russian troops in the east. president biden and donald trump agree to a series of presidential debates, the first in just a month and before their parties�* conventions. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. officials from the slovak government say prime minister robert fico is expected to survive after he was shot in an assassination attempt on wednesday. speaking to bbc news hour, here's deputy prime minister tomas taraba. fortunately as far as i know, the operation went well and i guess that means he'll survive. at the moment the state of operation should mean that he is not in a life—threatening situation. the attack took place in the central town of handlova. our correspondent bethany bell is in the capital bratislava with more on the suspect

and how the attack unfolded. this was the moment a european leader was shot... gunshots ..as he greeted members of the public in front of a local community centre. robert fico was shot in the stomach and in the arm. his security team half dragged, half carried him to his car. a few metres away, amidst the chaos, security officials push a man to the ground. the suspect is believed to be in his 70s. witnesses say he shot at the prime minister several times. translation: i heard three shots. _ it was quick, one by one, like if you throw firecrackers on the ground. i saw a scratch on the prime minister's head and then he fell next to the barrier. it's a nightmare. the 59—year—old was flown by helicopter to hospital, where he had emergency surgery. officials said his

condition was critical. a few hours later, a sombre president addressed the nation. translation: i am shocked, we are all shocked by - the terrible and vicious attack on prime minister robert fico. a physical attack on the prime minister is, first of all, an attack on a person, but it is also an attack on democracy. hateful rhetoric, which we can see in society leads, to hateful actions. please, stop it. robert fico, seen here before the attack, is regarded as a divisive figure — a populist who's accused of being authoritarian and too close to russia. the attack has been widely condemned by all sides in slovakia. translation: the attack on the prime minister - is terrible — uncivilised and brutal, pure evil. i

this should provoke just one reaction —i unite all society against evil, hate and violence. _ the suspect is now in police custody, the authorities are searching for a motive. bethany bell, bbc news, bratislava. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky cancelled all upcoming foreign trips as troops struggle against russian advancements and shelling near the country's second—largest city of kharkiv, in the northeast. a military spokesperson says ukrainian soldiers are under heavy fire. kyiv has rushed in reinforcements, but the deteriorating battlefield situation prompted some ukrainian troops to pull back to new positions in the region. around 8,000 people were evacuated from kharkiv since last week. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse has more. not your usual traffic jam in russia's belgorod region, as a rocket launcher pulls over

to pourfire into neighbouring ukraine, causing panic across the border. "what do you need to take? let's move quicker, let's go," says this police officer. the russians are using new tactics here — constant ground assaults and relentless air strikes, although not all bombs go off. now ukrainian troops are withdrawing from some positions near the border. for the first time in 18 months, this war is no longer a grinding stalemate. russia has momentum, and that is fuelling a sense of diplomatic urgency here in kyiv. a two—day visit by america's secretary of state antony blinken ended with tributes to ukraine's war dead and another $2 billion to arm those still fighting.

we're rushing ammunition, armoured vehicles, missiles, air defences, rushing them to get to the front lines, to protect soldiers, to protect civilians. and on air defences, as dmytro said, this is, of course, a top priority. in moscow with his new defence minister, a confident sounding vladimir putin announced more funding for a war he thinks he's winning. translation: all enemy - counterattacks were repelled. our troops are improving in all positions, in all directions, every day. and here are the consequences — kherson in the south, like so many cities and towns across ukraine, is becoming increasingly uninhabitable. nowhere is immune to moscow's desire to conquer its neighbour. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. russian president vladimir putin landed in beijing thursday for a two—day visit to china to deepen a strategic partnership between the two countries. in an interview with chinese state—run media,

putin said he's prepared to negotiate over the conflict in ukraine. the kremlin says putin and chinese president xijinping will also discuss asia, energy and trade. let's bring in ukrainian journalist and fellow at the center for european policy analysis, elina beketova. good to have you on bbc news. can you tell us how to assess the situation in kharkiv right now? how critical is it? it is not surprising _ now? how critical is it? it is not surprising that - now? how critical is it? it is not surprising that faced - now? how critical is it? it 3 not surprising that faced a shortage of ammunition and artillery especially given the delay with the deal, russian forces took advantage of this critical moment to strike, however there is a hope this will improve in coming weeks. what we can observe right now, the ukraine defensive actions continue in kharkiv although through the course of the day

as the president said ukrainian defence and security forces have managed to partially stabilise the situation. what is the situation in kharkiv, i checked out a few sources according to the mayor of kharkiv, there was a strike by russian drones and it was very wild in the city. in a couple of hours we will know these —— situation and the consequences. from what i know i have a friend over there who went to the same university and he said in the morning he was at the gym and hejokes on facebook and he says, he has to look after the city, he told basically that there is a feeling that you are like a brick, it is superpowerful. people who are in kharkiv and the neighbouring regions, they just try to basically support the armed forces of ukraine for defending at this particular moment as we are speaking with

you, every inch of the territory. you, every inch of the territory-— you, every inch of the territo . ~ . ., ,, ., territory. we have heard russia has started _ territory. we have heard russia has started to _ territory. we have heard russia has started to pick _ territory. we have heard russia has started to pick up _ territory. we have heard russia i has started to pick up momentum and pushing back ukrainian forces. if russia were to take this region and take the city of kharkiv, what would that mean? i of kharkiv, what would that mean? ., �* ~' , of kharkiv, what would that mean? ., �* ~ , ., mean? i don't think there is a possibility _ mean? i don't think there is a possibility of— mean? i don't think there is a possibility of russian - mean? i don't think there is a possibility of russian forces i possibility of russian forces taking this city, or kharkiv region, according to the general of the armed forces of ukraine as of 7pm on wednesday, ukrainian soldiers could repel ten attacks, right now russian forces are attacking the settlement in luhansk but the situation has been partially stabilised and the mop up operation is ongoing in the north—western outskirts so you probably heard about this town you saw in the package of the journalist before, some people do want to leave ochansk, but

the situation has been partially stabilised. from what we see right now, russian forces do not have enough capacity, they try to stretch the ukrainian forces, they try to stretch the frontline. at this particular moment... it depends on how successful they will be, the us has announced more aid. is there any aid that can get there quickly enough to turn the tide? that's a great question, i wish i knew the answer but as the white house security adviser said on monday some weapons have not arrived and more are arriving this week, there is a steady flow of weapons arriving to ukraine and another package will be announced soon, so hopefully in the course of one week or several weeks we will have stabilisation of the frontline over the indefinitely we can see some of the victories by the ukrainian

forces. i victories by the ukrainian forces. , ., , ., forces. i 'ust wonder if you could forces. i just wonder if you could share _ forces. i just wonder if you could share with _ forces. i just wonder if you could share with us - forces. i just wonder if you could share with us a - forces. i just wonder if you could share with us a bit i forces. i just wonder if you - could share with us a bit about kharkiv, you study there, what must it be like for people living there, you shared one story of a friend, we have seen thousands of people now fleeing? thousands of people now fleein: ? ., v thousands of people now fleein: ? . �*, fleeing? that's true, some --eole fleeing? that's true, some peeple try _ fleeing? that's true, some peeple try to _ fleeing? that's true, some people try to flee, - fleeing? that's true, some people try to flee, some i fleeing? that's true, some - people try to flee, some people stay there, my friend lives there with his family, he has a daughter, wife he days and goes to the gym as he would do other days, hejust to the gym as he would do other days, he just tries to fund raise and help the armed forces of ukraine who are battling over there. according to the mayor he says basically russian forces are trying to intimidate the residents of kharkiv at this particular moment, he says that people try not to panic and people try to help as they can. what is very interesting a couple of days ago the mayor wrote that they are trying to allocate additional funding he said he was in direct conduct

—— contact unit commanders defending the city and region and kharkiv has located funds to some brigades and will soon provide support to all the defenders and urged all the businessmen to help. whenever ukrainians have in time they try to mobilise whatever they have and band together. to try to hold the line.— to hold the line. thank you very much _ to hold the line. thank you very much for— to hold the line. thank you very much forjoining - to hold the line. thank you very much forjoining us i to hold the line. thank you i very much forjoining us today on bbc news. very much for “oining us today on bbc news.— very much for “oining us today on bbc news. ., ~ i. . on bbc news. thank you so much for the invitation. _ president biden reportedly plans to press ahead with a billion—dollar tranche of military aid to israel just a week after suspending a shipment of bombs over concerns about israel's offensive in rafah. it comes as israeli tanks are reportedly pushing deeper into the city, as the idf says it's targeting four hamas battalions. meanwhile, there's been a rare public sign of division within neta nyahu's war cabinet. israel's defence minister, yoav gallant, has voiced open frustration at the government's failure to address the question of a post—war plan for gaza and urged the prime minister

to rule out plans to take over civilian and military rule in the region. former us state department official and senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace aaron david miller told the bbc it could just be the beginning of more israel political dissent. and i think that it could be the beginning of a trend among israeli military officials. current officials and even those who are just out of government to begin to publicise their discontent and opposition to the prime minister's refusal to engage or to tether the military tactics to a political strategy. more from our diplomatic correspondent paul adams injerusalem. for days the israeli papers have been full of reports suggesting that there are misgivings in the defence establishment over the lack of a plan for what governance

of gazaz looks like in the days after the war. those misgivings came bursting out into the open today with the defence minister yoav gallant saying about his efforts to try to get the government to focus on this had simply been in vain. and that the indecision was leading israel down a dangerous path towards a kind of long—term military and civilian rule in gaza, something he said would not be good for the country. and he urged the prime minister benjamin netanyahu to put an end to this indecision and to declare publicly that israel does not intend to rule gaza indefinitely. that was an extremely public rebuke, essentially, to the prime minister, accusing him of indecision. his videos on social media say that he was not going to swap hamas down, as he called it, for fatah stan the faction that rules the palestinian authority and the west bank. that's the most public row

at the heart of the israeli government that we have seen since this war began. in the meantime efforts to try and improve the provision of aid to the gaza strip are going to take a little notch up in the coming days because a pontoon bridge which the american military has been putting together along with a floating platform that's going to sit out several kilometres off the coast of gaza is all now ready and being towed to the coast of gaza where it should be in action within the coming days. a british ship carrying aid in the form of plastic sheeting and temporary shelter equipment is on its way from cyprus and could be among the first pallets of aid to be delivered to gaza. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some stories making news in the uk. junior doctors in england have entered talks with the government to try and end a long—running dispute over pay. the british medical association says itsjunior doctors�* committee entered a new "intensive phase of talks"

with the government facilitated by an external mediator. the two have been at odds over pay for more than a year. these will be the first substantive talks since december. junior doctors in wales and northern ireland have also been demanding higher pay. the home office announced that it's expanding the rwanda deportation scheme to cover failed asylum seekers. under the original plan, only people who had arrived in the uk on or after i january 2022 could be deemed eligible to be deported. failed asylum seekers are also eligible for a voluntary scheme announced last month. two men accused of felling the famous sycamore gap tree near hadrian's wall in northumberland appeared in court. daniel graham of carlisle pleaded not guilty, while adam carruthers from wigton entered no plea. the districtjudge said that the case was so serious that it must be dealt with at the crown court. the tree was cut down in september and the men were arrested in october. you're live with bbc news. presidentjoe biden and donald

trump will officially go head to head on the debate stage. cnn will host the first debate onjune 27. it will take place in the battleground state of georgia. cnn says there will be no audience in attendance at the june debate. meanwhile, debate number two is set for september 10, hosted by us broadcaster abc news with a location yet to be determined. debates are typically orchestrated by the commission on presidential debates. but biden and trump will break with that tradition as their campaigns will deal directly with broadcasters. my colleague caitriona perry spoke about it with the group's co—chair frabj fahrenkopf. thank you forjoining us. you co—founded the commission in 1986 when you were chair with that then chair of the dnc. with cnn abc and the trump and biden campaigns making these deals have you been frozen out of the process here? this is not the first time in 33 years or however long

it's been that the commission has existed and put out all the debates starting in 1988 when candidates have wanted to change things or do it their own way or make suggestions that they weren't going to debate with the commissioner, the debate was with somebody else. lo and behold they came back for the debate so this it was a shocker today for everybody, there was no news anywhere that this was going to happen. we normally don't have contact with the candidates until after their conventions when they become officially nominees of the parties that are on the ballots in every state. this was an interesting thing particularly because at the time when the first debate is scheduled, i think 27june, only about seven states will have completed their ballot questions of who will appear on their ballot, so we'll have to see what happens. our goal, we are all volunteers on the commission, we are not paid, ourjob was to be the new group in between to

make sure the debates would happen and we have been successful for all those years, at times there been other things happen but they always come back to us. if they can do it and get it on, so the american people get a chance to hear the two candidates, where they are on the issues, god bless them and we will go away. but we've got to hang, we will be there to see what happens if it happens, it happens and if it doesn't, the commission will go forward as our plans are to go forward with our debates which will go to a lot more people. we use the white house press and that's where the feed comes from, it goes all over the world, it's on every platform, when the social media, i don't know what it's going to be, at this point in time cnn says that other networks are not going to be able to have what they do in the first debate. abc said they would share what the debate happens so we have to wait to see what happens, it's a long way until the start of things, and the commission will hopefully still be there and be able to put them up. to go back over and expand

on a couple of things you've said, to clarify, neither the rnc nor dnc nor campaigns informed you that they'd made this plan to debates themselves, correct? that's correct. we had nothing to do with the rnc. i will use to be the chair under president reagan but the rnc and dnc have nothing to do with the commission, never — have we have never dealt with the parties, we only deal with those individuals who have been nominated by their convention. by the republican and democratic party and that normally when we first have contact with them, discuss what is going to happen with the debates and so forth so it was not surprising that we haven't heard from them, as of this morning. since these announcements were made. we would normally hear until after the democrats go in i think the third week of august, the republicans for the third week injuly, so it's not unusual but i would have liked a call to say heads

up but that didn't happen. would you have been open to making changes if they had made contact with you? joe biden said they were concerned about how late the first debate is set to be under your commission, does not happen until labour day the beginning of september. joe biden and his team saying many americans had the opportunity to cast their vote by that time. it’s the opportunity to cast their vote by that time.— vote by that time. it's very clear they _ vote by that time. it's very clear they did _ vote by that time. it's very clear they did not - vote by that time. it's very clear they did not do - vote by that time. it's very clear they did not do their| clear they did not do their homework, we did ours, we have established with every single state when it is the first person in that state can vote, the earliest date is september six, one week before our debate and it is only one state when you can cast an absentee ballot on the sex, what happened as early on with the coronavirus problem we had four years ago many states change the laws to go for early voting. those dates came back and corrected

that. the white house is wrong when it says millions of people will have voted. that is not true, there is one state you can vote, every other one is not complete until after the first debate. it not complete until after the first debate.— not complete until after the first debate. if they got that art of it first debate. if they got that part of it wrong _ first debate. if they got that part of it wrong and - first debate. if they got that part of it wrong and that - first debate. if they got that part of it wrong and that is i part of it wrong and that is not what they stay say in their statement, is this an effort from the two campaigns to essentially control the environment to their own advantage? another point apart from the timing they have changed as a move to have no audience there. think back to the debates in earlier years, there was no audience but it has become the tradition now? our audiences are different, people get mixed up with the primary debates which we have nothing to do with. the general election dates are different, you don't have people clapping and bowing and doing other things and interrupting. your ticket says if you do you will be removed by the secret service from the venue. that is

not a good argument, i think what you have said, you said it correctly, they are trying to get leverage against each other, they may be successful they may not when they had to sit down around the table, i wish i could be a fly in the ointment to see how they are discussing who will sit where what there is going to be with regard to questions, how long each one will be able to answer the questions, those are things, the reason the commission was created back in 1987, was to have neutral people making the decision, thatis people making the decision, that is the commission. . we will see if they are able to do it, it's gonna be a long shot in my view. looking at the qualification rules they seem more or less the same as the commission, for the same as the commission, for the cnn abc polls candidates need to receive 15% in four national polls and five for yourselves. the other point about the name of a candidate having to be on a sufficient number of state ballot to be on

the voting threshold is the same as you have, as you make that point about when you can register for states, that point about when you can registerfor states, do that point about when you can register for states, do you think the earlier date disadvantages a third party? it's not going to work at the time of the first debate only seven states will have actually determined who will be on the ballot. in the. fall. only seven states and i think the total of those seven states is 101 electoral votes, how can they say — you have to have a reasonable chance to be on enough ballot to get to 270 97 states will have completed the requirements. pretty hard to do. ~ , ., ~' requirements. pretty hard to do. , ~ do. why do you think it has been done _ do. why do you think it has been done that _ do. why do you think it has been done that way, - do. why do you think it has been done that way, you i do. why do you think it has i been done that way, you were set up in a neutral way to protect the democratic process in this country?— in this country? that's right, ou in this country? that's right, you said _ in this country? that's right, you said aright _ in this country? that's right, you said aright they - in this country? that's right, you said aright they are i in this country? that's right, j you said aright they are both trying to get against each other, we will see what happens, the former president trump will have the last month

and said let's debate i will go anywhere and let's debate at the white house, there has not been any answer from president biden until he appeared on the television show last week and said i will debate, i don't know where and i don't know when they came up with this idea. now donald trump said all right i want one injune and one injuly. i don't think the deal is done yet. we will have to see what happens. irate deal is done yet. we will have to see what happens. we know about the _ to see what happens. we know about the june _ to see what happens. we know about the june and _ to see what happens. we know about the june and september| about thejune and september one. there has not been an announcement regarding the vice presidential debate, as your vice presidential debate still going here? bill vice presidential debate still going here?— vice presidential debate still going here? all four of hours the free presidential- going here? all four of hours the free presidential won i going here? all four of hours the free presidential won a i the free presidential won a town hall meeting and the vice presidential debate we are locked in and wait and see what happens, i did understand in the letter written by the white house to the trump campaign, they said they would not get together perhaps injuly or august for a vice presidential debate, i don't think that has

been agreed to.— been agreed to. you are not concerned — been agreed to. you are not concerned you _ been agreed to. you are not concerned you have - been agreed to. you are not concerned you have been i been agreed to. you are not i concerned you have been done out of a role here?— concerned you have been done out of a role here? over the 30 something _ out of a role here? over the 30 something years _ out of a role here? over the 30 something years many - out of a role here? over the 30 something years many times i out of a role here? over the 30 i something years many times have been moves to try to force us of the water, the old axiom, but we are still here, hopefully we will be able to serve the public and make sure the american people before they go to the polls can have legitimate, honest debates where they can listen to and observe that man or woman who want to be president or vice president of the united states, thatis president of the united states, that is the important thing. we will leave it _ that is the important thing. we will leave it there, thank you for speaking to us. co—chair of the commission on presidential debates. that is our programme for the sour. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, there. looking at thursday's weather, we've got some, i think, wet weather on the way to parts of england and wales with some thundery rain at times. on wednesday, here's the day of sunny spells

and passing showers. some of those showers, mind you, were very heavy, for example, here in hebden bridge. but looking at the satellite picture, you can see a stripe of cloud just here, that's a weather front that stretches all the way into europe. there's our fronts. but bumping into that front, we've got this trough here, this line of very intense showers. you might get the sense that these areas of rain are merging together. well, i think that's exactly what's going on. and they will tend to run towards england over the coming hours. so weather—wise, over the next few hours, not so much of an issue. we'll have some low cloud effects, some of our north sea coast, a few mist and fog patches here and occasional spots of rain or drizzle. drier weather elsewhere with temperatures around 10 or 11 degrees quite widely. the problems with the forecast come tomorrow. i think there is a risk of seeing more widespread rain initially across eastern areas of england through thursday morning before moving across the midlands and on into parts of wales and the west country as we head into the afternoon. so the details are going to be quite difficult to come by,

but expect the chance of seeing some heavy thundery rain at times across parts of england and wales. further northwards for northern ireland, sunshine through the morning and a dry morning. the afternoon, yeah, you could see a storm or two breaking out. most of scotland, in contrast to all of that, will be dry, although there will be some mist and low cloud across eastern areas and spots of drizzle through the morning, the afternoon, the best of the sunshine into the northwest, and that's where we'll see temperatures at their highest, probably reaching around 23 degrees or so. heading into friday, the weather pattern is still rather unsettled, but hopefully a bit more straightforward. it should be a day of sunshine and showers through the afternoon for england and wales. some of those turning heavy and thundery. the drier weather will be further north again for scotland and for northern ireland, where most places will keep spells of sunshine and temperatures well into the low 20s. that's going to feel pleasant with light winds. for the weekend weather picture, we're still at low pressure close to the south of the uk, a ridge of high pressure trying to build in from the northwest. and so, it's again scotland and northern ireland that will have the driest weather through the weekend.

england and wales, meanwhile, will have the chance of seeing a few more showers to come. bye for now.

voice—over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight

after this programme. welcome to hardtalk from helsinki. i am stephen sackur. from this vantage point, looking out of the gulf of finland and with the russian borderjust two hours drive away, it is easy to understand the strategic significance of finland joining nato, the strategic significance of finlandjoining nato, much the strategic significance of finland joining nato, much to moscow's dismay, the baltic sea is now very much nato's back yard, and that long russia finland border is a zone of rising tension. my guest today is the president of finland, alexander stubb. hasjoining alexander stubb. has joining nato really alexander stubb. hasjoining nato really boosted finland's security?