our pakistan correspondent, caroline davies has the latest, from the capital, islamabad. a sunday afternoon political rally by one of pakistan's biggest religious parties. hundreds crowded in, covered from the afternoon sun by a marquee, waving flags and chanting. then the speaker was interrupted by the explosion. some people were stretchered out, soaked in blood. others were simply carried by any hands that could offer help. the district hospital declared a health emergency and a call was put out for blood donations. as the wards filled up, some were taken by helicopter to nearby peshawar. the death toll rose quickly. police have said they have struggled to identify all of the dead. among those named is a local political leader. there has been an increase in violent attacks in pakistan, particularly in kp province. police have said that they have discovered evidence suggesting that the explosion might have been a suicide bomber, but have not yet confirmed it. if this was an attack, it is not clear what the motive could be, and no group has claimed it, leaving many questions about what has happened, and how it could affect the build—up to pakistan's much anticipated general election, still expected later this year. pakistan's prime minister shehbaz sharif has condemned the attack. joining me now is kiran butt, online editorfor the khorasan diary, a non partisan platform run byjournalists in pakistan. thanks forjoining us here. the human cost of this attack is just awful, so many casualties and loss of life. how are people feeling in pakistan at the moment, what is the reaction? . ~ pakistan at the moment, what is the reaction? ., ~ , ., pakistan at the moment, what is the reaction? ., ~ i. . pakistan at the moment, what is the reaction? ., ~ . ., reaction? thank you so much for havin: reaction? thank you so much for having me- _ reaction? thank you so much for having me- it — reaction? thank you so much for having me. it is— reaction? thank you so much for having me. it is a _ reaction? thank you so much for having me. it is a very _ reaction? thank you so much for having me. it is a very sad - reaction? thank you so much for having me. it is a very sad day i having me. it is a very sad day indeed for the nation, for the country and specifically for the people who are dealing and resisting these militant organisations form now more than two decades. if i can tell you that people are angry, people are sad and the locals, i spoke with them, they were forced into a shock for a couple of hours, they were not able to understand what has happened. and even after those hours they were not able to how they could go on with that blast. it isjust how they could go on with that blast. it is just the first area after the border, and you can see in most of the area the fence that has been placed in both countries. the hospitals did not have enough space to even give first aid to those poor people who have been injured in that, so they were not able to assess what they have to do and authorities came in and took control of the whole situation, and then the pakistan army, as you have already reported, they had to come there and send their helicopter to take the critically injured to pressure were ——7 as we are speaking right now, the death toll has increased to a6, and 200 plus people are injured and according to the polls, there are more than a00 people present at the time when this blast took place today. time when this blast took place toda . ., ., ., , today. you paint a really devastating _ today. you paint a really devastating picture. - today. you paint a really devastating picture. hel today. you paint a really - devastating picture. he said the death toll has increased to a6 and people are angry and sad, and hospitals quite frankly do not have a lot of space. although no one has claimed responsibility, is there any idea of why that political rally was attacked? , ., ., idea of why that political rally was attacked? ,., ., ., ., . ~ ., , attacked? ok, so for the attack, as the bomb blast _ attacked? ok, so for the attack, as the bomb blast was _ attacked? ok, so for the attack, as the bomb blast was reported - attacked? ok, so for the attack, as| the bomb blast was reported around apm local time we started gathering information. every seat that the leader of the political party, the jui—f, they were having a workers convention. the weight that has happened, and looking back at the assessment of previous attacks, according to the reports, they are passing towards —— they are pointing towards a slimmer state, or a chapter of isis. in the last six months and very recently, there have been targeting specificallyjui—f, there are scholars, their local leadership, the political locals, because they have a strong motive because they have a strong motive because they have a strong motive because the publications, the publish material in 13 different lime wedges. but in most of those publications they have targeted jui—f, that we do not support their political activity, they are an elitist party so they should keep themselves away from the political activities. —— religious party. and secondlyjui—f has been very vocal in favour of the taliban. we have seen a government spokesperson who gave a statement on this attack and he said this is a very brutal thing to happen today, especially in this region with this political party specifically. region with this political party specifically-— region with this political party secificall . ~ ., , ., , specifically. apologies, i am 'ust coin: specifically. apologies, i am 'ust auoin to specifically. apologies, i am 'ust going to have i specifically. apologies, i am 'ust going to have to interrupt. h specifically. apologies, i amjust going to have to interrupt. we . specifically. apologies, i amjust. going to have to interrupt. we are short of time, but thank you so much for your time here on bbc news. we will bring you more on that story as we get it. it was mentioned the death toll was increased to a6, this has not been confirmed by bbc news but we will bring you more on that as we get it. president zelensky has warned that the war is coming to russia. it comes after another drone attack on moscow. let's hearfrom president zelensky. translation: russian aggression has gone bankrupt on the battlefield. - today is the 522nd day of the so—called special military operation, which the russian leadership expected to last for a week or two. ukraine is getting stronger. gradually, the war is returning to the territory of russia, to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process. the russian defence ministry said three drones were downed with two crashing into offices, a local airport had to be briefly closed. kyiv has been blamed, but it's not certain who's behind it. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has the details from moscow — and president putin's reaction. it was early morning in moscow when this happened. russia says it downed three ukrainian drones that were targeting the capital. two of them smashed into skyscrapers. though no one was killed, it added to the sense of insecurity here. but the president was upbeat, marking navy day in saint petersburg. russia's war in ukraine has not gone at all to plan. but there is nothing like a parade of warships and submarines to project an image of russian power. translation: in the name of russia, our sailors are devoting _ all of their energy. they are displaying true heroics. they are fighting valiantly, just like our ancestors did. our russia editor steve rosenberg with that report. here in the uk, the prime minister has said he's reviewing what he called "anti—car schemes", such as low traffic neighbourhoods across england. mr sunak has faced pressure to water down some of his environmental commitments after a conservative by—election victory was linked to the party's opposition for plans to extend london's ultra low emission zone. earlier this month, it was announced funding would end for any new projects in england. from newcastle, alison freeman has more. all quiet on this street in newcastle today. it's part of one of several hundred low traffic neighbourhoods known as ltns that have been introduced in cities across the country. the aim — to reduce traffic in residential areas and stop side roads being used as rat runs. it's sort of adding 10 minutes onto yourjourney and you sort of think to yourself, is this actually doing any good for the environment? my road might be quieter, but the main roads are chock a block. it's definitely quieter down the roads and the traffic down the main road's not even that bad. so i don't really see what the problem is. tell me about the clean air sitting in those queues, i those incessant queues. queues. queues, queues of cars pumping out fumes and using up extra fuel. - this ltn, which was introduced back in march, is going to be trialled for 18 months. but these bollards have not only physically divided jesmond, they've divided opinion too, with more than a000 people already signing a petition against it. feelings about low traffic neighbourhoods have been running high nationally. protests in places like ealing in west london led to the reversal of some zones there. and earlier this month, the government said it was halting money for new schemes. today the prime minister said the government will be reviewing existing low traffic neighbourhoods and that he is on the side of drivers. but labour argues there is still a place for the zones. we are in favour of well—planned, low traffic neighbourhoods but as i say, they have to be decisions that are made by local communities. many people here say it's created more problems than it's solved, but with the drive towards net zero, more ways of tackling pollution need to be found. alison freeman, bbc news, newcastle. the economic community of west african states has agreed to impose immediate financial sanctions on the leaders of the military coup in niger. following a meeting in neighbouring nigeria, the bloc — known as ecowas — gave the junta a week to hand back power, and said it wouldn't rule out the use of force. niger's ambassador to the united states told the bbc he would welcome military intervention if a peaceful solution was not reached. the bloc has also imposed a no fly zone on all commercial flights to and from niger, and closed all land borders between niger and member countries. aneliese bernard is director of strategic stabilization advisors, a washington—based risk advisory group focused on west africa. she was formally with the state department in niger. she gave me her reaction to the events there. this military coup was not exactly precedented. that said, we need to be clear that niger itself has only had one democratic election, that being the one that got us president bazoum in the first place. so coups in general are somewhat of a familiar terrain for nigerians of a familiar terrain for nigeriens and for the government, for the region, for that matter. that said, ecowas�*s response to this coup is incredibly significant and probably one of the more severe responses we've seen in the region. the last time ecowas threatened the potential use of force to dislodge the coup was for the gambian coup that took place in 2016. before that was in mali in 2012. so the point made is that the past five coups that have taken place in the sahel have not been met with such strong rhetoric by the regional bloc, but also the international community. so this is quite significant. and niger's neighbours, burkina faso and mali, they both pivoted towards russia since their own coups. do you think that will be the case for niger? it's absolutely unclear at this point. there is so far no evidence that russia is part of this or has influenced this directly. that said, in the... similarly with burkina faso and mali, we should anticipate that at least russian influencers and those who are trying to exploit the chaos, so to speak, would possibly step in. and i wouldn'tjust look towards russia. i mean, we can also consider other issues at play, such as the presence ofjihadists in the region and how those groups also exploit some of the confusion around lack of governance and lack of security in situations like this. a fourth firefighter has died in canada, while battling the country's worst wildfire season on record. it happened in the western province of british columbia. some in the region are being evacuated, as the fires burn out of control. police searching for a man, who is believed to have fallen into the river wye in hereford, have arrested three men on suspicion of murder. officers say the man was involved in an altercation before he disappeared. teams have continued to search the river but unfortunately have yet to find the missing man. now it's time for a look at today's sport with olly foster. it is crunch time for a number of teams at the women's world cup. there was despair in dunedin where the co—hosts new zealand were knocked out. there were wins for norway and morocco and a shock in sydney. the two time champions germany can't afford another slip—up after losing to colombia. joe lynskey reports. new zealand will be a host nation flooded with tears tonight. full time in dunedin, new zealand exit their own party. the co—hosts are out at the group stage. a 0—0 draw took switzerland through and in auckland gave norway a chance. they faced the philippines, they were emphatic. norway had been under pressure, they won six nil. after a slow start they go through on goal difference. norway are former champions but for some teams in the group stage it is a breakthroughjust to be here. morocco are ranked 72 in the world and yet they beat south korea for their first world cup win. history made by the score line and by their defender. morocco's nouhaila benzina became the first player to wear a hijab at the world cup. the last match of the day was lit up by columbia, few give them a chance against the two—time winners germany germany but in the 97th minute — this. now they need another! they have done it! colombia won 2—1 and sydney felt south american. the co—hosts may be out but the party goes on. england's cricketers will need to take all 10 australian wickets on the final day for victory in the final test at the oval. that would level the series. australia, who have already retained the ashes are chasing 38a, and are 135 without loss. the former england batsmen marcus trescothick was asked whether englands could bowl australia out. i don't see why not. i think we have seen over the course of this game that the wickets have fallen at different times. the new ball has been the best time to bat. it has been mostly free—falling and easiest to score. but we have got to try to make that partnership and get on a bit of a roll. we have got 250 runs in the bag and still a long way to go. it puts the game in an interesting predicament. do they go for victory or sit out and see what happens. most importantly, hopefully the rain stays away and we can get the cricket out there and we can get the result that everybody wants. it's now eight formula one wins in a row for max verstappen — as his complete dominance this season continued at the belgian grand prix. the defending world champion started in sixth, but made his way through the field to extend his championship lead to 125 points with 10 races remaining. verstappen�*s team—mate sergio perez was a distant second while ferrari's charles leclerc was third. celine boutier has picked the perfect moment to win herfirst major. beginning the day with a 3 shot lead — the french player extended that advantage to six shots to win the evian championship in front of her home fans. she's the first french winner at the evian resort. the final major of the year is 2 weeks away, the women's open, just outside london. it has been my biggest dream ever since i started watching golf, this tournament has always been pretty special to me, even watching as a teenager. and just to be able to hold this trophy is pretty unbelievable. demi vollering has won the tour de france femmes title. the dutch rider, who claimed the yellowjersey in the mountains on saturday, came second in the time trial on the final stage — and that was enough to secure victory, finishing more than 3 minutes clear of her teammate lotte kopecky in the general classification. and that's all the sport for now. thank you so much. in china, until recently, it was extremely difficult for single women to have children. last year the government said health insurance should cover the cost of giving birth for single mothers and that they should also get paid maternity leave. despite widespread conservative cultural attitudes, a shift is under way, especially in the big cities, where more unmarried women are choosing to continue their pregnancies. stephen mcdonell reports from south—east china. two—month—old hung—hung is being raised by his mother and grandmother. it's a lifestyle still frowned on by many, especially in rural areas or smaller towns where beliefs are more conservative. attitudes are definitely changing towards single mothers in china, but mainly only in the big cities. this mother said she was lucky to have moved to shanghai to run a business. translation: i'm grateful l for the tolerance of shanghai. i'm from rural hunan, an area which will have a lot of discrimination against me as a single mum. she became a single mother after her boyfriend's family rejected his choice of bride because her income and status was too modest. although she was pregnant, he broke up with her. her mother says the choice to continue with the pregnancy under such circumstances would have been impossible when she was young because of community pressure and official regulations. that this change in community attitudes has happened at this precise moment in history has been crucial. with an ageing population, the government wants more babies and yet many young couples have refused to answer the call on financial grounds, so more and more we are seeing officials starting to change the rules which had been blocking single women from giving birth. yet she isn't waiting for the government to sort out all the health insurance hurdles. she will soon become a single mum on her own terms. we met her at an expo in hangzhou showcasing her online sales platform. translation: my mum always told me that women should - be more independent, confident and strong. i don't want to marry into another familyjust because of a child. the 30—year—old says the time wasn't right for marriage when she accidentally became pregnant with her much younger boyfriend. however, women's status and financial independence are shifting in china, giving more options. translation: traditionally, women relied on men - and the family for support. as we earn more, men and the women become more equal. women can even employ people to help them. the situation is patchy in china. even in some cities, single mothers on lower incomes are being denied the paid leave and health insurance needed to give birth. unmarried parents can now get the documents to, for example, process a child's school application. however, other government regulations still need to catch up with what's becoming a reality in china. litter picking probably isn't something you'd expect to go viral on social media, but forjosh donaldson what started as a hobby has made him an online star. clearing up the forests near his home in eastern scotland, he says he's inspired by his children. louise cowan went to meet him. environmental anxiety is a real thing for a lot of people. especially my generation. we grew up, all the world's on fire, like, there's nothing you can do about it. butjosh donaldson is doing something for the environment. for the last few years, he's been ridding the angus countryside of rubbish. i'll pick it up, i'll carried up the hill. i'll come down, i'll pick up another bit, i'll carry it up there. i'lljust keep doing it until it's gone, you know? but it's good to see the pile getting bigger at the top, and that's the driving factor. it's nice to see an actual, like, a visual representation of your work. it's good. yeah, it's good. the 32—year—old began sharing his clear—ups on social media, and they were a huge hit. he now has 1.5 million followers on tiktok, and his videos are watched by, and inspire, hundreds of thousands of people far and wide. people send me videos of them, like, cleaning beaches and rivers, all over the world. like, vietnam and things. like, america and stuff like that. opposite ends of the world. and it's... it's nice to see that it's having an effect beyond just what i'm doing. and i think that keeps me going for the most part, that it affects more than just me now, you know what i mean? so, too, do thoughts of his daughter. i think having her made me think a bit more about what we were leaving behind. and every time i pick a bit up, well, she'll come down here, she'll never see that. she'll go for a walk and that won't be here, like. and that kind of drove me forward, to leave something better behind for her and the rest of her generation. josh's online supporters raised funds for a van, to allow him to carry out even bigger clear—ups, and his long—term goal is to set up his own recycling centre. i think going forward, if we can make positive changes and do nice things, it might not change everything, but it'll make a nicer walk for the kids, or a nicer ten minutes in the woods than it would have been without it, which i think�*s worth it. louise cowie, bbc news. nowjust before we go — how's this for a declaration of love? a farmer in the us has planted a massive field on sunflowers as a surprise gift for his wife. lee wilson from kansas planted 1.2 million sunflowers on 80 acres of land for his wife renee to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. what a lovely story. you are watching bbc news. hello. it's turned cloudy and wet in many parts of the country and if the rain hasn't reached you yet, it is not far away. here is the outlook for the week ahead. there is no let—up to the kind of weather we have been experiencing for the last few weeks. more unsettled weather on the way. if you look at the satellite picture, you can see a daisy chain of weather systems sweeping off north america and across the atlantic and heading in our direction, propelled by quite a strong jet stream, which will also be rippling across the atlantic and at times it will even be south of us as we see these troughs developing, and that will also allow cooler air to sweep in from the north. let's have a look at the forecast then for the evening and overnight. plenty of cloud, here is the weather front with the rain sweeping northwards. it should reach the lowlands later in the evening or through the early hours. the north of scotland may stay dry through the night but for many of us it is cloudy, with rain at times, mist and murk and low cloud. breezy, if not windy, conditions, but mild — 17 celsius in cardiff with this maritime air mass. and tomorrow it is a cloudy picture, at times bursts of rain, some of them heavy. both in the morning and the afternoon. it certainly won't be raining all of the time and if anything even a chance of a few sunny spells. perhaps even lengthy ones across the south and the south—west, maybe to the east of the pennines. the cloud and the rain will never be too far away. that is how we are going to end monday, with the low pressure close by and a generally overcast picture with rain at times. that takes us into tuesday, the low pressure moves away and we are in between weather systems. there is another one heading our way. i think tuesday, overall, it's going to be the best day of the week. we have the most amount of sunshine. yes, a few sunny showers in the north but not a bad day compared to what is going to happen on wednesday. look at this low pressure sweeping in and bringing a wet day on wednesday for many parts of the country. and then on thursday, we develop a northerly wind and it will be quite noticeable, right across the uk. it will be particularly noticeable across the north of scotland and along the north sea coast. this is looking at the weather into the following weekend. the same sort of weather, unsettled, on the cool side, with rain at times. goodbye. this is bbc news. the headlines. at least a0 people have been killed in a bomb blast in pakistan during a rally organised by an islamist party. dozens of people were also injured in the north—west bajore district. president putin praises the might of russia's fleet at navy day celebrations. he said he doesn't reject the idea of peace talks on ukraine, but it's hard to implement a ceasefire with ukraine on the offensive. hundreds of supporters of niger's military coup protest outside the french embassy in niamey as france stops aid. leaders of the coup have warned regional and western powers against military intervention to reinstate the ousted president. here in the uk, the prime minister wants a review into low—traffic neighbourhood schemes which seek to reduce the numbers of cars in some residential areas. he said he's on the side of car drivers. 110w now on bbc news, it's the arts interviews. abba are one of the most popular groups in musical history, having sold hundreds of millions of albums. they won the eurovision song contest in 197a and split up around eight years later, but it's never really felt like they have been away. after a 39—year gap, the band recorded a new album in 2021, and returned to the stage last year in london, not in the flesh,