explored for the first time. on bbc london... the football on newsnight at 10:30pm... does a fatal plane crash north of moscow mean that to vladimir putin has killed the wagner leader, yevgeny prigozhin, once his closest acolyte, in revenge for his insurrection government department sent him letters he could not read. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at ten. first tonight the news that has been developing from russia all evening, the plane crash that appears to have killed a man whose mercenary fighters have attacked ukraine and who just two months ago led a mutiny against vladimir putin. in the last hour, it's been confirmed that yevgeny prigozhin head of the wagner group was on board a private jet that crashed near moscow. this is still very much an evolving situation, one that the uk government says it is monitoring. in the us president biden has said there's not much that happens in russia that putin's not behind. our first report is from our russia editor steve rosenberg. caught on camera, the final seconds of a privatejet. on board, reportedly, the head of a private mercenary group, yevgeny prigozhin. look over there by the farm, it is burning, the eyewitness can be heard saying. in the distance, a giant cloud of smoke. the plane had crashed north of moscow. yevgeny prigozhin�*s right hand man, wagner commander, was also thought to have been on board. later, a wagner linked telegram channel confirmed that yevgeny prigozhin had been killed. it claimed it was the result of the actions of traitors of russia. it is two months to the day since the wagner chief launched what he called his barge ofjustice, his mutiny, the insurrection by wagner forces who had been fighting on the kremlin�*s side in ukraine. they rolled unopposed into the city of rostov, their demands, the removal of russia's senior military leadership, who they blamed for setbacks on the battlefield. there were these extraordinary scenes as the paramilitary chief admonished russian generals. and then they marched on in the direction of moscow in a direct challenge to the authority of president putin. the kremlin leader called it treachery. russia he said had been stabbed in the back, the mutineers would be punished. but by evening a deal had been done to end the insurrection. even though russian servicemen had been killed, there would be no charges against yevgeny prigozhin and his wagner troops. they would have to leave russia but the agreement left the kremlin looking weak. this was vladimir putin today, commemorating the soviet victory in a famous world war ii battle. there has been no comment yet from the president on the plane crash. on the streets of moscow tonight there was a mixed reaction. i couldn't care less, he says. this was to be expected, says another. some of the things prigozhin did or didn't do needed to be punished, he had lots of enemies. so, little surprise, but much speculation, about why the jet crash, who had targeted the plane and its controversial passenger. was this an act of revenge against the man who had dared to humiliate those in power in russia? d rosenberg, bbc news. so how did yevgeny prigozhin rise to such influence in russia and to lead a mercenary group with a presence in many countries? our analysis editor ros atkins is here with more on his story. yevgeny prigozhin took an unorthodox route to becoming a powerfulfigure in russia. in 1981, he was sent to prison for robbery and theft. and when released in 1990, he became a hot dog salesman in st petersburg. lucrative catering contracts. those brought connections to the top. prigozhin even served food to world leaders. and to putin himself. and prigozhin�*s role was becoming about much more than food. in 2014 russia annexed crimea and launched an insurgency in eastern ukraine. prigozhin was involved. of that time, he's said "a group of patriots was born", which later acquired the name wagner battalion. and soon the wagner group reached far beyond ukraine. the fbi accused prigozhin of interfering in the 2016 us election. in syria, wagner fighters supported pro—government forces. more recently there are multiple reports of wagner's military and commercial activity in africa. with the eu accusing the group of committing... "torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings". and then came the war. when putin wanted to give his invasion of ukraine impetus, prigozhin and his fighters were called in. but as wagner's death toll grew, so did prigozhin�*s fury. expressed first in video rants. and then in a short—lived mutiny. in the aftermath, putin condemned the "the mutineers and traitors". but for prigozhin, charges were dropped, no arrest followed. and we asked why wasn't putin punishing prigozhin? perhaps he was biding his time. we can go live now in two moscow and will vernon. what are people saying in these early hours and since the reports first emerged? i in these early hours and since the reports first emerged?— in these early hours and since the reports first emerged? i don't think this news has _ reports first emerged? i don't think this news has surprised _ reports first emerged? i don't think this news has surprised anyone - reports first emerged? i don't think| this news has surprised anyone here today, mishal. around one hour after the plane crash, the federal air transport agency released a statement confirming that yevgeny prigozhin�*s name was on the passenger manifest of that plane, and that is very fast for that particular agency, and that is very fast for that particularagency, it and that is very fast for that particular agency, it normally takes much longer to respond to incidents like this. and that already raised a few eyebrows here, because after all, speculation has been swirling for some time now aboutjust exactly what fate would await yevgeny prigozhin, because as steve was saying in his report there, when yevgeny prigozhin launched his mutiny exactly two months ago, his wagner mercenaries seized a major russian city and even marched on moscow. you know, that was a major humiliation for the kremlin, and vladimir putin is not the kind of man to forget that. so i think if yevgeny prigozhin was killed in that plane crash today, which seems likely, i think that will come as no shock whatsoever to most people here. in fact i think most people will probably be surprised that it didn't happen sooner. now, we don't know what exactly caused that crash, russian media are saying that investigators are looking into a number of different possibilities, including what they are calling external actions. imilli including what they are calling external actions.— including what they are calling external actions. will vernon live from moscow. — external actions. will vernon live from moscow, thank _ external actions. will vernon live from moscow, thank you - external actions. will vernon live from moscow, thank you very - external actions. will vernon live i from moscow, thank you very much. and there has been international reaction in the hours since these reports from russia first emerged. the government here says it's monitoring the situtaion and this evening there's been reaction from president biden. i don't know for a fact what happened but i'm not surprised. not much that happens in russia that putin is not involved, but i don't know enough. putin is not involved, but i don't know enough-— know enough. steve rosenberg happens to be here in the _ know enough. steve rosenberg happens to be here in the uk _ know enough. steve rosenberg happens to be here in the uk on _ know enough. steve rosenberg happens to be here in the uk on this _ know enough. steve rosenberg happens to be here in the uk on this day. - to be here in the uk on this day. what do you make of it all? of yevgeny prigozhin, from start to finish, the story of prigozhin wagner, the mutiny, has been murky, hasn't it? so many questions, and that includes what happened today with this plane crash. that telegram channel that was linked to wagner was blaming traitors of russia for what happened, and that suggests that they believe this was an act of revenge, possibly by those in power. and if that's the case, then one question will be now, how will those sympathetic to yevgeny prigozhin and to wagner react, especially those in this private army, people with guns? we know that yevgeny prigozhin had a lot of enemies, particularly in the russian defence ministry and they were angry that he was not punished by president putin after the mutiny, after all, a number of russian servicemen were killed. the key question will be now i think, how does vladimir putin emerge from all of this, stronger or weaker? irate does vladimir putin emerge from all of this, stronger or weaker?- of this, stronger or weaker? we will ick of this, stronger or weaker? we will -ick that of this, stronger or weaker? we will pick that up — of this, stronger or weaker? we will pick that up with _ of this, stronger or weaker? we will pick that up with you _ of this, stronger or weaker? we will pick that up with you towards - of this, stronger or weaker? we will pick that up with you towards the i pick that up with you towards the end of the programme and explore this a little bit further. for the moment, steve, thanks very much indeed. we can bring you some other newsnow. a woman whose daughter went to school with sara sharif the child found dead in woking in surrey two weeks ago has told the bbc she was seen with cuts and bruises on her face which she said were due to a bike accident. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the story. the newly renovated house in woking where sara sharif was found dead almost two weeks ago. surrey police have launched a murder investigation. detectives say sara, who was ten years old, had multiple injuries that she'd sustained over an extended period of time. also being examined by forensic specialists this week, the house in nearby byfleet where sara used to live until the family moved out in april. the mother of one of her former classmates at the local school remembers her being a cheerful young girl. she would always kind of skip to school, seemed happy, confident. yeah, she seemed just like a normal, happy girl, couldn't wait to get to school. today, jessica, who asked us not to use her surname or show herface, described how one day sara arrived with visible injuries. just before the easter holiday she would come into school and she had cuts and bruises on herface and her neck. and my daughter had asked what had happened and she said that she'd fallen off a bike and kind of walked away. and then the next day the teacher announced she had left school and she was being home—schooled. at about that time, sara sharif�*s family moved to their new house in woking. jessica said she never saw sara at the school again. sara's father, urfan sharif and his partner beinash batool, flew to pakistan, along with all her brothers and sisters on the day before she was found dead. detectives in surrey urgently want to speak to them and have asked the pakistani authorities for help in tracking them down. daniel sandford, bbc news. meanwhile police in pakistan have been questioning members of sara sharif�*s family after my was of the family travelled there the day before her body was discovered, and our correspondent caroline davies can join us our correspondent caroline davies canjoin us now from islamabad. what more do we know about the police inquiries there?— inquiries there? well, mishal, we know that the _ inquiries there? well, mishal, we know that the authorities - inquiries there? well, mishal, we know that the authorities have i inquiries there? well, mishal, we i know that the authorities have been trying to find family members, including two pakistan —based brothers. we understand from local sources hear that those two brothers are due to appear in court tomorrow, and according to localjournalists thatis and according to localjournalists that is because they are accusing the police of having illegally detained them during that questioning process. we have not been able to speak to the police today about it but when we last spoke to them the police confirmed that they were questioning them about denied that they had arrested those brothers. it has been incredible difficult to try to source information on the ground here in pakistan and to be able to verify a lot of this information because in this case the family aren't speaking to us, their lawyers won't speak to us and today we also had difficulty being able to get to the police to verify this as well. but we do know that the police in pakistan have said that they are under pressure to try to find these three family members, that is urfan sharif, his wife and his brother, who are believed to be in pakistan having travelled from the uk, but as yet they have not told us that they have been able to find them. caroline davies in islamabad, thank you. administrators of the retailer wilko say they have failed to find a buyerfor the business, which has more than 400 uk stores, making closures — and redundancies — likely. our business editor simonjack is here. where does this news today leave the staff? it where does this news today leave the staff? ., , where does this news today leave the staff? . , ' :: :: , ., , where does this news today leave the staff? ., , ' i: i: , i: i: staff? it leaves 12,500 staff in 400 stores and depots _ staff? it leaves 12,500 staff in 400 stores and depots and _ staff? it leaves 12,500 staff in 400 stores and depots and head - staff? it leaves 12,500 staff in 400 stores and depots and head offices| stores and depots and head offices with a very uncertain future. it collapsed into administration just under two weeks ago and administrators are like professional caretakers, they try and keep the business alive long enough to sell off all orbits of it and there were hopes that a trade buyer would come in and buy up to 300 stores, saving many thousands of jobs, in and buy up to 300 stores, saving many thousands ofjobs, but administrators say, confirming union reports today, that that prospect now looks remote. i should say it is possible, likely even, that some stores will be bought, a few dozen here and there, but the business as a whole looks like it won't survive in the form it has existed in for 93 years, which means that we could see store closures and job losses potentially in the many thousands. obviously a very difficult time for staff there. one thing i should say also is that shoppers are being advised to look out for scams offering fire unbelievable deals, from wilko, because wilko say they are now not selling goods online, it is no longer offering home delivery or click and collect services, so don't be full by that. it has been around for nearly 100 years, the brand may survive, it has still got some affection, but it certainly won't be the business in its current form. for the first time a lunar lander has touched down on the south pole of the moon. a rover will now be deployed to previously unexplored parts of the moon's surface where its thought there may be deposits of ice. the feat was carried out by indian scientists — making india only the fourth country to achieve a lunar landing. our correspondent samira hussain reports. soft landing on the moon. india is on the moon. it was a moment several decades in the making. and on its third attempt, india stuck the landing. as mission control celebrated, so too did an entire nation. nearly 7 million people watched the live stream on youtube, and these space enthusiasts are feeling all the feelings, excitement, relief, even tears. this is an incredible moment for india and the people in this room. india and the people in this room. india is now in anna leat class of space explorers. getting to the south pole of the moon? something that no other country in the world has managed to achieve. these grainy photographs were taken as the lander made its descent onto the surface of the moon. speaking via video link from south africa, nearandrew speaking via video link from south africa, near andrew modi said the landing was more than just a victory for his country. this landing was more than 'ust a victory for his countrvh for his country. this success belon . s for his country. this success belongs to _ for his country. this success belongs to all— for his country. this success belongs to all of _ for his country. this success belongs to all of humanity. l for his country. this success . belongs to all of humanity. and for his country. this success - belongs to all of humanity. and it will help more missions by other countries in the future. just achieving — countries in the future. just achieving this _ countries in the future. just achieving this scientific feat is inspiring the next generation. what was it like when you saw the lander make it to the moon? i cheered! it was a very proud - moment for me, in fact. i really felt the pride of being an indian. l india's ambitious space programme has delivered the country a win and has emerged as a major player in the global space race. samira hussain, bbc news, bengaluru. in a few hours' time the first republican presidential debate will take place in the us — in the race to become the party's candidate in next year's election. it'll take place in milwaukee, in the key swing state of wisconsin, and among the eight hopefuls taking part are the governor of florida, ron de santis, and the former vice—president mike pence. however, the front runner in the polls is his former boss donald trump — who is not taking part in the debate. tomorrow, in atlanta, georgia, he is expected to hand himself into the authorities to face charges of election interference — which he denies. our north america editor, sarah smith, reports. it looks like a set from little house on the prairie. but this single room school house in wisconsin is actually where the republican party was born. while celebrating its history, the party also has to choose its future. does it include donald trump? or is there room for a new face? he made the majority of people very, very happy with what he was doing for our country. are you disappointed trump is not taking part? yes, i am in a way, but again, also not. because if he's on it's all going to be about him. i think he's a coward, _ i think he should show up and defend himself in front of a live audience. now he's already saying he can't do the debates because of covid. donald trump considered debates essential when he was running againstjoe biden three years ago. and maybe he'll show up for an hour and a half at a debate, who the hell knows? i don't know. welcome to the dan o'donnell show. no trump, no problem. on talk radio in milwaukee, dan o'donnell is conducting a debate on donald trump's no—show. but do you know what trump is going to be doing instead of the debate? he's going to court. a self—confessed trumper, he understands the former president's reasoning. why should he have to bother with small little things like debating candidates who are at 5% against him? because it looks arrogant? a little bit. trump has literally said, you know what my policies are, why should i have to explain them to you? that does sound kind of arrogant when it's put that way, doesn't it? without even turning up here in milwaukee, donald trump will still end up dominating the proceedings. all the other candidates will inevitably be asked about him and his legal problems, will any of them dare to criticise him for anything? including his decision to skip this debate. you guys know he's not coming, don't you? of course. but we still love trump. trump's court appearance will boost his appeal, with polls suggesting he has more support than all his rivals put together. in second place, florida governor ron desantis, who flailing campaign means he is nowhere near catching up with trump. so, donald, you need to decide. are you a chicken? his formerfriend, now foe, chris christie will be on the attack. # he opens his mouth but the words won't i come out...# while this cringeworthy rap has not stopped vivek ramaswamy, a biotech millionaire from enjoying a surprising surge in the polls. donald trump, with typical bravado, will then upstage them all tomorrow when he arrives in georgia and surrenders himself to be booked at fulton county jail. donald trump has to come here and enter a plea on the charges of trying to overturn the results of the last election. this is the fourth criminal case against him but it will look different here in atlanta. tv cameras will be allowed inside the courtroom. and when tomorrow went donald trump turns up at the gel has may get to see a mug shot photographs. photographs have been released of some of his co—accused, including his lawyer, rudy giuliani, who was arrested today. he will use them for fundraising and campaigning because he wears the charges against him as a badge of honour. it is possible he might time his arrival at the jailhouse tomorrow to coincide with prime—time tv viewing so he gets the maximum possible audience as he turns up and claims he is the victim of a political witchhunt and that is why he has been persecuted by the biden administration. that is what he will be telling his supporters from there. sarah smith, thank you very much. now to these extraordinary images — filmed by a drone in northern pakistan and obtained by the bbc — which reveal the terrifying ordeal of a group of teenage boys who were trying to cross a valley to get to school. this is what it was like when the cable car was left stranded — when two of the cables snapped. all eight passengers were rescued but they were there for 15 hours in what we can now see were perilous conditions — about 1000 feet above the ground. the owner of the cable car has been arrested on negligence charges. wildfires are continuing to spread across greece, burning large areas of land and prompting evacuations. some of the worst are close to the outskirts of athens, and they have also been burning in the northeast, near alexandroupolis — where 18 people, thought to have been refugees and migrants who entered from turkey — have died. our senior international correspondent orla guerin reports. no more greek paradise. instead, here in the north, and a cup elliptic vision. and across the country the greatest threat from wildfires since records began. imagine running from this? firefighters trying to douse the flames. but in the village, struggling to keep pace. then, this lady comes pleading for help for her village nearby, where two houses have burned. he says, call the emergency number. we have, she tells me, 150 times. for people in the area now, there is a lot of fear, a lot of concern about how far and how fast the flames may move. the firefighters tell us the biggest problem they are dealing with is that there are so many different fronts. this is the latest flare—up they are tackling. they say they are working on about two hours sleep a night. and these highly trained volunteers tell us climate change has made all this is an uphill battle. it is the number one issue, says this man. it is very important, though increased, most fires are caused by human error and by arson. many here, like konstantinos are quick to blame foreigners without any proof. translation: 4' , ., ., any proof. translation: ., ., ., translation: turkey, our rival have sent bi translation: turkey, our rival have sent his grouos _ translation: turkey, our rival have sent his grouos of— translation: turkey, our rival have sent big groups of pakistanis. - translation: turkey, our rival have sent big groups of pakistanis. they . sent big groups of pakistanis. they are not refugees or anything like that, their plan is to destroy greece and they are organised. we caught them with firelighters which caused all this destruction. but it seems that foreigners where the victims here. 18 charred bodies have already been found in this forest, along the migrant and refugee trail. and the local coroner fears that when all the flames are out, there will be more. great britain world athletics championship in budapest, and what a day for great britain's josh kerr, he's taken gold in the men's 1500 metres after a thrilling race in hungary. the olympic bronze medallist, timed his surge to perfection, he was neck and neck with norway's jakob ingebrigtsen going into the final 200m, before breaking his rival in the final50. the 25—year—old clocked a season's best three minutes 29.38 seconds to make his first podium at a world championships. let's go to the main story, the news that yevgeny prigozhin who led the mercenaries and challenge vladimir putin in a mutiny a couple of months ago appears to have died near moscow in a plane crash. we have some images that show the moment the private jet crashed north of the russian capital. seven passengers and three crew members are said to have been on board. there are also images of the crash itself. these have been confirmed by bbc verify as being from the scene of the plane crash near moscow. our russia editor steve rosenberg is with me. he are mentioning earlier he was a man, yevgeny prigozhin, a man with enemies? , ., ., , enemies? yes, he had made enemies, eseciall enemies? yes, he had made enemies, especially since — enemies? yes, he had made enemies, especially since the _ enemies? yes, he had made enemies, especially since the full-scale - especially since the full—scale russian invasion of ukraine. he was this grey figure who kept below the radar, he was the kremlin's mr fix it. you didn't hearfrom him but in the last few months he has been critical of the senior leadership, especially of the defence minister and the chief of staff. has especially of the defence minister and the chief of staff.— and the chief of staff. as far as vladimir putin _ and the chief of staff. as far as vladimir putin is _ and the chief of staff. as far as vladimir putin is concerned, i and the chief of staff. as far as - vladimir putin is concerned, where do you think yevgeny prigozhin's apparent death leaves him? i remembered what vladimir putin had said on the day of the mutiny that all the perpetrators would be punished. there was incredulity in parts of the elite when this didn't happen. all the charges were dropped against yevgeny prigozhin and the group, even though servicemen were killed in that brief mutiny. i think there will be few tears shed in parts of the elite tonight. maybe that will make vladimir putin stronger? but the big question now, what happens to this private army, will continue in some form? what happens to the thousands of wagner troops who were loyal to yevgeny prigozhin and will be angry now? mi prigozhin and will be angry now? all the questions to explore in the days ahead. steve rosenberg, thank you very much, are russia editor. time for a look at the weather, here's tomasz schafernaker. good evening. we were reporting on the wildfires in greece and it has been incredibly hot in france and spain. in spain, 43.7 degrees, bill bao and reports in southern france, 44.4, an august record but that is unconfirmed. orange colours are higher than others, a dip in thejet stream will mean that to more central and eastern parts of europe and you can see the blues across the uk and that means temperatures will ease may be a fraction below the average. into the weekend it is turning cooler and for some it is a long weekend of cause and with sunshine and showers in the forecast. tonight's weather, rain across parts of scotland and northern england and we are watching for storms developing across the channel from the english channel heading to the isle of wight. mile tonight, typically 14 may be 17 on the south coast. the storms could be vicious from the channel islands from the isle of wight into the south—east as well, frequent lightening, large hail and gusty winds. but it does look as though it will be the extreme south—eastern part of the country and the rest of us, through the morning and into the afternoon it is a mixture of sunshine and occasional showers. beautiful