of ten—year—old sara — her body was discovered at her home five weeks ago. this has been an extremely fast—moving, challenging and complex inquiry and we remain absolutely committed to conducting a thorough investigation into sara's death. also tonight — devastation in libya. more than 5,000 known to have died after a storm caused two dams to burst. the brazilian murderer who made a daring escape from a usjail — finally recaptured after weeks on the run in a manhunt that brought fear and fascination across america. and the challenge facing western car—makers as china is set to become the world's biggest car exporter. 0n newsnight at 10:30pm: more than 5,000 dead and many more missing as whole neighbourhoods in the city of derna are swept into the sea. what chance has libya got when the country is in chaos and there's no disaster plan?

good evening. the father, stepmother and uncle of ten—year—old sara sharif, who was found dead at her home in surrey five weeks ago, are being questioned tonight on suspicion of her murder. the three had left the uk the day before sara's body was found and flown to pakistan. tonight they finally returned and were met by police officers as their plane touched down at gatwick airport. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the very latest. touching daniel sandford has the very latest. down at gatwiw tonight, touching down at gatwick airport tonight, five weeks to the day since they flew to pakistan on the day before she was found dead, sara sharif�*s father, stepmother and uncle. minutes after the door had opened, the three could be seen through the window is being led off

the plane by the police in handcuffs. and three separate vans drove them away after all three had been arrested on suspicion of murder. their travel booking showed they had changed planes in dubai and had flown business class from there to london. the vans arrived a short time later at guildford police station. urfan sharif, twell tacro and faisal malik will now be questioned about what they might know about her death. two questioned about what they might know about her death.— questioned about what they might know about her death. two men and a woman was — know about her death. two men and a woman was arrested _ know about her death. two men and a woman was arrested on _ know about her death. two men and a woman was arrested on suspicion - know about her death. two men and a woman was arrested on suspicion of. woman was arrested on suspicion of murder after disembarking a flight from dubai. they are currently in custody and will be interviewed in due course. custody and will be interviewed in due course-— custody and will be interviewed in due course. ~ . due course. when police discovered sara sharif's — due course. when police discovered sara sharif's body, _ due course. when police discovered sara sharif's body, she _ due course. when police discovered sara sharif's body, she had - due course. when police discovered | sara sharif's body, she had multiple and extensive injuries. so much so, it was unclear which injury had caused her death. she had been found

at the family home in woking where she had lived with herfather, stepmother and uncle, and five siblings. the local imam in woking said he was pleased they had now returned. the said he was pleased they had now returned. ., . ., , said he was pleased they had now returned. ., u, , , returned. the whole community is anxious what— returned. the whole community is anxious what has _ returned. the whole community is anxious what has happened - returned. the whole community is anxious what has happened to - returned. the whole community is| anxious what has happened to sara and why did it happen and how did it happen. all these questions, the police will investigate. it happen. all these questions, the police will investigate.— police will investigate. it brings to an end an — police will investigate. it brings to an end an extensive - police will investigate. it brings to an end an extensive search | police will investigate. it brings. to an end an extensive search by police in the districts around the pakistani city of gelling, which led to many of the family being questioned and the five children who travelled with them being taken, at least temporarily, into pakistani government care. it was on the 8th of august at urfan sharif for airline tickets to take his family to pakistan. the next day, he and his partner, beinash batool and his brother, faisal malik travelled to islamabad. 0n the tenth, sara's body was found in the home in woking. 0n

the 15th, police in pakistan received a request from interpol to find them, but they were unable to locate them. last wednesday, urfan sharif and beinash batool appeared in a video sent to the bbc saying sara died in incidents and they were willing to cooperate with the uk authorities. 0n willing to cooperate with the uk authorities. on monday, pakistani police found sara's siblings of their grandfather's house. the pakistani authorities are now looking them. surrey police said sara sharif's mother had been told about the arrests and was being supported by specialist officers. daniel is here now. so they're back in britain tonight — it could have taken a lot longer? a man who killed a police officer was arrested in 2020 and wasn't extradited until april of this year, so it was about three years of a

formal extradition. if it had gone down that route, you could have been years before these people came back to britain to be interviewed by police. what seems to have happen is there seems to be a voluntary element to this. their lawyer in pakistan is insisting they have voluntarily boarded the flight and have made their own way back. 0bviously have made their own way back. obviously we don't know the reason for that, obviously we don't know the reason forthat, but obviously we don't know the reason for that, but one of the things that has been happening in pakistan while they have been... while pakistani police have been unable to find them, many of their family have been detained, the five children have been removed from the grandfather and it might have been there was so much pressure that they realised what they needed to do was come back and answer the questions the surrey police had for them. daniel, thank you. 0ur pakistan correspondent, caroline davies, is in islamabad. plenty of questions remain — among them what happens now to sara's five siblings?

yes, the five siblings are still here, they are in a government childcare facility, which is where they were taken to after being taken off their grandfather. they have beenin off their grandfather. they have been in the family house since the 10th of august and now have been put into care. this is a temporary measure but we don't have a timeline all set court dates at the moment for when there longer term custody will be established. there are many other questions as well still here in pakistan. how were they able to not be found over the course of the last few weeks. when did they decide they were going to travel, why did they were going to travel, why did they decide they were going to travel back to the uk. but the most pressing will be the focus on those five children, the adults they left the uk with have now come back but they are still in pakistan.—

they are still in pakistan. caroline davies, thank _ they are still in pakistan. caroline davies, thank you. _ more than 5,000 people are now known to have died in libya after a storm unleashed a torrent of floodwater on sunday. these drone shots from the city of derna give a sense of the devastation and the difficulties getting aid to where it's needed. the city, on the mediterranean coast, was particularly badly hit. this was the port before the floods — with its population of around 100,000 people. and this is what it looks like now after two dams and four bridges collapsed. thousands of people are still missing — the mayor of derna says he fears as many as 20,000 people may have died. many people were asleep when their homes collapsed around them — and many people were washed out to sea in the torrent. a warning — you made find some of the images in quentin sommerville's report upsetting. when the storm came, fractured libya was ill—prepared. half a year's rainfall fell in just 2a hours. in daylight, as much as a quarter of the port city of derna was revealed to be gone, engulfed by flood water after two

mountain dams failed. families were washed out to sea as they slept. the grim work to retrieve the lost is under way. locals working alongside the army are helping to remove the dead, which now number in their thousands. bodies are being washed ashore by the dozens. with terrible force, the flood swept through this city, destroying homes, cars, bridges. there was no warning, no evacuation order. gently, the body of a child is recovered from the rubble. few here are being found alive. derna and libya are overwhelmed. it is too much for those left grieving. entire families were

swallowed by the deluge. translation: i already lost six people. - we managed to take out three and we did not find the other three people. we're searching for the bodies here, we could not find then. derna has long been marginalised. it was once a base for the islamic state group. years of neglect and conflict and two rival governments have seen libya fall apart. translation: it has been - an enormous shock and i don't want to point the blame at anyone or create controversy. even if all measures had been taken, there would have been losses, massive losses. but more could have been done. translation: we warned - the authorities since last week, no, for years, that the dam had cracks and needs to be maintained. we said it and nobody listened to us and now the whole of derna is flooded.

what remains here already barely functions. this hospital is struggling, deep in water, and flooded with casualties. and for the medical staff, it is all too much. translation: , , too much. translation: , , ., translation: this is a catastrophe from god. translation: this is a catastrophe from god- we _ translation: this is a catastrophe from god. we have _ translation: this is a catastrophe from god. we have lost _ translation: this is a catastrophe from god. we have lost brothers. i international help is on the way. these planes are from jordan, but with many of the roads in eastern libya washed away, aid will struggle to get through. this is libya's third day of national mourning, and still, the corpses keep coming. after a decade of chaos, this fresh tragedy is one the country can't bear alone. quentin sommerville, bbc news. frank gardener has been looking

at what happened when that storm hit on sunday. this has been one of the worst disasters in libya's history. but how did this happen? this satellite footage shows storm daniel, which some meteroloigists called a �*medicane' — or mediteranean hurricane. it killed 15 people in greece in the past week, making its way across southern europe and making landfall in libya on sunday. the worst—hit area has been derna on the north—east coast. right through the city centre runs the wadi derna river flowing down from the jabal akhdar mountains. but its dry for most of the year and no one was prepared for this. there are two dams. the upper one is this one, the al—bilad, around eight miles south of the city. due to the sheer amount of rainfall and floodwater from the storm, it burst, as you can see in this video footage here . after that first damn collapsed, it sent water pouring down the valley before reaching a second dam, the abu mansour, which lay much closer to the city, less than a mile from it.

the sheer force of the flooding meant that this second dam was also overcome. what more do we know about the dams themselves? we understand these dams were constructed around 50 years ago by yugoslav engineers, with cores of clay protected by what's called a stone �*carapace' or shell. clearly, they were not strong enough to cope with a storm — and flooding — of this magnitude. and of course, all this was compounded by libya's dysfunctional politics. a country rich in natural resources, yet desperately lacking the secuirty and stability its people crave. let's go back to quentin sommerville who has been following this story from beirut. the scale of the devastation only really becoming clear now — one estimate tonight that up to 20,000 people could be dead?s

yes, those figures, they will be counting the bodies for many days, if not weeks to come. there are many countries that could have handled flooding of the scale, but not one as troubled as libya. it has had a long decade of civil wars, local conflicts and derna was taken over by the islamic state at the city was bombed to remove them from there. ever since then, even before this disaster that people were terribly neglected. they have been called the most marginalised of the marginalised. but let's not forget, there were warnings these two dams might be breached. notjust from locals but from libyan academics, but amid libya's chaos, those warnings went unheeded. the reality for libya and other mediterranean countries, with rising water temperatures, they need to be better prepared for these kind of

emergencies. but for libya, a country which has been at war with itself, neglected by the west, it simply wasn't able to do that and its people have paid a terrible price. quentin sommerville in beirut, thank you. vladimir putin has said his country will help north korea advance its space programme. the russian president made the assurances during talks with the north korean leader, kim jong—un, as they toured a space centre in russia's far east. in return it's thought north korea could provide moscow with ammunition for its war in ukraine. here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. vladimir putin and kimjong—un. is this now a fine bromance? at the very least, both leaders believe they'd benefit from a closer relationship. their day began with a tour of a russian space centre. launch pads and rocket systems. north korea's reclusive leader was all ears. no surprise there — he wants help to develop his space and missile programmes. later, president putin

said their talks would cover the economy and humanitarian issues. but was there a hidden agenda? in its war in ukraine, russia has been burning through ammunition. us officials believe that the kremlin has been trying to do a deal with north korea for munitions. if it has been, this former russian foreign minister is unimpressed. it's very humiliating that a russian ally is now north korea again. a great power would not go to north korea for an alliance or military supplies. but the kremlin seems to believe that a great power is one that stands up to america. so, was there an arms deal or wasn't there? we simply don't know. but what is clear, i think, is that the kremlin is using closer ties with north korea to send a message to washington —

that russia may be under pressure, under sanctions, but it still has the capacity to cause problems, big problems, for the west. in other words, is moscow using north korea to scare russia's opponents? that's what we are going to show you, that you disregard us, but we still have this incredible leverage around the world and you don't even... we haven't even scratched the surface of how much we can do damage, potential damage, or at least freak you out. if that happens, i think that's putin's greater weapon than actual physical weapons. kim and putin, it's a marriage made not in heaven but in a geopolitical maelstrom. having a shared enemy, the west, has brought them together. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. it's a manhunt that

has gripped america — provoking both fear and fascination. but now an escaped murderer who had been on the run in pennsylvania for almost two weeks has been re—captured, ending a chase that has captivated millions. more than 500 officers hunted for the brazilain who had been sentenced to life last month for murdering his ex—girlfriend in front of her two children. gary 0'donoghue reports. relieved in their moment of triumph, this pennsylvania police swat team seemingly unable to resist parading their captive moments after he was tracked down. cavalcante's extraordinary crab—like escape from prison two weeks ago was caught on security video. it was a route an inmate had used back in may, though he was captured straightaway. cavalcante was on the loose for two weeks, staying at large by breaking in to homes and stealing clothes and food, as well as a rifle. police got their breakthrough when a plane detected a heat source on the ground, and at dawn they moved in, a police

dog pinning him to the ground. i believe he was taken by surprise, and i believe the canine played a large role in him not being able to utilise that firearm. the break—out came just a week after he'd been sentenced to life without parole for the brutal murder of his girlfriend deborah brandao, who was stabbed dozens of times in front of her two small children. we are so relieved, i can't even tell you. a quiet place that's remained untouched, and i'm glad he's out of it. ecstatic that they got him. i mean, showing our guys can get it done. cavalcante was also wanted for a murder in his native brazil, from where he fled in 2018, entering the united states illegally through florida. this is the latest in a spate of prison breaks in pennsylvania. the state governor is now promising a full inquiry. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news. new figures show the uk's economy shrank by 0.5% injuly, a sharper drop

than economists had expected. the office for national statistics said it could be explained in part by the wet weather, and the impact of industrial action by nhs staff and teachers. but the 0ns said the broader picture for the country looked "more positive." the european commission president ursula von der leyen has warned that global markets are being flooded with cheaper chinese electric cars whose prices are kept artificially low by huge state subsidies. today, she launched an investigation to look into the issue. this comes as china is set to become the world's biggest car exporter by the end of the year. something that worries the car industry closer to home. here's our economics editor faisal islam. at a bedfordshire racetrack, the british car industry is showing off its green electric future, but there's a new player here. behind the marks — some familiar, some new — these are cars shipped from china.

meet byd — build your dreams — on course to overtake tesla as the world's biggest producer of electric vehicles this year. so here we have the byd atto 3, so we're brand new to the market in the uk. you can see it's packed with features. on-board computer: 0k, rotating the screen. - 0ur battery's 260 miles, which is plenty enough range to get to most places. there's these guitar strings, which actually can play a tune. we've sold in excess of 4.1 million new energy vehicles. so we really are experts in this field, and we're delighted to be here in the uk as well. it isn't just about price, say car experts. they are potentially a huge market force which we're about to discover being unleashed upon us as the european industry. and they could really undercut uk—made, european—made cars? yes, i think they are undercutting them in terms of price and they're getting there, they're very, if not already there in terms of quality. imports of chinese electric vehicles just like this could be the answer — for the environment for net zero — because they're at offered

a cheaper price point and could enable mass take up. but they're also spreading some concern amongst the existing industry about whether they'll outcompete those cars that are made in europe and made in the uk. these new chinese companies have often started as battery manufacturers, built up with beijing's support to corner the markets for the rare materials vital for their production. it gives china a cutting edge on price and on much of the technology. for years, japan and germany have been the undisputed top two exporters of cars in the world. but in the past three years — really, since the pandemic — china has boomed specifically on electric sales, overtaking germany last year and set to beat japan to the number one spot this year. today, the eu decided to launch an investigation into the tax breaks and funding beijing has given to its electric car industry. it could lead to extra taxes or tariffs on this wave of imports. global markets are now flooded with cheaper chinese electric cars,

and their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies. this is distorting our market. and if there was an eu crackdown, many in british industry fear that the flood of chinese cars will instead end up here. the government says this is a matter for the independent trade authority. for now, the net zero future of the car could be made in china. faisal islam, bbc news. the government has been defeated in the house of lords on its plans to relax restrictions on house—building in england, if there's a risk the development will add to water pollution. the attempt to ease the rules, through the levelling—up bill, was defeated by 203 votes to 156. 0ur political editor chris mason is in westminster. how much of a setback for the government?

this gets right to the heart of one of the biggest issues in domestic contemporary politics, building homes and building more of than in places people want to live. when you speak to folk around here of all sorts of political affiliations, most accept we need to build more homes, but where do you build them when there are places where lots of people oppose house—building, and what about the environmental consequences? 0n what about the environmental consequences? on that to point the government thought it had latched onto an idea to get rid of a law dating back to our time in the european union that we could not get rid of until brexit that often meant development was blocked if there was a risk of water pollution, and ministers reckoned they had an alternative to deal with the environmental question. labour has been wrestling with its own plans around this. critics said the government plan was terrible and not environmentally friendly, and along comes this defeat tonight. if you are in government and you are

defeated, it is bad news, hard to spin it as a good thing, but what is striking is the tories are weaponising this defeat to make an argument, they say, that labour are blocking house—building. labour argue the government's plans are flawed and they would have alternative ways of squaring the circle between building on the environment. we are seeing the beginnings of a battle between the two big parties that we will see all the way in the countdown to the election, who can be trusted to build more homes?— election, who can be trusted to build more homes? , ., ~ build more homes? chris mason, thank ou. the children's commissioner says clarity is urgently needed for teachers, parents and pupils in england over what schools should do when a child identifies as transgender. scotland and northern ireland already have guidance, wales is to hold a public consultation. headteachers in england have to make their own decisions about how to involve parents, which sports pupils play and issues around toilets and changing facilities. 0ur correspondent lauren moss has been speaking to two parents

with differing views. guidance for schools about transgender pupils was first promised in 2018, and despite the prime minister's pledge it would be delivered last term, the wait continues. when and how to involve parents is one of the reasons it's so complicated. we've spoken to two parents anonymously, to protect theirfamilies' privacy. we're a close—knit family. i want to make sure that she doesn't do anything that's not right for her. when rachel's16—year—old identified as nonbinary — not exclusively male or female — she met with the school. teachers told her they already knew and had been using a different name and pronouns — what can be known as socially transitioning — at her child's request, without telling rachel. she'd self—diagnosed gender dysphoria. the well—being of my daughter is my responsibility, and i just feel that what the school has done by taking the actions they did undermined that. but others have a different view. mike's child sam came out as trans at the age of 12.

it was a surprise, but if he wished to identify in that way, we would fully support him. they agreed with the school that sam would socially transition, but mike says without official guidance, he doesn't think teachers were confident about what to do. sam was badly bullied and had to move schools. it was absolutely devastating. he started having serious panic attacks. i've always believed that schools should be a place of safety for every child, and i also believe that schools have a legal duty of care for every child. sam is autistic and rachel's child is being assessed for neurodiversity. both children's birth sex is female and they've previously struggled with eating disorders and anxiety. rachel says her daughter has since returned to using she/her pronouns. injuly the government's own lawyer advised it could be unlawful for teachers to ban a child from socially transitioning. the department for education says this is a difficult —— has told schools and colleges to prioritise safeguarding and

well—being. what do you think the guidance should contain? if the pupils are questioning their gender, then the school should immediately involve the parents. and that the school shouldn't be taking it upon themselves to make these decisions. i think first of all schools should be looking at being supportive. if the child is receiving additional support in school then, yes, parents need to be informed of that, but i don't feel that parents need to be informed that their child is identifying as the opposite gender, especially in situations where that might put them at risk. in order to protect the families' identities, the bbc�*s not contacted either school for comment. the government says schools and colleges should proceed the children's commissioner says schools are crying out for deadlines and clarity, but there is no guidance on when that might land on their desks. it's been a record breaking day of cricket for who else but ben stokes?

in a one day international against new zealand at the oval today, he made the highest ever score by an english batter. joe wilson has the details. cricket matches come in many formats. remember, a six is always a six and ben stokes has no limits. he'd actually retired from these 50 over matches to conserve himself. but there's a world cup to win, to retain this autumn. and could you imagine a world cup without him? new zealand gladly would. in this match stokes had rescued england from a mess, and it's just those situations which inspire him. from 124 balls — 182 runs. the highest score by an english batter in one day internationals. another day of stokes rethinking the possibles. well, england won the match by 181 runs... yeah! ..which stokes will value far more than his 182. joe wilson, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich.

some still be looking stuff? it has turned decidedly _ some still be looking stuff? it has turned decidedly wet and - some still be looking stuff? it 1:3 turned decidedly wet and windy across some northern parts of the uk. most of us sought some sunshine today but across much of northern ireland and scotland this evening we saw college, outbreaks of rain, a brisk winter and this rain is now on the move south and east, getting into parts of northern england, into wales, into the midlands by the end of the night. gusts of close to 60 mph, they might be touching 65 mph in the most exposed parts of north—west scotland. a touch of frost in the highlands last night, not tonight, much milder. a bunch of clouds and rain is in place, very slow moving in parts. —— a band of clouds and rain. to the north of the

sunshine and showers, still very windy in parts of northern scotland, 14. in a way, 23 or 24 in eastern and south—eastern england, warmer than today. into friday the band of rain will be moving northwards again, it will bring some really wet weather on friday across parts of northern ireland, southern and central portions of scotland and if he was struck under the clouds, look at the temperatures, glasgow and belfast just 13 at the temperatures, glasgow and belfastjust 13 degrees, but further south and east, london getting up to 25. big temperature contrasts. towards the weekend, quite a mixed and messy weather picture, low pressure trying to swell in from the south—west, throwing showers or longer spells of rain northwards but relatively warm and humid air. not as warm as it was for some last weekend but it could be 26 or