i'm sumi somaskanda, welcome to our show. european and north american leaders are gathered here in washington to kick off the nato summit. a central topic during the gathering will be the war in ukraine and the possible path to nato membership for the country. a short while ago, ukrainian president vladimir zelensky emphasised the need for more air defence and security to help his forces counter russia's deadly airstrikes and reduce civilian casualties. us presidentjoe biden vowed to aid ukraine against those attacks, announcing plans to supply new air defences to ukraine in an opening speech at the summit. the us along with other nato allies will send at least four patriot systems according to a newjoint agreement. mr biden also sent this warning to russian president vladimir putin on the alliance�*s growing strength. all we allies knew, before this war putin thought nato would break. today nato is stronger than it has ever been in its history.

when this senseless war began, ukraine was a free country. today, it is still a free country and the war will end with ukraine remaining free and independent country. russia will not prevail! ukraine will prevail. the north atlantic treaty organisation was founded 75 years ago, after the end of world war ii, by the us, canada and several western european nations as a collective security alliance against the soviet union. nato has expanded its goals over the years, including tackling climate change and cyber attacks. since russia's fullscale invasion, sweden and finland have joined the alliance and it is expected that ukraine will as well but not all nato members agree on the country's membership. tom bateman spoke to democratic senator chris coons about the summit. senator coons, we have 32 world leaders in town, a very big moment for nato,

for the us and the relationship with ukraine. if there is one outcome from this summit, what should it be? unity in the face of russian aggression. president biden has a remarkable record of engaging and supporting nato. we have grown nato by two new members recently. many of us in the senate will be engaging directly with the prime ministers of different countries and we of course are welcoming a new prime minister from the united kingdom, but if there is one critical outcome from this week it is commitment to support ukraine, commit to increase defence spending, commitment to better co—ordination, and commitment to the vision of north atlantic security that is at the very heart of nato. how far should that pledge go? we know president zelensky would like would be a very clear timetable, a formal invitation to nato. when should menbership to nato happen for ukraine? that is something that different nato member nations have different views on. i think initially getting ukraine into the eu is a critical first step,

because there are reforms they need to make, there are improvements in their military and armed forces, and integration that they need to make. in my view, sooner rather than later. it is important that we stop putin's aggression, and in the end he will only stop when it is clear that all of us are united to prevent him from overrunning ukraine. that perspective from senator chris coons. for another perspective we spoke with deputy pentagon press secretary sabrina singh about the need for more air defence defence systems and nato membership. we spoke with the speaker of the ukrainian parliament who said, look, we are fighting with nato weapons, we have the support of nato allies, and we want this to happen soon. that ukrainians are essentially fighting with their hands behind their backs. what is your response to that? i would push back on that notion. what the ukrainians have is atacms and other long—range

capabilities provided by other nations. while there is a focus on atacms, there are other long—range capabilities that the ukrainians have like the scalp missile and other capabilities. in terms of what the us has put conditions around, look, there is this cross—border crossfires that we have permitted the ukrainians to use, especially when russians are firing from positions within russia towards ukraine. we are seeing ukraine being incredibly successful and effective on the battlefield and i think it is important to remember that during the entire time that we were not able to provide ukraine presidential drawnout packages or military assistance due to the fact congress did not give us supplementalfunding, russia made very incremental gains, very, very small gain so ukraine has been very successful on the battlefield and continues to push russian forces back in the south and the east.

ina in a speech on the sidelines, zelensky called for more assistance.— zelensky called for more assistance. ., , ., . assistance. now we can protect our citizens — assistance. now we can protect our citizens if — assistance. now we can protect our citizens if american - our citizens if american leadership step site and allows us to destroy russian aircraft on their airbases. this would yield an instant result and we are waiting for this step. president zelenskyy�*s max waller resort strike that killed more than a0 people in care and left their largest children's hospital. mr thomas case that moscow must be held accountable for the attack. i wanted, some of the images in this next report upsetting.

"oh, my god," she says, "i don't know whose hand that is, "i don't know if my daughter is alive." the frantic seconds of a mother looking for her child. a russian missile had just hit the hospital where her daughter had been receiving dialysis. after a relative eternity, she finds her alive, with a few scratches. after being reunited, we meet them at the hospital her daughter was transferred to, where they returned to those haunting moments. translation: i told my husband on the phone. — "i don't know if i'll survive and if our daughter is alive." i had debris falling on me in the basement and my child was upstairs on the second floor. i didn't know what

was happening to her. it seemed we would be buried alive. translation: i fainted. when i opened my eyes, i saw ceiling right next to my face. i was praying my mother was alive. it's a view you wouldn't have seen yesterday — for a ukrainian emergency worker, demolition is firmly part of thejob description. kyiv has strongly rejected moscow's claim this was caused bya ukrainian air defence missile, saying it has evidence it was russian and deliberately launched. this attack has posed difficult questions for ukraine. several cruise missiles hit their targets in the centre of the city and, as far as kyiv is concerned, the need for air defences has never been greater. missiles do terrorise, but thus far they haven't weakened ukrainian resolve, but if the risk to life increases,

that will only impact morale. valentina, a nurse, was working here when the attack happened. she tells some of the hospital's 600 or so patients now can't access critical care. translation: here we help children - with complicated diseases. it is a horror for ukraine and for everyone. we ask the world to stop this war, to stop this nightmare for our children not to suffer. large scale missile strikes are common in war—time ukraine, but this one has especially caused political shockwaves because of who and what it hit. kyiv wants to convert this western shock into more military support. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. israel continued its military offensive in gaza on the eve of

renewed interest dr hospital sources told the bbc at least 29 people, mostly women and children were killed after an israeli strike on a school sheltering families in southern gaza. the number of those killed is expected to rise. it hit the gate at the school. israel says it is looking into the incident. it comes a day before ceasefire negotiations are expected to continue. egyptian media are reporting security delegation and a us central intelligence agency director will be in attendance but as nick beake explained, it could put talks injeopardy. many palestinian families that short shelter at this school in the city of honey units and it seems lots of people with a win this missile strike. there is a video showing more than a dozen people dead and other people very badly injured, being treated at the local hospital. one medical source saying more than 50 people had been treated

so far and the nature of some of their interest that the number of that could increase. —— khan younis this operation in the city of khan younis started a week ago. we know tens of thousands of people have fled the fighting that and this was an operation that started, in terms of what happened tonight, the israeli military is set looking at reports. we have seen four schools in the past four days and in the previous three cases, the military acknowledge they have these particular places saying they were home to hamas fighters, hamas politicians and also hamas police officers. the israelis think they seek to minimise civilian casualties in all of their operations. hamas is saying this sort of operation and a number of people dying means that it is really undermining prospects of a peace deal. a ceasefire in which some hostages may well be

released. there are talks that are going to get under way tomorrow in darfur, as it stands no imminent signs of any sort of breakthrough. ability not active at who has been outspoken about hamas in gaza has been taken to hospital after an attack by a masked man. amin abed was admitted in critical condition. open dissent against us seems to have increase. lucy williamson has the story. in gaza, the price of war doesn't always cover the price of protest. it is a price amin abed has paid before. savagely beaten by a group of armed men hours after the activist criticised hamas on social media and days after he chose to speak to television channels, including the bbc. friends say it was hamas security forces who broke his limbs and local women who saved his life,

braving bursts of gun fire to make them stop. speaking to the bbc from his hospital bed, amin said his attackers carried knives, axes and pistols — they called him a traitor and an agent for israel, he said, and their commander told them to break his fingers to stop him writing anything against hamas again. hours later, he released this video clip. translation: i will continue to speak and say to you, - my people, we will remain committed to our vow not to accept the torment of prison cells, shackles and bars. we will continue to speak until we can rid ourselves of this bad reality they have put us in. amin�*s father left to broadcast his anger in the ruined streets, shouting at his son's attackers through an old plastic water bottle. "enough, you cowards," he said,

"did you win victory by kidnapping and beating my son?" some in gaza say open criticism of hamas is becoming more common, with residents cursing its leaders online and on the streets. this university teacher filmed screaming his frustration over palestinian casualties from an israeli raid last month. nine months of war has left hamas facing other adversaries in gaza, whose fear of speaking out maybe shrinking and whose weapons are words. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. now to some headlines to

a drunk driver who killed an eight month old baby and his aunt has been charged. he crashed into another car on the a1, crashed into another car on the ai, travelling more than iao miles an hour and breath tests were three times over the legal alcohol limit. sir kier starmer addressed parliament as the first time as prime minister following the labour party �*s landslide in the general election. the speaker of commons has also been selected and the process of swearing in mps has begun. earlier, he addressed regional mayors, promising to build a partnership and the electronic company dyson says it plans to cut around 1000 jobs in the uk — around one third of its workforce — in a restructure programme. it says it will help prepare for the future. dyson has 3500 employees in the uk. it is known for its innovative

take on appliances like vacuum cleaners and fans. you are watching bbc news. let's take a look at some important headlines from around the world — a court in moscow has issued an arrest warrant for a woman on charges of extremism. she is the widow of alexei navalny who died at an arctic prison in february. russian media reports that the charges brought against yulia are against her "alleged participation in an extremist community." she is not currently in russia. a jury has been seated in alec baldwin's rust trial. it will determine if he should be held criminally liable in the fatal shooting of cinematographer halyna hutchins in. mr baldwin has pleaded not guilty to a manslaughter charge. it is expected to begin on wednesday. the former french first lady is

facing charges in a 17—year—old election funding scandal. it is part of a probe into nepean financing after her husband's election campaign. french media are reporting she is facing charges of hiding evidence and associating with wrongdoers to commit fraud. she was charged with tempering as part of the same probe. an oklahoma senator and chair of the senate armed services committee has died. he was a powerful fixture known for his support of defence spending and denying that human activity contributed to climate change. he helped resign from the senate this year after being elected to a fifth term in 2020. he was 89 years old. millions in southeast texas are dealing with hot conditions without any power. tropical storm beryl knocked out

electricity as temperatures soared above 38 celsius. a large portion of the us is dealing with above average temperatures. as a us president joe biden took to the world stage spitting at the nato summit, house democrats met in private to discuss the future of his re—election campaign as a number have raised fears about his viability as the party's and nominee. our correspondent has more. the press briefing was more muted today. there are journalists who feel the white house not been fully honest with them about the president's health — something the press secretary has completely denied and after these briefings you can ask any question you want and the white house of course very much wanting to be focused on the nato summit. it is a big moment for president biden to show he is a world leader but it is a big test for him but the

questions were dominated by concerns, questions about the president's health. they wanted clarification on this neurologist that visited the white house several times this year. clarification on the letter that president biden sent out, saying he is staying in the race. also today, you had closed—door meetings by house democrats who have been more vocal about president biden and their concerns and the senate democrats who, while they have not explicitly been calling for mr biden to stand down, they have not really been coalescing around him either. the concerns are still ongoing in terms of mr biden�*s health and the questions that are lost of the press feel are not being answered, but as far as the white house is concerned, coming out of that press briefing, it is time to move on. they believe there is more people in the democratic party in the camp of "let's move on. president biden is moving, and

of story," as opposed to those who want president biden to prove himself more and there is no doubt that at this week's nato summit, he will hold a press conference later this week, he will be scrutinised and pretty much every step he takes will be looked at more closely than it ever has been before. meanwhile, former president donald trump is back on the campaign trail. at a rally in florida, he said the republican party is more unified than ever before, but he had this to say about the democratic party.— democratic party. they are divided and _ democratic party. they are divided and having - democratic party. they are divided and having a - democratic party. they are - divided and having a full-scale divided and having a full—scale breakdown all because they can't decide which candidate is more fitted to be president — sleepy crooked joe biden iiet’s sleepy crooked joe biden let's talk about _ sleepy crooked joe biden let's talk about the _ sleepy crooked joe biden let's talk about the race _ sleepy crooked joe biden let's talk about the race now. always good to have you on bbc news. i want to start with the turmoil among democrats right now. if

you look at the campaign performance, what do you make of how voters actually see this? ., , , of how voters actually see this? . , , ., . ., this? there has been a change but not as _ this? there has been a change but not as big _ this? there has been a change but not as big as _ this? there has been a change but not as big as some - this? there has been a change but not as big as some have i but not as big as some have assumed. there has been some slippage in biden�*s or support to particular groups within the democratic party. usually democrats are now giving donald trump another look because of their disappointment with biden�*s performance and in the debate and the interview, more specifically, younger black man, around one third of the now support donald trump. the latina vote, hispanic vote, roughly a5% now support trump. for republicans that is typically at 35%. union members have moved to almost 50—50. the non—governmental unions,

republicans, never do that well. it is a long response to a very specific question, but we can see this movement and now in those key swing states of pennsylvania, wisconsin and michigan, donald trump is either tired or even leading joe biden and that was not the case before the debate and before the interview. frank, i thinkthat _ before the interview. frank, i think that is _ before the interview. frank, i think that is a _ before the interview. frank, i think that is a really - think that is a really interesting response because we see the biden campaign team saying it is precisely those voters, union voters, black voters, union voters, black voters, who serve as the backbone of his bid to become president again and that it is reallyjust people here in washington, the media, we are painting this to be a rising call for biden to bow out. to some call for biden to bow out. tr? some degree, they are correct. but you have seen this slippage and it is not a huge number, but that is because there is only a% of americans who are

truly undecided. just as trump lost about 2% when he was found guilty of felonies, he gained that 2% and all of it and more back after the debate, but that is it. i will say to your viewers right now that trump has a clear lead in the electoral college, has a small lead in the popular vote, and this is because of biden�*s weaknesses, not necessarily donald trump's strengths. people are paying attention to the race now. do you think there is anything joe biden could do at this point to turn around those numbers significantly?- around those numbers significantly? around those numbers sitnificantl ? , . significantly? there is, which is to be much _ significantly? there is, which is to be much more - significantly? there is, which is to be much more active, . significantly? there is, which| is to be much more active, to do more events, dump the teleprompter, proved to the american people that he is vibrant and has the kind of strength and the bigger that people are looking for. these next four years are going to be

tough. they are going to be tough. they are going to be tough for the economy, tough for national security, and they want a president who is ready, willing and able to offer something for the future, and i am glad you asked that question. it was not successful, biden�*s posted debate appealed to the american people. he gave a couple of good speeches, but they were based on a teleprompter and his attempt to win back those core voters by demonstrating that he really is active and engaged and involved, he did not do as well as he wanted to. so, in the end, i do believejoe biden is staying. in the end, he has not convinced enough people that he is not ready to be the democratic candidate. he doesn't stay, but he is weaker today politically and electorally than he was 1a days ago. electorally than he was 14 days a . o. , , electorally than he was 14 days ato, �* , ., , electorally than he was 14 days ato, , ., , , ago. just really quickly - we have got — ago. just really quickly - we

have got about _ ago. just really quickly - we have got about one - ago. just really quickly - we have got about one minutel ago. just really quickly - we - have got about one minute left. what about donald trump and all of this? he has been relatively quiet in the debate. is the strategy to let the democrats destroy themselves?- strategy to let the democrats destroy themselves? when your o- onent destroy themselves? when your opponent is _ destroy themselves? when your opponent is in — destroy themselves? when your opponent is in the _ destroy themselves? when your opponent is in the process - destroy themselves? when your opponent is in the process of. opponent is in the process of destroying themselves, a smart strategy is to keep quiet and let the destruction continue. donald trump is genetically incapable of remaining quiet and, of course, the republican convention is going to begin in less than seven days so the focus will turn to trump. it is interesting. the candidate to the focus spotlight is on is the focus spotlight is on is the candidate who is almost always having trouble. the spotlight has been onjoe biden, and if donald trump was a smart, he would let that spotlight stay on joe a smart, he would let that spotlight stay onjoe biden. frank, always great to get your analysis. thank you forjoining us tonight. i5 analysis. thank you for “oining us tonightfi analysis. thank you for “oining us tonight.* us tonight. is a privilege. thank you- _ us tonight. is a privilege. thank you. one - us tonight. is a privilege. thank you. one more - us tonight. is a privilege. l thank you. one more piece us tonight. is a privilege. - thank you. one more piece of news before _ thank you. one more piece of news before we _ thank you. one more piece of news before we go _ thank you. one more piece of news before we go - - thank you. one more piece of news before we go - two - thank you. one more piece of| news before we go - two giant news before we go — two giant pandas are sent from china to the san diego sue i aclei

mating well to their new home. although they are not on show, they are the first pandas to enter the us in 21 years. the san diego zoo has been working closely with chinese experts to cater to their specific dietary needs. that means providing a variety of fresh bamboo. thank you so much for watching bbc news. we are back at the top of the next hour. to stay with us. hello. thanks forjoining me. well, it does feel like summer has come to an abrupt end. or perhaps it never started in the first place. and more rain clouds on the horizon for the rest of this week, but here's some good news, at least it's not going to be raining all the time. i want to show you the big picture first and where the jet stream is relative to the uk. here it is over the next few days. to the south of us.

now north of the jet stream, we generally have cool air. south of the jet stream we generally have warm air. notice where it is over the coming days — to the south of us. that means we get that air stream from the north and with a rippling jet stream. we also have weather patterns heading our way and, in fact, a lot of rain to come in the coming days, particularly across northern parts of the uk. in fact, the northeast of scotland in the next 2a hours, particularly soggy with this weather system here. that rain unrelenting here, particularly in the northeast highlands, in grampian. to the south by the end of the night, i think, just a few scattered showers, but it is relatively humid air, so that means that the temperatures aren't dropping particularly low overnight, say 1a degrees first thing in the morning. now here's wednesday, low pressure to the north. so that rain that i mentioned, in the north and the east of scotland, the met office is pointing to 20—30mm of rain quite widely. in the extreme case it could be double, even triple that. so really, really wet across this part of the world. to the south,

scattered showers, maybe some thunderstorms. but i think come the afternoon there will be some sunshine in the south of the uk. and that, of course, is good news for wimbledon because the weather has been dreadful. however, there is a rain symbol there for wednesday. that's to indicate the showers we should have in the morning, but come the afternoon it will be better. now, high pressure is close by. it's just in the wrong position. we're on the edge of the high, so that means that the winds are coming in from the north. so really cool air sliding across the uk with showers and again rather a lot of cloud. look at the temperatures. 1a in aberdeen. we might squeeze 22 or 23 in the southeast of the country, if there will be some prolonged sunny spells, but the outlook into the weekend really says it all. it's that mixed bag and it is on the cool side forjuly. bye— bye.

supplies stop we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour after this programme. this week on the media _ after this programme. this week on the media show— after this programme. this week on the media show we _ after this programme. this week on the media show we have - after this programme. this week| on the media show we have been talking about an issue that is dominating headlines notjust in america but across the world. that is the story of president biden �*s health after

the debate. we have discussed based on very festival katie has been reporting their i have been djing there believe it or not and in today's programme we will look at placed �*s media strategy. will look at placed 's media strategy-— will look at placed 's media strate: . , , . , strategy. every single solitary erson strategy. every single solitary person eligible _ strategy. every single solitary person eligible for— strategy. every single solitary person eligible for what - strategy. every single solitary person eligible for what i - strategy. every single solitary| person eligible for what i have been able to do with covid—19, dealing with everything we have to do... look we finally beat medicare. to do... look we finally beat medicare-— to do... look we finally beat medicare. ., ., ., g ., medicare. the fallout from joe biden 's faltering _ medicare. the fallout from joe biden 's faltering performance j biden �*s faltering performance on his tv debate with donald trump was instant in political terms and in terms of the media coverage we talked about this with jill coverage we talked about this withjill abramson former with jill abramson former executive editor of the new york times and any lindsey of the wall streetjournal. we spoke first to a co—host of the

pod cast mixed signals from cima.