hurricane beryl barrels towards jamaica, bringing potentially life—threatening conditions. the hungarian prime minister visits ukraine as the us announces new security assistance for the war—torn country. president biden speaks at a fundraising event about his debate performance, as the white house works to reduce the fallout. hello, i'm carl nasman. several caribbean nations are trying to reach the worst—affected areas after hurricane beryl made landfall over their territories. the hurricane weakened on tuesday but is still an "extremely dangerous" category 4 storm. at least three people have died, although the authorities have said that number could rise. thousands of people are in temporary shelters and without power after strong winds battered the islands of st vincent and the grenadines, grenada and st lucia. the storm is now

heading towards jamaica with maximum sustained winds of up to 150 miles, or nearly 240 kilometres per hour. the us national hurricane center says it is expected to weaken as it passes over or nearjamaica on wednesday, but will still be a major hurricane. they also predict the storm surge could raise tide levels by six to nine feet or 1.5 to 2.5 meters. the jamaican government has issued a hurricane warning, and people living in low—lying and flood—prone areas have been urged to seek shelter. for more on the situation, i spoke to the director of the national hurricane center, michael brennan. how dangerous is hurricane beryl right now? yeah, beryl�*s a very dangerous category four hurricane, making its way quickly west—north—westwa rd across the northern caribbean sea. very concerned about impacts in hispaniola from heavy rainfall in the dominican republic and haiti, flash flooding there, tropical storm force winds. even more concerned about jamaica where we're going to have three live

threatening hazards take shape during the day on wednesday — the core of a major hurricane expected to move near or over the island bringing devastating major hurricane—force winds, wind damage, widespread tree damage, power outages, infrastructure damage, a storm surge of 5—8 feet above normal tide levels with dangerous breaking waves on top of that along the coastline, and then the potential for up to a foot of rain, especially in mountainous areas which could result in life—threatening flash flooding. we can see as the hurricane is moving through the caribbean there. can you tell us, how unusual is this type of hurricane in the location that it is in and moving along the path that it is? yeah, it's really unprecedented in many ways to have a category five hurricane, this is the earliest we've ever seen a cat 5 storm, by about two weeks, to have one this early injuly, but even to have a major or category four hurricane through the windward islands as it did, is pretty much unprecedented at this time of year — but a very powerful storm. we want people to focus on the hazards that this storm is bringing now — the rain, the wind,

the storm surge flooding — that it will bring to notjust jamaica but also downstream to the cayman islands, eventually the yucatan peninsula in mexico and into the gulf of mexico as we go later into the week and into the weekend. the hungarian prime minister, viktor orban, spoke with president zelensky on his first visit to ukraine since the russian invasion. mr orban urged ukraine to consider a ceasefire to speed up an end to the war with russia. previously, he's criticized western military support of ukraine, and is seen as the closest eu leader to russia's president vladimir putin. but mr orban said tuesday he supports mr zelensky�*s vision for peace. our security correspondent gordon corera was in the room for the two leaders�* statements. you got a sense even if it wasn't very public these were not two leaders aligned on issues full. but because of

hungary �*s role as the rotating president of the eu at the moment, which itjust took on yesterday that was the reason for the visit and why both sides were keen to say we can work together. because it is effectively notjust hungary effectively not just hungary but effectively notjust hungary but the eu for viktor orban who is talking to ukraine for this meeting. meanwhile, us defense secretary lloyd austin met his ukrainian counterpart in washington tuesday, pledging unwavering support, and announcing $2.3 billion in new security assistance for ukraine. this package, under presidential drawdown authority, will provide more air defence interceptors, anti—tank weapons and other critical munitions from us inventories. it will also enable the united states to procure more patriots — air defence interceptors — that will be provided on an accelerated timeline by the resequencing of deliveries for some foreign military sales. that meeting comes ahead of next week's nato summit in washington, dc

where secretary austin said steps will be taken toward nato membership for ukraine. to preview the summit and discuss us—ukraine policy, my colleague caitriona perry spoke to douglasjones, us deputy assistant secretary bureau of european and eurasian affairs and began by asking him about the new financial support and the broader us commitment to ukraine. i think this is a continuation of our support and a sign that our support for ukraine is strong and enduring. and it is important as we come up on the nato summit to mark that, it is notjust nato summit to mark that, it is not just the nato summit to mark that, it is notjust the us but a coalition of allies that are supporting ukraine and are committed to this for the long—term. president zelensky has asked national leaders to allow them to use those foreign weapons to strike at targets inside russia, notably at russian aircraft. is that something the us would consider? we

aircraft. is that something the us would consider?— us would consider? we are constantly _ us would consider? we are constantly looking - us would consider? we are constantly looking at - us would consider? we are constantly looking at these | constantly looking at these questions and we have made adjustments to that policy, to allow ukraine when it is under assault from forces to use weapons in certain circumstances and we are co nsta ntly circumstances and we are constantly locking at those circumstances and the ways in which those weapons can be used. ., , . used. could we expect some announcement _ used. could we expect some announcement around - used. could we expect some announcement around air. used. could we expect some - announcement around air defence systems around the time of the nato summit? pair systems around the time of the nato summit?— systems around the time of the nato summit? air defence is one ofthe nato summit? air defence is one of the key _ nato summit? air defence is one of the key aspects _ nato summit? air defence is one of the key aspects because - of the key aspects because russia and its aggression against ukraine has continued to launch their assaults against both civilian targets and also critically ukraine �*s energy infrastructure. for ukraine to prosper and develop its economy needs to defend against this. we are constantly looking for ways to support ukraine including with the defence and we are looking at this also in the context of the nato summit.— this also in the context of the nato summit. what president zelensky really _

nato summit. what president zelensky really wants - nato summit. what president zelensky really wants is - nato summit. what president zelensky really wants is nato| zelensky really wants is nato membership do you expect a formal application —— invitation to issue to ukraine during the summer? mil invitation to issue to ukraine during the summer? all allies have agreed _ during the summer? all allies have agreed the _ during the summer? all allies have agreed the future - during the summer? all allies have agreed the future of- have agreed the future of ukraine is a nato and we have agreed when conditions allow an allies agree, ukraine willjoin nato. there will not be an invitation at this assignment but what you will see is very concrete decisions about ways the alliance can help ukraine, that it can help both, in the current fight it is and to defend itself, but also how nato can help ukraine build the future force that needs to deter and defend against russian aggression in the future. also to continue to implement the reforms needs to carry out an order to alibi for nato membership. we are calling this complete package a bridge to nato membership because this will not be just in words but in action, in ways nato can help ukraine do what it needs both to defend itself and accelerate its membership to

nato. figs accelerate its membership to nato. r accelerate its membership to nato. a ., ., , ., nato. as part of that bridge to membership _ nato. as part of that bridge to membership you _ nato. as part of that bridge to membership you are - nato. as part of that bridge to l membership you are mentioning there, that will include, an outpost in germany to run an operational command from. what will be the ukrainian response is that, is it like a runners uprise to membership at this point? uprise to membership at this oint? ., , ., ., , point? no it is not a runners urise, point? no it is not a runners uprise. it — point? no it is not a runners uprise. it is _ point? no it is not a runners uprise, it is something - point? no it is not a runners uprise, it is something very | uprise, it is something very concrete and real, this is not just words and a declaration, this is something nato is doing it has never really done before for an aspiring country, there will be this nato command that will be this nato command that will give nato a deeper role in co—ordinating the security assistance and the training thatis assistance and the training that is going to ukraine. there will also be a civilian element nato senior representative that will co—ordinate all the work being done to help ukraine with the reforms needs to do to build its democratic defence institutions, things that will make it a stronger democracy and eventually a stronger

member of nato one day. if and eventually a stronger member of nato one day. if we are talking _ member of nato one day. if we are talking about _ member of nato one day. if we are talking about the _ member of nato one day. if we are talking about the marks -- | are talking about the marks —— document c, president zelensky is beyond the term he was elected to, marshal law allowing him to extend that team. would you like to see elections held in ukraine? this is really a _ elections held in ukraine? this is really a decision _ elections held in ukraine? ti 3 is really a decision for the ukrainians to make, we understand the circumstances of their martial law, but ukraine is fighting to defend its democracy and that is what we are supporting in their fight. how they implement that and how they implement those rules of those democratic principles are affected by the war but that's affected by the war but that's a decision they will make. it’s a decision they will make. it's election year _ a decision they will make. it's election year in _ a decision they will make. it's election year in the us, obviously one of the candidates donald trump when he was president before talked about pulling out nato, defunding it. he said even this year he would encourage russia and china to do whatever the hell they want to nato countries who don't pay their bills. is nato putting in place some kind of failsafe

mechanism that should donald trump be elected these commitments to ukraine can continue anyway?— commitments to ukraine can continue anyway? well, i can't comment— continue anyway? well, i can't comment on — continue anyway? well, i can't comment on politics, - continue anyway? well, i can't comment on politics, or- continue anyway? well, i can't comment on politics, or can't. comment on politics, or can't certainly speakfor any comment on politics, or can't certainly speak for any of the candidates. but i think what is important is to watch a couple of things happening at the summit, one thing is — you are seeing the commitment of nato allies to this alliance and you are seeing allies stepping up to fund our collective defence in ways more than ever before, by the time of the summit we will have 23 allies in a meeting their commitment to spend 2% of the gdp on defence. that's a dramaticjump from just three in 2014 when they first made this commitment, so allies are doing their part to step up their commitment to nato and what that is enabling nato and what that is enabling nato to do is to take the steps it needs to adapt to, increase its own deterrence and defence and also adapt to meet the

future challenges, security threats nato needs to make to keep it both strong and relevant to all of our common security. at least 116 people have been killed in a crush at a religious gathering in northern india, according to local officials. 0ur south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan has more. this is one of the health centres where dozens of people have been admitted with injuries and also many of those killed, the dead bodies have been kept in the mortuary. along the corridor, dozens of relatives are still waiting for information about — they want to know what happened to their loved ones. earlier in the day, tens of thousands of people had gathered in a village about 35 kilometres from here to hear a religious preacher, a hindu religious preacher, and the officials here say they'd given permission for about 80,000 people but then more people had gathered around this village, and then, no—one knows exactly how this crush started, people say it was overcrowding and some say people were waiting to get

the blessings of this preacher when this trampling happened. and dozens of people had been killed. now, the local officials are saying that the casualty figure might go up. more than 108 women were killed, almost all of them were women devotees who came to listen to this preacher. now, this raises questions about crowd control and safety measures and this is not the first incident of this kind in india. we had previous incidents where hundreds of people had been killed in crushes like this, and this is also a reminderfor authorities here in the state of uttar pradesh to look into what really happened and how far they can improve safety standards in these villages gatherings. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at another story making news in the uk. the former nurse lucy letby has been convicted of trying to kill a premature baby girl following a retrial. judith moritz has more.

lucy letby didn't come to this retrial as an unknown prospect, that would have been impossible. instead the jury was told to take her status as a multiple murder and attempted murderer into account as part of the evidence. last year letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting another six. the jury couldn't decide whether she'd also tried to kill a premature girl known as baby k in february 2016. the charge was put before a newjury at retrial and they have convicted her, unanimously. the police gave this reaction on behalf of the baby's parents. "we have had to go through a long, torturous "and emotional journey, twice. "but this justice will not take away the extreme hurt, "anger and distress that we've all had to experience." she'll be sentenced on friday. you're live with bbc news.

us president biden is trying to turn the page on last week's shaky debate performance against donald trump, apparently chalking it up to extended jet lag from international travel in the weeks before the debate. he told a crowd at a virginia fundraiserjust hours ago: adding: it comes as mr biden and his top aides try to re—assure concerned democrats. on tuesday, texas representative lloyd dogget became the first sitting democratic member of congress to call for mr biden to withdraw from the race. 0ther high—profile democrats, including former house speaker nancy pelosi and south carolina congressman jim clyburn, have also raised concerns about the president's fitness. but both still backed his re—election campaign. the white house acknowledged tuesday that the president had a tough night on the debate stage while doubling down on the campaign's message

that biden can still win in november. we understand the concerns, we get it. the president did not have a great night. as you all know, and many of you reached out during the debate, the president had a cold. he had a hoarse voice, you all heard it, that's why you reached out. but i will say this, and the president said this over the last couple of days, certainly right after the debate, he knows how to do thejob and he knows how to do the job not because he says it but because his record proves it. because for 3.5 years, almost four years, the president's record has been unprecedented, delivering for the american people. president biden will be active this week as he tries to shore up his campaign. he's expected to meet with democratic governors on wednesday. on friday, he'll give his first tv interview since the debate to us network abc. and us media is reporting he'll return to the campaign trail later this week in the battle ground states of wisconsin and pennsylvania.

0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal has more. for days there has been huge pressure on president biden following the debate performance. most democrats have expressed their concern privately but now we're seeing some go public. you have the sitting congressmen mr doggett who has called on president biden to resign. nancy pelosi, former us speaker of the house, a very close friend of president biden, didn't go so far as to make that call but she did say that he should take a mental and fitness health test. but also said that donald trump should do the same. then you had jim clyburn. he is an incredibly influential member of the democratic party and incredibly close to president biden and he has said if it isn'tjoe biden he will vote for vice president harris. and i thinkjust the fact he is even saying that rather than just completely saying "no, there's no other option but mr biden", is telling

in and of itself. whether or not that pressure builds. we will see, biden is due to do an interview with an american network later this week, the first time he will be sitting down following that performance and there is no doubt he will be asked many questions but if he is going to be replaced, he has to stand down, he has to resign. and his inner circle which is made up of his wife, the first lady, his son, hunter biden, many other members of his family and other close democrats have said that the president has no intention of standing down. i discussed all this with leigh ann caldwell. she's the anchor of washington post live and co—author of the early brief. we are seeing high—profile members of his own party a sitting congressman for the first time calling on him to stand down. how real do you think this movement is behind

the scenes. the angst is definitely not going away, it's almost increasing. there is an effort by the house and the senate to keep those members calm, to keep them united, to not get ahead of the president, to let the president make the decision for himself. i'm told by two sources thatjim clyburn's statement today in support of kamala harris was actually a strong signal to the democratic party to a warning that should biden step aside that there should be no attempt to jump over vice president harris with another ticket, that it must be kamala harris if biden does not stay in the race. i'm also told that the reason pelosi and clyburn have gone public a little bit with more intention in their statements is because there's a lot of fear that —

and understanding — that the biden circle is so insular that they don't think that biden is getting the message, that they don't think that biden is understanding because people aren't telling him of the concerns. so they decided to be a little bit more direct in their statements today. it is really interesting what you say there, first of all because it is such an insular group are many people are saying it is almost only his family members that would be able to convince the president to step down, but there could be some of those really high profile or high ranking democrats that might also have some sway. the second thing you said about kamala harris, we haven't heard her name floated as much as a potential political replacement there has been called the gretchen whitmer or governor of california gavin newsom, for example. do you think that, if we look at this hypothetical, could kamala harris be the person to step into those shoes?

well, that is exactly why the representative jim clyburn make that statement today because kamala harris�*s name isn't mentioned as much as the others. i spoke with another house democrat today who is also speaking with a lot of their colleagues and also making the argument for kamala harris that it would be a much easier transition from biden to harris as she would be able to adopt the infrastructure of the fundraising, everything would only be in place, and it is extremely difficult to stand up a brand—new presidential campaign injust a series of weeks. but i will say that the biden campaign and the biden white house is still not backing down. they are in constant contact with members of congress, with democratic chiefs of staff and we reported today that senatorjoe manchin was going to go on a sunday talkshow, a political show, this past week, and break with biden and be very critical of him. but he was — there is

a full—court press by people to walk him off that ledge and he ultimately did not do it. but the biden campaign is still working extremely hard to tamp down on all of this outrage. leigh ann, we are also hearing that president biden has plans to meet with the top democrats and the house and the senate and is also scheduled to meet with several different governors. what do you think those conversations will be like? well, with the top members of the house in the senate and the democrats it is supposed to be a phone call that was supposed to take place tonight it might have slipped into tomorrow. but... it's going to be interesting to be inside of that room. there's a lot of speculation that some of the governors are losing support for biden because they are seeing, they are worried about biden losing in their states. the democratic leaders, senator schumer and hakeem jeffries, has democratic leader, have publicly been very supportive of biden

saying they stand by him and so what biden says to them might be one thing and what they say to biden — it's just going to be really interesting and if we are able to get any sort of readout of what that conversation is like. we are just about out of time but i do want to ask you just briefly — looking at these last couple of weeks, from the conviction of hunter biden to this big win at the supreme court for trump, how much do you think this race for the presidency has been reshaped? it seems like it has been reshaped tremendously. especially one thing i will say about the supreme court case regarding immunity, although democrats i'm talking to say this has absolutely made it more imperative they say that democrats win in november and that is what makes them so concerned about biden. a new yorkjudge has delayed donald trump's sentencing for his felony conviction until september. it follows the us supreme court's ruling on partial presidential immunity from prosecution.

trump was found guilty of falsifying business records in connection to a hush money payment to an adult film star. in the netherlands, a new right—wing government has been sworn in by king willem—alexander, almost a year after the previous one collapsed. former intelligence chief, dick schoof, will be the prime minister. he is taking overfrom mark rutte, the country's longest—serving prime minister who will become the next nato chief. the right—wing coalition is made up of four parties, the largest led by the anti—immigration politician geert wilders, whose party came first in the election — although he won't be in parliament himself. 0ur correspondent anna holligan is in the hague. in his signature style, the netherlands�* longest serving prime minister signalled the end of a political era and the advent of a less familiar face within dutch politics —

dick schroof, the former head of the dutch intelligence service. for three decades, he was a member of the left wing labour party, but resigned and, as mark rutte's successor, will remain unaffiliated. the new cabinet appeared together for the first time on the palace steps alongside king willem—alexander, who swore them in by royal decree. he didn't feature in the photo op, but after securing a shock win in november's snap election as the leader of the largest party, geert wilders is widely expected to be one of the most influential politicians in parliament. the mps he selected to run the immigration and trade departments have faced parliamentary scrutiny over their endorsement of the racist great replacement conspiracy theory, which claims elites are importing migrants to replace the white majority. there is some degree of trepidation in brussels watching all of this as the netherlands has for a long time been at the heart of the eu. there are concerns that could change, but the other members of the coalition,

the centre right parties, have moved to reassure the markets and pledged to keep the more radical elements in check. with this turn to the right, geert wilders vowed to make the dutch number one, and we're about to find out what that means. anna holligan, bbc news in the hague. and before we go, one artist is taking his work to new depths. crimean artist pyotr dotsenko says he paints up to 10 metres below the sea surface. he says painting underwater in filtered light helps amplify colours when the work is brought ashore. eventually, he hopes to create an underwater museum. very impressive. i'm carl tasman in washington, we are handing over the to our colleagues in london. and we will have all the latest

headlines here on bbc news. hello there. well, we're not expecting summer to make a big return any time soon. in fact, it will stay unsettled across the whole of the uk as we head through the rest of this week. it will be unseasonably windy, there'll be rain, more showers to come in the forecast, but it won't be raining all the time. lots of dry weather, too, some bright and some sunny spells, but all the while feeling cool for this point injuly. temperatures a good few degrees below the seasonal average. and there's more rain to come as we head through tonight and into wednesday morning from these weather fronts out towards the west. the heavy downpours reaching eastern england by the time we get to tomorrow morning. of course, it will be mild underneath the cloud, the rain with more of a southwesterly wind, temperatures in double figures. the rain clearing away from eastern england through the morning. always cloudy, perhaps a few showers across england and wales, but some brighter skies to the lee of high ground. more showers pushing into northwest scotland, sunshine and showers here through the afternoon, and brightening up for northern ireland and perhaps western wales and southwest

england by the time we get to the end of the day. temperatures disappointing for this time of year, just the high teens in celsius. so those fronts clear away, then you can see a tight squeeze on the isobars into thursday as the wind turns more westerly and then northwesterly again, this little feature likely to bring some heavy, thundery showers across northwestern areas of scotland, perhaps through northwest england as well. further south, then, we are expecting some sunshine, although still very windy conditions, particularly up through the dover straits. and in the best of the sunshine, well, it's stilljuly, so it will feel quite pleasantly warm, but temperatures won't get much past 18—20 celsius. now, if you're a tennis fan over the next couple of days, mostly dry on wednesday, chance of one or two showers, probably dry on thursday with some sunny spells but windy for the time of year. and of course, those temperatures still below the seasonal average. we'd normally expect to see 22 or 23 celsius. as we head into friday, then, we're likely to see more rain across the south, and that could certainly interrupt play at wimbledon. these little features just running in from the west here. on saturday, most of the rain

will be further north, probably leaving southern areas with a largely dry day, perhaps a few showers around to start. and then it's mostly fine and probably dry on sunday. bye—bye for now.

voice-over: this is bbc news.

we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. israel's military assault on gaza has lasted almost nine months, and there seems little prospect of it ending any time soon. international diplomats are pushing a phased ceasefire formula, but the israeli government and hamas have staked out positions which remain unbridgeable. for the population of gaza, for the israeli hostages still held in captivity, it means no relief from their prolonged trauma. my guest is the chief palestinian diplomat in london, husam zomlot. is there any chink of light in all this darkness?