slack line with my body weight, arms, legs, everything, and use my arms

instead of a stick. that legs, everything, and use my arms instead of a stick.— instead of a stick. that makes it even more _ instead of a stick. that makes it even more difficult. _ instead of a stick. that makes it even more difficult. you - instead of a stick. that makes it even more difficult. you talkedl even more difficult. you talked about the wind and you can see this in the pictures, the way you are being buffeted around. how did you cope with that?— cope with that? yes, i have to keep remindin: cope with that? yes, i have to keep reminding myself _ cope with that? yes, i have to keep reminding myself during _ cope with that? yes, i have to keep reminding myself during the - cope with that? yes, i have to keep reminding myself during the walk. cope with that? yes, i have to keep| reminding myself during the walk to breathe because it is so tough to be “p breathe because it is so tough to be up there. every muscle is working too much on my body. it keeps being quite tense, the whole body, and mentally, not forgetting what i need to do, also breathing, and controlling my movements and not rushing. because every single second i could fall off and lose my balance. but it was successful. what is our balance. but it was successful. what is your brain — balance. but it was successful. what is your brain telling _ balance. but it was successful. what is your brain telling you _ balance. but it was successful. what is your brain telling you at _ balance. but it was successful. what is your brain telling you at this point? did you think, why did i

decide to do this? in terms of not rushing, are you trying to keep your brain calm even as you are getting towards the end of the line? yes. towards the end of the line? yes, even at the _ towards the end of the line? yes, even at the end. _ towards the end of the line? yes, even at the end. at _ towards the end of the line? yes, even at the end. at the _ towards the end of the line? yes, even at the end. at the end - towards the end of the line? yes even at the end. at the end it is easy to overreact and not finish correctly before you get to the finish so it is important to move in calm moves and calm steps and not to run into the finish. it is all about walking two centimetres because the line is so thin and it has the extra weight. such a long, long slack line. when i look at these pictures closely, you are clipped onto the slack line? yes, there is some sort of safety. it is a highness with a

rope. —— harness. sometimes it looks good but i do not see what is happening behind my back. half a second, something could change. hm? second, something could change. why did ou second, something could change. why did you pick these buildings and what are you planning next? fits did you pick these buildings and what are you planning next? $5 an what are you planning next? as an athlete i always _ what are you planning next? as an athlete i always look _ what are you planning next? as an athlete i always look for _ what are you planning next? as an athlete i always look for the - athlete i always look for the biggest challenges and new ways to push the sport of slack lining. here you have got the led slack line, two towers, i thought this could be the best spot for it. i have got the next project. usually i try to keep it for myself in the beginning

because i do not count my chickens before they hatch. i because i do not count my chickens before they hatch.— before they hatch. i can see why! it is staggering. _ before they hatch. i can see why! it is staggering, looking _ before they hatch. i can see why! it is staggering, looking at _ before they hatch. i can see why! it is staggering, looking at these - is staggering, looking at these pictures, watching you doing it. thanks forjoining us and talking us through what you have achieved. i am back with more of the headlines in a moment or two. hello, there. we're into a new month, but very little change to the weather pattern. it's going to remain unsettled throughout the rest of this week with low pressure systems dominating the scene. and it will feel rather cool as well for the time of year. now, july was a wet month up and down the country. many places saw more than double their normal amounts of rainfall. a few areas even saw three times the amount of rainfall, all because of low pressure. now, that's yesterday's area of low pressure. this is tomorrow's low pressure.

we're in between weather systems for the rest of today. so not a bad afternoon, i suppose. we'll see some sunshine around. quite a bit of cloud, though, across scotland, northern england, northern ireland, some spots of rain in there as well and the odd shower elsewhere. otherwise, it's mostly dry and with lighter winds for many, we should be up to around 22 degrees, but it goes downhill quite quickly across the southwest. this next area of low pressure hurtles in this evening and overnight, bringing strengthening winds across the south and the west and outbreaks of rain which will continue to push northwards and eastwards to most areas, that is away from the north of scotland. and for many it will be quite a mild and muggy night as well. so here's wednesday's picture, it looks pretty autumnal. and in fact, with this deep low spreading across the country, we'll see widespread gales across the channel and southern england there, 50, 60mph gusts, but lighterwinds in the centre of the system. so as we move through the afternoon with light winds here,

sunshine appears, may set off some heavy showers or thunderstorms and they may be slow moving because the winds will be light in the centre of the low. could be up to 20 to 22 degrees in the warmest spots. otherwise, for most, it's the high teens. that area of low pressure pulls away into the near continent. so for thursday, we're in a run of north north westerly winds, could start off with quite a lot of cloud across the northern half of the country. a few showers from the word go in the south, but it is a day of sunshine and showers. it will feel quite cool as well in the brisk north westerly winds, certainly around northern and western coasts. in the sunshine, not too bad, but we'll see most of the showers across western areas and some of them could turn out to be heavy and thundery. disappointing temperatures for early august. generally it's the mid to high teens. so another day of sunshine and showers today on friday. the heavy showers will be towards the east of england. and then another area of low pressure arrives in time for the weekend.

live from london, this is bbc news. france prepares to airlift its nationals out of niger as the security situation deteriorates after last week's military coup. russia blames ukraine after the second drone strike on a moscow skyscraper in two days. torrential rains batter northern china, leaving 20 people dead, as another typhoon approaches the east coast. and england beat china 6—1 to reach the last 16 of the women's world cup.

hello, i'm matthew amroliwala. welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. we start with france's plan to begin airlifting its citizens out of niger in west africa in the coming hours. the foreign ministry in paris said the decision to carry out an evacuation was prompted by the worsening security situation after last week's military coup. france said it had negotiated with the acting authorities in niger to proceed, and will also help other european nationals to leave. it comes after supporters of the coup burned french flags and attacked the french embassy on sunday. the coup leaders in niger have accused france of preparing to attack. militaryjuntas in burkina faso, mali and guinea — warned that any foreign military intervention in niger would be considered a declaration of war on them.

niger is a key part of africa's sahel region, which stretches