people in the centre of gaza city say they are seeing some of the heaviest fighting since the war with israel began. and families face deportation from australia because of its laws on people with disabilities. welcome to the programme, we start this hour in the us wherejoe biden is coming under increasing pressure to drop out of the presidential race. in the past few hours, another senior us democrat has publicly urged president biden to step down. congressman adam smith said if mr biden were to continue his campaign for re—election, it would be a "mistake". earlier, the us president had insisted he's "not going anywhere". he called in to a morning

tv show — and wrote to democrats in congress — to say he was the person best placed to beat donald trump in november's election. our north america editor sarah smith reports from washington. everybody! she sings. seeking salvation for his presidential campaign, joe biden started at a church in philadelphia yesterday. and followed up with a busy schedule of events, specifically designed to show he's got the stamina required for this election. four more years! this is the president, this is our guy, this is our nominee, and he is entitled to take this to november, because he has been a great president and is the only person that has ever beaten trump. but as democrats come back to capitol hill today after a holiday break, it's expected more of them will call forjoe biden to step aside. this morning, he sent a letter telling them he's not backing down, saying...

and he called in to a breakfast tv show to repeat the same message. it's not an option, and i'm not lost, and i haven't lost! i beat him last time. i'll beat him this time. and he dared any potential rivals to try to topple him. if any of those guys don't think i should run, run against me. go ahead, announce for president. challenge me at the convention. it will take more than this, though, to erase the memories of that disastrous debate performance. um... dealing with everything we have to do with... uh, look... if... we finally beat medicare. i hear you! the white house spokeswoman faced a barrage of questions about why an expert on parkinson's disease has visited the white house eight times in the last year. is the president being treated for parkinson's? no. is he taking medication

for parkinson's? no. those are the things that i can give you full blown answers on, but i'm not going to confirm any specialist that comes to the white house. in a primetime interview with abc news on friday, he said he didn't need to take a cognitive test and that no—one could persuade him to stand down as a candidate. none of my people said i should leave the race. but if they do? well, it's like...we�*re not going to do that. you're sure? well, yeah, i'm sure! look, i mean, if the lord almighty came down and said, "joe, get out of the race," i'd get out of the race, but the lord almighty�*s not coming down. vice president kamala harris has been steadfastly loyal, as those who want mr biden to step down are uniting around the idea that she should be the one to take over. no—one can force him out of the race, but many will keep trying to persuade him to go. cheering.

another democratic congressman has come out and said thatjoe biden should step aside. adam smith said he could no longer articulately make his case to the american people. he will be fighting for his political life, including a number meeting with sir keir starmer, he will do another live paris conference and that will be another make or break moment for his campaign. —— press conference. i spoke to natalie andrews, a us congressional reporter for the wall streetjournal and asked her if the divisions over president biden�*s leadership can last until november. you have several democrats who have put out statements today or told reporters that they need to get online, thatjoe biden has won the primaries, he's their guy. he wasn't challenged in the primaries that made for a wholesome debate at the time, some

lawmakers feel like there was maybe a little bit of a cover—up. they felt like they couldn't understand biden �*s condition until the debate so they couldn't have made a good since decision several months ago until they saw him. it's going to be tricky or the democratic convention is in mid august and that's when joe august and that's whenjoe biden would august and that's when joe biden would formally become the party �*s nominee and a lot of lawmakers see that as being up against the clock, that this is happening quickly. his health issues are — happening quickly. his health issues are front _ happening quickly. his health issues are front and - happening quickly. his health issues are front and centre i happening quickly. his health issues are front and centre in | issues are front and centre in the us, how are from republicans handling that? we have republicans handling that? - have seen them be quite quiet, they have a little sense of amusement as they walked by and see reporters huddled around democratic leaders offices. the latest republican fray and... we've seen several as they

turned back to washington be amused that reporters are chasing after democrats, looking at them and we haven't seen donald trump be out in large number, i think there kind of leading democrats have to answer for this moment and they don't want to distract from it. i'm joined now by peter bowes, our north america correspondent. peter, democrats clearly in the headlines and in focus right now, what will they be doing now, what will they be doing now that they've returned from their week's break?— their week's break? they will be talking — their week's break? they will be talking about _ their week's break? they will be talking about joe - their week's break? they will be talking about joe biden, l be talking aboutjoe biden, thatis be talking aboutjoe biden, that is the only topic it seems on the agenda for the democrats because this is the biggest crisis they could possibly face at this stage in the election cycle, with job at this stage in the election cycle, withjob and i think on four occasions over as many days, twice on friday in a speech television interview, and that letter he sent to the democrats for them to digest and discuss, saying really the

same message from joe biden, i'm staying in this race, i believe i'm the only person with the qualifications to fight donald trump, yet there is this sort of drip, drip of concern from fellow members of his party and no senior members of the house of representatives expressing concern, especially what adam smith has been saying, thatjoe biden can articulate the message that he believes he can't meet the burden of being the candidate in the next few months and kamala harris would be a stronger candidate. there is no other issue that the democrats are going to be distracted by until this is resolved. president biden has his presidential duties to attend to while this is all sort of ongoing, he is set to meet the uk's new prime minister, what can we expect there?— uk's new prime minister, what can we expect there? well, yes, i auess can we expect there? well, yes, i guess this _ can we expect there? well, yes, i guess this is — can we expect there? well, yes, i guess this is the _ can we expect there? well, yes, i guess this is the traditional - i guess this is the traditional first meeting between the new prime minister keir starmer of the uk and the american president of the day, and it's a traditional path. they will

both express their friendship, the country's project come along friendship between the two nations and how they will continue to work together to a common goal. but there are clearly key issues where they are both concerned with it at the moment. ukraine, the continuing war and you cry, the war in gaza. —— war in ukraine. trying to get that cease—fire that has been much discussed over the last few weeks, those of the two most significant issues right now, they will be discussing iran nuclear weapons, climate change, the full draft of issues when they meet but clearly the continuing destruction and more broadly with the nato meeting will be joe biden�*s personal position. thanks very much for that, peter bows there, north american correspondent. we will have a little bit more

later in the bulletin, but let's move to our next story about russia. russia has carried out a massive and deadly bombardment of ukrainian cities — the day before a nato summit opens in washington. at least 36 people have been killed and dozens more wounded, according to officials. these are live picture from the capital kyiv, where the main children's hospital has been largely destroyed. medical staff and emergency services have been trying to clear the rubble by hand to find survivors. five cities across the country have been attacked. but russia has denied targeting civilian infrastructure — insisting the strikes had been aimed at military facilities. our ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse sent us this report. frantic desperation on a kyiv summer morning, people helping with bare hands at ukraine's largest children's hospital. even for a war hardened city, this was a missile strike which broke the gruelling rhythm of the conflict with russia. some of the young patients were being treated for cancer, already fighting

for their lives. they illustrate how these attacks do not discriminate. translation: we were in the middle of surgery - when the windows were shattered, the surgeon quickly covered the baby to save him. i want the world to stop this, these children are innocent. tatjana had a near miss. translation: we got here five minutes before it all started. i then the search for survivors stops for another missile alert, an underpass acts as a shelter this time. residential buildings were also hit in kyiv, here bodies were recovered. other cities were also attacked. on a visit to neighbouring poland, president zelensky promised retaliation. translation: beyond any doubt, we are going to rebuild _ everything that these terrorists have destroyed,

and beyond any doubt, we are going to respond to these savages from russia. everybody who was injured will get the necessary help, and we pledge to work to bring russia to justice. ukrainians often describe a daily weight on their shoulders, sirens sounding in cities like kyiv all the time, and occasionally explosions will follow, and occasionally it is a big one. now you can see people singing as they are giving out water. attacks like this don't really influence the battlefield, but what they are designed to do is terrorise and suppress the ukrainian people. for a second time, rescue teams have to find cover due to another air alert. on this occasion, they sing the ukrainian national anthem underground. a dark day for a city still defiant. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv.

our russia editor steve rosenberg has reaction on the attacks from moscow. well, the russian military today said what it normally says — we do not target civilians. we did target military industrial sites and air bases. and as for the destruction in kyiv, it blamed that on a ukrainian air defence missile. now ukraine insists that it found remnants of a russian cruise missile. now, what has the russian president been saying about these devastating attacks? absolutely nothing in public. i mean, earlier this afternoon, russian television showed vladimir putin marking what is known here as the day of russian family and love. and then his guest arrived, the prime minister of india. now it was prime minister modi who told vladimir putin to his face two years ago that this was not a time for war. and i wonder what mr modi will have been saying

to vladimir putin tonight in the light of these attacks. but really, this is one of those days where i feel most acutely the chasm here between reality and appearance, because only on friday i was in the kremlin listening to vladimir putin, claiming to be committed to a diplomatic solution to the war in ukraine. and three days later, dozens of russian missiles launched at ukraine tell a different story. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

hamas has said israel's most recent military offensive in gaza city could push the ceasefire talks that are due to resume in qatar this week — "back to square one". and that prime minister netanyahu would be solely to blame for a potential collapse of the talks. palestinians in gaza city — in the north of the strip,

say they have experienced one of the most intense israeli bombardments since israel launched its war on hamas after the group's seven october attack. people say columns of israeli tanks are advancing into the city centre from different directions. the gaza civil emergency service says it believes several people have been killed but has so far been unable to reach them because of fighting in districts in the east and west of gaza city. these pictures are of the al—ahli baptist hospital in gaza city — it's now deserted after being evacuated, with its patients taken to the already overcrowded indonesian hospital — one of the only functioning hospitals left. before the assault, the israeli army issued evacuation orders for several neighbourhoods in the centre of the city. but one of the areas that has come under the most intense assault was not included. more evacuation orders have since been issued. our correspondent injerusalem, sebastian usher has more on these developments.

indirect talks between israel and hamas on a cease fire deal, and the release of remaining hostages in gaza should begin within the next 48 hours. that's what a senior palestinian official has told the bbc. they've been preparatory talks in cairo between the heads of the spy agencies of the us, israel and egypt. all of this is pointing towards a greater sense of hope, a greater sense of momentum. that such a deal may be possible. but those involved are warning that this could still take weeks. but there are difficult issues that lie ahead. and all of this is happening as in gaza itself. in gaza city, more and more palestinians are receiving evacuation orders from the israeli army to leave the areas where they've taken shelter. as the israeli military expands its new assault, their tanks have surrounded the centre of the city. we've had thousands of people already on the move from one part of the city over the last two weeks. we've now had three evacuation

orders in just under two weeks in gaza city. there's a sense that almost every palestinian there now could be on the move, and that the ability for them to find shelter is becoming more and more difficult. one of the people that we spoke to said that there was really only one route now that they could take, which is to go north towards the port, but even there, they lack basic supplies. even there, they're finding it difficult to find water to give to theirfamilies. the situation on the ground remains desperate. the situation diplomatically, for the moment, has become more hopeful. south korean tech giant samsung is facing unprecedented industrial action. we about 6,000 workers began a three—day strike on monday. they're demanding better pay and benefits and follows a one—day walk—out injune — the first such collective action at the company. more now on the new british government and sir keir starmer has finished a tour of all four nations of the uk. he spent the morning in belfast with political leaders there,

before going to cardiff to meet wales' first minister. he's also been meeting his party's new mps — who've started arriving in westminster, for the house of commons sitting on tuesday. our political editor chris mason reports. applause. however good your trip to work was this morning, i reckon you weren't applauded and serenaded on the commute like this new mp for plaid cymru, ann davies. the national anthem of wales ringing in her ears, the trip from carmarthen to westminster began. there were flowers rather than song for green mp carla denyer in bristol. it was a laptop and a flask for others, hauling suitcases, a sense of wonder and pride to parliament. it's all been a bit of a whirlwind and there's a lot to take in, but i'm really excited to get started and see how it goes over the next few days. how was it walking into that chamber for the first time? really incredible. down the road, put your name on a sticky label and smile, there are 72 liberal democrat

mps now. it was worth bungee jumping. laughter. he has tried to become an mp plenty of times before, now he has the envelope. reform uk's leader, nigel farage, has spent the day in his constituency in clacton in essex. i shall have to re—memorize all of this by tomorrow morning! first stop for keir starmer today, belfast, meeting the first and deputy first ministers of northern ireland. they sing. by lunchtime, he was also being serenaded in welsh. he was at the senedd in cardiff meeting wales's first minister and talking to reporters. tv interviews usually start with asking the guests to introduce themselves. so here goes. your name and title, | thank you very much. keir starmer, prime minister. it's very important to me to reset relations with scotland, northern ireland and wales because i want to make sure that there is mutual

respect and trust. back in westminster this is what a whopping majority looks like. the prime minister had a photocall with his mps. but for every winner, a loser, as the defeated depart. back in westminster, this is what a photo call mixed emotions, absolutely. discombobulated, coming in here, back to parliament and meeting others who are just starting their parliamentary careers and i'm having to pack up and go. the brutality of democracy arrives in reverse and on four wheels in british politics. change is in the air, the chest of drawers is in the van. chris mason, bbc news at westminster. people in texas are clearing up the damage caused by hurricane beryl. the season's earliest category five hurricane on record weakened from a hurricane after pounding coastal texas. it closed oil ports, grounded hundreds of flights and knocked out power to more than two million homes and businesses in south—east texas.

the storm has killed at least 12 people in the caribbean and the us. australia is a �*migration nation�* — a third of its population was born abroad and it prides itself on its multiculturalism. but there's a significant exception — disabled people or those with medical conditions. the rules are so strict that many foreigners with disabilities or medical conditions are often denied an australian visa — and those already living in australia face the threat of being made to leave. campaigners are pressuring ministers over policies that the un has labelled as discriminatory. our australia correspondent katy watson now reports from perth in western australia. oh, good shot! he's onlyjust learned to walk, but little luca is already kicking a ball like a pro. you scored! high five. born in australia, this is home. mum laura and dad dante moved from scotland to work in jobs that australia desperately needs. laura trained

as a nursery teacher. dante is a painter decorator, but the life they've built here could be pulled from them in an instant. luca was born with cystic fibrosis. because of that, they've been told they can't stay here permanently. according to australia, he's a burden. i was devastated. like, i think i cried for like a week because ijust thought like, you know, ijust feel really, really sorry for him. like he'sjust a defenceless two and a half —year—old. and, you know, he just doesn't deserve to be discriminated in that way. the sticking point is luca's treatment. australia says it would cost around $1.3 million. the family are now appealing against the decision to not give them a permanent visa. if they lose, they'll have to leave the country. it's like we're here for you when you need us, but you know, when the roles are reversed and we need you, it's like, no, sorry. costs too much money, go away. you go back to your own country. even though we've lived in and paid into your country for the last eight years, it'sjust... it's a bit, just a bit heartbreaking. sometimes, you know, you've got

to pinch yourself and realise you're getting paid to do it. australia is actively looking for migrant workers to fill skills gaps. police forces across the country want british officers to sign up, making upjust some of the 30,000 brits who moved to australia last year. are you having butter? no. claire is hoping to be one of them. she's worked for the police in london for 2! till living in the uk. still living in the uk, she now has two job offers in australia, but she's been told she won't get a visa. her younger daughter, darcy, has down�*s syndrome. when i first applied, i had hoped that it wouldn't be an issue because she doesn't have any medical problems. she's fit and she's healthy and she goes to school and she participates in clubs and all of that sort of stuff. so i had hoped that it would be ok. it's a bit bittersweet, really, because the likelihood of me being granted a visa is pretty much zero. it doesn't matter whether you

were born here or how long you've lived here. it comes down to maths and viewing a disabled person as a burden, as opposed to looking at what people can contribute. it's an attitude that the un is concerned about, warning that australia could be discriminating against disabled migrants and their families. these are the things that we want the government to implement to bring about changes to the migration health requirement. immigration lawyerjan gothard is part of a group called welcoming disability. they're calling for an overhaul of the law to make it easier for disabled migrants, or those with health conditions, to move to australia. if we say to people with disability, you're not welcome here, we're saying not implicitly but directly to people living with disability in this country, "you are not welcome here either", you know. given the opportunity, we would rather not have, you know... nora and danny are hoping to win their case on compassionate grounds. the immigration minister wouldn't give us an interview. their department did say, though, the government

was reviewing the health requirements, perhaps making it easierfor children like luca to continue their lives here. katy watson, bbc news in perth. finally, some stunning pictures from the deserts of chile. the sand dunes of the atacama desert, the driest on the planet, have been blanketed by white and purple blooms after early rains caused flowers to spring up in the dead of the southern hemisphere winter. the weather phenomenon known as el nino is believed responsible for the recent heavy rains. early blooming of the atacama last happened in 2015. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello. our fairly unsettled spell ofjuly weather is set to continue. more rain on the cards over the next few days. let's take a look at the expected accumulations. and you can see blue colours really across the map. so we're all going to see a little bit of rain between tuesday and thursday. this is probably the wettest spot. parts of eastern scotland, north east england. north east england,

we could see more than 60mm on top of the highest ground. so on tuesday a band of rain moves its way north. things are turning a little bit more humid towards the south. here's the low pressure that's drifting northwards through the overnight period into tuesday as well. and we've got this warm front pushing north. so that's going to introduce a bit more of a southeasterly flow of air and bring the temperatures certainly a little bit warmer, a bit more of a muggy feel in the south compared to recent days. let's take a look at tuesday morning. at tuesday morning, then, by about 9:00 that rain will mostly have been easing from southern england, but still some showers. big puddles for the south west of england. south wales too. that bulk of the rain is sitting across parts of northern england into northern ireland, southern scotland, central and northern parts of scotland. and northern parts of scotland seeing some sunshine to start your tuesday morning. but this area of rain, it's a frontal system, continues its progress north. these easterly winds quite blustery, blowing in across north east england and eastern scotland as well. so pretty wet if you're under that band of rain,

15 or 16 degrees. but in the sunnier spells midlands perhaps getting up to around 21. few showers around across parts of southern and eastern england, so could be a little bit of light rain on tuesday at wimbledon, potentially on wednesday as well, but it won't be a washout. any rain fairly showery in nature now moving through into wednesday, then we've still got this band of rain overnight sitting across scotland, parts of northern ireland, still seeing some wet weather potentially as well. look at those overnight temperatures, most of us between about 12 to 15 degrees. so we've got that humid air more widely across the uk as we head into wednesday. but low pressure still driving things so still bringing outbreaks of rain for northern and eastern scotland, some of that quite slow moving. so rainfall totals really mounting up here, some showers too also into northern ireland, perhaps one or two into the north—west of england. further south you're more likely to have a bit of a drier day with some more sunshine, but not completely dry anywhere, i think. top temperatures in the sunshine in the south up to about 22, but still only 1a or 15 in the north towards or 15 in the north. towards the end of the week, then we've still got another area of low pressure. looks like it will affect parts of southern, perhaps southeastern england,

so it's a bit up and down over the next few days really, but temperatures perhaps a little bit warmer, at least for a time than they have been.

america's aviation regulator will inspect over two—thousand boeing 737jets, amid concerns their oxygen masks could fail in an emergency. india's prime minister narendra modi has arrived in russia, in his first bilateral visit since winning a third term in office.

hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. we begin with boeing — the main us aviation regulator has ordered the inspection of thousands of boeing 737 max planes, over concerns related to the oxygen masks aboard the jets. our north america business correspondent erin delmore has more on this latest probe. the federal aviation administration is acquiring operators to check the oxygen masks are as of 2600 aeroplanes. thejob is to make sure the mask seven shift at a position which could potentially leave the out of passengers reach in an emergency. any necessary corrective actions needs to be completed at the march between 120 days. earlier monday, boeing agreed to plead

guilty to a