high impact programmes. welcome to bbc news, i'm david eades. our top stories: the bbc sees more evidence of apparent war crimes committed against ukrainian civilians by russian forces. hundreds of bodies are found to have been shot, execution—style, in the bucha region. the evidence we found underground here, it is clear they were executed. nato officials say they're confident sweden and finland willjoin the alliance, ending their long—standing military non—alignment after russia's invasion of ukraine. a gunman opens fire at a church in california. one person is dead and four others critically wounded. he's later overpowered by members of the congregation. and north korea's covid crisis — a further 400,000 thousand

cases and eight deaths from a mysterious fever are reported. a bbc team has uncovered further evidence of potential war crimes committed by russian forces in ukraine. since russian soldiers were pushed back from kyiv at the end of march, the bodies of more than one ——1,000 civilians have been discovered in the bucha region, just outside the capital. the local police chief has said that more than half of the dead were shot, in what has been described as executions. 0ur east europe correspondent, sarah rainsford, has been investigating one case in particular. and a warning — her report contains some distressing details. this is a place where dark acts were committed. civilians tortured and killed

by russian soldiers fighting a war in which they break all the rules, like they do not know them or even care. we were shown underground to where five men were held captive, then shot in the head. in the gloom, we saw the chilling evidence. the men's bodies were found kneeling here, beaten, their hands tied behind their backs. it is cold, it's damp and it is dark down here, where the five men must�*ve spent the most terrifying moments of their lives. and we still don't have a full picture of exactly what happened but, from the evidence that we found underground here, it is clear that they were executed. we counted more than a dozen bullet holes. translation: the soldiers were based upstairs. - the headquarters were in a medical centre.

here was a torture room. they were torturing and killing civilians. it was all happening at a children's camp. its name means �*radiant�*, �*a place of sunshine'. but when the town of bucha was occupied, russian troops set up base here. aliona showed me pictures of her brother in happy times. but vlodymyr was one of the men found in that basement. his death has shattered her. when they last spoke, he told her that he loved her. but she heard a voice full of fear. weeping translation: it's so hard. i hate them with every cell of my body. i know that it's wrong to say about people, but they are not human. how could they torture

those men? there wasn't a patch on their bodies that was not beaten. when russian troops retreated from bucha, they left streets filled with death. moscow claims all of this was staged. and yet, weeks on, the hard evidence is piled up here. the cars of civilians covered in bullet holes. investigating it all is overwhelming and shocking, even for the police officer in charge. translation: more than half of the people killed _ in the bucha region were shot — not killed by mines or shrapnel orfound under the ruins — but shot with guns, more than 650. that shows the russians�* cruelty, their crimes against humanity. it feels like every house, every yard in bucha was witness to that cruelty.

just opposite of the children's camp, we heard of another man who was held prisoner there. air siren wails viktor is in western ukraine now, but he told me he'd been thrown in a cellar at the camp, his legs soaked in water so he'd freeze, and a gun held to his head. translation: they kept saying, "where is the fascists? _ "where is the nazis? "where is zelensky?" they said, "you have until the morning "to remember what you've seen, and if not, you'll be shot." viktor escaped because there was shelling and his captors scattered. but vlodymyr is now buried in the grave with no date for his death. his family don't know when he was shot, but this town does know that civilians are not only caught up in this war, they're being targeted.

sarah rainsford, bbc news, bucha. finland and sweden have formally announced their intention to join nato in response to russia's invasion of ukraine. the alliance's secretary generaljens stoltenberg has described the move, which amounts to the abandoning of their military non—alignment, as historic, while president putin, talking about finland, described the plan as a mistake. the north atlantic treaty organization was created back in 1949 by 12 countries, including the us, the uk, canada and france. after the soviet union's collapse in 1991, many former eastern bloc countries joined nato, and it now numbers 30 member states. finland, which has a border of more than 1,300 kilometres with russia, and sweden would bring that number to 32, and would more than double nato's land border with russia. our europe correspondent, nick beake, reports.

they claim vladimir putin's war has brought them closer together and made them stronger. now the nato family is set to get bigger. america's top diplomat, back in europe, said the support for ukraine is for the long term. every member of the alliance wants to bring this war to an end as soon as possible. but we're equally determined to maintain our security assistance to ukraine, to continue our sanctions, export controls and diplomatic pressure on russia for as long as is necessary. the united states and our allies and partners on focused on giving ukraine as a strong a hand as possible. over in stockholm this evening, an historic moment. sweden's stayed neutral for decades, like neighbour finland. not any more — both now want to join nato. we're now facing a fundamentally change security environment in europe, and when we navigate in this new environment, the fundamental question for us is, how do we best

protect sweden? and the kremlin has shown that they are prepared to use violence to achieve their political objectives. sweden and finland joining the western military alliance is not just about the symbolism of two more flags being planted here. it would double the length of the land borders between russia and nato countries. it's the sort of expansion that vladimir putin was desperate to avoid. but russia is keeping up its assault on ukraine — from air, land and sea, focusing on the donbas region, although moscow accused the west of waging a total war on the russian people and has promised there will be consequences if nato expands. the head of the organisation told the bbc the alliance was prepared. president putin doesn't understand that what we speak about is not nato aggressively moving east.

this is about free, independent decisions by free, independent democratic nations — the baltic countries, poland, but also now most likely finland and sweden. and we respect those free, independent decisions. finland and sweden's nato membership is not a done deal. all existing 30 members need to agree to it, and turkey could yet hold up the process. but many allies are now promising to fast—track these applications in the face of ongoing russian aggression. nick beake, bbc news, berlin. we spoke to kurt volker, former us ambassador to nato from 2008 until 2009 and was the special representative for ukraine negotiations between 2017 and 2019. there has been a lot of talk about finland and sweden joining nato really ever since the end of the soviet union

and the fall of the berlin wall. what does neutrality really mean in a modern world like this? and so, there are always discussions, but i went to a high school in sweden so i understand the traditions that are there and the attachment to to nonalignment in peacetime. and yet, when you see russia behave the way it has, unprovoked, attacking a neighbour, engaging in all of these barbaric acts as we just saw in your report, this is something that signals to the finns and swedes that nonalignment is no longer a safer option, and so nato membership is really the only way to go to protect their own populations. what putin was talking but when he said nato was planning to expand, he was talking about ukraine which was actually not going to happen. there had been no movements on ukrainian membership in nato for 1h years. but what's happened now is with russia's aggression against ukraine, countries that have been nonaligned for 200 years, like sweden, or since world war ii

like finland, they now calculate it is no longer safe now, will this resulted in some kind of escalation and tention? i don't think so, because russia already has its hands full with its invasion of ukraine. this did not go according to plan. its military is severely stressed. the last thing it wants is to open up another front anywhere else, so i do think this will go by rather peacefully. the turks have a domestic terrorism problem, a political party called the pkk, which has a terrorist wing, and does conduct terrorist attacks inside turkey. sweden and finland do not recognise the pkk as a terrorist body, and there are kurdish representatives in sweden and finland who turkey believes are connected to the pkk, even if the finns and the swedes don't. so i think this is something for them both to talk about now

because i think they agree on the principles that they should be no support for terrorism or harbouring of terrorists whatsoever, but they disagree on who is who and i think this can be worked out over time. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. lebanese officials say voter turnout was just a1% in the country's parliamentary election. it is the first vote since an explosion of a container ship in beirut�*s port which killed over 200 people in 2020, and a devastating economic collapse which has led to the currency losing 90% of its value. the uk government has denied playing politics by seeking to change trading arrangements in northern ireland, insisting that the brexit treaty had to be reassessed. ministers are considering introducing legislation which would allow them to override parts of the deal to try to restore power sharing in northern ireland. ireland's foreign minister,

simon coveney, warned that course of action would be deeply harmful. borisjohnson will visit belfast on monday to hold talks with northern ireland's main parties. a former president of somalia, hassan sheikh mohamud, has been re—elected to office after three rounds of voting by parliamentarians. he defeated the incumbent, mohamed abdullahi farmajo, who he also faced in the final round of the last election in 2017. state media in north korea have reported eight new deaths from fever—like symptoms as it deals with a covid outbreak. nearly 400,000 more cases of people with similar symptoms were also reported. the state news agency is also reporting that kim—jong—un has ordered the military to help stabilise the supply of medicines in pyongyang. the report said he led an emergency politburo meeting, north korea has little access to vaccines or testing, and has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world. mason richey is an associate

professor of international politics at hankuk university of foreign studies in south korea, and has been monitoring the covid situation in the north. he says pyongyang has been forced to publicly disclose the cases because of the rapidly increasing number of them. the weather this happened, north korea, denied, they did apparently succeed in keeping the number of cases very, very low, for a very long time. almost certain that they had cases but they either detected or very low because of the way that the country operates internally, but this outbreak

internally, but this outbreak in an immunologically in a population that has almost no vaccines and no artificially induced antibodies has clearly exploded, grown out of control, meaning domestically and internationally there was no hiding it. at some point, the north korean government decided to not admit this, possibly simply because there was no way to deny or possibly backup smooth the way to get antiviral drugs or vaccines, or both coming into the country. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a controversial american evangelist arrives in britain, drawing thousands of supporters, and also protesters. this morning, an indian air force plane carrying mr ghandi's body landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr ghandi's final return from the political battlefield.

ireland has voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. i'm doing so, it has become the first country in the world to approve the change in a national referendum. it was a remarkable climax what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it's been a peaceful funeral demonstration so far, - but suddenly the police - are tear—gassing the crowd. we don't yet know why. the prelaunch ritual is well—established here. helen was said to be in good spirits, butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become the world's newest nation. it was a bloody birth for a poor country. and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate. this is bbc world news. with me, david eades. the latest headlines: the bbc sees more evidence

of apparent war crimes committed against ukrainian civilians by russian forces. hundreds of bodies are discovered in the bucha region. it is feared they were executed. nato is confident that finland and sweden will rapidly become the alliance's latest members, despite the misgivings of turkey. one person has been killed in a shooting at a church near los angeles, in california. four others are critically wounded. the authorities said the gunman was tackled by members of the congregation and detained outside the presbyterian church in laguna woods, in orange county. police said an asian man in his 60s opened fire on the congregation, which was made up of 30—110 mostly taiwanese people. these pictures have come into us of the church, and you can see a heavy police presence outside. it is in part of a complex

here. authorities gave their first comments to media gathered there in the last hour. we believe a group of church—goers detained him and tied his legs with an extension cord and confiscated at least two weapons. it was a time when the deputies arrived. they displayed what we call heroism and bravery in intervening to stop the suspect. they indelibly prevented additional injuries and fatalities. —— undoubtedly. this of course comes just a day after a gunman killed ten people in a case of suspected racially motivated domestic terrorism at a supermarket in the city of buffalo. president biden will visit the city in new york state on tuesday. an 18—year—old white man has been charged with first degree murder. most of the victims were black. most of the victims were black. once again, one man's deep—seated racism and easy access to semi—automatic weapons have combined to deadly effect in america.

18—year—old peyton gendron drove for miles to reach this supermarket, in a predominantly black neighbourhood of buffalo. heavily armed and dressed in tactical gear, he livestreamed his entire horrific attack. a security guard, a retired buffalo policeman, tried to stop him but was among those killed. most of the victims were black. we're still gathering the facts, but already the justice department has stated publicly that it is investigating the matter as a hate crime, racially motivated act of white supremacy and violent extremism. as they do, we must all work together to address the hate that remains a stone on the soul of america. that remains a stain on the soul of america. before the attack, the gunman posted a kind of manifesto online — a hate—filled screed laying bare his extremist views. outside the supermarket, gendron was disarmed, taken into custody and charged

with first—degree murder. in court, his lawyer entered a not guilty plea. meanwhile, a community has again been plunged into mourning, struggling to comprehend how a simple trip to the supermarket could end in a horror scene at the hands of a teenager with a gun. will grant, bbc news. roland martin is host of the roland martin unfiltered daily digital show and he has a book called white fear coming out in september. he joins us from washington. thank you very much indeed for your time. we were listening to joe biden talking about hate crime as a stain on the soul of america. are you encouraged by his reaction to these latest events? , ., , ., events? his reaction is one thing but — events? his reaction is one thing but the _ events? his reaction is one thing but the fbi _ events? his reaction is one thing but the fbi directors | thing but the fbi directors justified numerous times in the past four years that the number one threat is domestic terrorism. under donald trump,

it shifted that to muslims. if muslims were killing americans like white men are in the united states americans would be up in arms going crazy but this is also american history. people have witnessed this for more than 400 years. we have been terrorised in this country for centuries and this is the latest example and what you think, you think white americans who cannot stand the fact america is changing, that the emerging majority are going to be latinos, african—americans, asians and native americans. this is an evil that has existed in this country for far too long and it is time for white americans to wake up and face their own. the rout might _ wake up and face their own. the rout might americans appalled to what they have seen in buffalo and have campaigned hard against hate crime and gun

control. how much is that the problem has much as the issue of hate? , ., ., ,, of hate? first of all, if you do not have _ of hate? first of all, if you do not have the _ of hate? first of all, if you do not have the hate - of hate? first of all, if you | do not have the hate you're of hate? first of all, if you - do not have the hate you're not going to have a problem with the guns as well. guns are still a problem. the guns as well. guns are stilla problem. but the guns as well. guns are still a problem. but if you look at what has happened in this country in the last four years, six years if you will, and i have been yelling from the root top since 2009 because we were operating under white minority resistance, this notion that in 2023 white americans will be in the minority. let's be honest, people have been dealing with this in europe. it have been complaining about african immigrants coming in. these nations are changing, western nations are changing, western nations are changing and folks do not like that people of colour are increasing so all these things are coming together and, trust me, this is not going to be the last mass shooting, this is not going to

be the last instance because we think white folks being radicalised because of fox news, conservative radio, and all they are hearing about is being faced with there is saying we are replacing them. thank you very much for your views. the controversial american preacher, franklin graham, has held an event attended by thousands of people, in liverpool, at the start of a uk tour. before the pandemic, british venues cancelled his appearances when rights groups protested he was politically extreme, islamophobic and homophobic. our religion editor aleem maqbool reports. for one night, the us evangelical mega—church experience came to liverpool. thousands wanted to see one of the most famous, some would say notorious, american preachers, franklin graham. he's the son of the late billy graham, who toured the uk for decades

and filled stadia like anfield. have you ever thought to yourself, "i'd like to start it all over again?" but unlike his father, franklin graham's been overtly political. and no man comes to the father but by me. in particular, his comments condemning homosexuality led to british venues cancelling his appearances. but he agreed to keep his rhetoric in check and his tour�*s back on — to the dismay of some. at a counter event close by, the rector of liverpool and the mayor raised the pride flag at liverpool parish church. those gathered here said it was important to oppose what they saw as a message of hate from franklin graham, saying his views fuelled hostility towards people on the grounds of their sexuality. at no point have we argued that franklin graham has no right to speak. we would argue that he doesn't have a right to make people feel unsafe, he doesn't have a right to make people feel unwelcome, and that's what we need

to fight against. the man himself is being very careful about what he says, though he disagrees with calls to be more inclusive. you can't be inclusive as it relates to sin. we have to repent. the bible requires us to repent and that's to turn from our sins. and you're talking about things like homosexuality. i'm talking about all of us, our sins. the bible says we've all sinned. among those going forward to pray with franklin graham were many who appear to believe in his rigid interpretation of the bible. others had come in spite of aspects they were uncomfortable with. he's got his views, which for me are quite evangelical, and i'm more middle of the road. but i think, you know, his heart's in the right place. but it didn't put you off coming to see him? no. the fact that he's said in the past, homosexuality�*s evil? no. that wasn't enough to put you off? no, no, cos i don't think it is evil. chanting protesters outside the venue thought no—one should be going to see franklin graham.

but over the coming weeks in the uk, thousands plan to do just that. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in liverpool. that is bbc news. thank you for watching. a lot of cloud across the uk, not ideal viewing weather for the total lunar eclipse in the western sky before dawn, and, indeed, monday is going to bring a lot of cloud, but also sunny spells and one or two downpours, some of them thundery. let's have a look at the picture on the satellite image and you can see a lot of cloud towards the southeast. there've been showers and thunderstorms that have been drifting out of france, approaching the uk. i think through the early hours, the greatest risk of lightning across the south, but clearly you can see some heavy rain across northern england, scotland, parts of northern ireland too. to the south, it's a mild start —

14, 15 degrees maybe in some spots in the north of scotland, where we will have had some clear skies, perhaps as low as eight. so the broad message i think for monday is, northern half of the uk often cloudy, outbreaks of rain possible almost at any time, both in the morning and in the afternoon. southern half of the uk, say from around about yorkshire southwards, i think there will be lengthy spells of sunshine, but cloud, showers will brew during the daytime, some of them thundery. monday night into tuesday, big low pressure still out in the atlantic, and around it, weatherfronts. this weather front is going to brush western parts of the uk during the course of tuesday, so there will be a west—east split. in the west you'll have the outbreaks of rain and cooler weather. out towards the east it will be much warmer. in fact, turning quite hot in london — 26 celsius. it will be the warmest day of the week. the forecast for mid—week still shows a large area of low pressure in the atlantic. around it, weatherfronts

basically brushing the uk. so large gaps in the weather for sure. there'll be lots of sunshine around, but it's good to be very difficult to pinpoint where these areas of cloud and rain are going to sweep in. we think on wednesday reaching southwestern parts of england and wales but many northern and eastern parts should have a mostly sunny day and it stays relatively warm as well. so let's have a look at the outlook then for the week ahead and it is a mixed picture, but staying on the warm side, particularly across southern parts of the uk, and relatively warm in the north too, but you can see every weather icon you can possibly think of. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines: a bbc team has uncovered further evidence of potential war crimes committed by russian forces in ukraine. the bodies of around a thousand civilians were discovered in the bucha region, when the russians left in march. the local police chief has said that more than half may have been executed. finland and sweden have formally announced their intention to join nato in response to russia's invasion of ukraine. the alliance's secretary generaljens stoltenberg has described the move, which amounts to abandoning their military non—alignment, as historic, while president putin, described the plan as a mistake. one person is dead and four others critically wounded when a gunman opened fire at a church in california. he's later overpowered. it comes just a day

after a gunman killed ten people in a suspected racially motivated terror attack