for fans — wherever they were watching — there was delirious celebration, and the team manager could barely believe her own achievement. i never take anything for granted, but i'm like, am i here in a fairy tale or something? i will be live here in sydney, where england's player are waking up knowing they are just one more win away from the game's ultimate prize and sporting immortality. and the other main stories on tonight's programme. a sharp drop in the rate at which prices are rising — inflation now stands at 6.8%. where are the treasures of gold, jewellery and gems reported by the british museum as missing or stolen? and the owners of the gutted crooked house pub are linked to another major blaze five years ago. and on newsnight at 10:30pm... we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories.

plus a first look at tomorrow's front pages. good evening. england's lionesses have thrilled and delighted fans at home and abroad by beating the hosts australia 3—1 in a keenly contested world cup semi—final. it's the third consecutive time they've been in the last four in the world cup — and it now means they will face spain in the final on sunday. today's match was full of drama and tension, leaving the audience — wherever they were — on a rollercoaster of emotions. it's tough being a fan. with a place in the final potentially 90 minutes away, the tension was deep and palpable. despite a nervy opening,

england's first goal sparked wild celebrations... cheering. ..both in australia and back home. but australia's supporters knew their team weren't going down without a fight. cheering. and a goal in the second half restored hope to the home nation. england fans on tenterhooks — but then two more goals sealed england's place in sunday's final against spain. # it's coming home.# well, our sports editor dan roan is in sydney and was at the game. dan, just how big a moment is this for the lionesses? it's another seismic moment on their journey of success, reeta. england's campaign here in australia had

already been testament to the resolve of a side that had to cope with the adversary of injuries to key players, the suspension of their top scorer and a slow start, but then came the toughest test to date, trying to take on the co—hosts themselves in front of 70,000 fans at the national stadium in the sense that they were having to take on an entire nation as well as a team. but as ever, this side dug deep and found a way. not since this stadium was the focal point of the olympics here 23 years ago has a sports event brought australia to a standstill quite like this. the matildas�* pursuit of world cup glory on home soil has gripped a nation and inspired new fans. but threatening to crash the party, england — vastly outnumbered amid a sea of green and gold, but daring to dream. we're outnumbered 1000 to i, but we're going to be the loudest fans in the stadium. we want to beat england. if there's anyone we want to beat, it's england. england had grown into this tournament. now, in a deafening atmosphere, they faced their toughest test.

the matildas, buoyed by the return of superstar sam kerr after injury. this the captain's first start of the world cup. england had said they had a game plan and started brightly. alex greenwood finding georgia stanway. the midfielder denied. kerr is one of a number of matildas who play their club football in england. greenwood booked after getting a little too familiar. but a cagey first half was about to burst into life. commentary: it's toone! oh, wow. ella toone producing a moment of magic to silence the crowd. this england's time to celebrate. toone had been brought in to the side to replace the suspended lauren james. how she had repaid her manager's faith. australia started the second half needing something special. what they got was truly sensational. kerr goes for it. 0h! all hail the wizard of aus. the phenomenal kerr bearing down

on the england defence before unleashing a shot that lifted an entire nation. a goal of majesty by one of the game's greatest players. england had shown fight and spirit this tournament. could they do so again? the answer was emphatic. hemp! lauren hemp stealing in as the hosts�* defence faltered, and drilling home to revive england's lead. australia were desperate. kerr blasting wide, much to the anguish of the hosts. england had survived and moments later booked their place in the final. it's russo! absolutely sublime! australia had nothing left. their memorable world cupjourney over. semifinal losers in their previous two world cups, this time england through to the biggest match of their lives. and so these players now stand on the brink of sporting immortality. not since 1966 has an england side walked out for a world cup final. now these lionesses have the chance to become modern day legends of the game. we've been saying we're dreaming

of the semis and things like that, but now this is what it's all about. a world cup final with this group. yeah. buzzing. you know, the chance as a coach or as a player, you make it to finals is really, really special. i'd never take anything for granted, but i'm, like, am i hearing a little fairy tale or something? just disappointment, - of course, first and foremost. we thought we were in it there to win it, and it's. disappointing to fall short. but, yeah, at the same time, - we've got to be really proud of how we've played this tournament - and what we've done to kind of get the nation on our side. 12 months ago, this team had become champions of europe, fuelled by home support. now, here on the other side of the world, in this most intimidating of environments, their togetherness had prevailed. dan roan, bbc news, sydney. well, this was the latest instalment in a classic anglo australian sporting rivalry, of course. and with a place in the final on the

line, millions back and watched on. my line, millions back and watched on. my colleague natalie pirks soaked up the atmosphere. they say patience is a virtue. england fans have been a model of resolve. decades of deep breaths, of shoulda, woulda, coulda, but now, at the third time of asking, the final beckons. i feel like they are role models for so many young girls across the country. i feel like it's a really big achievement for the whole of the football community. we love you, ella, we do! oh, ella, we love you! - ella toone has proved herself to be the playerfor the big occasion. for herfamily watching in manchester, her first—half goal gave england liftoff. commentator: ella toone! tooney! and from those just starting their footballing journey... england!

..to those who have been on an emotional roller—coaster with england, the final whistle was time for reflection. well, it's an historic moment already and obviously we are all so proud of what the lionesses have achieved so far. but i think it willjust continue that, it will continue to inspire young people, boys and girls up and down the country and hopefully boost further investment. england, european champions! since last summer, the trajectory of women's football has rocketed. fa figures show an explosion of under—i6 girls in particular playing the game and audiences in the women's super league have tripled last season. yeah, it's incredible, - that's why we do what we do. especially to get as many young people inspired by football. - we are just out here doing - what we love and we just want as many people to do what they love too. . but the playing field is still far from level. the lionesses came into this tournament embroiled in an unresolved dispute over bonuses with the fa. nike refused to manufacture mary earps�*s shirt —

something she described as hugely hurtful. and we only knew who would be broadcasting the games six weeks before the first match — something that damaged players�* full earning potential. sunday's world cup final is a moment, it's a moment and everyone will then be trying to get on board but they have to get on board long—term. there are certain sponsors that have been involved in the game for many years and will now be reaping rewards and i think there will be lots of sponsors and lots of brands that are sitting there thinking, we left it too late. england didn't leave it late. even on a midweek morning, millions watched as they left the green and gold of australia feeling blue. and england are heading for the world cup final! more will surely tune in on sunday for the lionesses�* great leap into the unknown. natalie pirks, bbc news. it can well, that sensational

victory here over australia further cements the reputation of these players, whose drive, their excellence and humble approach has turned them into role models for millions, along with, of course, the standing of their manager sarina wiegman, who has simply transformed the fortunes of this site, turning them into serial winners since she took over two years ago. added investment by the fa, the professionalism of the club game, have also played key roles. the euros victory last year, as you have been hearing, left a lasting legacy, providing a huge boost to the game in terms of participation and profile, inspiring many girls to take up football and indeed sport. but if england can now go one better and claim the ultimate prize, they could prove even more transformative. this is a team that successfully campaigned, remember, for the government to commit to providing equal provision for both boys and girls in school pe, so they

could perhaps be even more of a force for change. it won't be easy against a force for change. it won't be easy againsta spain force for change. it won't be easy against a spain side who almost knocked england out of the euro that year. they will have a large contingent from the barcelona side, but if england can go all the way, they will be afforded legendary status forever. ailiilur they will be afforded legendary status forever.— they will be afforded legendary status forever. our sports editor dan roan- _ thanks, dan. now to rest of the day's news. inflation has fallen sharply and is now at its lowest level for more than a year. it means that prices are still going up, but not as fast. inflation stands at 6.8% in the year tojuly ? that's down from 7.9% injune. it's partly because food price increases have been slowing down, and also because of a fall in energy costs. in october last year, inflation hit a peak of ii.i%. here's our economics editor, faisal islam. the heat might be coming out of rising prices at supermarkets and convenience shops, and that can be seen, for example, in milk prices on the shelves

of h &jodies's in walsall. 0verall, they are still rising, though, just by less than they were. all of this area was, originally, about two months ago, all a pound zone, so every single bag was £1, but then they went up to £1.25, and now we've seen a further increase for newer stock which is £1.35. and is it going to go back to £1? no, it is definitely not going to go back to £1, i think this will be the new price. but some things have gone down? some things have, like the cost of milk has gone down. that has gone down, and we have noticed that at the shelf point but things like these that are made from milk haven't gone down, these have gone up. here and in shops across the country, they're still updating prices on a weekly basis, but falls in gas and electric bills are offering a glimpse of a more normal economy. today's figures were driven by those first falls in average household energy bills, which soared amid the russia—ukraine war, even after government support. july saw the first fallback to about £2,000 for an average dual fuel bill. that's helped drive down the inflation rate from a high

of 11% to under 7%, though that is still higher than other similar countries and well above the target of 2%. and elsewhere in the economy, the key service sector inflation measure, which includes restaurants and hotels, actually rose to a joint 32—year—high. the path for the annual rate of inflation does seem now to be coming down pretty sharply, and that will continue into the autumn as domestic energy bills continue to fall. but the level of prices endured by people at shops and elsewhere, well, that remain significantly higher than it was before this energy shock, and the bank of england will continue to keep interest rates at this higher level for some time to come. at this robotics and automation business in walsall, they have the technology to help boost the economy. they say they are riding out the rise in business costs, but are worried about rising interest rates.

from our point of view, automation and robotics, the uk lags quite woefully, in truth, so the impact on access to finance and the cost of borrowing could further have a negative effect on that. so what are you most worried about now? from our own perspective, the biggest concern for us is high interest rates and whether that will actually slow down general industry and the general approach to investment. back at h &jodie's, owner harjit says his customers are still facing the cost of living crisis. last year, he subsidised hot water bottles to help, and may need to again. i wish we didn't have to do it, but i think we will have to do it again this year. inflation seems to be following, now, quite rapidly. does it feel like the crisis point is over? no. i think we're still in it. with some prices falling back, there is a path out of this long period of economic uncertainty, but today's evidence is that it will remain bumpy. and faisal is with me now. it has looked like things were starting to improve. do these latest

figures support that? there is good and bad news in the figures, the good news reflecting what we already knew which is the energy price shock is starting to work its way through the system, which caused inflation to go up to 11% and now, as it starts to turn, inflation is starting to fall quite rapidly. but the bad news is about the next 3—6 months potentially because that huge spike in inflation has left inflationary shadows dotted around the economy in the expectations of companies and where they set prices or where wages are set and you can see that in some of the numbers that came out. i showed in my report services inflation, about cafes and restaurants and tourism, that went back up to a joint 31 year high. core inflation, another measure of underlying inflationary pressures which strips out volatile measures, is stuck in the critical things about these measures is that is what the bank of england watches carefully when it sets interest rates so ta ken england watches carefully when it sets interest rates so taken the in the round, the figures are

consistent with further rate rises, one or two over the autumn, which is why, yes, you can see the path through this but it promises to be a rather bumpy one. i}!(. through this but it promises to be a rather bumpy one.— through this but it promises to be a rather bumpy one. detectives in northern ireland have arrested a 39—year—old man on suspicion of collection of information likely to be useful to terrorists following the major police service of northern ireland data leak. the psni has apologised for mistakenly revealing details of all its 10,000 staff last week. bbc news understands that three people known to the ten—year—old girl who was found dead in herfamily home in woking last week booked tickets to fly to pakistan the day before she was discovered. police say the body of a girl named locally as sara sharif was found in the early hours of last thursday. a member of staff at the british museum has been dismissed, and the metropolitan police are investigating after a number of items were found to be "missing,

stolen, or damaged." 0ur correspondent robin brant is at the museum for us now. tell us more. this is one of the most visited _ tell us more. this is one of the most visited tourist _ tell us more. this is one of the most visited tourist attractions | tell us more. this is one of the l most visited tourist attractions in the country and the british museum is a globally renowned institution but tonight there is a roomy inside the building that for all intents and purposes, it is being treated as and purposes, it is being treated as a crime scene —— there is a room. there was a statement from the british museum that detailed what happened, as they discovered earlier this year that items among the collection were missing, stolen or damaged and a member of staff had been dismissed. what do we know about what has gone missing? they are apparently small pieces that were kept inside a store room, they have not been on display to the public recently but they include gold jewellery, gems of semiprecious stones and glass that date from the 15th century bc to the 19th century ad system items could be up to 3500

years old. george osborne, former tory chancellor and now chair of the british museum, has described as a sad day and said the priority is to find out where the items are and try and get them back. is a hugely embarrassing security breach for the british museum. there are no enterprise this artefact is being cared for inside this building but what is that lots of things are unclear. they do not have a full inventory of what is missing, they don't know where it is, how long this has been going on for and they don't have a true value on what is missing. what we do know is that a member of staff has been sacked and the museum along with the metropolitan police is investigating what they fear may have been an insidejob. what they fear may have been an inside 'ob. ., , what they fear may have been an inside job-— junior doctors in scotland have voted to accept a pay offer from ministers at holyrood, ending the threat of further strike action. the deal involves a pay increase of 12.4% this year, and will cost the scottish government £61.3 million. our health editor, hugh pym, is here. how significant is this?

thosejunior doctor those junior doctor members of the british medical association have voted for that 12.4% offer up with more than 81% in favour so significant for the nhs there at the end of any potential for that dispute to continue. but very different in england, and significant that it is different because members of the same bma union have rejected an offer of 9% put forward by the government at westminster. and the government line is that is a final offer and in line with the pay review body so the bma are now balloting members again who are now balloting members again who arejunior are now balloting members again who are junior doctors are now balloting members again who arejunior doctors in england about extending their strike mandate beyond the end of this month. we learnt today a bit more about the impact of strikes. the figures covering the latest four—day walk—out byjunior doctors in walk—out by junior doctors in england walk—out byjunior doctors in england which ended yesterday it revealed nearly 62,000 appointments and operations postponed at hospitals, mental health trusts and community trust and if you look at the impact of all the strikes in the

nhs it in england since the end of last year, is getting on for nearly 900,000 postponements. this is the concern of health leaders, that this carries on into the autumn and may be the winter in england with a bigger impact on patients and real problems in trying to reduce the backlog. problems in trying to reduce the backlou. . ~ problems in trying to reduce the backlou. ., ~ , ., , problems in trying to reduce the backlou. . ~ ,, , . former us president donald trump will apear in court in georgia between 5th and 8th september. it follows his latest indictment in the state on 13 charges linked to allegations to tried to overturn the 2020 election results. ukrainian prisoners of war who have been released in exchanges say they were tortured while being held at a facility in south—western russia. in a bbc investigation, a dozen former detainees came forward, saying they'd been beaten and subjected to electric shocks after returning from a detention centre in the city of taganrog. the un says russia hasn't allowed its monitors to visit such facilities. 0ur correspondent hugo bachega has been speaking to those who survived the ordeal.

translation: sheer hell. the scariest part was when they called you up for interrogation. translation: how can you describe a place where you are stripped - of everything human? these ukrainians were captured by the enemy... translation: they can do anything they want with you physically. - ..and taken to this russian prison in taganrog, a place they now associate with torture. in may last year, the city of mariupol was under siege. artem, a sniper with the azov regiment, wanted to keep on fighting. but ukraine ordered the troops in the azovstal steelworks to surrender. translation: when | heard - about captivity for the first time, i had the worst images in my head about what could happen.

artem was held in taganrog for seven months. he says he was frequently beaten and given electric shocks. he often witnessed other captives suffering too. after the beatings one day, i was brought to a room. i saw a young man holding his hands up, his fingers were bleeding. "did they insert needles under yourfingernails," i asked. he said yes. for weeks, i tracked down ukrainians who had been taken to taganrog and came back. people like irena, who is now a conscript officer in the military. she was a combat medic when she surrendered. she says not even the women were spared the brutality of the guards. translation: they dragged us by our hair. _ they beat us in the kidneys, in the ribs, with hammers and batons. how do you describe taganrog?

only devils live and work there. this is denis, a military surgeon. he tells me people were beaten as soon as they arrived. translation: they threw me | on the floor, ordered me to not lift my head up and gave me electric shocks until they discharged - the entire taser battery on me. you are convulsing. if lift your head off the floor, they start beating you, - and the circle never ends. up to 10,000 ukrainian prisoners of war are believed to remain in russian captivity, including hundreds of the azovstal defenders. many are being held in prisons across the country — a violation of the rules of war.

here, campaigns like this one are fighting for their freedom and for russia to protect their rights. the russian defence ministry has not replied to our request for comment. but prisoner swaps like this one... ..give hope to families still waiting to see their loved ones again. how do you recover from all this? i am currently undergoing treatment and my priority is to take care of my health so i can put on my uniform, pick up my weapons and defend my country. the battles in this war continue, not only on the front lines but also in the lives of ukrainians trying to overcome so much cruelty. hugo bachega, bbc news, kyiv. it's emerged that the owners of the crooked house pub, which was gutted by fire and demolished in controversial circumstances shortly after they bought it, had another major blaze five years ago on a separate piece of land they own. tonight, more than a hundred people

who live near the historic black country landmark joined a public meeting to push for answers about what happened. anna foster reports. the crooked house fascinated visitors for hundreds of years. now its dramatic destruction is attracting more attention than ever. just weeks after it was sold to new owners, a fire ripped through the tilting building. two days later... ..without permission, the remains were flattened completely. the digger that pulled it down was already close by. it had been rented by a company controlled by the new owner a week before the blaze. adam and carly taylor didn't reply to the bbc�*s request for an interview about their pub. and today there was another development — five years ago, 400 tonnes of waste caught light at a landfill site in buckinghamshire owned by adam taylor's company. the cause of that fire

was never established. what happened at the crooked house is being treated as arson, and people want answers. i'm not sure i've ever come across a campaign that's united so many people. more than 100 came to a public meeting in dudley this evening. i'm quite upset about this, and angry, and it's righteous anger. i think that's going to carry us going forward, yeah. i think we keep talking about it, we keep sharing memories, we keep, just keep it in the public eye as much as we can. thousands more have shown their support online. the numbers, the sheer. numbers, i'm surprised by. i think we could've filled this place 20 times over today. l campaigners now say they have two aims — to see the pub rebuilt and to get what they are calling justice. anna foster, bbc news. two former royal marines have described being shot at by pirates while attempting to navigate the amazon in a world

record attempt. john bathgate from edinburgh and ian roberts from exeter set out to travel more than 3,000 miles, from ecuador across brazil. but they were attacked in peru, close to the colombian border. john bathgate was shot twice, but they managed to fend off the attackers with a rowing oar, before paddling to safety in a peruvian village. he's been reflecting on that experience. what i would like to get through to people is that this does not define peru. these were two individuals who, probably due to lack of options, not having much and seeing, you know, us rich westerners going by with all this equipment, it does not excuse what they did but, you know, their actions don't define the people of peru. they're both now safely back in the uk, but hope to return to peru within a year to finish the expedition. time for a look at the weather.

here's ben rich. we do seem to be having a summer, finally! fist we do seem to be having a summer, finall ! �* ., .,, , we do seem to be having a summer, finall!�* ., , �*, ., finally! at long last but it's not entirely plain _ finally! at long last but it's not entirely plain sailing. - finally! at long last but it's not entirely plain sailing. when . finally! at long last but it's not entirely plain sailing. when is| finally! at long last but it's not l entirely plain sailing. when is it, after all? today it was very warm for some of us, highest temperatures in the capital of 27 celsius with blue skies overhead and as we head to the end of the week it will stay warm and turn increasingly humid. but through friday, some windy and then some wet weather will arrive. but a fairly quiet night tonight, a quiet start to tomorrow morning with some areas of low cloud, mist and murk around first thing but they will tend to lift and clear fairly quickly and then we will see some lengthy spells of sunshine. just a small chance of catching a shower but most places will stay dry. a bit more of a breeze and with that coming from the east, when you are exposed on a north sea coast,

temperatures of 17—20 but with some shelter from the breeze around western coast, more like 25 or 26 degrees and maybe 27 the parts of central and southern england but as we move into friday, these frontal systems begin to squash in from the south—west and you can see the isobars are squeezing together which shows it will turn quite windy around western coast and in fact, the coast of north—west wales could see gusts over 50—60 mph. a band of heavy and thundery rain pushing in, then a drier gap and then more general wet weather developing in the south—west. depending on the timing of these rain bands, if it stays bright for long enough, it will be again very warm day and very humid certainly but friday night is very wet with heavy and thundery rain driving northwards and eastwards. however, for the weekend, although there will be some showers around, particularly towards the north and west of the uk, a lot of dry weather as well, particularly in the south and at the start of next week, things might turn even warmer

for some of us. that's all for now. thank you. in a moment it's time for the news where you are. let's return to the england women's success against australia at the world cup, which has seen them through to sunday's final against spain. tonight, wembley�*s arch has been lit up in red and white in tribute to the lionesses. after today's success, everyone will be hoping they bring the world cup home. good night. # where it began... great play.