Of russias full scale invasion in feburary of last year, winning praise for negotiations to secure allied weaponry and expanding ukraines army. But as ukraines government has ramped up investigations into corruption, mr reznikov has become the subject of increasing speculation over financial misconduct, though he has not been personally implicated. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, ukrainan generals claim theyve breached russias formidable first line of defences in the south, near zaporizhzhia. General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy told the Observer Newspaper that extensive minefields had blocked troops for several weeks, leaving them vulnerable to russian shelling and drone attacks. But the general claimed that clearing those mines has allowed his forces to advance, saying ukraine expects weaker Russian Defences ahead. Questions over ukraines slow progress on the battlefield remain, but ukraine says its forces are making steady gains in the south of the country, expanding its units in recent weeks towards the strategic town of tokmak, a Logistical Centre for Russian Forces. So is ukraine at a Turning Point . An adviser to president zelensky, aleksander rodnyansky, has been speaking to the bbc about the significance of the recent breakthroughs. Weve been waiting for this moment for quite some time. Weve been hoping that we would pierce through the Russian Defence line, the first defence line, which was the hardest to pierce through, if you believe Military Experts when they talk about it. So hopefully now, when we reach the second and the third lines of defence that the russians have established, those will be easier to essentially overcome. And perhaps hopefully this is the spot, this is the place where we can now actually put all the modern nato technology, the tanks that weve been getting, and the training that weve been receiving, put all of that to use, to our advantage. Hopefully, its the key moment. Again, well see what happens. Its hard to predict at any point, including at this point. But you know what the objectives are. We have a Common Objective of liberating ukraine, not just for ukraine, but for the whole western developed democratic world, because this is a standoff between democracies and authoritarian systems and its really key for everybody to chip in. So hopefully this is a key moment. Hopefully well be able to build on that and make sure that we liberate all of ukraine in its 1991 internationally recognised borders. Joining me now to bring us some context on all of this is retired rear admiral mark montgomery. He worked on Us Ukraine Relations as Policy Director for the Senate Armed Services committee and in the navy assigned to us european command. He now works with the washington based Research Group foundation for the defense of democracies. Great to have you with us once again and thank you for taking the time. I want to start with what we are seeing on the battlefield ukrainian generals say that they have breached russias first line of defences in the south. How significant is that . Thank you for having me. I think this is significant. I think this is significant. I think they are close to putting very important logistic lines that the russians rely on for their land bridge to crimea at risk. In this area, maybe 5 10 more climate in the traditional artillery they have that we provided them and the cluster ammunition we provided them will be able to cut the Logistics Line. I think that will put the russians in severe position and then that also places other places at risk and eventually marry a pole. All towns critical to crimea. Mariupol. Frankly they are very close. Theres a lot of discussion about whether this could be seen as a Turning Point. What is your assessment . They will have two consummate that breaking of the Logistics Line to have that kind of success. We are about three months in from the start of this counteroffensive, and i think this would be just about time, that they really have to have some kind of breakthrough and i think this is likely but obviously it is critical that they get the artillery 155 millimetre striking range so the artillery they have can break it and if it happens this really is a breakthrough. The ukrainian really is a breakthrough. The ukrainian general really is a breakthrough. The Ukrainian General Centre data have been able to break through the first line of defence but usually Russian Forces have three. Do the ukrainians have what they need in confronting to more defence lines and what kind of fight that looks like . That is interesting. It will be a test of russian persistence, where they persist with their second and third line of defence. I think the suspicion is not to the same degree of depth and scale. Secondly, have we provided enough of the mine clearing equipment necessary here. The initial Mining Equipment came through a lot of fire from the russians before they got the tactic correct. They need the right equipment and a little bit of luck to go through the russian defensive measures. As we move from measures. As we move from summer measures. As we move from summer into fall, these defensive positions are going to be much more exposed as the leaves come off trees. If it is good now, it will be better in a month from now. A month from now. Today president a month from now. Today president Zelensky A Month from now. Today president zelensky said i a month from now. Today| president zelensky said he would replace his defence minister, in the biggest shakeup since the beginning of this war. How might a change of leadership like that impact the battlefield . The leadership like that impact the battlefield . Leadership like that impact the battlefield . ,. ,. , battlefield . The replacement of Oleksii Reznikov battlefield . The replacement of Oleksii Reznikov is battlefield . The replacement of Oleksii Reznikov is a battlefield . The replacement of Oleksii Reznikov is a different i Oleksii Reznikov is a different set of rules. Oleksii reznikov is responsible for procurement, acquisition to it logistics. A strong 18 month performance by him and his team. This is more about signalling, signalling to the United States and europeans idolise that because of the allegations of corruption he has taken serious action. European allies. He is accountable as a Minister Of Defence and he is being held responsible by president zelensky. Not treatment replacing macarthur but it is still a big deal. Replacing macarthur but it is stilla big deal. Replacing macarthur but it is still a big deal. Truman. And deploying f 16 against russia next spring, does that give us an indication of how prepared they are to go on . Will the support from us remain at the level at the next juncture . At the level at the next uncture . , ~. , juncture . For sure. Ukraine believed juncture . For sure. Ukraine believed they juncture . For sure. Ukraine believed they will juncture . For sure. Ukraine believed they will continue | believed they will continue this spot until they have crimea back. Believe. This war. Logically, it is the right thing to do. I think there are enough votes, when you count both sides of the aisle, but probably speaker mccarthy, the House Republican leader, he is going to need the House Democratic leader to get him across the finish line and there are signals thatjeffries might not be interested in that. Lets hope that is not true and it will pass the senate. The president will sign it as soon it is approved. Thank you as always for your insides. , ~ ,. , a conservative Israeli Security minister says he plans to propose a bill that would permit the mass arrest and deportation of hundreds of eritrean migrants there. The comments follow violent clashes on the streets of tel aviv on saturday between supporters and opponents of the eritrean government. At least 160 people were injured in riots this weekend from tear gas and live rounds used by Law Enforcement to end the clashes. Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the chaotic scenes had crossed a red line. He has called for a new plan to remove all of those he described as Illegal Infiltrators remaining in the country. Our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, is following developments from jerusalem. One day on from those Riotous Scenes in tel aviv, were really seeing the political fallout. Weve had the israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, coming out at a special ministerial meeting, calling for the immediate deportation of those who were involved in this violence, the people he is calling Illegal Infiltrators. And he says that he wants ministers to present their plans for the removal of all of those so called Illegal Infiltrators. A red line has been crossed, he said. Already, the far right National Security minister, itamar ben gvir, has said that he has legislation to change basic law in israel that he is planning, so that would allow mass deportations to take place. And just to be clear, there are about 20,000 people who are classed as eritrean Asylum Seekers in israel. They say that they fled from danger, from persecution, in their country, seen as one of the worlds most repressive countries. Now theyre facing this high degree of uncertainty. Migration has always been a very hot political issue in israel, something that is very divisive politically. And now what weve seen has gone right back there firmly on the political agenda. Taiwan is being battered by its biggest storm in four years. Typhoon haikui has brought winds of up to 190 km h. More than a0 people are reported injured. Thousands of homes lost power. And there have been concerns of landslides and rockfalls in communities in the moutains of western taiwan. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Lets look at some other stories making news. India has switched off its moon rover after successfully conducting a list of experiments. Indias space agency said on x, formerly known as twitter, that it was set to sleepmode. Adding that it hopes to eventually wake it back up for another set of assignments. Indias Chandrayaan 3 was the first spacecraft to reach the Lunar South Pole just over a week ago. Torrential rains have swept across spain, with residents in madrid advised to stay at home. Large areas of the countryside in the castellon have been flooded. Emergency services sent Text Messages to residents of madrid advising them not to use vehicles. A Football Match between Atletico Madrid and sevilla in madrid was also suspeneded due to the alert. In madrid was also suspended due to the alert. To argentina now where the world cup of tango danced off in buenos aires. Argentina took home the top prize in both the salon and stage categories. These are pictures of the couple that won the salon competition. More than 650 couples from all over the world, including italy, brazil, russia and ukraine took part in the event. Youre live with bbc news. To the us state of nevada now, where despite warnings from organizers, some people have begun to leave the burning man festival. A steady stream of vehicles began exiting the event on sunday after a rare rainstorm had cut off access, Leaving Tens Of Thousands of attendees stranded. But others have been getting stuck in the mud. The festivals official website is still warning people not to attempt to drive due to unsafe conditions. More wet weather was expected on sunday after a half inch of rain earlier in the week turned the remote desert into a mudpit, making it difficult to walk or drive. Officials had told the 70,000 In Attendence to shelter in place and conserve food and water until conditions improved. Police say one person has died the cause is under investigation. 0ur david willis is there amid the mud. This was supposed to be the day the people attending this festival headed home instead Tens Of Thousands of them are stranded here, mired in mud which has thickened over the course of the last few hours, following renewed downpours of rain. As you can see behind me, some people are packing up in readiness for their departure but a driving ban remains in force here. The organisers that it is simply to wait and to muddy for people to leave. Some though have tried it, only for the vehicle to end up stuck in the vehicle to end up stuck in the mud. 0thers the vehicle to end up stuck in the mud. Others have abandoned their camping gear altogether and left this festival on forward. Meanwhile, the local Sheriffs Department is investigating a death which took place at the height of the torrential rain on Saturday Night at this festival. At the moment that they are saying very little about the identity of the deceased, only that he is next of kin have been informed. It is thought the worst of the reigns here may have already abated but there is still a chance of some thunderstorms and it could be several days before the landscape here is actually dry enough for everyone here to be able to leave. People here are tired and wet and very muddy, in many cases, and everybody seems to be very anxious now to leave. Its back to school for children around the world, but in the uk more than 100 schools have been forced to close buildings because of crumbling concrete. The uks chancellor, jeremy hunt, says the government will spend what it takes, to secure School Buildings that are falling into disrepair. The Opposition Labour Party has criticised what it called a bare bones response to a crisis. Our home editor, mark easton, has the latest. After two days of terrible headlines about crumbling schools at risk of collapse. Good morning, sir. Good morning. It was the chancellor who took to the airwaves to try and reassure the public that the government had matters under control. Welcome back to the studio, chancellor. Appearing on the Laura Kuenssberg program, mr hunt said ministers would do whatever was necessary to keep schoolchildren safe. We will spend what it takes to sort out this problem as quickly as possible. So do you commit to covering whatever costs are required to remove all of this dangerous concrete from schools around the country . We will spend what it takes to make sure that children can go to school safely, yes. The chancellor has insisted the government acted fast when the dangers of School Ceilings unexpectedly falling on children came to light, but did they . Injuly 2018, a Staff Room Ceiling suddenly collapsed at a Primary School in kent, and crumbling raac beams were blamed. In december of that year, the government warned every School Authority to beware the dangers. In may 2019, a committee of structural experts went further, advising that catastrophic failure could happen without warning, with the possibility of injury or death. But it wasnt until march 2022, almost three years later, that the government sent out a questionnaire asking schools if they had raac in their buildings. In december last year, they issued new guidance, with photos showing examples of School Ceilings which could suddenly fall in. Then, over the last two months, further unexpected collapses prompted the current crisis. The risks from failing raac beams have been known about for decades, but government checks on School Buildings have only been visual, surveyors not even expected to remove Ceiling Tiles to identify critical structural problems behind. The labour party says cuts in School Maintenance budgets have put lives at risk. I can think of a no more defining image about the last 13 years of conservative government than children being sat in classrooms under metal props to prevent the ceilings literally falling in on their heads. It is scandalous. Were working to make sure that there is minimal disruption to education. The Education Secretary is hoping that this departmental video posted on youtube will console worried parents. Not everyone is convinced the government is doing enough. I am extremely disappointed and frustrated that there wasnt a plan in place for this happening. I the government might not have known that it would happen this week, but we knew the stock was in this situation. Checks on the fabric of englands schools were not good enough to spot potentially catastrophic failures before they happened so, while the problem is thought to involve around 100 schools at the moment, the raac crisis could actually affect thousands of buildings right across the public estate. For many Retail Employees, its becoming dangerous just to go to work. In the us, grocer whole foods temporarily closed one of its Flagship Stores in San Francisco this year citing Safety Concerns for staff. The Retail Council of canada says Store Violence is on the rise there. And the British Retail Consortium says cases of violence and abuse against Retail Employees have almost doubled from pre pandemic levels. Now, one of the Worlds Largest retailers is taking action as it calls for tougher laws to protect shop workers from increasing attacks. The bbc� s mark ashdown examines the new Extremes Tesco is going to protect its workers in the uk. Why are you touching me . What are you touching me for . Get out now. What are you touching me for . A Body Worn Camera captures a suspected shoplifter, unleashing a torrent of abuse. The British Retail Consortium found there are now 850 attacks on retail staff every single day, almost double the number before the covid pandemic. Staff report being sworn at, spat at, racially and sexually insulted, and verbally and physically abused. The boss of britains biggest retailer, tesco, says enough is enough. Writing in the mail on sunday, ken murphy said millions of people stock the shelves, walk the floor and serve the tills. These Unsung Heroes are being made to feel unsafe by customers who will be verbally or physically abusive, or who will threaten or attack them when challenged. These attacks are unacceptable, he said. For these colleagues and their families, its heartbreaking. After the co op and waitrose started using Body Worn Cameras, tesco will now offer them to any staff working face to face with customers. But does it work . Clearly, there are some people who just dont care but what it does do is make some people think twice. It makes them realise that, you know, they are on camera, that their conflict is actually being recorded. Obviously, it is also a huge cost to the retailers and it is a cost which ultimately gets borne by the customer in terms of, you know, the prices we see in stores. There is growing evidence that organised criminal gangs are targeting shops more frequently. One former Security Manager at asda told us the squeeze on Household Budgets is also having an impact. I think people are more accepting of violence in society today. I think with the economic situation, more people are desperate, so they are willing to use violence to get the items that they need. In scotland, abusing staff is a specific criminal offence, which Industry Leaders want to see extended across the uk. Body worn cameras are just one tactic in the ongoing fight against retail crime, which costs the industry £1. 8 billion every year. Marc ashdown, bbc news. The push towards net zero in the uk Means Traditional Gas Boilers will be phased out by 2035. Its replacement will be Green Alternatives like heat pumps. But in rural areas where households are off the gas network, the government is proposing moving the ban forward to 2026. Danjohnson has been to one village in the west of england, thats found another way to heat their homes. A Special Delivery down cornwall� s country lanes. To kehelland, claimed to be europes first village heated by waste Vegetable Oil, called hvo. This is our boiler. Its a kerosene boiler, its about 27 years old. Dave is a happy customer because it is saving him the costs of fitting a heat pump. We would have to run Something Like about £37,000 to have the roof fully insulated, and that doesnt include the cost of the Air Source Heat Pump itself and all the piping and all the radiators and Everything Else that has to go inside the house to replace this. So, how much would you be talking about . Well, a minimum of 60,000. There is no gas here, and the Electricity Network isnt great either. You have got these beautiful old stone houses, but they are difficult to heat and even harder to properly insulate. And then you have got buildings like this, which are even more of a challenge. The Carbon Emissions are down 80 or 90 without huge conversion costs. Its given us a realistic option to start going greener on site. And at this charity for people with learning difficulties, they are glad they have switched. We have been able to keep the original equipment, very little disruption to the site, and now we are able to heat this amazing space, which we use for therapeutic horticulture, while producing 90 less carbon, which isjust amazing for us. But not everyone is convinced. There is a Question Mark over the impact of supplying enough Vegetable Oil to serve 1. 7 million rural homes. We need to electrify everything that we possibly can and only use biofuel for very special applications where there is no alternative, and they are shipping i and aircraft in particular. The village school, theyve managed to convert over to the hvo. The boss of the oil company is subsidising this because taxes currently make it more expensive. But he says its what people want. They dont want to remove their existing system. They cant afford to move away from it. You would say that because your business is absolutely dependent on it, isnt it . Well, you know, we are a fossil fuel supplier, and we are quite passionate about moving away from fossil fuels. And, you know, hvo seems to be a very good solution to do this. The road to net zero is being questioned, and its Rural Communities which must decide first how to keep warm without fossil fuels. Danjohnson, bbc news, kehelland in cornwall. Now to an update on the death of american singer songwriter jimmy buffett. Weve learned the musician died from skin cancer. He was diagnosed with it four years ago. It was a rare type of skin cancer called merkel cell carcinoma. Buffett continued to perform during treatment, performing his last show as a Surprise Appearance in earlyjuly in rhode island. His 1977 breakthrough album changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes included his hit song margaritaville. Buffett helped inspired the tropical rock genre. He was nominated for two grammies. Celebrities including ll coolj, eltonjohn and the beach boys brian wilson had paid tributes to him online. Buffett was 76. A statement on his website says he died peacefully surrounded by his family, friends and dogs. We leave you now with a look at the dozens of hot air balloons taking off from a park in Colorado Springs here in the us. Its part of a three Day Celebration for the Labor Day Holiday weekend. About 70 hot air balloons take part in the annual event. Animal inspired balloons are popular and you dont even have to have a head for heights because some of the smaller ones are controlled by remote control. They range in size from 25 to 35 feet tall, and are flown using a liquid propane burner. Stay with us here on bbc news. Bring up the hour. I am helena humphrey. Thanks for your company. Hello. We have a very warm week of weather in prospect. In fact, it could turn out to be some of the warmest weather of the year so far. The highest temperature we recorded over the summer was all the way back injune at 32. 2 celsius. This week we are expected to get to 30 celsius, but some places could getjust a little bit warmer than that. Certainly some very warm or even hot weather in the outlook with plenty of strong sunshine, butjust a bit of mist and fog here and there. Some to start monday morning, particularly across parts of southwest scotland, but a few patches elsewhere. Tending to lift and clear very quickly and then we will see lots of sunshine. A little bit breezy towards the far south west, the far north of scotland, but only the western and Northern Isles seeing more cloud and a few splashes of rain. Temperatures in Eastern Scotland up to 25, 26 degrees, parts of central and south Eastern England could well get to 29. Through monday night it stays dry with clear skies, still the Weather Front the far north of scotland with a few splashes rain and maybe the odd shower into the far South West Of England by the end of the night, 16 there in plymouth to start tuesday morning, a very warm start, a mild start elsewhere. For tuesday the area of low pressure swelling to the south west of us may introduce the odd shower across the South West Of England, parts of wales, possibly northern ireland, a Weather Front will weaken and elsewhere lots more sunshine and plenty of water is well but a slight shift in the Wind Direction will bring a slightly cooler day in the eastern side of scotland, 21 for aberdeen, further south 27, possibly 28. On wednesday the area of High Pressure changes shape. Shifts to the east of us and we start to bring the winds up from the south so another surge of very warm air. Wednesday, some places get up to 30 celsius or possibly even a little bit higher than that, a few patches of mist and fog around some of the coast and elsewhere it is a story of warmth and sunshine. And as we head towards the end of the week we stick with the same theme, temperatures could still go close to 30 on thursday, only very, very slowly will it turn more unsettled from the west. Pole mariupol the chinese developer, Country Garden, lives to fight another day as creditors give it more time to pay off its debt. We will have the latest on the potential strike in america. Welcome to Asia Business report, with me mariko oi. Lets begin this morning in china. The countrys developer, Country Garden, has reportedly won approval from creditors to extend their deadline to key bond repayment, which means the company has narrowly avoided a potential default, at least for now. The debt crisis of the property sector is weighing heavily on the chinese economy, struggling to recover from the pandemic restrictions. Tommy wu is a senior china economist and says Country Gardens problems are far from over. For now it seems Country Garden can extend one of the key debt but then more debt payment will be required and will be due very soon so perhaps we are far from being Out Of The Woods yet. So any potential default in the coming near term would have pretty serious consequence in terms of the pricing of Country Garden debt but notjust
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