welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: the us says it's sending more advanced rocket systems and munitions to ukraine to fight against russian forces. it comes as russia pounds the key city of severodonetsk in the east and as an air strike on a chemical plant releases dangerous gases. one week after the mass school shooting in texas, we hearfrom parents grieving the loss of their daughter and paying tribute to her talents. and bts, the k—pop supergroup, visits the white house to speak about anti—asian hate crimes in america.

it is a great honour to be welcome to the white house to discuss the issues of anti—asian hate crimes, inclusion, and diversity. hello, thanks for joining hello, thanks forjoining us. we start with a significant development in the russia ukraine conflict. president biden has confirmed that the united states will provide ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions, something the ukrainians have long been requesting. writing in the new york times, mr biden said the weapons would enable ukraine to strike russian targets more precisely on the battlefield. he did not mention what weapons would be provided, but a senior official said the m142 high mobility artillery rocket system would be provided. meanwhile, a russian air strike has hit a chemical plant in the embattled city of severodonetsk, releasing a cloud of dangerous gas. residents have been told to stay in bomb shelters to avoid the fumes.

the ukrainians say russian forces now control most of severodonetsk, the main focus of the russian offensive in the donbas region. tim allman reports. thick black smoke hangs over the city of severodonetsk. for weeks, it's been a target for the russian military. now, reports of a strike on a chemical plant in a city that has almost been completely destroyed. translation: the direction i of the situation and the donbas is very complicated. given the presence of large—scale chemical production in donetsk the russian army strikes there, including, blind air—bombing. are just crazy.

and it's not just severodonetsk. this is the nearby city of slovyansk. this building was hit by a russian missile. a young man was killed in this room. several others were wounded. the situation here is desperate, but the spirit of defiance is still strong. "liberators try to free us but it's not needed," says this woman, "we live in ukraine, my house is in slovyansk, "it is a ukrainian city and i want to live in ukraine." the war has been raging for more than three months, with claims and counterclaims of war crimes. only a few days ago, a russian tank commander a court in ukraine sentence a russian tank commander to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian. the international criminal court has begun its own investigation, claiming the whole country is now a crime scene.

every day in ukraine, we have an extra 200—300 war crimes. for this moment, we have near 15,000 cases only about war crimes. as fighting continues, so does the desperate exodus of civilians. the war has forced them to flee their homes. when, or even if, they go back, is anyone's guess. tim allman, bbc news. just want to get a bit more on the american offer. it is more than an offer of weapons. they will be sending them. 0ur correspondent david willis joins us now. let's start with what these weapons are and what they can do. , , . ., do. this is all part of the latest military _ do. this is all part of the latest military aid - do. this is all part of the i latest military aid package do. this is all part of the - latest military aid package for ukraine. the united states sending about $700 million in total and this package,

including these artillery rocket systems that are capable of hitting with greater precision targets than the ukrainians have been able to hit up to now, giving the ukrainian forces a range of about 80 kilometres, or 50 miles away. now, these were supplied or to be supplied on the condition that they are not used to strike into russia. president biden said he got a commitment from the ukrainian president that that would not be the case, but, nonetheless, this is going to worry the russians considerably and, of course, vladimir putin has warned before that he doesn't want to see more and more weapons supplied from the west point it is an interesting sort of dichotomy, isn't it, about the range and obviously this is a more limited range than some of the missiles might have been and the launches might have been. �* , ., ., ., been. but is that going to escalate _ been. but is that going to escalate tensions - been. but is that going to | escalate tensions between russia and the us or not? well,

it's a good _ russia and the us or not? well, it's a good question. _ russia and the us or not? well, it's a good question. these - it's a good question. these weapons have a greater range than the howitzers that the us has been supplying up to now, nonetheless the us says it will not be sending the thought of ammunition that could be attached to these systems, giving them a much longer range, a range that could go into russia. a made the point about vladimir putin and he will not, i think, be cheered by the message that the united states has elicited this promise from ukraine that these weapons won't be used to strike into russia. apparently he mentioned his concerns about the military supplies coming from the west during a telephone call with the leaders of france and germanyjust this saturday. so this could be seen as highly provocative as far as the russians are concerned. just very briefly, it is a vast war chest, as you mentioned at the very start, as us public opinion still behind this big

spend and this big military effort? is spend and this big military effort? , , , effort? is behind it, but it doesn't— effort? is behind it, but it doesn't want _ effort? is behind it, but it doesn't want to _ effort? is behind it, but it doesn't want to see - effort? is behind it, but it- doesn't want to see americans in general do not want to see boots on the ground. they support military assistance for ukraine up to that point. but, of course, as far as this is all concerned, opinions are people who have been clouded by issues much closer to home. thank you very much indeed. david willis there with the details on those latest developments. i would to move our attention now for a moment. taiwan now says it has deployed fighterjets to ward off 30 warplanes sent by china into its air defence zone — the biggest incursion by beijing since january. monday's incident came shortly after the us presidentjoe biden warned china against invading taiwan, and on the same day that the us senator tammy duckworth visited the island to discuss security. beijing claims the self—ruled island of taiwan as its own. the first funerals for the 19

children and two adults killed in a school shooting in uvalde, texas, have taken place, one week on from the shooting. president biden vowed action on gun reform on sunday. will grant has been speaking to one of the families left to cope with scarcely imaginable grief. there is grief and then there is the grief of losing a child. quietly weeping come on, ok. further still, the grief of losing a child in these most awful of circumstances. she was just loved. alithia ramirez was one of the 19 children killed by a gunman inside her classroom, as an ordinary school day at uvalde descended into horror. a week on, her parents, jess and ryan, are still struggling to comprehend their loss. i haven't able to, like, eat or sleep or drink and it's just affecting me

really, really bad. like, she's my — she was my best friend and she looked a lot like me. i would always tell her like, you know, she is my twin and she would always smile. and it'sjust been really, really hard on me. how can you move on from that? how can you get over that moment? this is a parent's nightmare. this is the worst of the worst. a talented artist, alithia's bedroom is full of her awards, especially for drawing. compounding her parents' grief is their anger over how the police let the gunman spend more than an hour in the school before they shot him. i don't understand how... you know, police officers, they're sworn to protect and they're outside the room and just hearing gunshots, kids screaming. you know, go in there, save those kids.

on sunday, president biden came to uvalde to pay his respects and meet the victims' families. ryan told him alithia was an artist, and mr biden asked if he could have one of her pictures to hang in the white house. he did say that, "whenever we hang it up, we're "going to send you a picture where it's hanging, and you're "free to see it any time." there's something special that she put her heart into it, and it's there hanging in the white house. after the darkest week in its history, uvalde must now bury its victims, a community heartbroken over the senseless murder of alithia, 18 of her class—mates and her two teachers. will grant, bbc news, uvalde. they are one of the biggest bands in the world and earlier the k—pop powerhouse bts came to the white house to raise

the issue of hate crimes against asian—americans. hi, we are bts, and it is a great honourto be hi, we are bts, and it is a great honour to be invited to the white house today to be invited to discuss the issues of asian hate crimes, evenings lose, and inclusivity. after a brief press conference, the group met president biden, to discuss the issue. the k—pop phenomenon are well known for using their music and enormous fan base to speak out on important social issues. anti—asian racism has surged since the start of the pandemic in the us. in the past year alone, one in ten asian americans have been coughed on or spat on, and nearly one in three have been told to "go back to your country." earlier, i spoke to michelle tran. she is co—president and founder of soar 0ver hate. it is new york based non profit that supports asian pacific people dealing with hate crimes.

i asked her if the scale of the amount of attacks had increase against asian americans. we have been giving up personal safety devices, like this personal safety alarm and pepper personal safety alarm and pepper spray to asian pacific islanders in new york city and many of our events have brought out thousands of asians who are scared for their safety because of this escalation in anti— asian hate crimes. from march 2020 two december 2021, there were a total of 10,905 incident of anti— asian hate, to stop api hate, that doesn't even include all of the incidents that were not reported. right, and is the _ that were not reported. right, and is the reporting _ that were not reported. right, and is the reporting becoming| and is the reporting becoming more current? are people coming forward now and saying, actually, this has happened to me? because obviously that is we get more reliable figures but you can see large jumps?

yes, think that is a great question. it is would openly hope to support and encourage through our work in the community. there is a generational divide that we see. the culture of many asians is to stay quiet and not cause harm, you know, cause problems. so we've encountered many asians through our work who have been harassed on the street or chase, called names in english that they can't understand that they don't feel couple reporting.— couple reporting. michelle, is it as simple — couple reporting. michelle, is it as simple as _ couple reporting. michelle, is it as simple as saying - couple reporting. michelle, is it as simple as saying that. couple reporting. michelle, is| it as simple as saying that the bulk of this sort of rising level of anti— asian hatred is becoming because of the pandemic, a blame on china? i definitely think that there was a huge increase starting with the early 202020, with donald trump blaming china for starting the virus and this widespread sentiment of asians harbouring the virus, which is,

you know, unfounded in america, what seeing in new york city. that was michelle tran there. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: 70 years of queen elizabeth meeting her prime ministers. we report on the mystique of the weekly audience. the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. the moment of crowning, in accordance with the order of service, by a signal given, the great guns of the tower. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali, who has died at the age of 74. outspoken but rarely outfought, ali transcended the sport of boxing, of which he was three times world champion. he was a good fighter. he fought all the way to the . end, even through his illness. yes, he did.

uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe. today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles' lp sgt pepper's lonely hearts club band, a record described as the album of the century. this is bbc news, our main headline. president biden promises ukraine more advanced rocket systems and munitions, after a russian air strike hit a chemical plant in the embattled city of severodonetsk releasing a cloud of dangerous gas. every week at this time we take a look at matters affecting the environment in

climate critical, and this week we'll turn our attention to australia, where a new prime minister has taken office vowing to make the country a renewable energy superpower. it follows an election campaign in which climate change was listed as the number one priority among voters. i'm joined by dr simon bradshaw is research director at australia's climate council. thank you very much forjoining us. i can only imagine that perhaps you and the people you work alongside would have been punching the air irritably if not physically at the change of

we saw the government pick up a lot of seeds, we saw big—screen —— big movements to the green party and others. what has to happen now, because you are right, there is a lot we will have to change quickly. first and foremost australia's in a position to legislate a stronger target for 2030, a stronger target for 2030, a stronger emissions reduction target. australia the glasgow climate talks last year was the only country refusing to strengthen action over this critical decade that lies ahead. , ., , critical decade that lies ahead, , ., , ahead. sorry to interrupt you, isn't even _ ahead. sorry to interrupt you, isn't even labour's _ ahead. sorry to interrupt you, isn't even labour's target - ahead. sorry to interrupt you, isn't even labour's target a i isn't even labour's target a slightly reduced target on what they were suggesting at the two previous election campaigns? it is certainly not yet aligned with the science. itjust catches us up with some of our peers and get us back in the game. what you are right, they will have to go further than that. a practical level they have a lot of and policies

there, including a big investment straightaway in energy infrastructure in australia to start accelerating that transition, removing taxes on electric vehicles, various other things that are hopefully going to get us on the path. they will be that expectation from the rest of the world, from the rest of the world, from a loss of australians as well, certainly from our pacific island neighbours, to be doing more than is currently on the table. the science shows we need to see global emissions halved this decade and a wealthy country like australia should be doing more than that. so this does get us back in the game, really, they have to pick up game, really, they have to pick up the pace in the coming years. up the pace in the coming ears. ., ., ~ ., years. you talk about some the steppes been — years. you talk about some the steppes been taken, _ years. you talk about some the steppes been taken, wondered| steppes been taken, wondered about the level of innovation within australia for some renewables, for example. in spite of what many would have seen as the ten years of lagan valley progress over climate issues, are there innovative and creative ideas emerging in

australia to deal with the country's problems? there absolutely _ country's problems? there absolutely are. _ country's problems? there absolutely are. look, - country's problems? there absolutely are. look, we i country's problems? there i absolutely are. look, we have country's problems? there - absolutely are. look, we have a lot of expertise here, we have extraordinary natural advantages, is one of the sunniest and windiest countries on the planet. there is potential for renewable energy that would far outstrip our domestic needs that we could be using to build prosperous new clean export industries, exports of green steel, direct transmission of electrons to singapore for example is one thatis singapore for example is one that is in the pipeline. there has been no shortage of desire and expertise from australian business. we have had some good bottom—up stuff from state and local governments. the thing that has held us back for many years now has been that lack of action at the federal level. was the lack of action, actually actively obstructing the rollout of renewables holding us back. what we hope to see now is a lot of progress, a lot more capital coming into australia if we had a policy of certainty, and really the possibilities here are limitless.—

are limitless. crosstalk. the potential— are limitless. crosstalk. the potential might - are limitless. crosstalk. the potential might be - the potential might be limitless, but there are some realities, are there, very much a cold driven nation in terms of power generation. a mentor usually so at the moment, and an enormous number of people engaged in the coal industry. labor will find it very difficult to turn its back on what it would see as core supporters, wouldn't it? this is going to be the crux for the next couple of years. the convenient truth is that there are opportunities especially in regions that are previously depended on the fossil fuel industry to be building new industries and you have a bright future. there is a lot of sensible action and policy that can be done to enable that from setting up renewable energyjones in different parts of the country. importantly it started importa ntly it started listening importantly it started listening to those local communities, especially in queensland, making sure that nobody is left behind in that transition and in fact that communities are made stronger. there really is no barrier to that. what is going to take is

the ambition and leadership at the ambition and leadership at the national level coupled with really listening to local communities, understanding the advantages locally and understanding the risks that are going to be there. but! understanding the risks that are going to be there. and do ou are going to be there. and do you believe. _ are going to be there. and do you believe, simon, - are going to be there. and do you believe, simon, there - are going to be there. and do you believe, simon, there is| you believe, simon, there is always talk about climate wars within australia as those who believe it and those who don't. do you believe that is now a past phase or if we look closely enough, labour is still not a full—blown committed climate change party? not a full-blown committed climate change party? labour is certainly going _ climate change party? labour is certainly going to _ climate change party? labour is certainly going to have - climate change party? labour is certainly going to have to - certainly going to have to grapple with australia's coal and gas production. they are quite focused at the moment on getting australia's own house in order in terms of driving down domestic emissions but we're going to have a reckoning sooner rather than later over the fact that we still dig up an export enormous about apostle fuels. as as mentioned, we have great opportunities to move into clean export it destroys which the markets for will keep growing. i think we

are outside of that phase of climate denial. there is maybe a minority but by and large the australian public, the australian public, the australian business community. they definitely want it, don't they? sorry interrupts, because we are running out of time. but we are running out of time. but we got the message. many thanks, thank you forjoining us. in a record 70 years on the throne, britain's queen elizabeth has dealt with no fewer than 1a prime ministers, starting with winston churchill, right through to borisjohnson. just one aspect of that is the weekly audience between monarch and prime minister, as vicki young reports. the queen and her prime ministers. this was a reunion organised in the 1990s. head of state and head of government appear side—by—side for dozens of public events, but the relationship is forged behind closed doors — weekly meetings at the palace... nice to see you again. lovely to see you again. ..that we only get a glimpse of.

the queen's views are kept private, political neutrality carefully adhered to, her words written by her prime ministers. i pray that the blessing of almighty god may rest upon your counsels. her first was winston churchill. he was protective of this new young sovereign who had so much to learn. archive: now, upon the shoulders of sir anthony falls the role of the queen's first minister. after churchill came anthony eden, whose decision to send troops to suez in 1956 brought national humiliation. in 1964, harold wilson became the queen's first labour prime minister. she does her homework, i hadn't done mine. i hadn't read a particular cabinet committee, which i didn't chair, and i was leaving for the weekend. she knew i hadn't done my homework, she was very nice about it. the queen's constitutional right is to be kept informed of government policy — she offers encouragement and advice. every prime minister, i would guess, from talking with other prime ministers and from my own experience, has the greatest

friendliness from the queen. on rare occasions, the queen has very subtly aired her views, like this speech where mr callaghan's government was considering devolution. i cannot forget that i was crowned queen of the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland. good evening, your majesty. you've had a very long day... when margaret thatcher became britain's first female prime minister, there were reports that the queen privately disapproved of the government's social agenda. but the iron lady played down suggestions of a serious rift. even if she did say it, all right, she may have felt something, but there was never any difficulty in saying anything to me. any difficulty at all. every year, there's a royal invitation to balmoral — matters of state discussed over a cup of tea. in the years that i came to know her as prime minister, prime ministers had private meetings with the queen each week, she invariably looks forward. tony blair certainly

appreciated the queen's advice after his landslide victory for labour. even though i was the politician and she was the monarch, ifound her notjust useful, but sometimes deeply insightful. it's very good to welcome you here... when you have to explain what you're trying to achieve, it's a very good form of therapy. imagine doing that to the world's greatest public servant who's seen it all and heard it all. there's really no better way of getting your head straight about what you're trying to do. 1a prime ministers — 1a very different politicians with their own visions, worries and agendas. for seven decades, the queen has worked with all of them, a monarch at the heart of a democratic constitution — advising, encouraging and warning, providing continuity as each new political tide swept in. vicki young, bbc news.

an extraordinary way of british political history as you saw there. that is bbc news, thanks for watching. hello. a new month starts with very similar weather. after tuesday's big cloud, showers and thunderstorms, umbrellas at the ready for wednesday. the showers probably not as widespread, but there will still be some heavy ones around, with warmer sunny spells in between. low pressure's still close by. high pressure's trying to build in, and although that may be in time for the platinum jubilee weekend, there are some complications, as we'll see in a moment. this is how we start off wednesday morning, low single figures in the chilliest, clearest spots. an area of rain pulling out of wales, into the midlands, and then just turning into another batch of showers as it bears down on south—eastern areas. now, many other places will start the day dry with sunny spells. cloud's going to build, scattered and at times heavy showers break out through central, southern parts of scotland, northern, central and eastern areas of england in particular,

maybe with a rumble of thunder. not many showers at all for northern ireland, northern scotland and for wales and the south—west, becoming mainly dry at the end of the afternoon, and a day where temperatures are a little bit higher than they've been. and in fact, a lot of fine weather to end the day. overnight and into thursday, increasing cloud towards northern ireland here. there's a weather system from the atlantic trying to feed in. ahead of that, clear spells with some patchy fog around and another rather chilly start to the day for thursday, the first, of course, of this long holiday weekend. and outbreaks of rain look as if they're going to push in very gradually towards northern ireland on thursday. ahead of that, a few showers breaking out across scotland and northern england, whereas the further south you are in england and through wales, stays largely dry. temperatures are a bit higher than they've been — we're talking high teens and low 20s. in the sunshine, it will feel warmer. what's moved into northern ireland by friday will be a batch of showers across mainly central areas, but some breaking out towards wales and south—west england as well. and away from these, still some pleasantly warm sunny spells to be had. keeping things a bit cooler along north sea coasts with an onshore breeze. it will get stronger over the weekend, as we look to the south, to an area of low pressure throwing in some heavy

and thundery showers through parts of england and wales saturday into sunday, whereas closer to high pressure, northern ireland and scotland stay mainly dry with the sunniest and the warmest weather for saturday and sunday. so from thursday onwards, yes, warmer, sunny spells, but if you've got outdoor plans — and, of course, there are street parties to be had — factor in, there will be some occasional downpours here and there.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president biden has confirmed that the united states will provide ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions, something the ukrainians have long been requesting. meanwhile a russian air strike has hit a chemical plant in the embattled city of severodonetsk in the east, releasing a cloud of dangerous gas. meanwhile, the prosecutor of the international criminal court, karim khan, has described ukraine as a crime scene and said the tribunal was carrying out its largest ever investigation there. he warned against sacrificing the rule of law, saying defending it was essential for peace and security throughout the world. the first funeral has taken place in uvalde, texas, a week after 19 children

and two teachers died in a mass shooting at an elementary school.