zimbabwe's election results have been declared, but both candidates are claiming victory. and a warning that extreme weather events in china will become more frequent and dangerous. hello. i'm carl nasman. we begin in russia where authorities say they've used dna testing to confirm the head of the wagner paramilitary group yevgeny prigozhin was killed in a plane that crashed in the northwest of moscow on wednesday. they say the identities of the bodies recovered correspond with the flight�*s passenger list, which included mr prigozhin. against the russian military injune amid growing tensions with commanders over the war in ukraine. there's been speculation president putin targeted mr prigozhin in an act of revenge. the kremlin has denied any involvement.

the exact circumstances behind the plane crash remain unclear. our russia editor steve rosenberg has the latest from moscow. well, many people are asking is the story of wagner, the story of prigozhin, finally over? i have to say — one of the things i have learned in russia is that stories here rarely end. there are so many twists and turns here and new chapters. it is quite possible that even in death yevgeny prigozhin could pose a challenge to vladimir putin. just look at all the makeshift prigozhin memorials that have been popping up in nearly two dozen towns in russia and russian—occupied ukraine. this man had become quite a popularfigure in pro—war circles, and so the widespread suspicion that the russian authorities were behind the plane crash means that the kremlin faces the danger of a backlash. the last thing the kremlin will want to have to deal with is prigozhin the martyr

or cult of prigozhin. it's interesting, actually, that president putin has now ordered wagner employees and those of other private military contractors to sign an allegiance to the russian state. this seems to be an attempt by the kremlin to bring these kind of groups under tighter control. but keep in mind that all of this is happening at a time when russia, having invaded its neighbour, is fighting a war in ukraine, and it seems that dramas at home are becoming a major distraction. for more on the future of wagner without its founder, i spoke to sean mcfate. he's a us army veteran as well as a senior fellow at the atlantic council, author, and professor of strategy at the national defence university. thank you for being here. russian authorities now officially confirming that wagner chief yevgeny prigozhin is dead. they have also said that they are not involved in

this plane crash. how much confidence do you have in russia's assessment of the situation? i russia's assessment of the situation?— russia's assessment of the situation? ~ ., ., . situation? i think on balance of probabilities _ situation? i think on balance of probabilities prigozhin - situation? i think on balance of probabilities prigozhin is i of probabilities prigozhin is dead but until international inspectors can go there and we can verify it is progression�*s dna it is possible that prigozhin is chilling on a got somewhere to. in prigozhin is chilling on a got somewhere to.— prigozhin is chilling on a got somewhere to. in in terms of what might — somewhere to. in in terms of what might have _ somewhere to. in in terms of what might have brought - somewhere to. in in terms of. what might have brought down that plain — this is all in the realm of theories and speculation, but do you think that russia might have played a role in that? i that russia might have played a role in that?— role in that? i think so. putin i think was — role in that? i think so. putin i think was very _ role in that? i think so. putin i think was very clear - role in that? i think so. putin i think was very clear when . i think was very clear when prigozhin crossed the line that prigozhin crossed the line that prigozhin was a dead man walking and i believe that putin now has to officially say "it was not me" although nobody is fooled by this, but he does not want to appear stalinesque as assistant needing opponents in broad daylight even though

thatis in broad daylight even though that is what you did. —— assassinating. that is what you did. -- assassinating.— that is what you did. -- assassinating. that is what you did. -- assassinatin.. ~ ., , assassinating. what comes next for the bug _ assassinating. what comes next for the bug number— assassinating. what comes next for the bug number -- - assassinating. what comes next for the bug number -- wagner. for the bug number —— wagner group? for the bug number -- wagner grou - ? , for the bug number -- wagner grou? , ., _, for the bug number -- wagner grou? , ., group? they are continuing as we speak- _ group? they are continuing as we speak. think— group? they are continuing as we speak. think of _ group? they are continuing as we speak. think of it - group? they are continuing as we speak. think of it more - group? they are continuing as| we speak. think of it more like this. there is a company with a new owner and the owner comes in and the old leadership team exits, or in this case gets blown up. there are new cultural norms and still there are some rebranded, some reshuffling in the middle, but the company will continue doing what it was doing before and thatis what it was doing before and that is sort of what happened with progression back. you mentioned _ with progression back. you mentioned it _ with progression back. you mentioned it is _ with progression back. you mentioned it is like - with progression back. you mentioned it is like a - with progression back. you mentioned it is like a company with a new owner. you might that you owner be? it with a new owner. you might that you owner be?— with a new owner. you might that you owner be? it is putin. putin is the — that you owner be? it is putin. putin is the owner. _ that you owner be? it is putin. putin is the owner. think - that you owner be? it is putin. putin is the owner. think of. that you owner be? it is putin. putin is the owner. think of it | putin is the owner. think of it in another way — the wagner group is not one group. it is actually two. there are the wagner mercenary group in belarus and in ukraine and

these are like those that were dumped out atjails and they are not mercenaries. they are cannon fodder and they are being brought into the russian military as we speak and that is what the generals wanted and they are going to be fed into they are going to be fed into the stalingrad of ukraine to die, and then there is the wagner group in africa, and these were the skilled mercenaries, and they did two things for putin. (i) mercenaries, and they did two things for putin. (1) is they spread russian influence around the continent through autocracy and (2) is they sucked natural resources like gold and sent them back to russia to fuel the war in ukraine and putin needs both where they are at. looking specifically _ both where they are at. looking specifically at — both where they are at. looking specifically at ukraine _ both where they are at. looking specifically at ukraine because i specifically at ukraine because this counteroffensive is moving slowly — what could be full out before ukraine? how could it affect the war and is there any kind of way for ukraine to potentially leveraged what has

been going on with wagner? yes. been going on with wagner? yes, i think been going on with wagner? yes, i think there _ been going on with wagner? yes, i think there is. _ been going on with wagner? yes, i think there is. of _ been going on with wagner? yes, i think there is. of course, - been going on with wagner? yes, i think there is. of course, i - i think there is. of course, i am sure ukraine was hoping that this 50,000 mercenaries in ukraine would never come back, right? they were going to come back. at least what is remaining of them. but i think what ukraine could do is be very clever. for example, it could find ways, since these are mercenaries, to bribe them off the battlefield. maybe every day they put out a message saying "if you are a mercenary and you are wagner and you don't want to live like you are living anymore, tie a red strap around your right arm." maybe the next day something else. "where some plastic flower or something." and if our ukrainian soldiers here "we will let you pass through the lines, we will keep you as a pow and we promise we will never exchange you back to russia in a prisoner swap," because wagner guys are usually the first to get exchange in a

prisoner swap because ukrainians know they will be executed immediately. so, this is a clever way to deplete — take an army off the field. not through bullets but through simple fields.— simple fields. what kind of lea simple fields. what kind of legacy do _ simple fields. what kind of legacy do you _ simple fields. what kind of legacy do you think- simple fields. what kind of. legacy do you think yevgeny prigozhin leaves behind in terms of his relationship with russia and vladimir putin, he seemed to be towards the end, maybe one of the few people who was challenging him openly? yes. progression back to his charismatic and big mouth sort of was saying things out loud that a lot of people were saying internally. —— prigozhin. it was interesting to see him challenge putin but also the russian military establishments and get away with it. until he didn't. but i think this is his lasting legacy. it is not about russia. he set up a 21st—century way to run a global mercenary

operations and make it work. he has created a blueprint — it does notjust involve the wagner group. it involves troll farms. it involves natural resources. he has mining companies and gas companies, and somebody else will come around — it doesn't have to be around — it doesn't have to be a russian — and will imitate that and that is a problem because a world awash with more mercenaries is a world awash with more war. in mercenaries is a world awash with more war.— mercenaries is a world awash with more war. in some ways, prigozhin _ with more war. in some ways, prigozhin may _ with more war. in some ways, prigozhin may still— with more war. in some ways, prigozhin may still live - with more war. in some ways, prigozhin may still live on. - prigozhin may still live on. sean mcouaid, seniorfellow prigozhin may still live on. sean mcouaid, senior fellow at the zelenskyy, thank you for being here. meanwhile, reports from southern ukraine suggest the country's armed forces have broken through some of russia's key defensive positions. experts say there are now signs the counter—offensive it comes as one of ukraine's most celebrated fighter pilots, and two other airmen, have been killed in a mid—air crash. here's paul adams in kyiv. picking up the pace. could ukraine's counteroffensive, slow going sincejune, be gathering momentum? in recent days, a few tentative signs. some units do appear to have broken through russia's

formidable first lines of defence south of zaporizhzhia. translation: further on, that is where we see - their supply roads. they use these roads. i am sure we will go fasterfrom here. i don't want my guys to think that they can relax now. they know we're moving on to liberate all of our territories. he says he is looking forward to leading his men all the way to the sea, but that is a long, long way, and this fighting is really hard. success is still far from guaranteed. away from the front lines, the country is now in mourning for one of its best—known heroes. this was andriy pilshchykov, call signjuice, flying combat missions last year. when russia invaded, few gave ukraine's air force much chance of getting off the ground, but from dog fights over kyiv to the interception

of russian cruise missiles, juice was part of an elite force fighting against extraordinary odds. he and two other senior pilots were killed on thursday — not in combat, but on a training flight. theirjets colliding over a village. the pilots managing just to avoid the houses below. ukrainians revere their pilots. 1.5 years after russia's full—scale invasion, their status as national heroes is well—established. president zelenskyy said the death of andriy pilshchykov and two of his colleagues was a disaster. juice was due to start training on american—made f—i6s in a matter of weeks. when the first jets finally arrive early next year, he will not be around to fight them. the opposition leader in zimbabwe has accused the president emmerson mnangagwa, of carrying out a coup. zimbabwe held elections wednesday and the president

was declared the winner sunday with nearly 53% of the vote. but nelson chamisa, the leader of the opposition, called the official results a sham. independent observers shared that scepticism. the southern african development community says the elections fell short of the requirements of the constitution of zimbabwe. while the european union says actsof violence and intimidation resulted in a climate of fear. zimbabwe's leader has dismissed international criticism of the poll, and insists the elections were fair. earlier, i spoke with david carroll. he leads the carter center's initiative on developing standards and best practices in international election observation. thank you so much forjoining us. i understand you have recently returned from zimbabwe. in terms of what you and your field teams observed, was this a free and fair election?— was this a free and fair election? ~ , ., . ~ election? well, i 'ust got back earlier this h election? well, ijust got back earlier this morning, - election? well, ijust got back earlier this morning, and -

election? well, ijust got back earlier this morning, and the l earlier this morning, and the carter centre had a team of about 60 people, and i would say the assessment of the carter centre and the other organisations — the international observers from the southern african region, the southern african region, the african union and the eu dash all of our assessment is aligned in that this is the context of a very unlevel playing field with a lot of political challenges that made it really difficult to have an open and credible and competitive election. so, i think the prospects for calling this a successful election are thin. ~ ., this a successful election are thin. . ,,. , this a successful election are thin. . ,,. ., this a successful election are thin. ., ,,. ., ., thin. what specifically made to the playing _ thin. what specifically made to the playing field _ thin. what specifically made to the playing field unlevel- thin. what specifically made to the playing field unlevel in - the playing field unlevel in terms of what you saw? 50. the playing field unlevel in terms of what you saw? so, i was in zimbabwe _ terms of what you saw? so, i was in zimbabwe for- terms of what you saw? so, i was in zimbabwe for the - terms of what you saw? so, i was in zimbabwe for the last | was in zimbabwe for the last election in 2018 and the context in the environment was different. you could see it in your interactions with everyday people but also a couple of very specific things — the delimitation of election boundaries were skewed. the

voter registration process was very opaque. the political parties never really received a copy of the registration in a way that they could check it, you know, before the election at all. there was changes in the number of polling stations and importantly there has been legislation passed in the last several years that really cycles the engagement of civil society groups and other actors — the political space was shrinking very, very tightly and you could sense that interactions with zimbabwe and you could feel the nature of the change. you could feel the nature of the change-— the change. zimbabwe's opposition _ the change. zimbabwe's opposition party - the change. zimbabwe's opposition party is - the change. zimbabwe's i opposition party is accusing the ruling party of blatant ads gigantic fraud. how strong of a case do you think the opposition has? case do you think the o- osition has? ~ ~ opposition has? well, i think we will hopefully _ opposition has? well, i think we will hopefully be - opposition has? well, i think we will hopefully be able - opposition has? well, i think we will hopefully be able to i we will hopefully be able to see that in the coming days. official results have been released at the national level and the constituency level with

210 i think individual constituencies but what is really important now is for there to be public — publication of the polling station level results at a lower level, at the level where people go to individual polling stations, because everybody has copies of the results at that level thus likely the two major parties, citizen observer groups, other observers will have some from places they went, and i know that the opposition party has stated that they are attempting to put all of their own counts together. so, with a transparent publication of those results and a comparison we should be able to know in the coming days if the official results are really an accurate reflection of how zimbabweans will —— cast their vote on the 20th of august. will -- cast their vote on the 20th of august.— will -- cast their vote on the 20th of august. zimbabwe has had irregularities _ 20th of august. zimbabwe has had irregularities in _ 20th of august. zimbabwe has had irregularities in the - 20th of august. zimbabwe has had irregularities in the past. i had irregularities in the past. the commission is appointed by

the ruling party, the president himself. how much trust do you think there is in the country in terms of voting results in general? the election commission has a lot of competent people doing a good job in a number of areas. the problem is i think there is a clear sense they do not have total autonomy in terms of what they do and the ability to conduct things in an open and transparent manner has just been clear they have struggled in that regard, the lack of ballot papers in a number of polling stations, that was very unexpected. there was no warning given that could possibly be a problem until the morning of election day. and several other things make i think a situation where there is questions about whether or not election commission has earned the trust of

zimbabweans.- earned the trust of zimbabweans. ., ., , ., zimbabweans. you mention you have been _ zimbabweans. you mention you have been in — zimbabweans. you mention you have been in zimbabwe - zimbabweans. you mention you have been in zimbabwe for - zimbabweans. you mention you have been in zimbabwe for the l have been in zimbabwe for the previous election and that was post—election violence after that vote. how likely are we to see it this time around to see it remain peaceful?— it remain peaceful? well, i think, again, _ it remain peaceful? well, i think, again, i— it remain peaceful? well, i think, again, i go - it remain peaceful? well, i think, again, i go back- it remain peaceful? well, i think, again, i go back to i it remain peaceful? well, i. think, again, i go back to the question of what is going to happen in the coming days. i think there is polarisation in zimbabwe society. the reason competition and clash between parties and a population which i think isjust parties and a population which i think is just exhausted so what is really important now is to avoid the potential for violence and to do that by really being transparent in the rest of this process, by getting those election results clearly published and allowing any grievances or problems to

have a chance to be aired in a court, and to allow those questions to be resolved in a peaceful way. questions to be resolved in a peaceful way-— peaceful way. doctor david carroll, thank _ peaceful way. doctor david carroll, thank you - peaceful way. doctor david carroll, thank you so - peaceful way. doctor david carroll, thank you so much peaceful way. doctor david . carroll, thank you so much for joining us. fix, carroll, thank you so much for joining us-_ joining us. a pleasure, thank ou. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. open until last august, this was the hemsley post office but when the shop closed with oettl wanting, the town was left without one. after seeing reports, and launching a petition, the people of hemsley came up with absolution. it is lovely to see a doctor from today the �*black swan' now up as a post office. it today the 'black swan' now up as a post office.— as a post office. it has a long-standing _ as a post office. it has a long-standing history. i as a post office. it has a | long-standing history. it as a post office. it has a - long-standing history. it has long—standing history. it has been at the heart of its

community for many years so there is that element. that will be taken into consideration. to offer that service to the people that we serve through the whole town and at the restaurant and things like that.— and at the restaurant and things like that. the world is becoming — things like that. the world is becoming digital _ things like that. the world is becoming digital and - things like that. the world is becoming digital and we - things like that. the world is i becoming digital and we should get more stuff done online but it is not always possible for everyone. you're live with bbc news. spain's football federation will hold an urgent meeting on monday, in response to the controversy surrounding its president. luis rubiales caused outrage when he kissed the spanish player, jenni hermoso, on the lips after the national team won the women's world cup. hermoso says she did not consent to the kiss. mr rubiales has been suspended by football's governing body, fifa. the spanish federation says it's now begun an internal investigation into sexual violence. on saturday, 11 members of the spanish women's

coaching staff quit in protest at the president's behaviour. a vigil has been held, after a white man who shot dead three black people, injacksonville, on saturday, in what police are calling a racially motivated attack. the shooter has been identified as a 21—year—old, who had no previous criminal record. jacksonville's sheriff says the shooter's weapons were acquired legally. two women and one man were killed during the attack. the shooter then turned the gun on himself. the recent heavy flooding in china, which claimed 81 lives, has shocked the country, especially because it occured in areas not usually prone to such a disaster. chinese scientists are blaming climate change, and are warning that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more dangerous. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports now on the country's changing climate. he visited luoxingdun island, situated in a southern flood plain,

and the town of zhuozhou, in the north, which is usually flood—free. china's recent floods hit hard in parts of the country not accustomed to them. and its meteorological administration says both extreme temperatures and precipitation have definitely increased in recent decades. it's one thing to talk about climate change in the abstract, quite another to consider real human impacts. this whole town is having to rebuild after the recent floods and all these businesses, they've been completely trashed by the floodwaters, and the people here, they don't know how they're going to be able to get back to the way their lives were. both this man's shops in zhuozhou, hebei province, were submerged by the floodwaters. translation: it will take me 8-10 years to recover - from these losses. the government has not said

whether it will compensate us. another man who runs a warehouse said even goods stored high up were destroyed. his wife showed us their mud—filled home. translation: i can't describe how i felt when i saw this. - our life's work, it's over. every year, china's flooding seems worse, and official statistics appear to confirm it. in 2011, the country recorded around six floods a month during the summer. but this year, there are ten times as many. the impact has even struck china's overall food supply. in august, 40% of the famous wuchang rice crop was wiped out by flooding. translation: i've never seen floods here in all my life. - this is the first time. translation: when i saw the water hit here, i cried. | our crops are gone.

i lost everything. it's hard to calculate. then in the south, where flooding is supposed to happen, there are fears of a drought closing in. this man grew up next to poyang lake and drives a boat out to luoxingdun island when there's enough water. translation: this year's water level is very low. i old people say this has only occurred once before, in the early 1950s. since the song dynasty 1,000 years ago, the temple has been surrounded by water during the rainy season. recent droughts have exposed it much earlier. a couple of months ago, all of this was underwater. but as the waters have receded, the island behind me has become accessible by land. and this historic site has become something of an environmental barometer to measure whether water levels are where they should be at any given time of year.

extreme weather is focusing attention on climate change in china, but can this huge country combine with the rest of the world quickly enough to do something about it? stephen mcdonell, bbc news, jiangxi province. monday marks 60 years since a pivotal moment in us history and one of the most important for the country's civil rights movement. the 1963 march on washington saw around 250,000 people come together to call for an end to discrimination it's crescendo — the i have a dream speech delivered by martin luther king jr on the steps of the lincoln memorial. thousands gathered saturday to commemorate the march. and monday, president biden is expected to meet organisers of the 1963 event. as part of the bbc�*s coverage, my colleague caitriona perry spoke to dr king's daughter, dr bernice king, to reflect on the moment. we are marking this anniversary in times where we have seen

recent attacks on affirmative action and voting rights. what is your assessment of whether civil rights movement is? there are numerous— civil rights movement is? there are numerous people _ civil rights movement is? there are numerous people that - civil rights movement is? there are numerous people that are l civil rights movement is? there. are numerous people that are on as we call it the battlefield that are really fighting to get the right policies in place, that are really fighting to educate communities. i think one of the struggles is, there are so many things that are problematic. when you look across the board, in the black community, we still suffer from racial disparity in every area. whether you're talking about banking, housing, employment, health, environment, criminal justice — we are still the last, not because of something inherently wrong with us but because of the systemic issues around race, and so, you know,

we're still trying figure out how do we... that is why i said it is important to prepare for the backlash, because we have to continue the fight towards one, getting the right policies in place and make sure they carry out what they are supposed to carry out and, two, continued to educate people in this nation because part of the issue around race is ignorance. and if you'd like to see our full interview with dr bernice king, turn in to our coverage of the march on washington on world news america on monday. it airs at 2200 bst, or 5pm eastern standard time for viewers in the us. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. you know, over the weekend, i've seen quite a lot of these. funnel clouds. the latest one was spotted between boroughbridge

and harrogate, around the north yorkshire area, but i've seen quite a few over the weekend. that particular one formed along this convergence line — that's where the winds bash together — and those opposing winds would've helped create some of the spin that created that funnel cloud in the first place. right now, though, those showers have long since cleared out of the way. we do have just a few patches of rain working from west to east, but many of us will have a dry start to the day on monday, with temperatures holding up into double figures. overall, the bank holiday monday that it'll be for many of you is a better, drier kind of day — the reason, well, we've got this little weak ridge of high pressure building in. now it won't be completely dry, there'll be just a few isolated showers around, but nowhere near as many as we've had over the course of the weekend. and probably the greatest risk of seeing an odd shower will be across the north—west of both england and wales. the emphasis, though, is on drier weather with spells of sunshine.

temperatures, high teens to low 20s, feeling warm in that august sunshine. and again, into tuesday, another area of low pressure starts to move in from the north. and so, we will get outbreaks of rain moving its way into scotland. just a few patches of rain — showers, really — on this weather front, this cold front, as it works southwards across england and wales. but many of you will still have some spells of sunshine around, as well. and overall, the temperature is similarfor most, about 18—22 celsius — warm in the sun, but starting to feel perhaps a little bit cooler across the north of scotland. well, from tuesday into wednesday, that same area of low pressure works into the north sea while weakening. and really, we're looking at a day of sunny spells and showers again — this time, probably the heaviest showers, big thunderstorms affecting northern and eastern scotland, and down this eastern side of england. again, there'll be some convergent winds, so who knows? you might see another funnel cloud if you're lucky. western areas should stay dry with some sunshine for wales, south—west england, probably bright for northern ireland, as well. that won't last, though. thursday and friday, another area of low pressure moving in — this time, the rain will to be affecting areas a bit further southward. so, particularly for wales, south—west england, and northern ireland, we've got a spell of rain to come through. that clears, and then, we're back to rather showery

conditions as we head off into september. bye— bye.

the us commerce secretary is in beijing as tensions run

high between the world's two biggest economies. australian mining workers make moves towards a strike. we look at the impact on gas prices. hi there. welcome to asia business report with me, mariko oi. the us commerce secretary has arrived in china late last night, making her the latest senior american to visit the country. she will be there for four days, meeting chinese officials and business leaders in beijing and shanghai. secretary raimondo says that she intends to be practical. tensions have been high between the world's two biggest economies. eric erithung is the president of the chamber of commerce and he

will meet secretary raimondo. he told