welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: joe biden arrives in geneva ahead of his summit with president putin. both sides agree relations are at a new low. israel launches air strikes against hamas targets on the gaza strip. it's the first major flare—up since last month's ceasefire. as iran prepares to head to the polls, we meet the voters who've become disenchanted with this election. also, a french court finds the swedish furniture giant ikea guilty of illegally spying on hundreds of its own employees.

hello and welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and indeed, around the globe. the us president, joe biden, has arrived in geneva ahead of wednesday's summit with his russian counterpart, vladimir putin. relations between the two countries are at their lowest point in decades and mr biden has already said he will be laying down america's red lines during the discussions. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, has also travelled to geneva. they say that the waters of lake geneva have the power to rejuvenate, to cure. but can a lakeside summit here revive a political relationship that's in very poor health? when vice presidentjoe biden met vladimir putin, he told him he had no soul. more recently, he said he was a killer. mr putin hit back:

"takes one to know one". so, when they sit down for talks, what message will the white house be putting across to the kremlin? fiona hill was donald trump's senior adviser on russia. she says moscow must be told to behave. the biggest danger that the united states faces right now from russia is the coercive, subversive, covert action that is the hallmark of vladimir putin, be it ransomware for hire and cyber criminals, the constant hacking and releasing of e—mails, assassination attempts, we can go down the list of dirty tricks. and we really need those to stop. but convincing the kremlin to change direction won't be easy. on the surface, at least, both presidents are coming here to geneva to try to improve ties. joe biden says he wants a relationship with russia which is stable and predictable. the problem is, unpredictability is vladimir putin's thing.

keeping the west guessing about his next move, that's what the kremlin leader is all about. and he's unlikely to give that up unless it's on his terms. arms control and strategic stability — they may find some common ground here. but ifjoe biden raises the issue of human rights in russia, expect the kremlin to hit back. america is not perceived in russia as a democracy and of course, as a country being superior. i would not expect any great breakthroughs in the relationships, of course. but talking is better than not talking. and this is where they'll be talking, at this 18th—century villa. as he arrives in geneva, joe biden knows it will be a difficult conversation. don't expect one short summit to turn adversaries into allies. steve rosenberg,

bbc news, geneva. we can now speak to eugene rumer, who's a senior fellow and director of carnegie�*s russia and eurasia program. eugene rumer, thank you very much for your time. the expectations could hardly be written as lower, it seems, from both corners. can you see any positivity out of this? yes. i do see considerable positivity coming out of this meeting. because i think the relationship is at its lowest point in many decades. just the resumption of a conversation between the two leaders, just as importantly between their staff, is going to be a step forward, and necessary to

stabilise the relationship. of course, we shouldn't expect a great through —— breakthrough, not taking it for granted. but starting to talk in a businesslike manner is a significant step forward in managing the relationship responsibly.— managing the relationship responsibly. managing the relationship resonsibl . , ., , ., responsibly. interesting as to what the next _ responsibly. interesting as to what the next step _ responsibly. interesting as to what the next step would - responsibly. interesting as to what the next step would be, then. joe biden has said he will lay out his red lines. we probably know what they are. beyond sitting next to that emitted in and saying, stop doing this, stop doing that, behave with ukraine and so on. how does that foster a sense of constructive engagement? just havinu constructive engagement? just havin: a constructive engagement? just having a conversation, as i said, is important. and it's not going to be a situation where russia will stop immediately. their malign activities are interference in our domestic politics, but we need to begin the process of conversation, of talking. us

experts to russian experts about the redlines and really, notjust about the redlines and really, not just abstract general redlines but concrete, practical red lines to make it absolutely clear where the russians should not be going or even thinking about going, and the russians probably have their own read lines. it's a complex step forward. compared to some of _ complex step forward. compared to some of the _ complex step forward. compared to some of the things _ complex step forward. compared to some of the things joe - complex step forward. compared to some of the things joe biden i to some of the thingsjoe biden has said about vladimir putin, he described on his trip, he described mr putin as being a bright, tough, where the adversarial. those of the tones that are perhaps more upbeat than we may have heard in the past. can we put that together with any possible, dare i say, quick wins in easy areas where you can show some cooperative spirit, i suppose? you can show some cooperative spirit. i sumo“?— spirit, i suppose? well, i think there _ spirit, i suppose? well, i think there will _ spirit, i suppose? well, i think there will be -

spirit, i suppose? well, i think there will be some | think there will be some cooperative spirit, i expect, on iran's nuclear programme and thejcpoa. putin has been at thejcpoa. putin has been at the helm for over 20 years now. joe biden has been in politics and public policy for over 50 years. i think they are walking into this with their eyes wide open. they don't expect breakthroughs, but a serious conversation really is something that you expect that would be most welcome. fine something that you expect that would be most welcome. one way or another. _ would be most welcome. one way or another. it _ would be most welcome. one way or another, it is _ would be most welcome. one way or another, it is a _ would be most welcome. one way or another, it is a momentous - or another, it is a momentous meeting. eugene rumer, thank you very much indeed don't make good to be with you, thank you. —— thank you very much indeed. good to be with you. thank you. israel says it has attacked hamas armed compounds in the gaza strip. it's the first attack since a ceasefire last month ended 11 days of cross—border fighting. the israeli military said the air strikes were in response to incendiary

balloons launched from the palestinian territory on tuesday. the attacks were confirmed by a hamas spokesman. it's the first test for israel's new government which was sworn in on sunday. the bbc�*s rushdi abualouf in gaza city has the latest details. it's been shortly after midnight with the israelis attacking two sides belonging to the militant group hamas, the group that is ruling the gaza strip, one in khan yunis, in southern gaza, and the other one is in central gaza city, the sound of bombs, and also and also the sound of israeli military drones flying over gaza was creating some sort of panic and fear for the 2 million people in gaza. they are just trying to recover from the 11 days of fighting. ceasefire is fragile, as always, but egypt is trying to strengthen it, trying to pressure hamas and israel to avoid any sort of escalation. so far they have succeeded during the day and hamas didn't fire rockets as expected,

but hundreds of incendiary balloons were sent from gaza, causing some 20 or 30 fires to break on some of the israeli towns and cities in southern israel, and israel said they have attacked the hamas positions tonight in response to this. right. in a sense, what we've seen, then, is hamas promised to respond if the ultranationalist march went ahead, which it did, albeit on a slightly different route. israel promised to respond to hamas if they responded in the first place. do you think that there could be a line drawn under this now? because it doesn't seem to be in the interest of any party at this point to prolong this? yeah, i think both parties are not interested in another battle. but the reason for the first fighting still exists. hamas was promising to defend the people ofjerusalem, israel is still going ahead with the eviction plan

in the sheikh jarrah area, which was one of the reasons for the flare—up of the last violence, so all the reasons are exist, but we have to understand that egypt is doing a lot ofjob. they have contacted hamas this morning, and also tonight we understand from a source familiar with the ceasefire talks that egypt has conteacted hamas tonight to make sure things are not going out of control. well, these latest developments in gaza come after hundreds of israeli nationalists took part in a flag march through occupied eastjerusalem. they marched through eastjerusalem, chanting, whistling and risking reigniting tensions with palestinians, weeks after hundreds of people on both sides were killed in cross—border fighting. in a surprise move, the centrist yair lapid has condemned the march. in a tweet, the country's minister of foreign affairs said "these people were a disgrace to the nation of israel." 0urjerusalem correspondent yolande knell, was at damascus gate, where the marchers gathered but were then blocked by police from passing into the old city.

these ultranationalist israelis who are being allowed to come down towards damascus gate, it's the main gate into the muslim quarter of the old city, they're bringing their israeli flags. they're allowed to dance here. this is a celebration that they hold to remember the fact that the east ofjerusalem was captured by israel back in the 1967 middle east war. it's always seen, this annual event, as being a provocation by the palestinians. but this year, it was originally scheduled to take place last month, and that was a time when tensions injerusalem were running extremely high. and that's when hamas fired its first rockets towardsjerusalem in years. it led to 11 days of deadly fighting. now, the march organisers asked for their procession to be reorganised as soon as a ceasefire with gaza took hold. that is happening now. this turned into the first big test for israel's new coalition government, a fragile coalition that's made up of left, centrist and far—right parties who may be sympathetic to those here. they didn't want to look weak,

particularly in front of hamas, which had said this could be the fuse that could cause an explosion. yolande knell there. the furniture chain ikea has been found guilty of spying on its own staff. it was found to have set up an elaborate system to illegally snoop on hundreds of employees and job applicants over several years in france. courtney bembridge has this report. almost a decade after the scandal broke, ikea france has been fined $1.2 million and its former ceo given a two—year suspended prison sentence. the french arm of the business was found guilty of carrying out illegal surveillance on union organisers, employees, job applicants and even disgruntled customers. the company's bill for private investigators reportedly ran to more than half a million euros a year. in one case, the company wanted to find out how an employee could afford a bmw

convertible on a low income. ikea has apologised for the practices and said it's since brought in a new code of conduct. translation: since 2012, | the company has been given all the necessary information to its employees. so, the company's brand image in the world with regard to employees and the recruitment of talent, will not be altered. as for the rest, i think — wrongly perhaps — but i think it is ancient history. the trial focused on spying allegations between 2009 and 2012. but a lawyer for the former employees said it had been happening for years. translation: it happened on a very large scale, - over more than ten years, and so we can't just forget. but the employees are satisfied that they have won their case and they have obtained

compensation. the victims were awarded payouts between 1,000 and 10,000 euros each. but many said the penalties for those involved in the scheme were too lenient. courtney bembridge, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: houthi copa america tournament is falling prey to a growing number of covid infections. —— how the. there was a bomb in the city centre. a code word known to be one used by the ira was given. army bomb experts were examining a suspect van when there was a huge explosion. the south african parliament has destroyed the foundation of apartheid by abolishing the population registration act which, for 110 years, forcibly classified each citizen according to race. just a day old, and the royal baby is tonight sleeping in his cot at home.

early this evening, the new prince was taken by his mother and father to their apartments in kensington palace. germany's parliament, i the bundestag, has voted by a narrow majority to move the seat of government - from bonn to berlin. berliners celebrated into i the night, but the decision was greeted with shock in bonn. the real focus of attention today was valentina tereshkova, the world's first woman cosmonaut. what do you think of the russian woman in space? i think it's a wonderful achievement and i think we might be able to persuade the wife it would be a good idea if i could to get her to go up there for a little while. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: joe biden arrives in geneva ahead of his summit with president putin. both sides agree relations are at a new low. israel launches air strikes against hamas targets on the gaza strip — the first major flare—up since last month's ceasefire.

iranians are preparing to go to the polls this week for a presidential election — and since the last one in 2017 the political situation in the country has grown increasingly volatile. seven men are competing for the job — they've all been approved by the powerful guardian council. in a country that is struggling with both sanctions and a crippling economic crisis, some voters have become disenchanted with this election. the bbc�*s rana rahimpour has more. 0n the streets of iranian cities, there are very few signs of a lively election — except for these posters, mostly of the main candidate in the election, ebrahim raisi. a hardline formerjudge and current head ofjudiciary, mr raisi seems to be a favourite for iran's political establishment. all the well—known reformist candidates have been banned from taking part. translation: in my opinion, the competition should -

have been more open and there should have been a broader selection of candidates. most opinion polls predict a low turnout, unlike the previous presidential election. calls for boycotting the election are louder than ever. but why? well, there are several reasons. first, the economy. the reintroduction of us sanctions, widespread corruption, and mismanagement have crippled the economy. translation: we don't make any plans for the future - _ we live from day to day, according to the economic situation. chanting. second, the violent crackdown on anti—government protests. hundreds of protesters were killed in demonstrations in 2017, and �*19. their mothers have called for a boycott of the election. translation: anybody

who votes is betraying l those who were killed and their mothers. third, the downing of the ukrainian aircraft by iran's revolutionary guard in 2020. 176 passengers — including more than 20 children — died. it was an unbelievable crime, and still is. after 17 months, this is still alive among the iranian people all over the world, and we can't forget it. three days after the crash, iran finally accepted responsibility, but it never investigated it properly. this kind of election is just lining up seven criminals in front of you, and just say pick one of them to help the supreme leader of iran to do more murders and more crimes. many analysts fear that all branches of power in iran

will soon be dominated by ultra conservative hardliners. they worry that darker days await iranian people. critics say that iran's pseudo—democracy is turning into an all—out islamic dictatorship. rana rahimpour, bbc news. the former director—general of the bbc — lord hall — has said it was wrong in hindsight not to have sacked the journalist martin bashir for the way he behaved in securing an interview with princess diana in 1995. at the time mr hall was head of bbc news. he's told a westminster parliamentary committee here in london that he had trusted martin bashir when he shouldn't have. another former director—general —john birt — addressing the same committee, described mr bashir as �*a serial liar on an industrial scale.�* 0ur media editor amol rajan has more details. at core here, i trusted a journalist, i gave

him a second chance — we, the team, give him a second chance, and that trust was abused and was misplaced. tony hall was a popular and respected director—general at the bbc, but, cutting an anguished figure, he pleaded today that his 35 years of public service should not be coloured by his trusting a liar in the 1990s. lord hall was director of bbc news when martin bashir, having forged bank documents, secured an interview with princess diana, for which he would be much garlanded. a recent independent review by lord dyson, a seniorjudge, accepted that princess diana probably would have given the interview in any case, but was scathing about hall's judgement in believing bashir, prompting a detailed condemnation of the bbc by prince william. she was failed notjust by a rogue reporter, but by leaders at the bbc who looked the other way rather than asking the tough questions. let me start off by saying, if i might, to acknowledge how hard this has been, the lord dyson investigation,

for the royal family, for the two princes, and i'm sorry for the hurt that caused. that's why i'm very surprised that - you have no recollection... the committee also interrogated lord birt, who was director—general in the 1990s. he emphasised the manipulative nature of martin bashir. unless you understand that this was a serial liar on an industrial scale, you simply can't understand the story. but bashir was rehired by the bbc in 2016, when he'd already been forced to leave jobs in the us, made offensive remarks about women and aroused widespread suspicion about how he secured other interviews. now, then, the former director—general of the bbc lord hall... it's this rehiring that has given fuel to the story. it's incredible. literally, it is unbelievable. and i would say what's so staggering about the bbc in this whole matter is how they keep ploughing on in,

i think, a very self—destructive way. a separate bbc investigation published yesterday found several shortcomings in that rehiring process, but no malice. it is bizarre, however, that a man about whom there were so many public controversies should be rehired and then promoted two years later. amol rajan, bbc news. the brazilian ministry of health has reported another 11 people directly involved in the copa america football touranment have tested positive for covid 19. despite all games being played behind closed doors, a total of 52 players, officials and support staff have now tested positive since the compeition began on sunday. venezuela alone was forced to draft in 15 emergency players before the tournament's opening game after an outbreak in their camp — losing the game 3—0 to brazil. earlier i spoke to sao paulo based journalist euan marshall about the challenges the tournamernt faces.

it is a bit of a fiasco at this point. i think that opening game you mentioned there between venezuela and brazil underlined that. venezuela without eight of their first team players. so in an opening ceremony you play the third string venezuelan team... in the health ministry says the players will be tested every 48 hours and the players are continuously isolated in hotels, separate rooms on separate floors of the hotel so you can imagine how much fun that is for the squad to be there for a month. not much fun. i understand venezuela colombia and bolivia have all suffered with positive tests within the camp. how have the nations responded?

are they still determined to stick it out? that seems to be the plan of action. before the tournament took place, before it began the brazilian squad were talking about potentially boycotting, suggesting that there was no point in playing at this point in time but brazil is continuously with the pandemic. but they decided to play, under protest, and it remains to be seen whether there will be a ground swell from players to potentially turn on the tournament but at this point it looks like getting it over with and then move on to the many many world cup qualifiers that they still have to play. it is quite a mess. there is a point, isn't there, where the likes of sponsors and broadcasters will think that this does not do us any favours. we saw that with the indian premier league with the cricket in india when the figures on covid was so bad. is there any indication of a loss of enthusiasm to carry on?

we have three of the tournament sponsors who have decided to pull out of the tournament and they have not terminated sponsorship agreements but they said they do not want their brand shown at the tournament because of the press and reaction that has been generated. some pictures now of migrating tibetan antelopes that follow this route every year. they take the route to give birth after meeting in november or december and then leave with their offspring in summer. the migration this year began in late april and protection stations have been set up along the route and measures such as temporary traffic controls have been put in place to ensure they reach their breeding spots

undisturbed... when they can get to their feet. that is bbc news. you can find me on twitter. hello again. tuesday was another very warm day across england and wales. temperatures peaked at 27 degrees celsius. that's just two down from the hottest day of the year, which was at the start of the week on monday. and as i say, england and wales enjoyed a lot of sunshine. scotland and northern ireland, a different story. we had rain, and that band of rain continues to push its way eastwards over the next few hours whilst weakening, so the rain will become lighter and patchier. across the board, temperatures staying up into double figures as we head into the first part of wednesday morning. now, this front is a cold front, and it's an important one. very weak, it will bring just a few patches of rain across north—west england and north—west wales. sunny spells for scotland and northern ireland, a few isolated showers. dry picture for east wales and most of england with lots of sunshine.

but it's this front that separates the fresh air in the north west from the increasingly humid air across east wales and england. and big temperature contrasts, too. perhaps 18 degrees across the north—west of the uk. across east wales and into the heart of england, temperatures well up into the mid—20s, the high 20s in places. but as we head into wednesday night, the atmosphere will become very volatile and will go bang. yes, the first batch of thunderstorms, the first batch of quite a few thunderstorms, will be working in on wednesday night, pushing in perhaps across east wales, certainly getting parts of england. and those storms will tend to clear north—eastwards as we go through thursday, with the weather settling down to a degree. still fresh air across the north—west, still quite humid across parts of eastern england. some uncertainty with the temperatures. depends, really, how much sunshine we get through some of that highest cloud across eastern areas, but it could potentially be a bit warmer than that. 0n into friday, well, another batch of storms is going to be heading in from france. again, it's mainly

targeting england. that will tend to push its way northwards as we go through friday night, with the weather again settling down, calming down to a degree as we head into saturday. and then we do it all again. saturday night sees another batch of storms come through. this area of storms is probably going to be a little bit more widespread as it works its way northwards, joining forces with an atlantic weather front in the west. and that area of rain, thundery at times, will push northwards on sunday. so, we've got several bouts of thunderstorms coming our way over the next few days. the biggest of those could bring, well, nearly a month's worth of rain in just a few hours. flash flooding is possible.

this is bbc news. the headlines: us presidentjoe biden has arrived in geneva ahead of wednesday's summit with president vladimir putin of russia. relations between the two countries are at their lowest point in decades, and mr biden has already said he will lay down america's red lines during the talks. israel says it has attacked hamas armed compounds in the gaza strip, it's the first attack since a ceasefire last month ended 11 days of cross—border fighting. the israeli military said the air strikes were in response to incendiary balloons launched from the palestinian territory. a court in france has fined ikea $1.2 million for illegally spying on some of its employees. the case concerns surveillance of staff from 2009—2012. prosecutors said ikea used a private detective agency.