us pentagon says there is no indication - us pentagon says there is no indication that _ - us pentagon says there is no indication that a _ - us pentagon says there is no indication that a surface - - us pentagon says there is no indication that a surface to - - us pentagon says there is no indication that a surface to air - indication that a surface to air missile brought down the plane thought to be carrying yevgeny prigozhin. the wagner mercenary leader was on the passenger list for the private jet that crashed yesterday — though still no official confirmation of his death. president putin finally breaks his silence and offers condolences to his family but says prigozhin made serious mistakes. translation: i've known i mr prigozhin for a long time, since the start of the 19905. he was a man with a difficult fate. also on the programme tonight — tight security and trump supporters in the us state of georgia. japan starts releasing treated radioactive water from the fukushima nuclear plant into the pacific ocean — sparking concern in neighbouring countries. and a nikkei u—turn means lioness

fans can finally by the england and on newsnight at 1030 — we'll go deeper behind the headlines and talk to some of the key players behind today's stories. good evening. the pentagon says it is likely that yvegeny prighozin was killed in the plane crash yesterday — that's its initial assessment. the leader of the russian mercenary wagner group — who led a brief mutiny against russia's military leaders two months ago — was on the passenger list for the private plane that came down north of moscow. the americans also say they have no information to suggest that a surface to air missile was used to bring the plane down. this afternoon the russian president finally broke his silence over the crash, paying tribute and calling prigozin a talented businessman.

i'll be talking to our russia editor, steve rosenberg, but first his report on today's events. in a field 60 miles from moscow, the wreckage of a plane. the private jet on which the russian authorities say yevgeny prigozhin was travelling. it had been caught on camera, falling from the sky. we are told that all seven passengers and three crew on board were killed. but it's the fate of mr prigozhin which has been the centre of attention. for years, the kremlin�*s mr fix—it, his mercenary group had fought in ukraine. but two months ago it mutinied. wagner took over the city of rostov and moved on towards moscow. it was an unprecedented challenge to the kremlin. so, is yevgeni prigozhin�*s reported demise in an air disaster president putin's revenge?

today, the kremlin leader broke his silence on the plane crash. he said he had known mr prigozhin a long time, since the early 19905. he called him a man with a complicated fate, who had made serious mistakes, but who was talented. but president putin has previously called the wagner mutiny a stab in the back, and betrayal he cannot abide. but was it a bomb, was it sabotage? there has been international speculation about the cause of the crash. our initial assessment is that it is likely prigozhin was killed, we are continuing to assess the situation. we don't have any information to indicate right now the press reporting, stating there was some kind of surface—to—air missile that took down the plane. we assess that information to be inaccurate. but if this was an act of revenge,

what message does that send? this is a clear message to elites. you must be loyal or you must express double loyalty, even. and this is a message to ordinary people. look, you can survive this period, but you must be quiet. there is no need in supporting somebody else. only putin is your president, your autocrat, your person to admire. in other words, don't cross the kremlin. the world of russian politics, though, is a murky one. some here suspect a hoax. there's talk of a second wagner plane that landed safely. but outside wagner offices in st petersburg, there's now a shrine. people here are in mourning for a mercenary chief they believe has been killed. steve is with me now. it took president putin 2a hours to talk

about the crash. what did you make of his words? we about the crash. what did you make of his words?— about the crash. what did you make of his words? we had this mixture of condolences. — of his words? we had this mixture of condolences, some _ of his words? we had this mixture of condolences, some criticism but - of his words? we had this mixture ofl condolences, some criticism but also compliments. he called yevgeny prigozhin a talented man, a talented businessman, someone who strove to secure, achieve things for himself but also the common cause but this does not change the fact that many people in russia will have concluded, will believe that this was an act of revenge by the kremlin. i think president putin will be quite happy for people to believe that because it sends a strong message to wagner loyalists, anyone in russia may be planning, plotting a military insurrection. one, do not do it and two, look what happens if you do do it. i have been thinking back to an interview president putin gave five years ago. he was asked, mr president, are you

capable of forgiveness? and putin said, yes, i canfigure capable of forgiveness? and putin said, yes, i can figure but not everything. the follow—up was, what can you not forgive? and the answer was treachery and i wonder if yevgeny prigozhin ever watch that interview. yevgeny prigozhin spent almost a decade building the wagner group and it played a central role in russia's war effort in ukraine — untiljune and the short—lived mutiny against russian military leaders. our security correspondent frank gardener looks at what the future looks like for the mercenary group now. the last public sighting of yevgeny prigozhin, posted this week on wagner's telegram channel. somewhere in africa, presumed to be mali, part of its international presence. the wagner group is popular in parts of west africa. it has ousted western forces there and built up lucrative alliances with undemocratic governments. in the central african republic,

it provides training and security services for the government in exchange for diamonds. it's also been accused of human rights atrocities. elsewhere in africa, money made from raw materials is ending up funding russia's war in ukraine. in europe, wagnerforces have moved out of ukraine, initially to belarus, from where some have gone on to africa. but without their leader, prigozhin, wagner is decapitated. they have already had to surrender their heavy weapons to the russian government after that failed mutiny back injune. so what happens now to their 25,000 members and what sort of organisation will wagner become? most likely it will be brought much more closely under kremlin control. russian military intelligence, the gru, which helped start it eight years ago, will now become more involved. what's going to become wagner is going to be much more

on the clandestine side, meaning covert operations, training rebel armed groups and more cyber and influx operations. i think this is why we see emerging leaders that are coming from the russian military intelligence. hard evidence ofjust who brought down the plane linked to prigozhin may never emerge from the wreckage, but one thing is clear, the wagner group, as it was, is over, its future is still uncertain. frank gardner, bbc news. the former us president donald trump will surrender to the authorities in georgia in the coming hours — he faces charges there of trying to change the result of the 2020 presidential election in georgia. mr trump is expected to have his fingerprints and mugshot taken. he denies the charges, which he will answer in court next month. our north america editor sarah smith has the latest.

the hero worship awaits donald trump each time he is arrested or indicted. today supporters are waiting for him to surrender at fulton countyjail on charges of election interference. we fulton county jail on charges of election interference. we wanted to be here to pray _ election interference. we wanted to be here to pray for _ election interference. we wanted to be here to pray for him, _ election interference. we wanted to be here to pray for him, to - election interference. we wanted to be here to pray for him, to show- be here to pray for him, to show support for him, to blow our show for him. , ., ., ., ., for him. they owe him a favour. several of _ for him. they owe him a favour. several of his _ for him. they owe him a favour. several of his co-defendants - for him. they owe him a favour. l several of his co-defendants have several of his co—defendants have already been booked and bailed. a mug shot of donald trump himself should be published for the first time later tonight. in a tv debate last night his eight main rivals lined up on stage. yet he, the man who wasn't there, still played a central role. who here would support him for president if he is convicted of any crimes?— of any crimes? please raise your hand if you _ of any crimes? please raise your hand if you would. _ of any crimes? please raise your hand if you would. centrestage l of any crimes? please raise your i hand if you would. centrestage ron desantis first _ hand if you would. centrestage ron desantis first checks _ hand if you would. centrestage ron desantis first checks out _ hand if you would. centrestage ron desantis first checks out the - hand if you would. centrestage ron desantis first checks out the others before putting up his hand. the dilemma, how much do you support the

guy you are running against? {jut guy you are running against? our count is guy you are running against? our country is in _ guy you are running against? oi" country is in decline. guy you are running against? our country is in decline. running - guy you are running against? our country is in decline. running a l country is in decline. running a oor country is in decline. running a poor second — country is in decline. running a poor second to _ country is in decline. running a poor second to tromp - country is in decline. running a poor second to tromp in - country is in decline. running a poor second to tromp in the - country is in decline. running a i poor second to tromp in the polls, he did nothing to close that gap. now is not the time for on—the—job training. now is not the time for on-the-�*ob trainina. ., , ., , training. the loud, brash, extreme and previously _ training. the loud, brash, extreme and previously unknown _ training. the loud, brash, extreme and previously unknown he - training. the loud, brash, extreme and previously unknown he is - training. the loud, brash, extreme i and previously unknown he is running as the heir to tromp and took the most flakfrom as the heir to tromp and took the most flak from the others. you have no forei . n most flak from the others. you have no foreign policy _ most flak from the others. you have no foreign policy experience - most flak from the others. you have no foreign policy experience and - most flak from the others. you have no foreign policy experience and it l no foreign policy experience and it shows! ., , ., ., ., shows! the only woman on stage may have quoted — shows! the only woman on stage may have quoted margaret _ shows! the only woman on stage may have quoted margaret thatcher - shows! the only woman on stage may have quoted margaret thatcher but i have quoted margaret thatcher but she doesn't excite the parties make america great again base who will not tolerate criticism of donald trump from anyone. the not tolerate criticism of donald trump from anyone. the conduct is beneath the — trump from anyone. the conduct is beneath the office _ trump from anyone. the conduct is beneath the office of _ trump from anyone. the conduct is beneath the office of president - trump from anyone. the conduct is beneath the office of president of. beneath the office of president of the united states. that beneath the office of president of the united states.— the united states. that got the loudest blues _ the united states. that got the loudest blues of— the united states. that got the loudest blues of the _ the united states. that got the loudest blues of the night. - the united states. that got the loudest blues of the night. the i loudest blues of the night. the front runner believes he has to big ailey to bother with the debate. his deliberate spoiler was this

interview broadcast online at the same time. do interview broadcast online at the same time-— same time. do i sit there for an hour, same time. do i sit there for an hour. two _ same time. do i sit there for an hour, two hours, _ same time. do i sit there for an hour, two hours, whatever- same time. do i sit there for an hour, two hours, whatever and| same time. do i sit there for an i hour, two hours, whatever and get harassed by people that shouldn't be running for president? should i be doing that? is running for president? should i be doinu that? , running for president? should i be doing that?— running for president? should i be doinu that? , ., ., ., doing that? is the tromp's motorcade en route to another _ doing that? is the tromp's motorcade en route to another rest _ doing that? is the tromp's motorcade en route to another rest is now- doing that? is the tromp's motorcade en route to another rest is now a - en route to another rest is now a familiar spectacle. each case is turned into a performance which helped cement his position at the front of the republican plaque. as you can see there is nothing low—profile about donald trump's progress to the jail house here where he will be booked and processed. he is due in a couple of hours' time and it is with this spectacle he has managed to turn the criminal charges against insect election year gold. he steals the spotlight and starves all of his opponents of any attention. already he has planned a television appearance for shortly after he finishes in the jail this evening and you can bet when we see that mugshot photograph, it will very

quickly appear on campaign materials and fundraising appeals because he knows every time donald trump calls himself a victim and says he is being pursued in a witchhunt, his poll ratings simply go up. sara smith, thank you. thejustice secretary has ordered an independent inquiry into the 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 he did not commit. the inquiry will investigate the role of greater manchester police, the crown prosecution service and the criminal cases review commission in his conviction and subsequent appeals. our legal correspondent dominic casciani is here. thanks, sophie. a month after andy malkinson was cleared by the court of appeal and walked away an innocent man, he's determined to find out why it took 20 years to have his name cleared. the inquiry announced today, to be headed by a senior legal figure, is not a full public inquiry. that means it can't compel witnesses to give evidence,

butjustice secretary alex chalk says all the agencies involved have pledged to co—operate to give mr malkinson the answers he deserves. what i want to get to is the fact of who knew what and when, why did they make the decisions, were those judgments correct, and how can people properly be held to account and lessons learned for what happened. so what will it investigate? let's start with this forensic evidence. this is the vest top worn by the victim during the attack in 2003. but in 2007, scientists, using new techniques, found dna on the top from another man. the sample came from near where the woman had been bitten. in december 2009, the scientists discussed the finding with prosecutors and detectives. one of the lawyers wrote that the discovery was "surprising" and "crime—specific". the dna appeared to be from the real attacker — there was no trace of mr malkinson. earlier in 2009, andy malkinson lobbied the criminal cases review

commission to send his case back tojudges. but in 2010 an investigator concluded: "there is nothing to be gained by having any of the dna exhibits re—tested yet again. in 2012, the ccrc dismissed mr malkinson's application — one of two rejections he received. that dna sample has since been linked to an identifiable suspect. it's not the only problem in this case and mr malkinson wants full disclosure. it should be open, not defensive. you know, if things were done wrong, just be open about it, like a truth and reconciliation committee. because you're only going to fix these things if you get to the heart of what's going wrong. he and his team have welcomed the inquiry but say that if anyone obstructs it, it must be given powers to force disclosure of evidence. they say trust in justice itself is at stake. sophie. hundreds of thousands

of students in england, wales and northern ireland got their gcse resulls today. the proportion getting top grades has fallen from last year but is still higher than before the pandemic. pass rates in england, wales and northern ireland are down for a second year running, with just over 68% of exams marked at grade four — that's a c grade. in wales and northern ireland the drop is slightly smaller. in england, nearly 27% of this year's results were grade seven or above, but regions varied. in london, it was 28.li%. in the north east, 17.6%. almost 400,000 certficates were awarded to students studying btecs and vocational technical qualifications taken in schools and colleges alongside, or as an alternative, to gcses. our education editor branwen jeffreys reports. setting up for a celebration, not knowing what to expect. the build—up to these gcses disrupted by covid, then strikes. as they waited for pupils, senior teachers scanned the results.

he did well. 0h, he did! yes! i'm feeling amazing. i did not expect these results. i'm overjoyed. in 2019, i got diagnosed with non—hodgkin's lymphoma, so i was off for a whole year of school in year eight. and then i got back to school for my first full week for the pandemic to hit. and recovering from cancer, kieran still got top grades in sciences. smile! it's been emotional for parents too, keeping teenagers on track through difficult years. there is huge relief here today because at this school, the results are better than the national average. they're also better than 2019. but across england, grades have fallen. and that means more teenagers will be facing resits in english and maths. come on in!

it's a great day, come on. in northern ireland, plenty to celebrate. and, at 86%, still the best gcse pass rate across the uk. in the city of wrexham, the expected slight fall in passes, but no one in wales will face compulsory maths and english resits. in this norfolk school, results were better than expected but the gap with disadvantaged areas in the north has grown. ourfocus has to be notjust on the generalities of a north—south divide, but on the specific problem that here in cities like leeds, across the north of england, in many of those more deprived communities, we are leaving children and young people behind. top grades were highest in london. if you've got these grades in this year, then even better, right? visiting a school here, the education secretary said before covid, the gap had been closing. under this conservative government we got it down 9.1%,

which was amazing, and you know, we were really pleased with that. now, it has taken a step back in the pandemic. we put £5 billion into catch—up. ella mae was signing up for a t—level in norwich today. and for others who didn't get the grades they hoped for, there will be second chances at college. branwenjeffreys, bbc news, norwich. the number of people in the uk waiting for a decision on their asylum claims has reached a record high, more than 175,000 people. that's up 44% from last year, with the number of people crossing the channel in small boats going up by a quarter. four in five asylum seekers waited over six months for a decision on their application. senior doctors in england have been taking part in their second strike over pay this year — with nhs england bosses warning of the severe impact of the industrial action. consultants in england have been offered a 6% pay rise by the government this year and the

health secretary has reiterated that pay negotiations are over. our health editor hugh pym has been hearing from one consultant about why he's taking action. the emergency department is full and it's funny how desensitised i've become to it. we've got patients in chairs everywhere. i'm seeing about half of my patients in chairs. earlier this week, phil did a video diary, as he dealt with urgent hospital cases. there's no escaping that the workload for the available staff is a problem and that's leading to our consideration of industrial action. consultants on picket lines today said higher pay was needed to stop doctors leaving the profession. but strikes affect patients like jane, who has waited nearly a year to see a consultant about her eye condition. the appointment, due today, was cancelled. we putjane in touch with helen, a consultant representing the doctors' union. you know, what i would say to all the consultants is, i support the reasons for your strike. i work in higher education. we have exactly the same problems.

but my view is that you guys took an oath to do no harm, and today harm is being done. what i'd first like to say - is that we are really sorry that you are being personally impacted i by this today, and to all patientsl who have had cancelled - appointments and procedures. please believe me when i say. that we have tried every avenue that we have to try _ and engage with government. how long are the consultants prepared to go on taking strike action? we will continue to have to take strike action - unless the government comes to us, to the negotiating table _ with a credible offer. i understand all that. a lot of people say consultants earn an awful lot of money already. the government says its 6% pay award is final. we've accepted in full the recommendations of the pay review body and we call on the bma to end the strikes, because the strikes ultimately will impact patients, and particularly those patients

waiting for their operations. more consultant strikes are planned for september and october. the dispute is far from being resolved. hugh pym, 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. our tokyo correspondent shaimaa khalil reports. it might not look like it at first glance, but this picturesque coastline is now at the heart of a huge regional controversy. for the first time, treated radioactive water from fukushima's crippled nuclear power plant would be pumped into the ocean. and this is the moment it was released.

this goes back to 2011 whenjapan'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's more than a million tonnes of it. it's been diluted and filtered, but it won't be entirely radiation free. officials and experts insist it's not a threat. as far as i'm concerned, the safest place for all of this is in the pacific ocean, because you have a dilution factor of many, many fold. it literally is a drop in the ocean. even if they put all of that water in at once, it's still a drop in that ocean. but many people here are not convinced. translation: you can tell me it's safe, but nobody knows _ what the effect will be in 30 years' time. i'm absolutely positive

that my fish won't sell now. translation: i want to continue living in fukushima. _ i don't want to be in- a situation where i can't eat the sushi here any more. lots of people are l against the release. there is a deep lack of trust in this process. many locals have told us that it just hasn't been transparent enough. officials are saying that the amount of radiation being pumped into the ocean is well below the international safety standards. now, the science may back these claims, but it does nothing to prevent the reputational damage to fukushima, and calm the wave of anger both here and around the region. japan's neighbours are furious. china, the biggest buyer of japanese seafood, said it would block all imports. hong kong also said it would impose bans on some food products. this is a battle of perception forjapan'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 plant around the world. but it won't be easy because the facts are up against fear. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, fukushima. up to 10,000 emperor penguin chicks have died in the antarctic after sea ice melted and broke off before they'd grown waterproof plummage. there are warnings now that more than 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be all but extinct by the end of the century because of global warming. our science editor rebecca morelle reports. they live in the most remote part of the planet, adapted to survive the harshest conditions. but for emperor penguins, the sea ice that they depend on is vanishing. and this year has seen a record melt, leading to a catastrophic loss of chicks. this is really a sign of things to come. we expect that emperor penguins are going to really suffer

with climate change. and this is really poignant because most of these penguins will never have seen a human being in their life. but it's human—induced climate change which is driving their futures and a future which is looking really bleak at the moment. to breed successfully, emperor penguins need nine months of solid sea ice. the chicks are cared for by their parents as they develop and grow. they need to stay on the ice until they replace their fluffy down for waterproof feathers. the problem is the ice is melting much earlier in the season, and if the chicks enter the water before they're ready, they don't survive. the red line on this map shows where the sea ice used to reach at the end of antarctica's summer. 2023 has seen a record low. only the white and light blue areas are ice. this area lost all of its sea ice. five emperor penguin colonies are located there, and four lost all of their chicks. that's an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 birds. out of 66 colonies

across the continent, 19 failed either partially or totally to breed. and scientists say if this trend continues, over 90% will be doomed to extinction by the end of this century. this graph shows the area of antarctica's sea ice as it melts and grows between summer and winter. each line represents a year, and 2023, in red, has been far lower than any other. we had a record annual minimum low in february of this year, and also what's happening right now, so in antarctic winter, as the ice freezes up, is that the ice is not freezing as fast as it normally would because it's so far outside what we've observed previously. we expected change, but we didn't, i don't think, expect change this rapidly and this much. antarctica's entering into uncharted territory, and for emperor penguins, it's leading to losses on an unprecedented scale. scientists say if we reduce our carbon emissions we have a chance to save this iconic,

unique and beautiful species. they say their future is in our hands. rebecca morelle, bbc news. fifa has started disciplinary proceedings against the head of the spanish football association. it follows heavy criticism for kissing a play on the lips after spain's victory in the women pulled back a world cup final. reports in spain suggest he will resign tomorrow. great britain's matt hudson—smith has won silver in the 400 metre final at the world athletics championships in budapest. he was just beaten by the jamaican here's our sports correspondent natalie pirks. when talent meets form, amazing things can happen. matt hudson—smith was in the form of his life. and away they go... with both the world and olympic champions absent, hudson—smith went out hard to grab his moment. but hudson—smith has blasted out here.

but leading off the bend, he soon paid the price for his fast start. hudson—smith is fading! he's faltering! watson will take it on the line! hudson—smith, with a silver medal. he seems to be struggling to hide his disappointment there, because he truly believed that gold was possible. but that silver is still superb. and an upgrade on the bronze he won last year. this was the best 400—metre result from a briton at the world championships in a 32 years. but he still has unfinished business. i got a bronze last year, i got a silver this year, so, next time, gold. with the paris olympics next summer, practice makes perfect. natalie pirks, bbc news, budapest. england football fans will finally be able to buy replicas of goalkeeper mary earps' world cup shirt. nike, which makes the england kit, says it will sell a limited number ofjerseys, after it faced criticism for not making them commercially available. nesta mcgregor has more.

you just get the impression mary earps loves her work. mary earps comes up with a big moment! a key part of england's run to the world cup final and a fan favourite. although while supporters could buy shirts for the lionesses' outfield players, the goalkeeperjersey was not available for sale. some fans got creative and made their own. and then there's 16—year—old emmie, who started a petition and earlier this week told us why. i think it's upsetting, because mary's obviously gone into the tournament, not being able to see the fans in the audience wearing her shirt. and obviously, as a young child, wearing your favourite player on the back of your shirt is what makes the women's game what it is today. mary earps labeled her shirt not being on so as hurtful. ——mary earps labeled her shirt not being on sale as hurtful.

mary earps for england. and finally, after weeks of pressure, nike, who supply the england national team kits, says it was making a limited quantity for purchase. i think the shirt will sell out. ultimately, everybody is a winner. mary gets, i think, the recognition she deserves. girls get the opportunity to wear the shirt of somebody that they admire, and nike ultimately have done the right thing. mary earps, so often a game—changer and now fans can back their hero by getting her name on the back of their shirts. nesta mcgregor, bbc news. now the weather with chris. this sunset is from south—west scotland from the argyll and bute area. these are rain clouds looking on