a this is bbc news broadcasting in the uk and around the globe. i'm ben brown. our top stories: fierce fighting in eastern ukraine — president zelensky says his forces are "holding on", but warns troops are running low on ammunition. the british government is looking at plans to change the law to allow agency staff to be brought in to cover for some striking workers. tens of thousands rally across the us to call for stricter gun laws, in the wake of recent mass shootings.

china says it'll fight to the very end to prevent taiwan from being declared independent. and queen elizabeth ii becomes the world's second longest serving monarch — only louis xiv of france has ruled for longer. hello and welcome to bbc news. reports from eastern ukraine say a huge chemical plant in the town of severodonetsk where hundreds of people have been sheltering is on fire. the governor of the region says the azot plant had come under intense bombardment but was still under ukrainian control. the fierce fighting comes as ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky says his troops are running low on ammunition as they try to repel russian invaders in the east. and he's appealed for more help

from western powers. helena wilkinson has the latest. this is the east of ukraine, in the donbas region, it's one of the areas russian forces have focused their firepower. ukraine soldiers are still holding out here, but the intense fighting goes on. ukraine's army says it is running low on artillery shells. the ukrainian governor of the luhansk province claims they could hold onto the besieged city of severodonetsk, if western allies sent them enough long—range artillery. in ukraine's capital, kyiv, the european commission president met with ukraine's president, there to discuss ukraine's request for eu membership.

president zelensky argued that the eu's future depended on letting his country in. translation: all of europe is a target for russia, - we are sure of it, and ukraine is just the first stage in this aggression. this is why a positive eu response to the ukrainian application for membership can be a positive answer to the question of whether the european project has a future at all. the eu will decide next week whether ukraine should be given candidate status. you have done a lot in strengthening the rule of law but there still needs to be reforms implemented to fight corruption, for example. translation: very fruitful talks with the president - of the european commission ursula von der leyen, were held in kyiv today. i'm glad to note her sincerity. it is the european commission that will prepare a conclusion about our application. ukraine has provided all the necessary answers in a very short time and it was done in a proper way. in the south of the country, fighting has left villages devastated. homes and churches have been destroyed. ukraine now waits to find out if the eu will allow it to become a member. in the short—term, though, the country says it needs more

weapons, and quickly, from the west, to be able to defend itself. helena wilkinson, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent in kyiv, joe inwood about the latest on the fighting. the main development overnight, it seems, is a huge fire at the azot chemical works. now, this is a big industrial complex in the centre of the city and it's one of the places that ukrainian forces have fallen back to, along with, we understand, 800 civilians who are taking shelter there as well. now, the whole city is under constant russian bombardment and in particular, this factory has been hit. and we understand there has been a huge fire and explosion there and many tonnes of oil have leaked out from radiators.

we don't know the exact status of the chemical plant, exactly what the wider consequences could be. but of course, this is raising many fears for the safety of the soldiers inside, but particularly of the civilians as well. and we've heard so many pleas from ukraine for more weapons, supplies from the west, but now they're saying in particular, they're running out of ammunition of shells. yeah. and the battle in severodonetsk is why this matters. this whole fight for the eastern donbas region has become an artillery battle, big guns pounding each other, pounding enemy positions, but particularly trying to hit the enemy guns. and we know we've heard from a senior security official here that the russians are running out. they reckon they're outnumbered ten or 15 to one in terms of the number of guns they have. the russians are firing ten times as many shells a day, ten times as many rounds a day as the ukrainians can manage. and so it doesn't matter how

accurate you are when you're coming out of that level of fire, you just need to have more. and the problem they're having is that we've got a lot of promises from the western powers that they'll send more long—range artillery, particularly precision missile, rocket artillery. but much of it isn't getting to the front lines. now, of course, that is partly because it needs training. this is different equipment to that which the ukrainians currently have and have used in the past. it's nato standard, not old soviet equipment, but that training, those delays are costing the ukrainians lives when it comes to the fight for places like donetsk. yeah, i was talking to the ukrainian ambassador to london this week and he was talking about they're grateful, particularly to britain and to the united states for arms supplies, but but less grateful really to countries like france and germany, which they feel are sort of dragging their feet, really, and making promises, as you say, but not necessarily delivering. yeah, there is quite a lot of controversy around this — a suggestion,

and we should say these are always suggestions or always accusations, but the suggestions that the germans in particular are making promises, but they're not really following up on them and therefore giving hope to the ukrainians, giving the impression that they're getting the support they need. but then it's not actually being followed through on them. we're seeing this diplomatically as well. there have been the beginnings of suggestions of splits start to emerge. a few days ago or maybe a week ago or so we saw olaf schulz, chancellor of germany and president macron of france, having a call with president putin. the suggestion was that they were trying to find a diplomatic solution here. when the ukrainians say at the moment, given that the invasion is still in full swing, there really is no diplomatic solution here. so we are seeing some some criticism of those two powers. but as you say, a lot of a lot of gratitude, particularly to the british and the americans, for the amount of support that they are giving. mcdonalds in russia is set to reopen under a new name, and a new ownership today. the new restaurant chain replacing mcdonalds in russia is called vkusno & tochka, meaning delicious, full stop.

the russian chain is scheduled to reopen 15 restaurants this weekend with a revised menu. mcdonald's temporarily halted its business in russia in march, later deciding to sell up in russia altogether. the transport secretary grant shapps has said the government is preparing to lift a ban on agency staff filling in for striking workers. the potential change in legislation could allow companies to hire temporary workers to cover roles to prevent disruption. if the plan goes ahead, will not come in time to affect the planned walkout by 40,000 rail workers at the end of this month. for more on this, i'm joined by our political correspondent, pete saull this is an idea that was looked at in the 2015 manifesto when david cameron was by minister to repeal the legislation under tony blair

that prevents agency workers from coming in and filling in on strike days. coming in and filling in on strike da s. coming in and filling in on strike da 5. . , , ., coming in and filling in on strike das. . coming in and filling in on strike das. days. the transport secretary grant sha -s days. the transport secretary grant shapps writing _ days. the transport secretary grant shapps writing in — days. the transport secretary grant shapps writing in the _ days. the transport secretary grant shapps writing in the sunday - shapps writing in the sunday telegraph says it will ensure in future but will not come in on time for the latest rates, the first one just nine days away and the government is also said it will put in place legislation that will ensure a minimum level of service. both those plans seen understandably as a bit of attack on union rights, the unions themselves say it is potentially putting passenger safety at risk. let's listen to brandon lewis. i don't think we can hear that but we have richard reeves from the labour party. that but we have richard reeves from the labour party-— the labour party. people who need to net to work the labour party. people who need to get to work on — the labour party. people who need to get to work on the _ the labour party. people who need to get to work on the trains, _ the labour party. people who need to get to work on the trains, people -

get to work on the trains, people who need to get a doctor and hospital appointments, businesses who are desperate to get the economy going again need our train service to be functioning properly. de support strikes? i _ to be functioning properly. de support strikes? i don't - to be functioning properly. de support strikes? i don't wantl to be functioning properly. de i support strikes? i don't want to to be functioning properly. de - support strikes? i don't want to see strikes but loads _ support strikes? i don't want to see strikes but loads of _ support strikes? i don't want to see strikes but loads of people - support strikes? i don't want to see strikes but loads of people work - support strikes? i don't want to see strikes but loads of people work in l strikes but loads of people work in the real industry don't want to see strikes, they want to see government working with the rail industry and trade unions to resolve this but this government as per usual seem to be more interested in sowing chaos and division than resolving the issue. ., , ., and division than resolving the issue. ., ,, ., issue. not 'ust a tricky issue to navi . ate issue. notjust a tricky issue to navigate for — issue. notjust a tricky issue to navigate for the _ issue. notjust a tricky issue to navigate for the government . issue. notjust a tricky issue to i navigate for the government but issue. notjust a tricky issue to - navigate for the government but also of the labour party who have been criticised for not condemning the strikes and equally from the union side they have been accused of not being supportive enough so you had richard reeves their stuck between a rock and a hard place on this issue but very much raising safety concerns trade unions have concerned. the government tomorrow

is introducing legislation which will effectively override the post—brexit trading agreement for northern ireland. tell us more about that. this has been promised for some time by the government and the legislation will be laid before parliament which is the first stage of its passage through both houses of its passage through both houses of parliament tomorrow and we will get more details alongside that. the northern ireland secretary has been saying it does not break international law and the government will set out its legal basis for those arrangements, but of course this is effectively breaking the terms of a deal that was signed up tojust a few terms of a deal that was signed up to just a few years ago by boris johnson and the uk government. it was promised as an up and ready deal as we went into the general election. but ministers say it has not been implement in the right way and by the european union and saying it is not showing enough flexibility to the problems of that deal which is causing real issues in terms of businesses and trade between great britain and northern ireland.

tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating across the united states, demanding stricter gun laws in response to a series of mass shootings. president biden encouraged the protesters to keep marching, and called on congress to pass common—sense gun safety legislation. the democrat—controlled house of representatives passed a package of gun reforms last week, but republicans in the senate are likely to block them. barbara plett usher reports. another march against gun violence banging on the doors of the nation's capital. this is a movement powered by young people, demanding the country's leaders take action after yet another school shooting — a horrific massacre in uvalde, texas. if our government can't do anything to stop 19 kids from being killed and slaughtered in their own school, and decapitated, it's time to change

who is in government! all: vote them out! again! vote them out! for years, congress has failed to pass gun safety measures, blocked by opposition from the gun lobby and the republican party. but people here feel now is the right time to renew their campaign. rallies took place in hundreds of cities across the country, of cities across the country — in new york, where a gunman recently killed ten people in a racist attack, and in florida, where a school shooting four years ago launched this movement. the theme of these rallies is this time will be different, meaning this time, there will be action on gun control. many of these people have been fighting for this for a long time. some have told me they feel more hopeful, rather than optimistic, but this is a time when the issue has captured the national attention in a very visceral way — we have to keep our kids safe. protesters have pushed through gun restrictions at the state level, but they want national action.

do you feel that there is a bit of momentum around this issue? i think so, definitely, for our generation. this is one of our biggest pushes because we're the ones dying in schools, in movie theatres. it's been happening since before i can remember. something has to change. we can't keep letting our children die like this. but even here, a few minutes of panic. there was a disruption onstage and people ran. the fear of a gun attack is alive and everywhere. earlier this week, a young survivor of the texas shooting described her terrifying experience to lawmakers. emotional testimony from the families brought the pain and horror to capitol hill. gavel bangs. hours later, the house passed gun control legislation, but republican senators will almost certainly reject it. some are working on a very modest compromise — that may have a chance. the nays are 20a — the bill is passed. the president told the marchers to keep up the pressure. keep marching. it's important.

look, this has to become an election issue. the way people listen — senators, congresspeople — is when people say, "i'm gonna — this is gonna affect my vote". too many people are dying needlessly. and what's even being proposed in the house and senate is marginal. i mean, it's important, but it's not all that needs to be done. in uvalde, another vigilfor the dead. in public opinion, at least, the mood is shifting — americans agree the killing of children has to stop. more and more say that should involve national gun controls. barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. police in the us state of idaho have detained 31 white supremacists and charged them with conspiracy to riot at a gay pride event. officers found them dressed in riot gear, with white balaclavas covering their faces. they wore arm patches and insignia that identified them as belonging to the patriot front hate group which calls for a white ethnostate in the united states. police said they had come

from at least 11 states. voting is under way in local elections in mainland france. the vote, which takes place in two stages, with run—offs being held a week from today, will elect 577 seats in the lower house of parliament. emmanuel macron, who won a second term as president in april, will be hoping to gain support among mps to support his legislative programme. china says it'll fight to the very end to prevent taiwan from being declared independent. speaking at a security meeting in singapore, china's defence minister stressed that any foreign interference was doomed to failure — in a reference to the united states. translation: we notice, separate to the us secretary

of defense lloyd austin's remarks on the indo—pacific strategy to the strategy is an attempt to build an exclusive small group in the name of a free and open indo—pacific — to hijack countries in our region and to target one specific country. it is a strategy to create confrontation, to contain and encircle others. today was the second part of the double—header we have had in singapore. yesterday, defense secretary lloyd austin laid out the american version for the indo—pacific and general wei fenghe responded with some force,

talking about the war in ukraine under covid—19 pandemic and for other countries to mind their own business and he said the parliament of china was not a threat to others and it was neither wise nor possible to try to contain it, and that includes the issue of taiwan. he said the chinese military would not flinch provoked. how much i think people are worried about the growing tensions in taiwan? there is a lot of worry and i've spoken to a lot of people over the weekend cannot help but draw inevitable comparisons with the war in ukraine and that the japanese by minister open a dialogue on friday seeing ukraine today could be east asia tomorrow, and this is something china doesn't really like to discuss. i was at chinese military delegation briefing and i put this comparison to them and they said

china, ukraine and taiwan are tremendously different issues and taiwan is simply an internal affair for china to deal with but the language is strong today. they talked about any attempts to stir up pro—independence sentiments on this self governed ireland being crushed under people's liberation army would fight to the end, as you just heard. neither the united states nor the ruling party of taiwan actually advocates independence and prefers the status quo, simple self—governance, but the tensions are high here and countries cut up in this region are worried. is that a sense that language from china and taiwan is getting more belligerent and a little bit more ferocious than perhaps it was? i think the language is becoming more belligerent. i think the message coming out of washington is becoming firmer. it is hard to say how much these speeches

at these security conferences are aimed at the domestic audience and how much they really play into policy but it should be remembered that the president of china has often talked about the reunification often talked about the reunification of taiwan and there are many analysts who think he wanted to be done within his lifetime so within a lot of policy—making circles in china reunification are seen as an event ability —— inevitability and what general wei fenghe was talking about this morning was the desire for it to be done peacefully worked with talk —— but with talk of opposition being crushed does get people thinking a bit more carefully. let's take a look at some of the other

stories making the news. presidentjoe biden has said the us government will cover the full cost of the response to wildfires in new mexico — after federal officials allowed planned burns to spread out of control. visiting the state, mr biden said the federal government had a responsibility to help new mexico recover. a us districtjudge in las vegas has dismissed a lawsuit against the footballer cristiano ronaldo after accusing the complainant's attorney of bad—faith conduct. kathryn mayorga alleged that the portuguese player raped her at a hotel in 2009. ronaldo denies the accusation and has never been charged. in 2010 they reportedly reached an out—of—court settlement, a sum which it's believed ms mayorga was seeking to increase in this latest lawsuit. on tuesday, it will be exactly five years since one of the uk's worst disasters of modern times — the grenfell tower fire, which killed 72 people. with a public inquiry and police investigation still under way — and nobody charged with any offence — many survivors and relatives of the dead say the long wait forjustice is hindering their ability to heal.

ayshea buksh reports. pain and sadness. anger and disbelief. chanting: we wantjustice! no—one from the council at all. no—one has seen anyone, ask anyone, no—one has seen anyone from the council. the fire at grenfell tower created much personal and collective trauma. and, five years on, the public inquiry into what happened is still ongoing and there have been no arrests nor criminal charges. damel carayol lost two members of his family, his cousin, mary mendy, and her daughter, khadija saye. from day one, we suspected that we would be on a long road, because of what happened, what led up to it, what the response was — we knew it would be a fight. and since it began, he's been closely following the evidence

being presented in the inquiry. how has that impacted on you and your family? well, as the process has gone on, it feels like salt has been poured on our wounds. the results of the cladding being tested failed the fire test, and they were falsified. i'm not saying this, this is a matter of public record. they were falsified. and is this evidence or not? but, no, it can't be used. i mean, that's a painful, painful thing to happen. with the requirements of the building regulation... ed daffarn survived the fire. as part of the residents' group, he warned kensington and chelsea council their refurbishment plans were a potentialfire risk. this play is based on those predictions. the fact that we're here discussing issues around cladding still being on so many buildings, so little progress on the white paper on social housing, and changes to people who live in social housing, the complete lack of progress on phase one recommendations makes moving on really difficult. and five years on, many people are realising the path

tojustice is taking much longer than they expected. the word is even embedded now in the local streets. for over four years, acava arts group and the al manaar mosque have been creating mosaics. these say �*justice' in the 35 different languages spoken by the people who died. they now line the route of the community remembrance known as the silent walk. there are 72 gold flecks to represent each life that was lost, and so it's powerful that we've now also been able to memorialise things that were important to the local community. you know, the silent walk, and it has now become part of our local history and our legacy. the community walk gathers at hope gardens, which are cultivated by marcia robinson and the local community. she says many here feel disillusioned yet still maintain

their dignity and pride. i can only say i'm so proud of our younger generation around here. they never lived up to none of the very bad press that they was getting. so there wasn't no attacks on the police or the fire brigade, there wasn't no riots. we walked in dignity and we have done forfive years. as the grenfell community near this milestone of their fight forjustice, there's determination yet scepticism. and for the families whose loved ones are gone, patience amid their pain, waiting forjustice and change. we have to learn certain lessons, you know, from everything that went wrong before, during, and after and try to fix things, you know. in their memory we carry on, we carry on fighting, really, and carry on living. ayshea buksh, bbc news. the queen is now the second—longest

serving monarch in world history. as of today, her majesty has been on the throne for 70 years and 127 days. 0nly louis xiv of france has ruled for longer. his reign began when he was just four years old. hello again. well, for many it's already been a lovely start to the day. we've had plenty of sunshine across the skies in england and wales. this was how we started off in norfolk. but looking deeper into the week ahead, it's going to get quite hot for some of us with temperatures towards the end of the week hitting the 30 degree mark — by a country mile, the hottest weather we've seen so far this year. but before we get there, today, we've got some blustery conditions with quite a bit of cloud in the north west, bringing scattered showers. for england and wales, for the most part, it's a dry day with some warm spells of sunshine throughout the day, really. now, on the satellite picture, we can see a lot of cloud coming into northwestern areas. and it's this cloud that's bringing those widespread showers

at the moment to northern ireland and scotland and a few into the north west of england as well. now, through the day, into the afternoon, those showers become a little bit less widespread, so there'll be a bit more sunshine poking through the clouds here. it stays quite windy, though, with gusts into the 30s mph. further south, the winds lighter, there'll be more sunshine and it will feel warm with just a bit of fairweather cloud. temperatures reaching about 23 in the warmest areas. 0vernight, a few showers in scotland, but then later in the night, we'll see this area of rain develop in the western isles and the highlands. away from the northwest, though, it's a dry night with some clear spells and temperatures eight to 11 degrees for most. now, tomorrow, we start off with that area of rain for the highlands and also the western isles. this is a weatherfront and it will push its way towards 0rkney and shetland, eventually bringing rain here late in the day. further south, variable cloud. but many areas will see some sunshine and with the winds lighter across northern areas it will feel warmer. 17 in aberdeen and for belfast. england and wales, further south again having the best of the sunshine and that

slightly warmer weather. it's a similar pattern, really, into tuesday, a few showers for northwest scotland. otherwise, it's dry with some sunshine. the sunniest skies, the highest temperatures towards the southeast where we're looking at those temperatures climbing to the mid—20s, 25 celsius, 77 in fahrenheit. and then at the end of the week, high pressure just moves to the east. that will start to draw up some southerly winds. and it's those winds that will really start to boost the temperatures. now, the hottest weather is always going to be across england and wales, cardiff up to 26, friday, london, 29 or 30. scotland and northern ireland, high teens to low 20s at best. this is bbc news. the headlines. fierce street fighting in eastern ukraine — president zelensky says his forces are "holding on" but warns troops are running low on ammunition.

the british government is looking at plans to change the law to allow agency staff to be brought in to coverfor some striking workers. tens of thousands rally across the us to call for stricter gun laws, in the wake of recent mass shootings. china says it'll fight to the very end to prevent taiwan from being declared independent. and queen elizabeth ii becomes the world's second longest serving monarch — only louis xiv of france has ruled for longer. now on bbc news, nick robinson in conversation with people who influence our political thinking about what has shaped theirs.

hello and welcome to political thinking, a conversation with rather than interrogation of someone whose political thinking shapes all of ours. this week my guest is a symbol of the modern labour party, a symbol if you like of a party of two eras. 0n the one hand, 13 years in power. 0n the other, 12 years of powerlessness. yvette cooper was once a young rising star of the new labour blair and brown years, but what followed was the wilderness years of opposition, summed up for many by the night on which her husband ed balls lost his seat, as a neighbour of hers in yorkshire. cooper ran to be labour leader againstjeremy corbyn and lost and lost badly. keir starmer brought her back to front line politics, asking her to become shadow home secretary. yvette cooper, welcome to political thinking.

good to be here, nick. i'm sorry to mention the powerlessness!