as azerbaijan's president cancels planned talks with the armenian prime minister. this was the front line with the armenian rebels holding this ridgeline overlooking their city down there in the valley. and the men's cricket world cup is under way in india, hello, i'm luxmy gopal. ukraine's president zelensky has arrived in the spanish city of granada, where 47 eu and non—eu leaders are gathering for a summit. ukraine is on the agenda and so is the nagorno—karabakh conflict. there had been hopes of peace talks but azerbaijan's president has

boycotted the meeting — complaining of pro—armenian bias. migration is the other big topic up for discussion. prime minister rishi sunak is on his way — he wants more action on illegal migration and he'll ask for, what he calls "creative europe—wide solutions". he'll co—chair a meeting with georgia meloni, the prime minister of italy, which has already seen more than 100,000 migrants land on its shores this year — five times the number who've reached the uk . here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale, who's at that summit in granada with more. the summit here in spain is a very loose one. it has very little agenda, there is no secretariat and no communique at the end. it simply an opportunity for leaders from the eu and non—eu countries to get together and share ideas to try to have some discussion about where they can go on the big issues of the day. as you say, ukraine is a big one. also immigration. the british prime minister, rishi sunak, is co—chairing a meeting with the italian prime minister, and essentially their idea, they argument

is to say let's lift our eyes from the symptoms of migration and tried to focus on the causes. go upstream, in other words, targeting the criminal gangs that are fuelling so much migration that is an issue here. whether or not the prime minister manages to shift the dial on that will remain to be seen, but what i think will happen is they will be lots of little side deals with individual countries where the prime minister will try to get an agreement with serbia, for example, let's share more intelligence about borders, cooperate more at an operational level, so that they can actually target countries like serbia, which is one of those big transit countries where a lot of migrants end up coming from outside of europe and into the european borders. so that is the agenda for today. add as you say it is notjust migration. it is nagorno—karabakh and ukraine as well. yes, and on the subject of ukraine, i imagine an president zelensky �*s mind will be concerns over

the supply of ammunition from western military powers. yes, and the supply of ammunition, we have had senior leaders this week warning that they are looking at the bottom of the barrel. president zelensky has made it clear that on top of their agenda is the provision of air defences and missile defences and they know that as we head towards winter that is the time when they expect russia to start targeting, as they did last winter, all the key energy infrastructure targets in and around kyiv and other parts of ukraine. they consume a huge volume of missiles, destroying those incoming drones and missiles from russia. so that is their focus. but also, they will use this, they say, as a broader discussion about what they call" future european architecture". in other words, they want to discuss with leaders hear about when and how ukraine may at some time join nato, which is the underlying theme. whenever you talk to ukrainian officials you will always talk about nato at some stage. rare talks between the leaders of armenia and azerbaijan were due

to be held today on the sidelines of the granada summit. this, after azerbaijan's lightning military operation in the disputed region of nagorno—karabakh led to nearly 120,000 ethnic armenians fleeing across the border. but those hopes have been dashed, after azerbaijan's president ilham aliyev pulled out. azerbaijan says armenians who are willing to live under the azeri flag are allowed to stay, but it seems highly unlikely that anyone will return. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, has this special report from inside the disputed region, on a press tour organised by the azeri authorities. the stillness after the storm, in a region torn apart by decades of conflict, has peace finally come,

and at what cost? two weeks after azerbaijan's lightning operation, we're taken to bunkers and trenches abandoned by armenian rebels. the visit is heavily controlled. we're only seeing what the azeri authorities want us to see. the armenians left in a hurry. there are signs of haste here, but not fighting. the logbook records activity until ten days before azerbaijan struck. so for three years, this was the front line with the armenian rebels holding this ridgeline overlooking their city of ste pa na kert. down there in the valley, and the azeri military in control in shusha, just up there on the hill. but in a matter of 2a hours, all of that changed, these frontlines simply vanished and now everything is silent. we move on down the road used by armenian civilians as they fled in panic.

glimpses here of a terrifying exodus driven out by months of blockade and sudden fear. as their would—be state collapsed around them, the armenians didn't wait for their enemies to arrive. this, azerbaijan says, was their choice. indeed, we do regret that the civilian population has decided, many of them, to leave. and of course, in this case, and we respect freedom of choice and freedom of movement and also majority of the population on the grounds, they also have an ethnic hatred against azerbaijanis. they say they cannot live under the flag of azerbaijan. is this the kind of end of this whole 30—year story, in your view? we do hope that really, finally we are coming to the final conclusion of this 200—year—old conflict between armenia and azerbaijan. azerbaijan wants peace. russia's peacekeepers are still here. but for how long? with azerbaijan finally controlling all its territory, there's nothing for them to do, but plenty for the new authorities

in areas taken back earlier, the state is investing heavily. power, roads, whole communities. this family has come back to a home seized by armenia 31 years ago and now rebuilt. today's freakish storm threatens to flood the house, but the family seems thrilled to be here. translation: for 27 years, - every day i would wake up and say, "we're going back." coming back was like a dream. thanks to our soldiers and our president, we are now here. azerbaijan feels that history is on its side. there's a real sense of pride here, but acute sensitivity, too — this was as close as we were allowed to get to the abandoned armenian city at the centre of this whole story, stepanakert, which azerbaijan calls hahn kendi. accused of causing a humanitarian disaster, our hosts weren't ready to show us its deserted streets.

paul adams, bbc news, nagorno—karabakh. 0ur correspondent rayhan demetrie has this update from the armenian capital, yerevan. quite an unexpected pull—out by the azerbaijani president. they were supposed to meet today in granada, and the reason that was given, or reported in official media in azerbaijan, is that azerbaijan wanted turkey to be present in these talks. the other parties are france and germany and the eu, so that did not happen. but we know that the armenian prime minister is in granada. he made a statement yesterday saying that he was ready to sign this important document and that he was disappointed that this opportunity is no longer there. and in terms of the situation currently in the area where 120,000 ethnic armenians have fled, what is the situation there now for any communities who remain?

well, that's right. wejust heard in paul's report that he could not get access to the city, but the international committee of the red cross still have access to what looks like the deserted town. they are going round and looking forjust a few people who might have been left behind. these are people with disabilities, or the elderly. lonely people that could not get themselves out of that territory. also today there was a statement issued by human rights watch, urging the governments that are involved in facilitating these talks between armenia and azerbaijan, to really put pressure on azerbaijan so that the president of that country can guarantee the right to return. now that it is more or less settling

down and people are trying to understand what has happened, some of the people that human rights watch interviewed as saying we want to go back and collect our belongings. they had to run away so quickly, fearing violence. they could not really collect anything, apart from their documents. human rights watch is saying if there are some international guarantees for the safety of these people, there are those who are willing to return short term just to collect their belongings, and those who are willing to return for longer term, to live in their homes. us presidentjoe biden has approved the construction of a border wall in southern texas in an effort to stop illegal immigration. around 32 kilometres will be built in starr county, which is on the border with mexico. border officials are currently seeing high levels of illegal crossings in the area. but the move is considered a u—turn by the president, who criticised his predecessor donald trump for building such barriers. daniel lippman, white house reporter

at politico, gave us his assessment of this move by the biden administration. there clearly is a major problem with illegal immigration into the country. this year there has been more than two million migrant crossings, and so there is a lot of suffering in central america, and in mexico, which is leading to lots of people crossing the border. but it has definitely hurt the biden administration politically, and in major cities like new york, where they have more than 100,000 migrants, they are having to address that, and make sure they can get housing and food and jobs. so, given that president biden had criticised a similar approach by president trump, how does he defend his move now? so far, he has not actually weighed in on this.

it is his department of homeland security who published the notice in the federal register, saying they would waive these laws, including the clean water act and other environmental laws. environmental advocates are saying, hey, this is not good, this is going to destroy a lot of wild lands and wetlands, and so this is along the rio grande river. i'm sure he will get asked this by reporters, but he won't be eager to talk about it because, as you mentioned, he said the trump border wall was not a good idea, and was not a solution to our problems. so, what do you think the overall impact will be of this politically for him? as you say, it might damage him among some democratic supporters, but what about winning over some potential republicans? so where do you think this will leave him?

i think they are hoping this gets a good deal of coverage, especially in the conservative press because they want to spread the message that they are working hard to tackle this issue. immigration is a concern for a lot of people. of course, america was built on immigration. it is a melting pot. for most people here, their ancestors are not from america. so he has to balance what his base once with american history, and also just address some of what the swing voters care about, which is making sure that we don't have uncontrolled illegal immigration. but i don't think this border wall, you know, it is small, maybe 25 miles, is going to make a huge dent in the hundreds of thousands of people who cross, but i'm sure it would make some impact they would not do it.

white house reporter daniel lipmann. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. voters are going to the polls in scotland's first recall by—election. the ballot in rutherglen and hamilton west was triggered when constituents voted to remove former snp mp margaret ferrier from her seat after she was found to have breached covid rules. a total of 1a candidates are standing for election to the commons — polling stations close at 10pm. new draft health guidance says doctors should ask people with mental health problems about their gambling habits, to identify if they need help. the guidance says gps should also discuss software that limits online gambling, as well as talking therapy at an early stage. a recent review found that around 300,000 adults in the uk are problem gamblers. rents have reached their highest level in britain on record. the property portal rightmove says prices outside london have risen 10%, with the average tenant paying £1278 a month. the number of renters chasing each

property has risen to 25 from 20 five months ago, and just six in 2019. you're live with bbc news. indian rescue teams are searching for more than 100 people missing after a flash flood triggered by a high—altitude glacial lake burst. it happened here in the sikkim state in north eastern india. the state government says at least 1a people have died, including a child. live now to our correspondent mayuresh konnur in mumbai. what is the latest on the missing people? what is the latest on the missing eo - le? , , what is the latest on the missing --eole? , , ., people? currently the number of missin: people? currently the number of missing peeple _ people? currently the number of missing people is _ people? currently the number of missing people is more - people? currently the number of missing people is more than - people? currently the number of missing people is more than 100 people? currently the number of - missing people is more than 100 and there are still several rescue and search operation teams being deployed across sikkim, mostly in the northern part. 0ne serious concern in the search operation is

about 25 army people missing since yesterday. we are told one has been found as well but 2a are still missing. 0ver22,000 found as well but 2a are still missing. over 22,000 people found as well but 2a are still missing. 0ver22,000 people might have been affected by these floods and the number could grow up. several villages and towns in this valley have been affected in the rescue operations are still on and national disasters in force and many army personnel also deployed in the search and rescue operation and we have been told 21 counts have been set up temporarily for people whose houses and towns and villages are affected are being kept there. we are seeing images now of the aftermath of the flooding. does the area have the resources needed for

the clean—up operation? the the clean-up operation? the resources — the clean-up operation? the resources from _ the clean-up operation? the resources from the - the clean—up operation? tue resources from the state the clean—up operation? tte resources from the state government and the government is in touch with the central government in new delhi and this is the hill area such as always geographically challenged to carry out any search operation and still many roads are washed off. it is very difficult to go to the places because it is still raining heavily. it is very difficult but relief teams not only from the northern region but other parts of the country are being flown to sikkim so they will increase the number in the rescue operations currently going on and will get more

resources but because of the geography and consistent rain it is a bit difficult on the resources part and is still ongoing situation. here in the uk, the home office has released its figures on hate crime for 2022 to 2023 which show the number of hate crimes recorded by police forces in england and wales has fallen year—on—year for the first time since comparable figures began. 0ur correspondent lauren moss has been looking at the data. firstly, these are the figures that have been reported to police of hate crimes over the last year, up to march 2023. a hate crime is classified as a criminal offence that is motivated by someone's prejudice, or perceived prejudice, based on a personal characteristic. it breaks down into lots of different areas which i will talk you through. but like you said, the figures show an overall drop since these figures were begun to be

collected since 2013, but since 2013—2023, recorded hate crimes to police in england and wales have overall trebled. this is the first release of hate crime figures since guidance was issued a few months ago about how hate crimes should be recorded by the police, to consider whether there is genuine hostility aimed at a person, or if it could be considered freedom of speech or thought. 0verall they have dropped, but we have seen some categories where the number of hate crimes aimed at certain communities have increased. if we look at transgender hate crimes, for example, that has seen the biggest rise with an 11% increase. over 11,500 recorded offences in the last year. religious hate crimes went up 9%. race hate crimes still account for the highest number of hate crimes, over 100,000. but that is a drop

of 6% year—on—year. sexual orientation accounts for the second—highest number with 211,000 offences recorded year—on—year. the police and the home office have said that the high numbers in some of these crimes recorded could be due to the way that police are collecting this data. people feeling more confident coming forward. significantly, this is the first release since guidance was changed in how they log these crimes, and we will be picking through these figures as the day continues. the men's cricket world cup has got under way in india, with the hosts the favourites to lift the title. india's love of the sport runs deep. and in one small village, an enthusiastic girls team is breaking traditions and dreaming big. 0ur south asia correspondent samira hussain reports from punjab. the pure joy of cricket. these players are part of the gulab cricket academy. all girls, all from neighbouring villages, and all heart. in rural communities, girls don't usually get these kinds of opportunities.

they are the lucky ones, playing on a cricket pitch in the heart of farm country. this girl has been on the team since it started four years ago. she plays with passion and dreams of making it big. translation: when we are playing i a match i feel like i am wearing i a jersey for team india. when i play i feel only one thing, that i am not playing for india now, but i will play for india's cricket team some day. there's a lot more happening here than just girls playing cricket. they're also breaking with tradition. they are building confidence both on and off the pitch and also changing people's mindsets in terms of what girls can do.

this man wanted to be a professional cricketer but lacked opportunity and resources, so he started this plucky little team free of cost to encourage these girls to dream beyond the boundaries of the rural communities. translation: mostly in indian villages girls | are not permitted to go outside their homes. now we are also able to have matches between girls and boys. that makes them proud of themselves. now they are able to tell their parents that "i can do it". for a few hours a day, they are free from societal pressures and able to just be kids. samira hussain, bbc news. well, samira is at a viewing party for those girls. here she is with more.

i'm on the cricket pitch that you saw in that package whether girls get to practice, and they have put up a screenjust behind me so they can watch the first match of the men's cricket world cup. it is really incredible for them to be able to watch this on the big screen with their team, on the pitch that they practice, to see the way professionals play. as we heard, some of them already have yes, cricket is in the blood, really, in india, isn't it? how big are the crowds that we are expecting? so the crowds that are expected are pretty big. we are already hearing reports about how difficult it is to get tickets to see these games. for this first match between new zealand and england, they've actually reserved some 40,000 seats for only women as part of the country's push to have more female representation, not only when it comes to the stands, but also in other

parts of government as well. what's also important to note is that india also started a professional women's cricket team. now, it is already a very popular sport in this country for both men and women, but this new league is really popularised women's cricket and really brought it to the mainstream, which makes it even more influential for some of these girls behind me. five environmental protesters have been arrested at a theatre in london's west end after storming the stage and disrupting a performance of the musical les miserables. the production company says it will refund members of the audience. they were asked to temporarily leave the auditorium for their safety, and there wasn't enough time to finish the musical.

the campaign group, just stop oil, posted pictures of its activists on social media wearing t—shirts emblazoned with the words, �*the show cannot go on'. it said four people had locked themselves to the stage. here are live pictures from a meeting in the spanish city of granada where 47 eu and non—eu leaders are gathering. this is where they will be discussing various objects with migration being the big subject and also the war in ukraine. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, again. for many of us, it's been a pretty wet start to the day. some heavy rain has been sweeping in from the west, pushing eastwards and it's also rather breezy as well. further south, though, after this morning's showers and drizzle, the rain moving away, brightening up across central and eastern parts of england, the rain moving out of northern ireland, so it'll brighten up here later as well. but still some rain pushing across parts of wales, northern england and scotland.

the wind will pick up through the day, particularly across the irish sea and also into western scotland. through this evening and overnight, the rain continues into the northern isles. we've got this trailing front across parts of england, wales and northern ireland, clipping southern scotland at times. but on either side of that, there will be variable amounts of cloud. it's not going to be as cold a start to the day tomorrow across northern scotland as it was this morning when temperatures were very close to freezing in places. so, a mild start to the day tomorrow. we still have this trailing front, if anything moving a little bit north with its rain. but on either side of it, there will be some sunshine and windy across the far north of scotland with temperatures in lerwick 13 degrees but creeping up in the southeast to about 22. now, as we move from friday into saturday, this weather front has been giving us a real headache as to its position all week. this is what we think at the moment. it will be bringing rain steadily northwards across scotland. for the rest of england and wales

and northern ireland and later in the day southern scotland, it will be a dry day with a fair bit of sunshine and feeling warm the further south that you are — temperatures up to 25 or indeed 26 degrees. all this warm air is coming up from the near continent. high pressure trying to build in and push this rain away as we head in through sunday and into monday. how successful is it? well, it will be across the far north of scotland, where it will also be windy on sunday. but for the rest of us, we're looking at a dry day, a fine day, a fair bit of sunshine around. temperatures in aberdeen, 1a degrees. into the mid—20s, possibly 26, in the southeast. so, as you can see, well above average for the bulk of the uk for the time of year. but how long does it last? well, in southern areas, it will last right the way into next week. but we do have a weather front sinking south and behind that we'll

see some fresher conditions return with some rain.

dominating data — uk regulators call for an investigation into cloud computing, over fears amazon and microsoft have too much power. and we'll be looking at how one energy company is using drones to deliver spare parts to offshore wind farms.

welcome to world business report. i'm ben thompson. to new york now — where prosecutors have accused former cryptocurrency tycoon sam bankman—fried of running an empire "built on lies". the prosecution and defence have been making their opening statements to jurors in what is expected to be a six—week long trial. our north america business correspondent erin delmore has been following proceedings. the prosecution and defence offered the newly selected jury duelling narratives that are set to define this trial, asking them to decide whether sam bankman—fried was a hapless but well—intentioned ceo in over his head, or a conniving crypto king intent on defrauding customers for his own gain. mr bankman—fried's trial is a flashpoint in the ongoing battle over how crypto should be regulated in the united states, with mr bankman—fried, once the poster boy for ethical and responsible management of digital markets, on trial