the leader of the mercenary group wagner, yevgeny prigozhin? prigozhin and his deputy dmitry utkin are presumed to have died. the bodies are yet to be identified. amidst huge speculation over what's happened, the kremlin and vladimir putin have remained silent. we'll be asking what this means for the war in ukraine, for the wagner group, and also for the russian leadership. also on the programme: the government has ordered an independent inquiry into the handling of the andrew malkinson case. his conviction for rape was quashed after 17 years in prison the number of people in the uk waiting for a decision on their asylum claim has risen to a record high, latest figures show. i got igotan i got an eight in polish! there's jubilation and inevitably disappointment as hundreds of thousands of pupils get their gsce results in england,

wales and northern ireland. joshis josh is going to get there! its gold! and giving it his all — britain'sjosh kerr has a thrilling finish to win the 1500m race in the athletics world championships in budapest. and coming up on bbc news: manchester city's bid of £47 million for matheus nunes is turned down by wolves. we'll have the latest on that with just over a week left in the transfer window. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. aviation authorities in russia say the leader of the mercenary wagner group, yevgeny prigozhin, was on a plane that crashed in western russia yesterday. prigozhin, whose troops have fought for russia in ukraine, led a failed mutiny against vladimir putin injune. authorities say all ten people

on board were killed after the private aircraft came down. so far the kremlin has not confirmed his death, but a social media channel linked to the wagner group reported the death and said he was "killed as a result of actions by traitors of russia". our correspondent will vernon has the details. the crash site today in russia. investigators say they have recovered the bodies of all ten people that were on board. the key question now — what caused the crash? officials say they are examining a number of theories, including the possibility of external actions leading to mr prigozhin�*s crash yesterday. all eyes are now on vladimir putin, who was attending a summit today by video link. unsurprisingly, he made no mention of mr prigozhin�*s reported demise.

yevgeny prigozhin is a businessman and former convict. his wagner mercenary group took part in some of the most brutalfighting in ukraine. mr prigozhin became increasingly critical of russian�*s military leadership, eventually launching a mutiny injune. his forces seized a major russian city and even marched on moscow before abandoning their insurrection. yevgeny prigozhin had a lot of powerful enemies here in moscow, notjust in the military, but also in the kremlin. when his wagner mercenaries marched on the russian capital back injune, that was a direct challenge to president putin. that's why yesterday's news about the plane crash surprised almost nobody here in russia. this wasn't really a shock, bearing in

mind the whole situation, valeria told me. i almost expected something like this to happen. alexander said, it's quite right, what happened. you can't go against the russian leader. bad things will happen if you do. this russian mp said those responsible for the plane crash would be held accountable. it's too early to give any precise comments because there is an investigation ongoing. i believe that there will be an investigation and if there are people who are guilty of an accident, they will be punished by our law, and punished strictly. what really happened to mr prigozhin is still not clear. but many russians here believe that the wagner boss may have broken the golden rule in russia — don't cross vladimir putin. will vernon, bbc news, moscow. our security correspondent frank gardner is here now. what more do we know

about what or who is behind this? we know his name was on the manifest of that plane, and russia has confirmed he was on it. what we have not seen as any physical evidence of his body. they have recovered all ten bodies, three crew and seven passengers, and according to russia both mr prigozhin and dmitry utkin, the co—founder of the wagner group, were both on that plane. but we have not seen the evidence yet. some people i think of a conspiracy theory that at the last minute prigozhin did not get on the plane and he has disappeared somewhere, putting his feet up and sipping a cocktail. i think that is very unlikely. the presumption in western capitals and in the uk is that this was the work of the fsb, russia's domestic intelligence and security agency. and this was revenge for his mutinous march on moscow. no proof, but that is the presumption.

what does prigozhin�*s death mean for the wagner group? it leaves it decapitated. wagner had already had their heavy weapons taken off them after that mutinous march at the end ofjune. they were not trusted again. but they have been a useful tool for the kremlin in africa, for example, where they have extended russia's geopolitical interests in countries like mali, the central african republic, sudan and so on. the kremlin will not want to lose that, but they do want to probably replace them. there are plans afoot to do exactly that, which is probably why prigozhin rushed back from mali to russia in the last few days, just after making that video. and possibly his guard was down. a , that video. and possibly his guard was down. , ., was down. many thanks. there were security correspondent _ was down. many thanks. there were security correspondent frank - was down. many thanks. there were | security correspondent frank gardner there. the government has ordered an independent inquiry into the circumstances and handling

of andrew malkinson�*s case after his conviction was quashed by the court of appeal last month. mr malkinson wrongly spent 17 years in prison for a rape conviction. our legal correspondent dominic casciani is in westminster. dominic, just tell us what we know about this inquiry. this dominic, just tell us what we know about this inquiry.— about this inquiry. this is a development _ about this inquiry. this is a development a _ about this inquiry. this is a development a month - about this inquiry. this is a | development a month after about this inquiry. this is a - development a month after andy malkinson was cleared after spending 17 years injail malkinson was cleared after spending 17 years in jail for malkinson was cleared after spending 17 years injailfor a crime he did not commit. thejustice secretary pretty much made clear in the weeks that followed that he had real concerns about this case, about what fundamentally went wrong. today, after trying to scope out what to do, he has announced this significant inquiry, which will look at the actions of the crown prosecution service, the greater manchester police, and also the criminal case review commission, which twice refused to take andy malkinson�*s case back to the court of appeal. it has been said that it is an atrocious miscarriage of justice, and andy malkinson deserves answers. we have not spoken directly to mr malkinson today, but his

lawyers have said he is clearly quite pleased with this, he welcomes the inquiry, he wants answers. ya some concerns that some witnesses may not be prepared to give evidence because this is not a full public inquiry, but alex talks as everyone is cooperating and he wants a full report which can be by the end of the year. that he hopes will bring justice in this case.— justice in this case. many thanks. dominic casciani _ justice in this case. many thanks. dominic casciani there. _ the backlog of asylum cases in the uk has risen to a new record high, according to home office figures. more than 175,000 people were waiting for a decision on whether they will be granted refugee status at the end ofjune — that is up 44% from last year. our home editor mark eastonjoins me. so, mark, the prime minister's promised to tackle the asylum backlog, but this isn't good news. no, it is not. the cost of the asylum system we can see today has rocketed. in the last financial year, almost £4 billion, almost double the cost of the previous year, going back ten years it was

500 million. a big problem there. a lot of that money is going on hotels, a record 50,000 asylum seekers currently accommodated in hotels or stop until the home office makes a decision on their claim, they are not allowed to work and they are not allowed to work and they need to be housed. as you say, they need to be housed. as you say, the prime minister promised to eradicate the backlog by the end of this year. that was later clarified as the 121,000 people who were in the backlog lastjune. that legacy backlog has fallen with the help of record numbers of caseworkers, doubling in a year. but also by a massive increase in the number of cases that have been withdrawn. almost half of all asylum decisions last year were not yes, you're eligible, or no, you're not. the home office are simply close the case saying they cannot the claimant. critics are saying the garment is cooking the books, the home office as it is determined to

cut immigration and stop the boats. mark easton, our home editor. it's results day for hundreds of thousands of gcse students in england, wales and northern ireland and the number of passes has fallen for a second year running. 68.2% of exams were marked at grade 4 — that's a c grade. that's a fall from the last two years and closer to where we were before the pandemic in 2019. our correspondent zoe conway has the details. the look on her face says it all. she got the gcse results she was hoping for. ifeel relieved, ifeel happy that it is done. i'm scared for the next chapter, but to have the results in front of me is, like, really good, and to know that my hard work paid off is, like, really good. there has been a drop in the proportion of students getting top grades compared to last year. however, more are getting top marks today than they were before covid struck. you can feel the excitement in the hall today. everybody, their parents, and most of all the students are very excited.

i think the message has got through. there was a lot of people very nervous about coming to collect their results, but they have done brilliantly. resilience is something that has shone through this year group. that's not bad. the government wanted grades to return to pre—pandemic levels, and today they can see it his mission accomplished. and today they can say it is mission accomplished. this graph shows that in 2019, 67.1% of students in england were passing all of their gcse exams. you then see the line go up from 2020 to 2022. but this year, it is roughly back to where it was. in wales and northern ireland, they have kept more generous marking systems in place. their results are higher than they were in 2019. in england, the marking system is back to normal, but they have put other kinds of support in place. these students have had equations and formulas sheets in relevant subjects, and the grading protection that we put in place means that today it has been no harder to achieve a particular grade than it would have been in 2019,

before the pandemic. the gap between how disadvantaged children are doing compared to other pupils widened during the pandemic, and the government expects it will take years to close. we have got real inequalities across our country, and i think that this government have ensured a managed decline of educational standards across the country. we had a chancellor and now prime minister who said he maxed out support for children post—pandemic. that is not good enough. the government says it is spending £5 million on an education recovery plan, including a national programme of one—on—one tutoring for pupils who have fallen behind. zoe conway, bbc news. it was an early start this morning as many gcse and btec pupils collected their results. phil mackie was at meadow park school in coventry seeing how pupils there got on. i am nervous, but i'm really excited. it's crunch time for dominica, arriving just before eight

with her best friend, julia. three, two, one... and she's got what she needed. i got an eight in polish! passes in a mix of btecs and gcses. at school, dominica was voted the person most likely to be a millionaire. i have already been working when i was in year 11 so i could get a bit of money, because i have always wanted to do a nail course and start doing people's nails. in college, i'll be learning more about beauty. in the future, i want to open up my own business to do everything, like, beauty related. it has been a nerve—racking day for thousands of pupils, especially because they knew grades would be lower. hi, javid. hi, miss. in leeds, javid, who arrived as a refugee from afghanistan two years ago, didn't quite fulfil his expectations, but still did really well. quite good, yeah. i'm really happy with these. exams weren't all that he's had to worry about. his family have been told they have got to move tomorrow. they've just built a whole new life here. we had to leave the one in afghanistan, come here, build this one, and then we have to leave this one again

and then build another one, so we have to build, like, two whole new lives. nine nines! amazing! back in coventry, arul has done amazingly well and exceeded expectations. it was a perfect nine nines. the teachers have been really great, and i think that is one of the main reasons why i did so well. well, this is a scene that has been played out in schools across wales, northern ireland and england. and although marks are down nationally because of the change in marking, everybody here pretty much has got what they wanted. and that means most, if not all, will continue in education. 0k, you've passed. after three years when grades went up because of the pandemic, this year's16—year—olds may feel they have been unfairly treated. i don't think it is right to say, is it fair? i think it is a reflection of, you know, where we are. we can't do anything about it. actually, when you think about each year group, when you are comparing one year group with another, they are different students, they have got different

circumstances, so it is trying to, like, compare apples and pears sometimes. on a day they will never forget, not everyone got what they wanted, but others did better than they had hoped. phil mackie, bbc news, coventry. and if you're looking for more information after your gcses, have a look at the bbc news website, which has ourfull guide to everything you need to know about exam results day. our top story this afternoon. the kremlin has remained silent on the plane crash that's presumed to have killed the head of the wagner mercenary group, yevgeny prigozhin. and protests as japan releases treated radioactive waste water from the fukushima nuclear plant into the pacific ocean. coming up on bbc news, great britain'sjosh kerr says it's been a long time coming after stunning the olympic championjakob ingebrigtsen to take 1500 metres gold at the world athletics

championships in budapest. energy bills may have dropped a bit for many of us. but even with people using less energy during the summer, citizens advice is warning that many are still struggling to pay the bills. the charity says some people are taking out loans to cover their payments and it's now helping a record number of people. our business correspondent marc ashdown has the details. since energy bills leapt last year, more and more people have been struggling to cope. in rochester, parents have been juggling their finances to stay afloat. it's just trying to balance everything, really, making sure we can keep on top of everything. but, yeah, electricity and gas has definitely gone up and it is worrying, yeah. it's difficult. i have been having to work extra hours, doing twojobs, just to make sure these can have fun in the summer. rebecca has two growing boys.

she has had to make some difficult choices, like cutting down on showers, as costs increase. i've got two credit cards out. for your bills? just in case i have to, like, pay them off, yeah. just as, like, a safety net. more and more people are doing the same. in a survey for citizens advice, 12% of people said in the past six months they had had to resort to borrowing money in order to afford their energy bills. one in four people said out of all their bills, energy was the one they were most worried about. the charity said that between january and june, more than 46,000 people had contacted it for advice on energy debt — an increase of nearly 17% on last year. it also found the size of energy debt has grown. the average amount people owe is now £1,711, a third higher than in 2019, before the pandemic. and there's concern about the growing number of people who seem to be struggling with their bills in these warmer summer months when typically,

everyone uses less energy. things might get a bit more affordable as ofgem's price cap starts to come down, but remember, most of the government subsidies to help with bills have now ended. we've got more people who are in debt to their energy supplier, the amount of debt that they're repaying is so much higher, and the research that we're showing today shows that there are many millions of people who actually had to borrow in the first part of this year to be able to pay their energy bill. tomorrow, ofgem's new price cap is expected to come down to around £1,900 a year, saving the average bill payer £150. that is still double pre—pandemic levels. the government said help is available for the most vulnerable through an increase to the warm home discount, which could benefit over 3 million households. charities say with record numbers of people already in need of energy support, the winter months could see thousands more struggle to afford their bills. marc ashdown, bbc news. hospital consultants in england have

begun their latest strike over pay this morning, walking out for 48 hours. their union, the british medical association, has already announced another 48—hour strike next month, and now says there will be more action in october, lasting three days. our health correspondent dominic hughes has more. from bristol to brighton, london to nottingham, once again, consultant doctors in england are on picket lines. a 48 hour strike over pay that nhs bosses say has the potential to be extremely disruptive. unlike whenjunior disruptive. unlike when junior doctors disruptive. unlike whenjunior doctors strike, no one else can coverfor doctors strike, no one else can cover for consultants, so almost all routine care will be suspended. morale in the health service is currently at an all—time low. doctors say they have been left with no choice but to take action. doctors are having to strike with their backs against the wall. it's not something they want to do. we

have faced a significant pay cut over the last 15 years of nearly 35%. so the workload, if anything, has increased. and we are effectively doing three to four months free of charge every year. there will inevitably be an impact on patients. for people like carroll, it's a worrying time. she is waiting to be given the all clear after cancer treatment, but that has been delayed by previous strike action. ,, .., . been delayed by previous strike action. ,, _, . ., ., , �* action. slight concern that i wasn't sure how things _ action. slight concern that i wasn't sure how things were _ action. slight concern that i wasn't sure how things were going - action. slight concern that i wasn't sure how things were going to - sure how things were going to develop. but a sort of feeling that i was actually now personally involved with what's been going on for years with the nhs and running down has actually washed up at my door. �* , , ., , ., ., door. it's interesting that you are so sympathetic — door. it's interesting that you are so sympathetic to _ door. it's interesting that you are so sympathetic to the _ door. it's interesting that you are so sympathetic to the doctors, i door. it's interesting that you are . so sympathetic to the doctors, given that you have been so directly affected? my that you have been so directly affected? y , that you have been so directly affected? g , , ., affected? my fight is my fight and eve bod affected? my fight is my fight and everybody else's _ affected? my fight is my fight and everybody else's fight. _ affected? my fight is my fight and everybody else's fight. we - affected? my fight is my fight and everybody else's fight. we have i affected? my fight is my fight and | everybody else's fight. we have to save the nhs, and we have to pay our

doctors and nurses what they are worth to stop them from going somewhere else.— somewhere else. this strike is fundamentally _ somewhere else. this strike is fundamentally about - somewhere else. this strike is fundamentally about pay, - somewhere else. this strike is fundamentally about pay, but| somewhere else. this strike is| fundamentally about pay, but a somewhere else. this strike is - fundamentally about pay, but a fresh analysis of senior doctors' salary and other wealthy nations reveals that pay for doctors in countries like the netherlands, ireland and germany is ahead of those in england, where the average salary of a consultant is just over £121,000. but that is more than doctors and in spain, italy and france. ministers describe a 6% pay offer is fair and reasonable. irate describe a 6% pay offer is fair and reasonable-— describe a 696 pay offer is fair and reasonable. ~ ., ., . . , reasonable. we have accepted in full the recommendations _ reasonable. we have accepted in full the recommendations of— reasonable. we have accepted in full the recommendations of the - reasonable. we have accepted in full the recommendations of the pay - the recommendations of the pay review body, and we call on the bma to end the strikes, because the strikes will ultimately impact patients, particularly those patients, particularly those patients waiting for their operations.— patients waiting for their oerations. ., ,�* ., operations. the doctors' union the bma had already _ operations. the doctors' union the bma had already announced - operations. the doctors' union the l bma had already announced further strike days in september and now in october as well. and as with their morejunior october as well. and as with their more junior colleagues, there october as well. and as with their morejunior colleagues, there is more junior colleagues, there is little morejunior colleagues, there is little sign of any compromise from either side in this dispute. dominic

hughes, bbc news. japan has begun releasing treated radioactive waste water from the fukushima nuclear plant into the pacific ocean. it follows the disaster in 2011 when the plant went into meltdown after a tsunami, and water was used to cool its reactors. the authorities say the procedure is safe, but there is concern from neighbouring countries. ourjapan correspondent shaimaa khalil has the details. a day that crippled japan and shocked the world. in 2011, the country's most powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami that swept through the east coast, killing more than 18,000 people and causing the worst nuclear disaster since chernobyl. the water used to cool the destroyed nuclear reactors has been building up here in these tanks. there are more than 1 million tonnes of it. today, it's being released. as we speak, treated radioactive wastewater is being pumped into the ocean from the daiichi nuclear power plantjust behind me.

and there is a deep lack of trust in this process. many locals have told us itjust hasn't been transparent enough. officials say the amount of radiation they're releasing into the sea is going to be well below the international safety sta nda rds. the science may back these claims, but it does nothing to prevent the reputational damage to fukushima or calm the wave of anger and anxiety both here and around the region. translation: i want to continue living in fukushima. i don't want to be in a situation where we can't eat sushi any more. translation: you can tell me it is safe now, but nobody knows what the accumulated effect will be in 30 years' time. a crowd of protesters in tokyo staged a rally earlier this week outside the prime minister's office, urging the government to stop the release. japan's neighbours are furious. china has announced an immediate ban onjapanese seafood imports, and previously accused tokyo of treating the pacific ocean as its sewage dump.

hong kong also said it would immediately activate import curbs on some food products from the country. this is about perception of japan's government. it has yet to fully convince its neighbours and its people that this will be no more radioactive than water released from any other nuclear power plants around the world. but it won't be easy, because the facts are up against fear. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, fukushima. republican presidential hopefuls in the united states have appeared in their first televised debate. the former president, donald trump, who's most likely to become the candidate, skipped the debate to do a tv interview intead. mr trump has said he plans to turn himself in today to a court in the state of georgia to face charges of election interference. our north america correspondent barbara plett usher is in atlanta, georgia for us.

talk us through what happened in last night's debate?— talk us through what happened in last night's debate? reeta, we knew someone would _ last night's debate? reeta, we knew someone would have _ last night's debate? reeta, we knew someone would have to _ last night's debate? reeta, we knew someone would have to fill - last night's debate? reeta, we knew someone would have to fill the - someone would have to fill the vacuum, given that donald trump wasn't there. and rather unexpectedly, it was filled by a newcomer, a young, dynamic media friendly biotech entrepreneur. he acted in some ways as a surrogate for trump and he was at the heart of the clashes, including on whether to pardon trump if he was convicted. definitely yes, he's dead. it took nearly an hour to get to the topic of trump and the most on stage raise their hand when asked if they would support him if he became the republican candidate even if he was convicted. some reluctantly, one or two didn't raise their hands at all, but there were no meaningful attacks on him. otherwise, the main policy clash was over whether america should continue to support ukraine. their use of the divisions in the republican party between those reaganite interventionists who want to stand for freedom, and those who say all that money and putting it

into ukraine is undermining american national interests.— national interests. barbara, the notable absentee _ national interests. barbara, the notable absentee at _ national interests. barbara, the notable absentee at that - national interests. barbara, the. notable absentee at that debate, donald trump, hands himself in today. when is that expected to take place? today. when is that expected to take lace? ~ today. when is that expected to take . lace? . , ., , today. when is that expected to take lace? . today. when is that expected to take lace? ~ ., place? well, he posted saying that he would proudly _ place? well, he posted saying that he would proudly be _ place? well, he posted saying that he would proudly be arrested - place? well, he posted saying that he would proudly be arrested on i he would proudly be arrested on thursday afternoon, although that may slip into the evening according to some reports. he is going to be booked here at the fulton county jail on charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results. this is the fourth time he is surrendering on criminal charges in five months, or there is the first time he's doing so are injail. he will be in fingerprinted and may get his mugshot taken. that would also be a first, it hasn't happened before. and he will have to pay $200,000 in bond in order to walk free, but that comes with conditions that he does not intimidate anybody else, including witnesses, victims of the case and also co—defendants, because 18 others have been charged in this case as well.— in this case as well. barbara plett

usher. he ran the race of his life — last night britain'sjosh kerr sprinted to a stunning victory in the men's 1500 meters race, taking gold in the athletics world championships in budapest. the 25—year—old said he was overwhelmed by the experience and was proud of himself. natalie pirks has been catching up with him. the effort etched on his face was soon replaced by chest—thumping joy. josh kerr was finally the world champion. it's a lifelong dream to be the best in the world at something and i can't believe i've done it. i hope this isn't a dream. i want to see my fiancee and my parents and just celebrate with them. i wasn't able to do that in tokyo when i got the bronze there. this one was pretty sweet. there goesjosh kerr! ingebrigtsen cannot hold him! for years, he'd been telling anyone who would listen that this was his destiny. the olympic champion jakob ingebrigtsen stood in his way. going into the final bend, the norwegian was more thanjust in his sights,

he was chasing him down. as injured team—mate jake wightman, last year's world champion, looked on, kerr ensured the title stayed in britain. josh is going to get there! it's gold! world champion josh kerr! the loudest fans in the stands were part of team kerr. his fiancee larimar screamed with delight as he stormed over the finish line. he lives in america, away from family, but says the gold medal makes up for it. there is now a physical representation of what that sacrifice meant and what we were able to achieve by doing that. it's definitely an emotional time. it's amazing to be the best in the world at something. it's something i've wanted for my whole life. the new king of the 1,500 came to hungary with olympic bronze, and left on top of the world. natalie pirks, bbc news, budapest. london zoo and whipsnade zoo are beginning their annual animal weigh—in.

it involves coaxing the zoos' residents on to scales — including these penguins — to ensure the keepers have up to date information about them. london zoo says squirrel monkeys are the hardest animals to weigh. but monitoring them is crucial to ensure the animals are healthy and getting theirfair share of the food on offer. that data will then be shared with zoos around the world. we can use that information to grow, to learn about animals and to make sure that we're breeding our animals well, and we can also share that then with conservationists and they can use that information to help track animals, to work out whether an animal in the wild is pregnant or not, or coming in to reach us, or breeding, so it is all really important information. and i'll leave you with one final story ahead of the weather — and the unusual discovery made by workers in bristol sent to survey an underground pipe. the wessex water team meet a wandering duck, which they captured on their robotic camera as they surveyed the rainwater sewer.

the water company say the quack in the pipe is now safe and none the worse for wear. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich good afternoon. not exactly weather for ducks today, although there is a bit of rain close by. some quite intense thunderstorms passing to the south of the uk. the channel islands has seen some of the evidence of that. if we look at the satellite and radar picture, we can see an intense thunderstorm that has been pushing across the north—west of france. some of that thundery rain is grazing into southern and eastern parts of england and will continue to do so through the rest of the afternoon. still some quite warm and humid air in place for the time being. further north and west, a cooler and fresher feel. a being. further north and west, a cooler and fresherfeel. a mix being. further north and west, a cooler and fresher feel. a mix of sunny spells and showers. quite a few showers across the western side of scotland. this evening tonight,