this is bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: russia intensifies its attacks on ukraine's donbas region as its forces advance on the battlefield in the south and east of the country. the outcome of this war depends on ukrainian resilience, on the amount of help its army gets from nato and president putin's determination to fight on whatever the cost to russia. polls are open in australia's general election, with voters choosing between the incumbent scott morrison and his rival, the labor leader, anthony albanese. the world health organization convenes a meeting to discuss the global rise in monkeypox infections.

more than 100 cases are reported across 11 countries outside africa. with agriculture becoming more high—tech and automated, we look at how �*ethical hackers�* are helping farmers vulnerable to cyber attacks. and double fault for wimbledon, as it's stripped of its ranking points, over its decision to ban russian players from this year's championships because of the war in ukraine. hello. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. in ukraine: russian forces have been advancing on the battlefield in the south and east of the country, after suffering weeks of setbacks since their invasion in february. the last few ukrainian defenders of mariupol are finally ending their resistance. now the donbas region is the key focus for

russia. it says that what it calls "the liberation" of luhansk province is nearing completion, and it's intensifying its attacks on neighbouring donetsk. jeremy bowen sent this report from ukraine. explosions the russians are shelling severodonetsk as they try to encircle it. more than 100,000 people lived in the city before the invasion. now, it's one of russia's biggest targets. this is russia using the methods it perfected in syria and chechnya. heavy bombardment to try to break the will of its opponents. ukrainian rescue crews can still operate to reach civilians who need to get out. day by day, family by family, russia is grinding forward. it is a long way to safety, down roads out of severodonetsk that the russians are shelling. they're trying to cut the city off from support, rescue, and reinforcement. children here were born into a war. ukrainians have been fighting russian—backed separatists in donbas since 2014.

in moscow, sergei shoigu, the defence minister, held a made—for—tv briefing, designed to back the kremlin�*s message that russia is winning. the minister said their advancing forces would soon take all off luhansk, which is one half of donbas, including severodonetsk. ukrainian combat engineers are trying to slow down the russian advance, laying charges to blow this bridge on a strategic road. explosion

president zelensky started with his good news. translation: the ukrainian i armed forces continue to make progress in liberating the kharkiv region, but the occupiers are trying to further strengthen the pressure in the donbas. it's hell and that's not an overstatement. bombardment of severodonetsk is brutal and meaningless. ukraine's defences in donbas are creaking — they're still not breaking. away from the front lines, life goes on in ukrainian cities. in the end, the outcome of this war depends on ukrainian resilience, on the amount of help its army gets from nato, and president putin's determination to fight on — whatever the cost to russia. jeremy bowen, bbc news, dnipro.

millions of australians are heading to the polls for the country's first election since 2019. it sees prime minister scott morrison go up against one of the country's longest serving politicians, labor leader anthony albanese. these are live pictures from a polling station in melbourne. there are tough challenges ahead for whoever�*s successful — the cost of living crisis is squeezing households, and many say climate change is making some parts of australia unliveable. more than 17 million people are enrolled to vote, which is compulsory for over 18s. our correspondent, shaimaa khalil, is on bondi beach. the surfers have been really up early. you can't see them now, but they've been up for hours, and so were the swimmers. actually, some of them came to line up in their swimsuits. they're, of course, not the only ones up early, voters, as well, have been lining up to cast their ballots.

and it's getting really, really busy right now. but before we talk about the politics, let me get you closer to the action here. this is the famous democracy sausage station, if you will. this is what voters get before or after they've cast their ballots. it's a big, big tradition here. you can get it pretty much whenever you want. but one voter told me it's much, much sweeter once you have voted and cast your ballot, because you feel you have done something. as you have said, there are many, many issues in this election. the two most prominent ones have been the economy and climate change. now, the government, scott morrison and his coalition, the liberal and nationals, have been urging voters to stick with them. they have been arguing that they are the better economy managers, if you will, even though australians are really feeling the bite of the rising cost of living and, of course, the rising interest rates that will affect homebuyers and will affect those with mortgages.

the opposition have said it is now time for a change. they've had time, but australians are worse off. the other issue that many have been talking to me about here is climate change. even though it's one of the country's most crucial issues, australia having lived through really big climate disasters, whether it's the catastrophic bushfires or the floods, it's almost been absent from the campaign, because it's politically very divisive. both major parties have steered clear, but the independent candidates are becoming the bigger story of the election, if you will. they've made that an integral part, a central part of their policy, of their campaigning, and they're proving to be a real threat to save seats like this one for the governing coalition. shaimaa khalil therefore in australia. let's get some of the day's other news.

finland's leading gas supplier says it's been told deliveries of natural gas from russia will cease from saturday. russia's state—owned gazprom says finland is refusing to comply with moscow's demands that it pay for energy supplies in russian roubles rather than in euros or dollars. a federaljudge in the us state of louisiana has blocked an attempt to lift covid restrictions on immigrants seeking asylum. the checks, known as title 42, were introduced by the trump administration in early 2020. they've been used to deport more than a million migrants since 2020. many parts of spain could reach the highest temperatures recorded for 20 years on saturday, with the southern region of andalusia expected to register 42 degrees celsius. spain's been experiencing abnormally hot weather for may, with temperatures up ten to 15 degrees above average. the united states has told the uk and the european union to "lower the temperature" in their dispute over

the post—brexit trading rules in northern ireland. senior state department official derek chollet warned that the row risked undermining western unity over ukraine. the uk has threatened to unilaterally override elements of the northern ireland protocol it agreed as part of the brexit deal — a move strongly opposed by the eu. we really want to see this resolved. the last thing we believe that we need collectively is a big fight between the uk and the eu, at a moment where we need to be showing a message of unity. so we hope that this issue is resolved, we hope that both sides refrain from unilateral acts and that they find a way to lower the temperature and resolve this issue. more cases of monkeypox have been reported around the world, with two new cases in australia from travellers who recently returned from europe and several cases also found across north america and canada. the uk has a total of 20 cases while portugal has five and spain has identified seven.

earlier i spoke to dr syra madad, an infectious disease epidemiologist in new york city, who told me we need to carry out public health measures to help get this under control. it is certainly very concerning as we are seeing that there are nearly a dozen countries that are reporting cases of monkeypox where monkeypox is not endemic. we know monkeypox is not a new virus, it has been around for decades. there are thousands of cases every year in the drc, the democratic republic of the congo. what's unusual is there springing up into multiple non—endemic countries and there is pretty explosive growth of these cases all of a sudden. so we're very early on in this epidemic. i don't think this is going to be a pandemic—type situation like covid—19, but we need to be cognizant, vigilant and do really vigorous public health measures and contact tracing to help get this under control. you mentioned public health measures, covid barely in the rearview mirror, people will be worried about the potential implications. what are some of these measures that we

should be introducing? yes, when we talk about monkeypox, it is a rare viral disease, and when we talk about transmission, it is through close contact, bodily fluids, saliva, bedding, a person may have been infected, so contaminated objects, so when we talk about prevention it is important that people understand that it is a rare virus, but obviously we have seen more of it in the community, there is community transmission, so be cautious, so the precautions to take are the same things we take with covid, wearing a mask, making sure we are washing our hands, being cognizant if we're sick, especially if we have swollen lymph nodes and rashes, seek a healthcare provider, isolate yourself. a health alert went out by the cdc here in the united states today as well as here in new york city to let providers know there are obviously cases that are being investigated and to let the general public know that if you are sick, if you think you have these signs and symptoms, go ahead and seek your healthcare provider to get more advice. you mentioned community transmissibility.

are there particular situations or circumstances in which this virus tends to transmit and spread more quickly? yes, so we're still learning, the early stages of this epidemic, as i have mentioned, but close contact certainly is something that is known. what we're seeing in this particular cluster, you know, is that there is a large population of young men, men that have sex with men, where we have seen these cases. but that doesn't necessarily mean it is only in that population. we are seeing other individuals, regardless of sex and gender, that are also getting infected, so it is important we don't marginalise or stigmatise any communities and we want to ensure people feel trusted and are empowered to seek healthcare services. it is important to understand that this is happening in the community, cases are rising, so it is important to be vigilant and educated on what is happening and what to do to protect yourself. and when it comes to that other element of prevention vaccines, we have heard of some people getting the smallpox vaccine, how does that work,

why is that effective? so the smallpox vaccine provides cross protection against monkeypox, about 85% effective, and so the ring vaccination strategy has been utilised and it's very effective. if there is a silver lining in this monkeypox virus, it's that once you're symptomatic you are able to become infectious and spread the virus, so contract tracing and through this ring vaccination, we are able to put a lid on this epidemic, but really it's early detection, case reporting, contact tracing, public health measures, and trust in the community is really, really important. what's important is we have the tools, we have the vaccinations, we have some good antiviral medication, so we are not starting from ground zero, we have the tools. it's really important that people understand that we have the resources, it's just making sure you are seeking help and being vigilant and being cognizant of what's happening. dr syra madad there. stay with us on bbc news. still to come:

dancing onto the red carpet — we take a look at how the cannes film festival is going, as it comes to the end of its first week on the french riviera. this morning, an indian air force plane carrying mr gandhi's body landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final return from the political battlefield. ireland has voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. in doing so, it has become the first country in the world to approve the change in a national referendum. it was a remarkable climax. to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. - it's been a peacefulfuneral demonstration so far but suddenly, the police are tear—gassing the crowd. we don't yet know why. the pre—launch ritual is well—established here. helen was said to be in good spirits, but just a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become i the world's newest nation. it was a bloody birth for a poor country.

and the challengesj ahead are daunting but for now, at least, | it is time to celebrate. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: russia intensifies its attacks on ukraine's donbas region as its forces advance on the battlefield in the south and east of the country. polls are open in australia's general election with voters choosing between the incumbent scott morrison and his rival, the labor leader anthony albanese. agriculture is becoming increasingly high—tech and automated, with robots which can pick crops and driverless tractors. but it also makes the sector vulnerable to cyber attacks, affecting the ability of farmers to bring in harvests. now, the bbc�*s rural affairs correspondent claire marshall has discovered that at least one top agricultural firm

is turning to so—called �*ethical hackers�* for help. an autonomous robot roams the dry earth. this isn�*t science fiction, it�*s harvest time in this machine, guided by artificial intelligence, could replace human asparagus pickers. i think this is the future. the uk requires over 30,000 seasonal workers every year during the season to harvest the crop, and they can�*t get that quantity of people any more, so we are developing this to kind of supplement that workforce. now, a robot like this could help solve labour shortages, but it raises a whole new set of problems. more and more farm tech is linked to the internet and the threat from malicious hackers is growing. this is agricultural giant john deere�*s latest tractor — no human in the driving seat. highly sophisticated,

but the company is now working with so—called �*ethical hackers�* who have found vulnerabilities in the organisation�*s wider operating software. we made contact with one of them, who asked to remain anonymous. he believes a targeted attack on the industry could cause serious damage to food supply systems. so, you could literally stop a harvest in its tracks by getting into all the relevant systems and tractors? theoretically, yes, and that�*s what we�*re trying to prevent. if you can�*t move your tractor during that time or if you can�*t take the crop out of the ground, you can imagine what would happen — it stops the whole thing. it�*s just — everything stops. that�*s worse—case scenario, but that is possible. john deere says the weaknesses identified by the hacker so far could not be practically exploited by cyber criminals, and do not pose a threat to customers or their machines. it said the company�*s top priority is and always will be to protect our customers, their machines and their data.

however, experts warn this is bigger than one company — state—sponsored cyber attacks are a growing threat. hacking into one tractor, yes, you, you could do some damage like that. hacking into a fleet of tractors, you can do more damage. hacking into a whole organisation and a supply chain can really disrupt — actually, destabilise economies. meanwhile, out in the field, even everyday farm machinery uses systems that are vulnerable. unless defences evolve as quickly as the technology, those who produce our food are increasingly at the mercy of cyber criminals. claire marshall, bbc news. spain�*s former king juan carlos i is back home for the first time in nearly two years. he abdicated in 2014 amid a raft of scandals and his successor, king felipe vi has spent the last couple of years trying to rebuild the royal family�*s reputation. wendy urquhart reports.

it was hardly the welcome you would expect for a former king. there was no fanfare, noppon, no ceremony. in fact, the only family member greet one carlos when he arrived with his daughter, princess zelina. but there is a reason for that. one carlos fled to the united arab emirates a couple of years ago after spanish and swiss prosecutors launched an investigation into his alleged financial irregularities. since then, one carlos has paid nearly 700,000 euros in back taxes. investigation was eventually shelved due to lack of evidence and the former king exonerated ——juan of evidence and the former king exonerated —— juan carlos. the public are not too quick to forgive. at the very least, they want an official apology and, some say, he should be treated just like anyone else and brought to justice. treated just like anyone else and brought tojustice. in treated just like anyone else and brought to justice. in a bid to distance himself from the scandal and foster transparency, king felipe vi

has stripped his father of his 200,000 euros annual allowance, 200 , 000 euros annual allowance, renounced 200,000 euros annual allowance, renounced the inheritance he was due to claim from juan carlos and introduced new rules at the palace, which means all royal gift are catalogued and the royal accounts will be audited. juan carlos the first played a key role in the transition from franco�*s dictatorship to democracy in the late 1970s and despite the allegations against him, he still has a strong fan base in the country. the former king is competing in the three day regatta with his yacht and when he arrived at the club, they showed up in droves to welcome him home. showed up in droves to welcome him home-— showed up in droves to welcome him home. ~ ,, ~ .,, him home. translation: he has returned to _ him home. translation: he has returned to his _ him home. translation: he has returned to his homeland, - him home. translation: he has returned to his homeland, to - returned to his homeland, to the country that he should never have left. translation: he did a lot _ never have left. translation: he did a lot for— never have left. translation: he did a lot for spain. - never have left. translation: he did a lot for spain. there . he did a lot for spain. there are some people who don't like him but — are some people who don't like him but to— are some people who don't like him but to me, he is a phenomenon.- him but to me, he is a phenomenon. him but to me, he is a henomenon. a, g ., phenomenon. on monday, juan carlos will _ phenomenon. on monday, juan carlos will travel _ phenomenon. on monday, juan carlos will travel to _ phenomenon. on monday, juan carlos will travel to madrid - phenomenon. on monday, juan carlos will travel to madrid to i carlos will travel to madrid to visit his son and wife, the former queen sofia, but the

government has made a clear staying the night at the palace is not an option, so he will be returning to abu dhabi the same day. wendy urquhart, bbc news. to tennis now, and wimbledon has been stripped of its ranking points from the sport�*s governing bodies. it comes after its decision to ban russian and belarusian players from competing at this summer�*s championships because of the war in ukraine. players will now receive no ranking points for taking part in wimbledon. bbc sport�*s lizzie greenwood—hughes has more on the story. the background is the all england lawn tennis association, the lta, decided to ban russian and belarusian athletes from wimbledon in response to what is happening in ukraine. obviously, the war in ukraine. they decided to do that. now, that didn�*t go down particularly well with the atp, the men�*s world tour, or the wta, the women�*s tour, and itf, which look after wheelchair tennis

and junior tennis, and they said in their statement that they didn�*t really want to have to do this but they said they saw no option but to remove atp ranking points from wimbledon for 2022. now, what that means is that the event, to you and i, kind of would be exactly the same. it will still be a major tournament and have the big names, except the russians — including world number two daniil medvedev — but the players wouldn�*t gain any ranking points, so it is more like an exhibition event, not affiliated to the world tours. so they have made this decision. it has not gone down particularly well with wimbledon. they say they are deeply disappointed and they called it disproportionate in the context of the exceptional and extreme circumstances and damaging to players competing on the tour. but, as i say, the atp, the men�*s world tour, felt they had no choice but to bring in some sort of sanction because they didn�*t agree with the decision by the lawn tennis association to ban all russian athletes and those from belarus from all uk grass court tournaments.

this doesn�*t affect queens, nottingham, birmingham, some of the other grass court tournaments in the uk — it�*s just wimbledon. the 12—day cannes film festival — one of the biggest events in the movie industry calendar — is coming to the end of its first week. the organisers have been hoping to see a return to normal after covid—19 forced the cancellation of the festival in 2020 and its postponement last year. tom brook reports from the french riviera. well, i�*m very happy to report there is actually a very festive atmosphere in cannes this year — very normal, quite different how it was in the past. very little talk of covid—19. one of the biggest events this week was the arrival in the building behind me of tom cruise, who came here to promote his new hollywood film, top gun: maverick. i saw it. i was very impressed by the film—making. some of the content leaves a bit to be desired, but it made a big impact — he got a standing ovation. i can�*t quite believe it.

the festival people gave him an honorary palme d�*or, that�*s the highest award of the festival. that was for his body of work over the past a0 years. but cannes isn�*tjust about hollywood stars, it is also about serious international cinema. and one of the finest films i saw was called tchaikovsky�*s wife, it�*s showing in competition. it�*s made by a russian dissident film—maker, about the contortions people in tchaikovsky�*s life made to deny he was a gay man. and of course, there�*s been some very sobering films to see here in cannes. the war in ukraine continues to be an ongoing feature of the festival. this morning, i saw a documentary called mariupolis 2, shot in a rather tragic way by a lithuanian film—maker who was killed, allegedly, by russian forces in april. his fiancee smuggled out the footage and they assembled the film together.

it is a very grim portrait of a community really living amidst devastation. and it�*s strange when you come to cannes, you watch a film like that, then you come out here — beautiful mediterranean sunshine, cappuccinos, baguettes, whatever you want — and you�*re in a different world. but it�*s certainly a lively, inspirational atmosphere. and i have to say that as an assignment, as a journalist, i really treasure coming here. definitely a good assignment there. let�*s turn to switzerland before we go, where it looks like it may be snowing in may but not quite! locals call this a may scenario but these are actually narcissist flowers blooming on the foothills of the alps above montreux, creating the illusion of fallen snow from a distance. the spectacle has been a popular tourist attraction since the 19th century and visitors are even allowed to take a handful of flowers with them! you can reach me on twitter.

i�*m @richpreston. that�*s it from us for now. from the team in london, thank you for your company and we will see you next time. goodbye. well, the weekend, for many of us, actually, isn�*t looking too bad at all. some sunshine around and feeling pleasantly warm, but we have scattered showers in the forecast, too. in fact, it will end up fairly cloudy in northern ireland and western scotland eventually later on saturday. now, the clouds have been clearing overnight and into the early hours of saturday morning — in fact, it is largely clear across the uk. perhaps some mist and murk around coasts in the south—west and just a few showers there in the western isles and maybe central scotland but other than that, i think it�*s mostly sunny right from the word go with temperatures between around nine and 11 degrees. now, here�*s how it looks through saturday morning,

so largely bright or sunny across england and wales. but quickly in northern ireland and western scotland, particularly the south—west here, it will cloud over with some rain. but let�*s have a closer look, then. this is 4 o�*clock in the afternoon, so the best of the weather across england and wales with temperatures of around 21 degrees. just the chance of a shower but, really, an outside chance. this is where most of the cloud will be — northern ireland, south—western and western scotland. outbreaks of rain as well. although in the north here, we�*ll probably have some sunny spells. kirkwall, maybe aberdeenshire getting some sunshine, too, and around 17 degrees. now, as we go through the afternoon, i think it will turn progressively wetter in the western isles but further south, it stays dry in england and wales. how about sunday? well, we�*ll see a weather front brushing north—western parts of the uk. the south and the south—east is just under the influence of a high pressure sitting around holland and germany and, actually, some warmth being spread in our direction, so the temperatures

will rise a little bit — only a bit — on sunday across the south and south—east, whereas in many north—western and western areas, it will remain on the cool side. we still have that atlantic breeze, weather fronts coming in, showers — 15, maybe 16 degrees at best here. whereas in london and the south—east, temperatures could each around 23. how about next week? well, it stays relatively settled in the extreme south—east of the country but for many areas, i think it�*s a case of sunshine and showers.

this is bbc news. the headlines: russia is intensifying its attacks on ukraine�*s donbas region, as its forces advance on the battlefield in the south and east of the country, after suffering weeks of setbacks since their invasion in february. the last few ukrainian defenders of mariupol are finally ending their resistance. polls are open in australia�*s general election, with the opposition labor party hoping to end nine years of conservative rule. voters will choose between the incumbent scott morrison and his rival, the labor leader, anthony albanese. whoever wins has tough challenges ahead, including the cost of living and climate change. the world health organization has convened a meeting to discuss the global rise in monkeypox infections.

more than 100 cases have been reported across 11 countries outside africa,