steve rosenberg. 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. it's 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. joining me now is steven fish, a professor of political science at the university of california, berkeley and is the author of democracy derailed in russia. welcome to you. very good to have you on the programme. what does the way putin dealt with prigozhin tell us about the way putin deals with challenges to his authority? it tells us what we already knew. what is interesting is how putin decided to end this quy's how putin decided to end this guy's life. he made a very dramatic show of the way he killed him, to have his plane blown up over russian territory was a very demonstrative way of showing the elite that if you cross this guy, your time is probably not going... your number will be up pretty soon. the way putin did was dramatic. what's more, we need to remember —— remember that russian elites have to get along on these privatejets. putin is willing to show he is willing to attack one of these. what is more, waiting a couple of months before taking this action enable him to do some things we didn't expect. he seemed to have a lull yevgeny prigozhin interface false sense of security. we have reports that he met him for a few hours shortly after the mutiny. looks yevgeny prigozhin actually took the bait. this will allow putin to monitor the conversations and see if there weren't other russian elites a little too close to yevgeny prigozhin for putin's confident he could move against them. all in all, this was a very old—fashioned godfather mafia style killing. he made it very clear that even if the godfather looks like he might forgive you, at any time, at any time of his choosing, anyplace, he can move against you at will. anyplace, he can move against you at will-— you at will. yes, vladimir putin after— you at will. yes, vladimir putin after the _ you at will. yes, vladimir putin after the plane - you at will. yes, vladimir - putin after the plane crashed described yevgeny prigozhin as talented and made serious mistakes in life. explain how their relationship evolves over time. , ., ., , their relationship evolves over time. , ., , time. they go way back. yevgeny pri . ozhin time. they go way back. yevgeny prigozhin spent _ time. they go way back. yevgeny prigozhin spent most _ time. they go way back. yevgeny prigozhin spent most of - time. they go way back. yevgeny prigozhin spent most of the - time. they go way back. yevgeny prigozhin spent most of the 80s. prigozhin spent most of the 80s in prison and in the early 19905 in prison and in the early 1990s apparently he met putin in st petersburg when putin was working in the mirror�*s office there, maybe even selling preaching wasn't hot dogs, that was his firstjob as he got out of prison. one way or another, prigozhin ended up being putin's caterer and make billions out of contract. prigozhin became his appointment in ever to sabotage democracy around the world. he was the founder and owner of the so—called internet research agency which was the agency that spread misinformation and disinformation in the american presidential campaign on front�*s behalf in 2016. he also spreads disinformation, using that agency all over europe and tried to aid and the democratic parties will do what is more, on the ground in military terms, prigozhin�*s forces have been fighting in ukraine since 2014 when putin first invaded the country partially. then he fought for him in syria, he also fought for him in africa, cosying up to dictators, extracting the proceeds from mining operations that he then steals from when he gets control of government, there dictators he is working with and putting together because of that operation. so when it is on the ground fighting in ukraine, making a little money for putin in africa or sabotaging democracy in the united states, putin, prigozhin has long been prudent�*s man. now that his death has been confirmed, extent do you think he will be remembered as a martyr, hero by many, and how can that impact on putin if that happens?— can that impact on putin if that ha ens? that happens? one thing putin can't erase _ that happens? one thing putin can't erase is _ that happens? one thing putin can't erase is the _ that happens? one thing putin can't erase is the fact - that happens? one thing putin can't erase is the fact that - can't erase is the fact that prigozhin did this mutiny, and wasn't even stopped by armed forces, and in fact, when putin sent out fighterjets and helicopters against him, the one the group shot them down. he made his way to moscow and was only stop along the way at the 11th hour when alexander lukashenko, the dictator of lu kashenko, the dictator of belarus, lukashenko, the dictator of belarus, intervened to help putin stop him. that was a real disgrace putin and that is something putin will not be able to erase. what is more, the correspondence just mentioned prigozhin the correspondencejust mentioned prigozhin mention something of a war hero among nationalists in russia. he made the war frankly interesting for a lot of people. he was on social media every day posting his films of him on the ground being a hero, is waggoner troops grinding it out while ordinary army troops seems to be getting whipped by ukrainian forces and putin was ensconced in his opulent palace bunkers really kinda very far away from the front lines. prigozhin that i became something of military hero. the fact is that prigozhin�*s ghost remains. there are many in the armed forces, many in the security forces, many in the security forces really ended up admiring prigozhin and it causes putin a big problem that does not go away prigozhin�*s death. interesting to get your thoughts. thank you very much for being with us. well, let's turn now to the fighting on the ground in ukraine. this map shows the current state of the conflict with the areas in red controlled by russia. the yellow circles indicate where the fighting has been most intense recently, with reports from the south suggesting kyiv�*s armed forces have broken through some of the toughest russian lines, after months of fierce battles, and only modest gains. here's paul adams. picking up the pace. could ukraine's counteroffensive, slow going sincejune, be gathering momentum? in recent days, a few tentative signs. some units do appear to have broken through russia's 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 don't want my guys to think that they can relax now. they know we're 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 sign �*juice', flying combat missions last year. when russia invaded, few gave ukraine's 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 russia's 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—16s in a matter of weeks. when the first jets finally arrive early next year, he will not be around to fight them. pauladams, bbc news, kyiv. police forces in england and wales have committed to pursuing all "reasonable lines of enquiry" in an effort to solve more crimes. the government says it wants to make it clear there is "no such thing as a minor crime" with a clampdown focusing on offences like car theft and shoplifting. our home editor mark easton reports. smart doorbells, dashcam �*s, mobile phones and the power of google mean more crime victims believe they have obtained good evidence to identify the culprit, but there has been rising frustration that officers are not going after offenders of lower—level crimes such as shoplifting, vandalism and theft. now, the home office says it has agreement from police chiefs that they will pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry if a perpetrator could be apprehended. since 2015 forces have had to say how many of the offences they record, resulting in someone being charged. but back then, it was 16%, but now, it isjust under 6%. political pressure to improve the number coming from all sides. ~ , , all sides. the key is in the use of the _ all sides. the key is in the use of the word _ all sides. the key is in the i use of the word reasonable. what is reasonable for one force won't necessarily be reasonable for a another given the types of crime they are investigating. and it is right the police will also base it on bread, harm and risk. in my own force and other forces i bread, harm and risk. in my own force and otherforces i think there are times we should be investigating further and it is absolutely reasonable in the public and the government are right to expect us to do so. but police chiefs went out there are reasons for the falling although overall crime is at historically low levels, improved recording of offences mean their caseload is rising and more of the crimes being reported are complex offences to investigate, notably be rape and abuse cases. fin to investigate, notably be rape and abuse cases.— and abuse cases. on the one hand this _ and abuse cases. on the one hand this sounds _ and abuse cases. on the one hand this sounds like - and abuse cases. on the one hand this sounds like a - hand this sounds like a no—brainer, anyone who has had their car stolen or phone stolen once the police to pursue every line of enquiry. at the same time we also know that for example rape and sexual assaults, prosecution, conviction rate for those are incredibly low. we have a tsunami of male sexual violence towards women and girls that it is. if the police are being told you just have to use more resources in tackling karin phone crime. that means there is less time and focus on the really serious violent offences are quite rightly to be concerned about. what is reasonable _ concerned about. what is reasonable mean? - concerned about. what is reasonable mean? that l concerned about. what is| reasonable mean? that is concerned about. what is i reasonable mean? that is a question that lies behind today's announcement. some officers might ask it would be is reasonable to downgrade a complex sexual abuse case to pursue more shoplifters. mark easton, bbc news. spain's football federation will hold an urgent meeting on monday in response to the controversy surrounding its president. luis rubiales caused outrage when he kissed the spanish player, jenni hermoso, on the lips after the national team won the women's world cup. hermoso says she did not consent to the kiss. mr rubiales has been suspended by football's governing body, fifa. the spanish federation says it's now begun an internal investigation into sexual violence. on saturday, 11 members of the spanish women's coaching staff quit in protest at the president's behaviour. a state of emergency has been declared in 33 florida counties as weather forecasters warn of a number of extreme weather events happening around the world. florida governor ron desantis warned that tropical storm could cause a life—threatening storm surge and flooding from heavy rains as early as tuesday. these things can shift, there is still some uncertainty out there, so pleasejust heed is still some uncertainty out there, so please just heed the warnings of your local officials, continued to watch the news. if you are in the path of this storm, you should expect power outages, so please prepare for that. the opposition leader in zimbabwe has accused the president, emmerson mnangagwa, of carrying out a coup. zimbabwe held elections on wednesday and the president was declared the winner on 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." zimbabwe's leader has dismissed the criticism and insists the elections were fair. we spoke with david carroll. he leads the carter center's initiative on developing standards and best practices in international election observation. david gave us his assessment on whether this was a fair and free election. well, ijust got back earlier this morning, and the carter center had a team of about 60 people, and i would say the assessment of the carter center 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. so, i was in zimbabwe for the last election in 2018 and the context and the environment was just dramatically different. you could both see itjust 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 voter 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. official results have been released at the national level and at 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 from — at a lower level, at the level where people go to individual polling stations, because everybody has copies of the results at that level, 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 august 23. 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 that 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 that could possibly be a problem until the morning of election day. and several other things just make it, i think, a situation where there is questions about whether or not the election commission really has earned the trust of zimbabweans. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a cruise ship has broken free from moorings, and crashed into a freight vessel during thunderstorms on the spanish island of mallorca. a small number of passengers on board the p&o cruises britannia ship suffered minor injuries. heavy rain and strong winds on the island have also led to more than 20 flights being cancelled. a new bid has been made to save the homeware chain, wilko, which collapsed into administration two weeks ago. the private equity firm, m2 capital, has made a £90 million offer for the business, and is promising to retain all 12,500 employees for two years. aston villa's team bus has been hit by a brick after the club's win against burnley in the premier league on sunday. it was thrown from a footbridge on the m65 motorway as the side were travelling back to the midlands following their 3—1 victory. lancashire police says it's good fortune no—one was seriously injured or killed. you're live with bbc news. recent flooding in china has claimed more than 80 lives, and also caused vast economic damage. what has also shocked many there is that the floods struck parts of the country that're not normally subject to these types of disasters. chinese scientists are blaming climate change, warning that extreme weather events are hitting the country more frequently, and with greater devastation than ever before. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell visited luoxingdun island, in the country's flood plain in the south. and also, to the town of zhuozhou, in the north, which is normally flood—free. here is his special report. china's recent floods hit hard in parts of the country not accustomed to them. and its meteorological administration says both extreme temperatures and precipitation have definitely increased in recent decades. it's one thing to talk about climate change in the abstract, quite another to consider real human impacts. this whole town is having to rebuild after the recent floods and all these businesses, they've been completely trashed by the floodwaters, and the people here, they don't know how they're going to be able to get back to the way their lives were. both this man's shops in zhuozhou, hebei province, were submerged by the floodwaters. translation: it will take me 8-10 years to recover - from these losses. the government has not said whether it will compensate us. another man who runs a warehouse said even goods stored high up were destroyed. his wife showed us their mud—filled home. translation: i can't describe how i felt when i saw this. - our life's work, it's over. every year, china's flooding seems worse, and official statistics appear to confirm it. in 2011, the country recorded around six floods a month during the summer. but this year, there are ten times as many. the impact has even struck china's overall food supply. in august, 40% of the famous wuchang rice crop was wiped out by flooding. translation: i've never seen floods here in all my life. - this is the first time. translation: when i saw the water hit here, i cried. | oui' cfops are gone. i lost everything. it's hard to calculate. then in the south, where flooding is supposed to happen, there are fears of a drought closing in. li chunshui grew up next to poyang lake and drives a boat out to luoxingdun island when there's enough water. translation: this year's water level is very low. i old people say this has only occurred once before, in the early 1950s. since the song dynasty 1,000 years ago, the temple has been surrounded by water during the rainy season. recent droughts have exposed it much earlier. a couple of months ago, all of this was underwater. but as the waters have receded, the island behind me has become accessible by land. and this historic site has become something of an environmental barometer to measure whether water levels are where they should be at any given time of year. extreme weather is focusing attention on climate change in china, but can this huge country combine with the rest of the world quickly enough to do something about it? stephen mcdonell, bbc news, jiangxi province. here in the uk, owners of certain holiday homes may be exempt from paying double council tax on the properties after a government consultation. the proposals to help curb the second home market in popular holiday destinations have been controversial for some, who were facing the larger bills even though their chalets could not be occupied year—round due to planning restrictions. our reporter bob cooper has been speaking to people affected by the plans in allonby, cumbria. it is small, humble and home—made. it is small, humble and home-made.— it is small, humble and home-made. , , ., home-made. this is the land. forjudith _ home-made. this is the land. forjudith the _ home-made. this is the land. forjudith the chalet - home-made. this is the land. forjudith the chalet holds - home-made. this is the land. forjudith the chalet holds a l forjudith the chalet holds a lifetime of memories, she remembers herfather lifetime of memories, she remembers her father building in their back garden in workington 70 years ago. the first time we _ workington 70 years ago. tue: first time we stayed he workington 70 years ago. ti2 first time we stayed he was easter, 1950. ijust come here for ever. with the family, and my kids, my grandchildren come now. my sister is here a lot and her children come. so it is just a family concern. the owners of— just a family concern. the owners of 46 _ just a family concern. the owners of 46 chalets - just a family concern. the owners of 46 chalets and | owners of 46 chalets and allenby are concerned about those new law that would allow councils to double council tax on second homes. now the government is consulting on whether these and similar properties should exempt. sue says a future premium could leave them paying £2000 a year. the consultation is about us not having to pay the second homes premium when the law changes and the local authorities are allowed to charge or council tax for second homes. we did a little bit of research amongst us all, and almost everybody said that if we were charged the second homes premium, even though we are not second homes, most of us would have to leave here and abandon our chalets or chalets would end up getting destroyed. the reason the chalets could be exempt is because they cannot be occupied and wintered due to a planning restriction. there are similar restrictions on 86 properties in west london furnish and 47 yorkshire. the local in —— mp says the allenby site should not be hit by a premium. site should not be hit by a premium-— premium. things like the chalets and _ premium. things like the chalets and allenby - premium. things like the chalets and allenby are l premium. things like the i chalets and allenby are very unique types of property almost beachfront although it is not on the breach from. people where people —— places where people spend the summer. the --eole people spend the summer. the people here — people spend the summer. the people here have sent the responses to the government consultation, cumberland council says it will look at the options and try to come to a fair outcome. stay with us here on bbc news. i will be back in a moment with all the latest business stories. i will see you then. hello there. you know, over the weekend, i've seen quite a lot of these. funnel clouds. the latest one was spotted between boroughbridge and harrogate, around the north yorkshire area, but i've seen quite a few over the weekend. that particular one formed along this convergence line — that's where the winds bash together — and those opposing winds would've 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 it'll be for many of you is a better, drier kind of day — the reason, well, we've got this little weak ridge of high pressure building in. now, it won't be completely dry, there'll be just a few isolated showers around, but nowhere near as many as we've 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, we're 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, there'll be some convergent winds, so who knows? you might see another funnel cloud if you're lucky. western areas should stay dry with some sunshine for wales, south—west england, probably bright for northern ireland, as well. that won't 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, we've got a spell of rain to come through. that clears, and then, we're back to rather showery conditions as we head off into september. bye— bye. live from london, this is bbc news. central bankers are warning inflation is still too high and interest rates will likely keep rising. is a global downturn now inevitable? stabilising us—china relations: commerce secretary geina raimondo is in beijing for talks aimed at boosting business ties between the world's two largest economies. and taking a back seat: robotaxis are now allowed to operate around the clock on the streets of san fransisco, but how safe are they? hello and welcome. let's start with a familiar theme — inflation. prices for everything that we buy have been rising to record levels around the world. but now, finally, the data shows the rate at which all of those goods are increasing is starting to slow. policy makers, however, are sounding a note of caution. over the weekend, the federal reserve chairjerome powell called for more vigilance in the fight against inflation. speaking at the annual jackson hole gathering in wyoming, he warned that additional interest rate increases could be yet to come.