this is bbc news. i'm sally bundock with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. nato members meet in madrid: the war in ukraine and the future direction of the alliance are on the agenda as turkey drops its opposition to sweden and finland joining. welcoming to sweden and finland joining. finland and sweder into welcoming finland and sweden into the alliance will make them safer, nato is stronger and the area more secure. this is vital as we face the biggest security crisis in decades. damning testimony about donald trump: a former white house aide tells a congressional committee the former president wanted to join the capitol hill rioters.

bowel cancer campaigner dame deborah james, host of the bbc podcast you, me and the big c, has died at the age of a0. and a shock first—round defeat for the seven—time wimbledon champion serena williams in herfirst singles match ina year. hello and welcome to the programme. world leaders are to hold talks on the future direction of nato in the wake of russia's invasion of ukraine. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, will call on member states to increase their military spending because he believes threats will only continue to grow. the leaders received an early boost after turkey dropped its opposition to finland and sweden joining the alliance.

our europe editor katya adler reports from madrid. it's taken weeks of negotiations, but sweden and finland are now well on their way to becoming nato members after they signed an agreement with turkey to counter threats to each other�*s security. applause ukraine of courses on everyone's minds here. but so is the wider security from russia. nato is ramping up its rapid reaction forces from 40,000 to 300,000. these french paratroopers preparing to support nato countries close to russia, now feeling very exposed. russia, now feeling very “posed-— russia, now feeling very exosed. ~ �* exposed. we can't defend ourselves _ exposed. we can't defend ourselves alone. - exposed. we can't defend ourselves alone. we - exposed. we can't defend ourselves alone. we will. exposed. we can't defend - ourselves alone. we will never be alone. strong. we have to have friends and allies. finland and sweden agree. just look at finland's long border

with russia.— look at finland's long border with russia. ., ~ , ., . with russia. thank you so much for takinu with russia. thank you so much for taking the _ with russia. thank you so much for taking the time. _ with russia. thank you so much for taking the time. moscow's i for taking the time. moscow's aggression — for taking the time. moscow's aggression has _ for taking the time. moscow's aggression has shocked - for taking the time. moscow's| aggression has shocked them. for taking the time. moscow's - aggression has shocked them. we realise aggression has shocked them. - realise that we have to make a change. it appeared that russia is ready to try to invade the neighbouring sovereign country. are you worried, though? because president putin told you directly, he warned you not to join nato you directly, he warned you not tojoin nato or you directly, he warned you not to join nato or there would you directly, he warned you not tojoin nato or there would be repercussions. to join nato or there would be repercussions.— to join nato or there would be repercussions. yes, we are not afraid. russia _ repercussions. yes, we are not afraid. russia apartment - afraid. russia apartment forei . n afraid. russia apartment foreign minister, - afraid. russia apartment foreign minister, sergei | foreign minister, sergei lavrov, warned of the west, beating up its defences and supporting ukraine would only prolong gf�*s agony. and that is that delicate balancing act here —— kyiv. russia is the harasser. ukraine must be held militarily. but to what extent? that is where there is disagreement. should russia be given such a bloodied nose that

thinks twice in the future about acts of aggression or if vladimir putin feels pushed in a corner, is there a risk that he will escalate, even making good on a threat to use nuclear weapons. trying to keep nato allies together isjoe biden, europe's security has been thrown upside down by vladimir putin, but one thing hasn't changed — when this continent is in crisis, it still relies heavily on washington. we will have a lot more on that nato summit later on in this programme, getting an expert view on the significance of the joining of new numbers, etc. although still to come. let's bring you some other stories now. president zelensky has urged the united nations to visit the city of kremenchuk to see the site of monday's russian missile strike on a shopping mall. at least 18 people were killed in the attack and more than 50 injured. russia says it was targeting

a weapons storage depot in the area. president lopez obrador of mexico has blamed trafficking and what he called a lack of control at the us border for the deaths of at least 50 migrants who were abandoned in a truck in texas. it's the worst case of migrant deaths due to people smuggling in the us. a court in new york has jailed the british socialite ghislaine maxwell for 20 years for helping her former partner, jeffrey epstein, abuse underage girls. maxwell was found guilty in december of sex trafficking. her family says she will appeal against the sentence. police in canada say they've killed two armed men during a shoot—out at a bank. six officers were wounded during the exchange of gunfire in the province of british colombia. the authorities say a third suspect is potentially still at large. the centers for disease control in the united states has launched an emergency response to help contain an outbreak of monkeypox. the us has recorded more

than 240 cases of the disease, which causes fever, a rash and skin blisters. a former white house aide has given damning testimony about donald trump's actions during the storming of the us capitol building last year. cassidy hutchinson was speaking to the congressional committee investigating the attack. she said mr trump was so desperate to join the crowd, he tried to grab the steering wheel of his limousine from a secret service agent. our north america editor sarah smith reports from washington. do you swear on... a surprise witness. her appearance kept secret until today, delivered explosive testimony. describing how trump had been informed that many in the crowd on january 6 were carrying weapons. yet he was furious about security measures. metal detectors were used

to find guns and knives. he wanted the screenings stopped to let more people in, ms hutchinson told the committee in previously recorded testimony. i overheard the president say something to the effect of, "i don't effing care that they have weapons. "they're not here to hurt me. take the effing mags away." donald trump: we are going to walk down _ and i'll be there with you. trump did want to go to the capitol, but as he ordered the secret service to drive him there, he was told it wasn't safe. he said something to the effect of, "i'm the effing president, take me up to the capitol now." when the president's secret service agent, bobby engel, refused to go to the capitol, trump got physical. the president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. mr engel grabbed his arm and said, "sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. "we're going back to the west wing. "we're not going to the capitol." mr trump then used his free hand to lunge towards bobby engel. trump has responded, saying

this is a "fake story that is sick and fraudulent." today is the first time we have heard exactly what was happening inside the white house onjanuary 6, how the president's most senior advisers anticipated the violence and did little to stop it, and then asked trump for a presidential pardon so they couldn't be prosecuted. did white house chief of staff mark meadows ever indicate that he was interested in receiving a presidential pardon relating to january 6? mr meadows did seek that pardon, yes, ma'am. firsthand evidence from someone who was right at the heart of the white house. sarah smith, bbc news. now, here in the uk, politicians, celebrities and charities have paid tribute to the bbc podcaster deborahjames who has died of bowel cancer at the age of 40. as a presenter of you, me and the big c, dame deborah campaigned for greater awareness of her condition and set up a fund which raised

millions for charity. rachel burden looks back at her life. my name is deborahjames. i'm a mum to two kids and a dog called winston. three years ago, at the age of 35, i was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer and i have been living with cancer ever since. # i woman, i am fearless... she was young, she was vibrant, with an infectious sense of fun. for deborahjames, cancer was a devastating blow. but she was determined to share her story in the hope it would help others. i've had everything — surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy — to enable me to live with cancer. on social media, the former teacher called herself �*bowel babe', detailing the endless rounds of treatment, but poking fun at her disease. having fun with her kids and marking life's

important milestones. i made my 40th birthday. that's huge, that's enormous, it's the birthday that i never thought i would make. i like winding up my oncologist because he's very strait—laced! on her podcast, you, me and the big c, deborah was open... you're sat on the chemo ward in an orange catsuit! ..funny... and he's, like... he doesn't want to say anything and you're just, like, "yeah, hi!" i'm back on treatment and every single time i'm back on treatment, i'm like, i don't want to be here. i don't want to be back on treatment. ..but never tried to hide her emotions. you just think, it's just not fair. in a final interview, she hoped new treatments would soon be found. cancer should become a chronic disease. i hope it will be in my kids' lifetime, i hope it will become a chronic disease. but i think... there are people

doing amazing things and we need to support them and fund them. # and i'll rise up # i'll rise like the day...# the fund she set up to aid research has raised millions. foryears, dame deborah, as she became, fought to increase awareness of her disease, with social media posts like these inspiring thousands of fellow patients. in the words of one cancer charity, "the lives her campaign saved and will continue "to save was nothing short of incredible." the campaigner, dame deborah james, who's died at the age of 40. well, there's been lots of reaction to the sad news. with me is our reporter mark lobel. let's just walk through the flood of tributes.— let's just walk through the flood of tributes. there have

been a locked, _ flood of tributes. there have been a locked, and - flood of tributes. there have been a locked, and this - flood of tributes. there have been a locked, and this was | flood of tributes. there have i been a locked, and this was the sad news that no—one wanted to hear, but perhaps the much —— most touching tribute was from her mother, who said her heart was broken. she shared a beautiful video of her daughter dancing in the words, love you forever. there were such a quick reaction to this when the news was passed on at 9pm last night. many of the uk papers had dame deborahjames on the front pages, focusing on her tireless campaigning and also the fact that she was surrounded by herfamily the fact that she was surrounded by her family when she died at the age ofjust 40. we have had a tribute from the prime minister, borisjohnson, prime minister, boris johnson, saying prime minister, borisjohnson, saying he is terribly saddened and that dame deborahjames was and that dame deborahjames was an inspiration to many. he said her enduring legacy was an awareness she brought bowel cancer and the her campaigning has funded. the labour leader so keir starmer saying her charity work was truly inspirational even in the most challenging of moments. absolutely. the charities are

cheekily grateful to her, she raised huge amounts in a very short period of time.- raised huge amounts in a very short period of time. yes, she did. short period of time. yes, she did- this _ short period of time. yes, she did. this bowel— short period of time. yes, she did. this bowel babe - short period of time. yes, she did. this bowel babe fund - short period of time. yes, she did. this bowel babe fund hasj did. this bowel babe fund has raised almost £7 million. she was setting out to raise a quarter of a million and the money is going to research into personalised medicine for cancer patients. one of the charities that is going to benefit from this has genevieve edwards and she has paid tribute to deborah, the les patterson. tribute to deborah, the les patterson-— tribute to deborah, the les patterson. , . patterson. her energy and drive and determination, _ patterson. her energy and drive and determination, but - patterson. her energy and drive and determination, butjust - and determination, but just sheer— and determination, but just sheer warmth and determination, butjust sheer warmth and compassion really— sheer warmth and compassion really shone through, and that is very— really shone through, and that is very much what deborah has done, — is very much what deborah has done, even in the most difficult _ done, even in the most difficult personal days, she has never stopped helping other people — has never stopped helping other people. she has never stop shining _ people. she has never stop shining a _ people. she has never stop shining a light on bowel cancer and she — shining a light on bowel cancer and she has never stopped raising _ and she has never stopped raising that awareness and will undoubtedly have saved

countless lives.- undoubtedly have saved countless lives. ,, ., . . countless lives. she also had a close connection _ countless lives. she also had a close connection with - countless lives. she also had a close connection with the - countless lives. she also had a | close connection with the royal marsden, which offers specialist cancer treatment in london. she was raising money for that. london. she was raising money forthat. she london. she was raising money for that. she was also a patient there. thea from the medical director. she patient there. thea from the medical director.— medical director. she always believed that _ medical director. she always believed that she _ medical director. she always believed that she was - medical director. she always believed that she was going | medical director. she always i believed that she was going to believed that she was going to he the — believed that she was going to be the one comanche tried everything. and even when she knew_ everything. and even when she knew she — everything. and even when she knew she wasn't, she still dhint— knew she wasn't, she still didn't lose her courage. she also — didn't lose her courage. she also had _ didn't lose her courage. she also had her unbelievable energy— also had her unbelievable energy and sense of humour. talking — energy and sense of humour. talking of— energy and sense of humour. talking of her heroism and humour. hersecond book talking of her heroism and humour. her second book is due to be released in the middle of august. less and with her words. these were herfinal words. these were herfinal words shared with permission of her family. words shared with permission of herfamily. they words shared with permission of her family. they are as fitting as ever. she says to everybody, find a life worth enjoying, take risks, love deeply, have no regrets and always, always have rebellious hope. and finally, in her own definitive way, she says check your to, it could just save your life. absolutely. fantastic.

fantastic words we have heard therefrom dame deborahjames. therefrom dame deborah james. thank therefrom dame deborahjames. thank you. really appreciate that. there is a lot more on our website about her campaigning, the money she raised and the inspiration she really was. thank you. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the seven—time wimbledon champion serena williams suffers a shock first—round defeat in her first singles match in a year. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge fireworks display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly that was cloned in a

laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years, russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit _ at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. j tennis balls thwack cheering and applause challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 34 years, and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: nato members are due to meet in madrid. the war in ukraine, and the future direction of the alliance are on the agenda, as turkey drops its opposition to sweden and finland joining.

let's discusses not live to madrid. and we can talk to the washington post's brussels bureau chief, emily rauhala. you are in madrid for this gathering. it gets under way in earnest today, the real proceedings get under way later. is it fair to say it is starting on a stronger because of the news about finland and sweden? , , , , , sweden? definitely, this issue had been holding _ sweden? definitely, this issue had been holding up _ sweden? definitely, this issue had been holding up the - had been holding up the alliance for the last month, as turkey objected to their candidacy. late last night, the first night of the summit, turkey dropped that opposition, signed a memorandum of understanding whether sweden and finland, and that allows their succession to move forward but also for the summit to move forward on a more positive note. and, what is your expectation for this nato summit? it is

critical timing, you know, following off the back of the g7 leaders meeting as well, with russia upping the nt in ukraine, with the most recent strikes we have seen this week. that is exactly it, this comes as a tough moment in the wall for ukrainian fighters as they are hit by forces in the east. there is a sense among the heads of state and government gathered here in madrid, after the g7 meetings as well, that they need to do more, they need to put on a united front and really send a message to russia and to president putin that they have not given up, and they have not given up, and they are encouraging more support to ukraine. so there have been a lot of messages of unity and potentially some announcements on additional support for ukraine, and somewhat longer term plans about how the alliance will respond to this new reality of russia's posture.— russia's posture. how united reall is russia's posture. how united really is it? _ russia's posture. how united really is it? we _ russia's posture. how united really is it? we know - russia's posture. how united really is it? we know that - russia's posture. how united l really is it? we know that they want to show a united front,

that they want that message sent to the kremlin in particular, but where are the fault lines? it is such a difficult challenge, how to respond to the russia threat. that's right, with every month that passes it gets harder to bring everyone together, and i think turkey's last—minute objections on sweden and finland's candidacy, which was seen as almost a sure thing really spoke to how fragile some of these coalitions can be. the fact that it was resolved through weeks of diplomacy and interventions really at all levels is a good sign, it does show some momentum but we will have to see what is actually announced in madrid, and what kind of numbers, what kind of weapons, what concrete measures the allies will take as a fatigue sets in and voters turn their attention elsewhere, but the fighting grinds on in ukraine. indeed, and this is the issue, the longevity of this invasion and the cost of it, because for

nato members it is expensive. you have the uk prime ministers saying, "we need to put more money on the part. we need to give more." how will they be received? that is exactly it. people have broadly been supportive of nato's efforts, efforts by nato for ukraine across a domestic level, but as inflation soars, as economies take a turn for the worse, there is a real leadership challenge here for leadership challenge here for leaders to explain to ordinary people across these alliances why this matters, why the support is a critical right now and what that might look like. emily, we appreciate your time this morning. thank you. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, says she wants a second independence referendum to be held on october the 19th, next year. the uk government said now was not the time for another vote on the issue.

ms sturgeon said the supreme court would be asked to decide whether the vote could go ahead. now is the time at this critical moment in history to debate and decide the future of our country. now is the time to get scotland on the right path, the path chosen by those who live here, now is the time for independence. i had ihada i had a late night, i was watching serena williams in wimbledon. latersport. hello. will we see serena williams play at wimbledon again? she was beaten by french woman harmony tan in a thrilling first round match. williams hadn't played in a singles match since she retired injured at last year's tournament.

in tan she faced an ultra competitive foe. the match that ebb and flowed. serena had an opportunity to serve for the match in the third but tan showed admirable resolve taking it to champions tie break which she won 10—7 consigning williams to a second loss in a grand slam first round. so could this be goodbye for the 40—year—old? when you're at home, especially in new york in the us open, and that being the first place i have won a grand slam is something that is always super special, yourfirst something that is always super special, your first time something that is always super special, yourfirst time is always special, so definitely lots of motivation to get better and to play a time. rafael nadal was made to work against francisco cerundolo but he won in four sets. nadal had looked to be cruising winning the opening two sets

but the argentine won the third set and threatened in the fourth before the spaniard found his rhythm again. the second seed is looking to win his third grand slam of the year and extend his record for most slams won by a man to 23. two—time champion andy murray is back in action on wednesday when he takes on the big serving american john isner. murray came through a tough challenge on the opening day against james duckworth but he won in four sets. in isner, he's playing a man he's never lost to. they've played each other eight times but the last time was way back in 2016. it's the end of an era in english cricket with eoin morgan's international retirement. though he started his career with ireland, his 13 years with england saw him become one of the world's great one—day and t20 players. captain of both sides, he led england to their first world cup victory in 2019 when they won after a dramatic super over at lords against new zealand.

he leaves as england's leading one—day and twenty20 run—scorer of all time and under him england broke the world record for the highest total in a one—day international three times. you know. you wake up and you know. that moment came for me and amsterdam. it is a combination of a lot of things. over the course of my international career, which has been a long time, i havejust come to the end. i'm glad i was in a sound enough space to understand that feeling and be well aware of what it meant, and also what it means both for the england side that have led up the england side that have led up to now, and also my personal life. gabrieljesus has been having a medical at arsenal before a sss—million move from manchester city.

the brazilforward won four premier league titles, three league cups and the fa cup sincejoining city injanuary 2017. jesus worked with arsenal manager mikel arteta while he was coach at manchester city. arsenal have already seen the departure of alexandre lacazette and pierre—emerick aubameyang. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me and the rest of the sport team, goodbye. we have got so much more for you on this programme, including of course more on that nato summit which you can also access on our website. when it comes to nato membership, and as we have been hearing, sweden and finland, it looks like they will be members fairly soon. one of the commitments is that they will spend at least 2% of gross

domestic product on defence. not all members do that. it was something the former president trump had an issue with, so we will talk about that and more in a moment. hello there. on tuesday, we saw a definite east—west divide across the country. eastern areas saw the best of the sunshine and the warmth. further north and west, it was windy with outbreaks of rain and felt fairly cool for the time of year. now, for today, it's going to be one of sunshine and showers and it'll be less windy as well. the reason for it — the centre of this low pressure system will be just pulling away slightly from the northwest of the uk, so we'll have fewer isobars across the charts, but still some weather fronts which will bring outbreaks of rain. the overnight band of rain will be slowly clearing away from eastern england and eastern scotland. it will do by around mid—morning, and then we're all into the regime of sunshine and showers, and into the afternoon, some of these showers could turn out to be heavy and thundery across some northern and western areas. probably the best of the sunshine across the southeast. winds will be lighter — these are mean wind speeds —

much lighter than what we had on tuesday. i think with lighter winds and in the sunshine, it'll feel a touch warmer. temperatures range from around 18—23 degrees across the southeast. many of the showers will tend to fade away during wednesday night. just watching this area of heavy, perhaps thundery rain, just scrape the far southeast of the near continent there. that'll push in towards the north sea, perhaps affecting northeast scotland during the morning. but for most, it's clear spells, one or two showers and mild, with temperatures in double figures for most. you can see that weather front bringing heavy rainfall across the eastern parts of the uk as we head through thursday. otherwise, low pressure, again, close enough to bring another day of sunshine and showers. so, this rain could get close, again, to the southeast of england during thursday afternoon. could be some heavy rain as well across the far northeast of scotland. otherwise, for most, sunshine and showers again, some of them will be quite heavy, and because the winds are light, these showers will be fairly slow—moving. temperatures reaching highs of 18—21 degrees. friday, similar story.

we've got low pressure to the west of the uk, so again, it's generally light winds, sunny spells, scattered showers and some of them could be quite heavy in places, and those temperatures around just a little below the seasonal norm of, say, 18—21 celsius. now, as we head into the weekend, we'll hold onto the sunshine and showers theme, but i think from sunday and into the following week, it looks like high pressure will build in from the west, and that should settle things down and turn warmer in the south.

hello again. time for the top business stories. beefing up security, finland and swedenjoin nato: we take a look at the cost involved in joining the alliance. us consumer confidence falls to a 16—month low as concerns over an imminent recession grow. a stunt and not reality: uk transport secretary grant shapps tells the bbc it's not his job to settle a pay dispute between rail employers and the workers union with more strike action likely in the coming months. and no fuel, medical supplies and heavily in debt: we take a look at how sri lanka's economic crisis is getting worse by the day.