Our russia editor Steve Rosenberg has the latest from moscow. Well, many people are asking is the story of wagner, the story of prigozhin, finally over . I have to say one of the things i have learned in russia is that stories here rarely end. There are so many twists and turns here and new chapters. It is quite possible that even in death Yevgeny Prigozhin could pose a challenge to vladimir putin. Just look at all the Makeshift Prigozhin memorials that have been popping up in nearly two dozen towns in russia and russian occupied ukraine. This man had become quite a popularfigure in pro war circles, and so the widespread suspicion that the russian authorities were behind the plane crash means that the kremlin faces the danger of a backlash. The last thing the kremlin will want to have to deal with is prigozhin the martyr or cult of prigozhin. Its interesting, actually, that President Putin has now ordered wagner employees and those of other private Military Contractors to sign an allegiance to the russian state. This seems to be an attempt by the kremlin to bring these kind of groups under tighter control. But keep in mind that all of this is happening at a time when russia, having invaded its neighbour, is fighting a war in ukraine, and it seems that dramas at home are becoming a major distraction. For more on the future of wagner without its founder, i spoke to sean mcfate. Hes a Us Army Veteran as well as a Senior Fellow at the atlantic council. Sean, thank you for being here. Russian authorities now officially confirming that wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is dead. They have also said that they are not involved with this plane crash. How much confidence do you have in russias assessment of the situation . I think on balance of Probabilities Prigozhin is dead, but until International Inspectors can go there and we can verify it is prigozhins dna, it is possible that prigozhin is chilling on a yacht some place too. And in in terms of what might have brought down that plane this is all in the realm of theories and speculation but do you think that russia might have played a role in that . I think so. Putin i think was very clear when prigozhin crossed the line that prigozhin was a dead man walking, and i believe that putin now has to officially say it wasnt me, although nobody is fooled by this, but he does not want to appear stalinesque as assassinating political opponents in broad daylight even though that is exactly what he did. What comes next then for the Wagner Paramilitary Group . Can it survive without the man that essentially built it and created it . Yes. I think that we will see wagner is continuing as we speak. Think of it more like this there is a company with a new owner and the owner comes in and the old Leadership Team exits, or in this case, gets blown up. There are new cultural norms instilled. There is some rebranding, some reshuffling in the middle of positions, but the company will continue doing what it was doing before, and that is sort of what happened with prigozhin. You mentioned it is like a company with a new owner. Who might that new owner be . Its putin. Putins owner. So, think of it another way as well is that the wagner group is not one group. It is actually two. There are the wagner mercenaries in belarus and in ukraine, and these are like those who ere dumped out ofjails, and they are not really mercenaries. They are cannon fodder, and they are being absorbed into the Russian Military as we speak, which is what putins generals wanted to begin with, and they are going to be fed into the stalingrad of ukraine to die. And then there is the wagner group in africa, and these were the skilled mercenaries, and they did two things for putin. One is they spread russian influence around the continent through autocracy, and two is they sucked Natural Resources like gold and sent them back to russia to fuel the war in ukraine, and putin needs both where they are at. Looking specifically at ukraine, because this counteroffensive is moving slowly. What could be fallout before ukraine . How could it affect the war . And is there any kind of way for ukraine to potentially leverage what has been going on with wagner . Yes, i think there is. I mean, of course, i am sure ukraine was hoping that this 50,000 mercenaries in ukraine would never come back, right . They were going to come back. At least what is remaining of them. But i think what ukraine could do is be very clever. For example, it could find ways, since these are mercenaries, to suck them or bribe them off the battlefield. Maybe every day they put out a message saying if you are a mercenary and you are wagner and you dont want to live like you are living anymore, tie a red strap around your right arm. Maybe the next day something else. Wear some plastic flower or something. And if our soldiers ukrainian soldiers say we will let you pass through the lines, we will keep you as a pow and we promise we will Never Exchange you back to russia in a Prisoner Swap, because wagner guys are usually the first to get exchanged in a Prisoner Swap because ukrainians know they will be executed immediately. So, this is a clever way to deplete take an army off the field, not by bullets but simple off field better chance. Briefly, what kind of legacy do you think Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves behind . In terms of his relationship with russia and vladimir putin, he seemed to be towards the end maybe one of the few people who was challenging him openly . Yes. So, prigozhin, through his charismatic and big mouth, sort of was saying things out loud that a lot of people were saying internally. It was interesting to see him challenge putin, but also the Russian Military establishments and get away with it. Until he didnt. But i think this is his lasting legacy. It is not about russia. He set up a 21st century way to run a global mercenary operations and make it work. He has created a blueprint it does notjust involve the wagner group. It involves troll farms. It involves Natural Resources. He has Mining Companies and gas companies, and somebody else will come around it doesnt have to be a russian and will imitate that and that is a problem because a world awash with more mercenaries is a world awash with more war. In some ways, Prigozhin May still live on. Thank you for being here. Meanwhile, reports from Southern Ukraine suggest the countrys armed forces have broken through some of russias key defensive positions. It comes as one of ukraines most celebrated Fighter Pilots and two other airmen have been killed in a mid air crash. Heres paul adams in kyiv. Picking up the pace. Could ukraines counteroffensive, slow going sincejune, be gathering momentum . In recent days, a few tentative signs. Some units do appear to have broken through russias formidable first lines of defence south of zaporizhzhia. Translation further on, that is where we see their supply roads. They use these roads. I am sure we will go fasterfrom here. I dont want my guys to think that they can relax now. They know were moving on to liberate all of our territories. He says he is looking forward to leading his men all the way to the sea, but that is a long, long way, and this fighting is really hard. Success is still far from guaranteed. Away from the front lines, the country is now in mourning for one of its best known heroes. This was Andriy Pilshchykov, call signjuice, Flying Combat Missions last year. When russia invaded, few gave ukraines air force much chance of getting off the ground, but from dog fights over kyiv to the interception of russian cruise missiles, juice was part of an elite force fighting against extraordinary odds. He and two other senior pilots were killed on thursday not in combat, but on a training flight. Theirjets colliding over a village. The pilots managing just to avoid the houses below. Ukrainians revere their pilots. 1. 5 years after russias full scale invasion, their status as National Heroes is well established. President zelensky said the death of Andriy Pilshchykov and two of his colleagues was a disaster. Juice was due to start training on American Made f i6s in a matter of weeks. When the first jets finally arrive early next year, he will not be around to fight them. A vigil has been held injacksonville after a white man shot and killed three black people saturday in what police are calling a racially motivated attack. The shooter has been identified as a 21 year old who had no previous criminal record and turned the gun on himself. Community leaders from florida attended sundays vigil which honoured the two women and one man killed. We have to stop seeing each other� s humanity, hearing each other, listening to each other, talking to each other and recognising that no matter what we are us, and we are all the same flesh, blood and bones and we should treat each other that way. We should treat each other that wa. ~. ,. ,. , way. Around the world and across the way. Around the world and across the uk, way. Around the world and across the uk, this way. Around the world and across the uk, this is way. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbcl across the uk, this is bbc news. Gearing up for harvest season, the Staffordshire Vineyard are hopeful for a the Staffordshire Vineyard are hopefulfor a bumper the Staffordshire Vineyard are hopeful for a bumper crop. The Staffordshire Vineyard are hopefulfor a bumper crop. We hopeful for a bumper crop. We had a mild hopeful for a bumper crop. Had a mild spring which allowed us to go through bud burst and we did not get any frost. The blood and Fruit Sit Set we did not get any frost. The blood and fruit si blood and Fruit Sit Set really well. Blood and Fruit Sit Set really well we blood and Fruit Sit Set really well. We really blood and Fruit Sit Set really well. We really allow blood and Fruit Sit Set really well. We really allow the i blood and Fruit Sit Set really l well. We really allow the fruit to establish itself. We had a poor to establish itself. We had a poorjuly to establish itself. We had a poorjuly and august as has been poorjuly and august as has been hit poorjuly and august as has been hit and miss. When the plans been hit and miss. When the plans are been hit and miss. When the plans are in the ground, the first plans are in the ground, the first three years you wont take first three years you wont take any first three years you wont take any offers from that so for the take any offers from that so for the first five years you will for the first five years you will not for the first five years you will not see any fruit and our wine will not see any fruit and our wine is will not see any fruit and our wine is made with a traditional method wine is made with a traditional method so that is double fermentation and we will see a twoyear fermentation and we will see a two year process of making a wine two year process of making a wine so two year process of making a wine so from putting the plan in the wine so from putting the plan in the ground it is five years until in the ground it is five years until you in the ground it is five years until you have a glass of wine. The until you have a glass of wine. The crop until you have a glass of wine. The crop is until you have a glass of wine. The crop is expected to match 2018 in terms of success with 3. 5 tons was targeted across this site and it produced around 3000 bottles. For more stories from around 3000 bottles. For more stories from across around 3000 bottles. For more stories from across the around 3000 bottles. For more stories from across the uk around 3000 bottles. For more | stories from across the uk head to the bbc news website. You are live with to the bbc news website. You are live with bbc to the bbc news website. You are live with bbc news. The Opposition Leader in zimbabwe has accused the president , emmerson mnangagwa, of carrying out a coup. Zimbabwe held elections wednesday and the president was declared the winner sunday with nearly 53 of the vote. But Opposition Leader Nelson Chamisa has called the official results a sham. Independent observers share that scepticism. The Southern African Development Community says the elections fell short of the requirements of the constitution of zimbabwe. While the European Union says acts of violence and intimidation resulted in a climate of fear. Zimbabwes leader has dismissed the criticism and insists the elections were fair. Earlier, i spoke with David Carroll he leads the Carter Centers initiative on developing standards and best practices in International Election observation. Thank you so much forjoining us. I understand you have recently returned from zimbabwe. In terms of what you and your field teams observed, was this a free and Fair Election . Well, ijust got back earlier this morning, and the Carter Centre had a team of about 60 people, and i would say the assessment of the Carter Centre and the other organisations the International Observers from the Southern African region, the African Union and the eu all of our assessments aligned in that this is the context of a very unlevel Playing Field with a lot of political challenges that made it really difficult to have an open and credible and competitive election. So, i think the prospects for calling this a successful election are thin. What specifically made the Playing Field unlevel in terms of what you saw . So, i was in zimbabwe for the last election in 2018 and the context and the environment was dramatically different. You could see it in your interactions with everyday people but also a couple of very specific things the delimitation of Election Boundaries were skewed. The Voter Registration process was very opaque. The Political Parties never really received a copy of the registration in a way that they could check it, you know, before the election at all. There was changes in the number of Polling Stations and importantly there has been legislation passed in the last several years that really stifles the engagement of Civil Society groups and other actors the political space was shrinking very, very tightly and you could sense that in the interactions with zimbabwe and you could feel the nature of the change. Zimbabwes Opposition Party is accusing the ruling party of blatant and gigantic fraud. How strong of a case do you think the opposition has . Well, i think we will hopefully be able to see that in the coming days. Official results have been released at the National Level and the constituency level with 210, i think, individual constituencies, but what is really important now is for there to be public publication of the Polling Station Level Results at a lower level, at the level where people go to individual Polling Stations, because everybody has copies of the results at that level thus likely the two major parties, Citizen Observer groups, other observers will have some from places they went, and i know that the Opposition Party has stated that they are attempting to put all of their own counts together. So, with a transparent publication of those results and a comparison we should be able to know in the coming days if the official results are really an accurate reflection of how zimbabweans cast their vote on 20 august. Zimbabwe has had irregularities in the past. The Electoral Commission is appointed by the ruling party, the president himself. How much trust do you think there is in the country in terms of Voting Results in general . The Election Commission has a lot of competent people doing a good job in a number of areas. The problem is i think there is a clear sense they do not have total autonomy in terms of what they do and the ability to conduct things in an open and transparent manner has just been clear they have struggled in that regard, the lack of Ballot Papers in a number of Polling Stations, that was very unexpected. There was no warning given that could possibly be a problem until the morning of election day. And several other things make i think a situation where there is questions about whether or not Election Commission has earned the trust of zimbabweans. You mention you have been in zimbabwe for the previous election and that was post election violence after that vote. How likely are we to see it this time around to see it remain peaceful . Well, ithink, again, i go back to the question of what is going to happen in the coming days. I think there is polarisation in zimbabwe society. The reason competition and clash between parties and a population which i think is just exhausted so what is really important now is to avoid the potential for violence and to do that by really being transparent in the rest of this process, by getting those Election Results clearly published and allowing any grievances or problems to have a chance to be aired in a court, and to allow those questions to be resolved in a peaceful way. Dr David Carroll, thank you so much forjoining us. A pleasure, thank you. There are renewed Safety Concerns in San Francisco about robo or driverless taxis. Earlier this month, the us city voted to allow them to operate 2a hours a day. But some people are determined to get them off the roads. James clayton has the story. One of the things that surprises many visitors when they arrive in San Francisco are these things driverless robo taxis. Theyre all over the city. This is me ordering one on my phone. One minute away, theres a cab just around the corner. But before i could even get in, a member of the public approached us with a warning. I think youre unsafe, because i saw a guy that was in the crosswalk at night, almost got hit by it. Well, thank you very much, sir, cheers. Not exactly the ideal thing to hearjust before you get into a cab with no driver. Ive been in these cars a few times now and it never changes. Its always totally surreal. It always feels nerve racking when you first start, and its really surprising how quickly itjust becomes totally normal. But the first few sort of roads you come across, t junctions, youre kind of always slightly apprehensive. Lets see how this does. 0ur ride was perfectly uneventful, but the city itself is divided over these cabs run by two companies, waymo and cruise. Earlier this month, San Francisco officials green lighted the use of robo taxis for 24 hour use, only to then restrict their use after an accident between a driverless cab and a fire engine. Authorities are investigating. The Flip Flopping is emblematic of a city unsure about whether to embrace these robo taxis. And some have even taken to the streets in protest. A group called Safe Streets Rebel has been disabling the cars by putting cones on their bonnets. A video they put out injuly has gone viral. First, find a cone. Make sure their car is empty. And repeat. Its not entirely clear whether what theyre doing is legal. So a spokesperson for the group agreed to be interviewed under the condition of anonymity. How would you describe your group . Are you vigilantes . Are you a Campaigning Group . What are you . Were definitely not vigilantes. I think werejust a group of people. We dont like cars and were doing what we can about it. However, Driverless Car Companies have hit back, saying what the group is doing is bad for road users and is vandalism. Waymo says what youre doing is vandalism. How do you respond to that . Its not vandalism, because that requires property damage, and were not damaging anything. As soon as you take the cone off, the cars are right back to working condition and on their way. They hope to expand across america and beyond. But others here in the city hope they ultimately fail to convince authorities the technology is ready. James clayton, bbc news, San Francisco. Its been described as the biggest search of its kind in half a century. An effort involving hundreds of people to find evidence of the Loch Ness Monster in the Scottish Highlands has been under way over the weekend. 0ur scotland correspondent jamie mcivor was one of those searching. Just what lurks in one of scotlands deepest lochs . The legend of the Loch Ness Monster dates back centuries and its 90 years since the first alleged sighting of nessie in modern times. But nobody has managed to solve the mystery of the loch at least, so far. Still, the keenest Nessie Hunters remain undeterred. The biggest operation to monitor the surface of the loch since the 1970s is under way. With this new technology being used, its very exciting for us. So, weve got Underwater Hydrophones being used. Theyre going down to a depth of 60 feet, listening to the sounds underneath loch ness. Weve also been flying some drones with Thermal Imaging Cameras over the top of loch ness, so we are using modern technology to help uncover some of these mysteries. Hundreds are joining the search from all corners of the globe, some online, some in person. Theres been so many spottings and so many tales about it that you have to wonder at some point where the stories come from, so itd be nice to think that something did exist, if it did exist or if it still exists or happened at one point or another. Its just the mystery around it all. The not knowing for definite, you know . Yeah, theres a lot of people saying you cannot prove it but theres no proof that nessie is not there, so itsjust a big mystery. The story of nessie first caught the public� s imagination in the 1930s. Every so often, pictures appeared which seemed to show a strange creature in the loch and many have tried and failed to find an explanation. In the 1950s, a live bbc programme attempted to solve the mystery scientifically. Someone who had said theyd seen nessie was interviewed. What did you see through your telescope . Well, i saw this animal which i thought was a big monster going up the loch. What was it like . It was dark brown in colour and very rough skinned the skin of an elephant. What length would you say it was . 0h, id say unintelligible. Various theories have been put forward to explain nessie, from giant eels to optical illusions, but some sightings for the cameras have been less than convincing. Oh, there is a monster in loch ness a fact you cannae hide. Still, nessies long attracted tourists to a remote part of the highlands, helping Support Manyjobs and bringing area internationalfame thats one reason Monster Hunters around the world are joining the latest search. Let me tell you, scientists can get things wrong because scientists told us there was no such thing as giant squids, that they were all extinct, only for us to have recently discovered that giant squids do still exist, so why cant there be something in loch ness . Nessie, though, remains elusive. Loch ness is some 800 feet deep and the mystery of its murky depths may never be fully explained. Jamie mcivor, bbc news. And a quick update on the Search Volunteers did not find nessie this weekend. But some volunteers say they heard four distinctive gloop noises. But they failed to record them. Stay with us right here on bbc news. Hello there. You know, over the weekend, ive seen quite a lot of these. Funnel clouds. The latest one was spotted between boroughbridge and harrogate, around the North Yorkshire area, but ive seen quite a few over the weekend. That particular one formed along this Convergence Line thats where the winds bash together and those opposing winds wouldve helped create some of the spin that created that funnel cloud in the first place. Right now, though, those showers have long since cleared out of the way. We do have just a few patches of rain working from west to east, but many of us will have a dry start to the day on monday, with temperatures holding up into double figures. Overall, the Bank Holiday Monday that itll be for many of you is a better, drier kind of day the reason, well, weve got this little weak ridge of High Pressure building in. Now it wont be completely dry, therell be just a few isolated showers around, but nowhere near as many as weve had over the course of the weekend. And probably the greatest risk of seeing an odd shower will be across the north west of both england and wales. The emphasis, though, is on drier weather with spells of sunshine. Temperatures, high teens to low 20s, feeling warm in that august sunshine. And again, into tuesday, another area of low pressure starts to move in from the north. And so, we will get outbreaks of rain moving its way into scotland. Just a few patches of rain showers, really on this weather front, this cold front, as it works southwards across england and wales. But many of you will still have some spells of sunshine around, as well. And overall, the temperature is similarfor most, about 18 22 celsius warm in the sun, but starting to feel perhaps a little bit cooler across the north of scotland. Well, from tuesday into wednesday, that same area of low pressure works into the north sea while weakening. And really, were looking at a day of sunny spells and showers again this time, probably the heaviest showers, big thunderstorms affecting northern and eastern scotland, and down this eastern side of england. Again, therell be some convergent winds, so who knows . You might see another funnel cloud if youre lucky. Western areas should stay dry with some sunshine for wales, south west england, probably bright for northern ireland, as well. That wont last, though. Thursday and friday, another area of low pressure moving in this time, the rain will to be affecting areas a bit further southward. So, particularly for wales, south west england, and northern ireland, weve got a spell of rain to come through. That clears, and then, were back to rather showery conditions as we head off into september. Bye bye. Voiceover this is bbc news. Well have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. Hello. Im Kim Chakanetsa and today, im in beirut, the capital of lebanon. On august 4, 2020, a devastating explosion ripped through the citys port. The blast claimed more than 200 lives and thousands others were injured. Damage to surrounding properties and businesses was estimated to be over four billion us dollars. Many of those affected were small to medium enterprises, led by women. It was one of the largest non Nuclear Explosions in history. Three years on, what is life like for the people who live and work here . Ive come to Downtown Beirut to meet two women who are working tirelessly to rebuild their city. Joelle azar is the owner of le panier du coin,