this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm rich preston. our top stories: in eastern ukraine, further fighting for control of lysycha nsk. the ukrainian army rejects russia's claims they've encircled the city. the un calls for calm in libya as anti—government protests continue but demostrators say they won't give up. a council of afghan tribal elders ends with a call for the world to recognise the taliban and lift sanctions. the biggest ever london pride — more than a million people take to the streets as it marks its 50th anniversary. and, getting fiery under the lights at wimbledon — the match one player described as a �*circus�*.

ukraine says its forces are enduring intense russian shelling in the eastern city of lysycha nsk but it denies claims its troops are surrounded. lysychansk is the last ukrainian—held city in luhansk, which is part of the industrial donbas region. these pictures from russia's state—owned domestic news agency ria novosti show drone images of battles near the city. elsewhere, russia is continuing its missile strikes. in the south, ukraine's military says the city of mykolaiv has been hit by ten missiles targetting the port and other industrial infrastructure. it's not yet clear if there are any casualities. ukrainian authorities have accused moscow of hitting civilian targets in an effort to force them into making territorial concessions. meanwhile, two more britons captured by russian forces in ukraine have been charged with being mercenaries, according to russian state media. it comes after two other

british men were sentenced to death last month. joe inwood reports. andrew hill travelled to ukraine to help fight the russian invasion. dylan healy went there to help evacuate civilians. both men now face being tried as mercenaries, in an unrecognised separatist court. they would not be the first to appear there. last month, aiden aslin, shaun pinner and a moroccan man, brahim saaudun, were all sentenced to death by the so—called donetsk people's republic. according to dominic byrne, who is working on their cases, it is no coincidence most of them are british. this really shows that the russians are putting more and more pressure on the british government than other governments and using the british prisoners as more of a political tool and negotiation tool more than others, and we believe that's the case because the british government have really seemed to rattled

the russians within ukraine. rattled or not, on the battlefields of the east, russia is very much on the advance. they're said to be taking ground in lysychansk, the last part of the luhansk region held by the ukrainians. russia is moving to encircle the city. if they do, they will cut off some of ukraine's most experienced soldiers. but it's notjust the eastern donbas region that has felt the effects of russia's invasion. the last fortnight have seen attacks right across ukraine. here in the capital, kyiv, at a shopping centre in the town of kremenchuk, and most recently in the resort of serhiyivka. 21 people are now known to have died when three russian missiles struck the popular holiday destination. roman tried to help. translation: everyone - who was inside at that moment, they all died. my neighbour was a very good person. it's a great pity. she simply died in my arms. it's really scary. i don't know how

to put it into words. the attack on serhiyivka came just a few hours after russia was driven from the strategically important snake island, under massive ukrainian bombardment. russia claimed it left as a gesture of goodwill, but last night returned to bomb the equipment it had been forced to leave behind. joe inwood, bbc news, kyiv. protesters in libya say they'll carry on with demonstrations until the ruling elite steps aside. there were marches in most cities across the country, but the united nations has called for calm after protesters stormed libya's parliament on friday night. the bbc�*s azaday moshiri has more. libya's parliament in flames. protesters are marching in several cities, but it is here in the eastern city of tobruk that their anger was on full display. despite being an oil—rich

country, that wealth has not trickled down to the people. libya has been suffering chronic power cuts and rising prices. and since its ruler, colonel muammar gaddafi, was ousted more than ten years ago, the country has been locked in chaos. but in the light of day, not all people in libya approved of the parliament being torched. translation: yes, these protesters are under- the poverty line, they don't have money and can't have a decent life, not even food. we support them, and support their rights, but not the way they did it. translation: what happened after sunset, the destruction . of libyan buildings and public properties, is considered a shame in the city of tobruk. with the country struggling through political deadlock, the protesters have specific demands. they want all ruling bodies

to give up their powers, and want elections that were originally scheduled for last december to finally be held. the un has said the protests should be a clarion call for the political class to put their differences aside. until that happens, protesters have vowed to step up the pressure. azaday mashiri, bbc news. religious leaders and tribal elders who've been holding a three—day meeting in the afghan capital, kabul, have called on the international community to recognise the taliban as legitimate rulers of the country, and lift all sanctions. around 3,000 clerics attended the male—only conference. earlier i spoke to husain haqqani, the former ambassador of pakistan to the united states, who now serves as a director for south & central asia at the hudson institute. i asked what he thinks the taliban might have wanted to get out of this event.

the taliban are looking for legitimacy, and one of the things they were looking to prove by having a grand assembly is that they are not ruling afghanistan without consent of tribal elders and scholars from all over afghanistan. they will not get that legitimacyjust by corralling about 3000 people and making them say what they manage to get them to say. because the taliban took power by force, and the rest of the world recognises that reality. why are these clerical leaders so important for the taliban for their future control of the country? the taliban were always a movement that was very narrowly based, it represents only the pashtun part of afghanistan. and only the hardline believers in a hardline ideology. they have been very closely associated with a belief system that is identified internationally with al-qaeda and other extremist groups.

so they now need to project to the rest of the world that they have the support of people other than members of their hardcore organisation and movement, and that is why they assembled a wider gathering. as you mentioned, the taliban are looking for international recognition, but at the same time, they are failing to move forwards on issues, especially issues like human rights and rights for women and girls. what is the best, realistically, that the taliban can hope for, if they refuse to change their position on that front? until the taliban change their stance on women and girls and on many other things, including how they treat various ethnic minorities, how they treat religious minorities, as well as how they interact with the rest of the world, i do not think the taliban will get international recognition or the lifting of sanctions. their only hope right now is to continue getting food aid, medicalsupplies, which the rest of the world

understands has to be given to afghanistan, and some engagement with the taliban, because they are the de facto rulers of the country. but legitimacy and full recognition is a long way off, and the lifting of sanctions does not seem feasible until and unless the taliban change. these sanctions were there to punish the taliban, effectively. but at the same time, arguably, it makes things worse if international governments can't engage with the taliban properly. is there an argument that it would be ultimately best for the west to drop the sanctions and, for the good of the region, start dealing with the taliban and accept that that is who rules afghanistan? i think the fact that the taliban rule of afghanistan will not change, with or without sanctions, but the taliban's behaviour can change with sanctions. without sanctions, the taliban will have no countervailing force oi’ pressure. the taliban rule with an iron hand, and the only hope that the people of afghanistan, especially the women and girls who are suffering from their oppression, is that the international community can pressure

the taliban into changing their behaviour. that is the moment every country where sanctions are imposed. now, sanctions are making the ordinary people of afghanistan suffer differently, that always happens, and the international community has to make sure that the sanctions are designed in a way in which the taliban suffer more than the ordinary people of afghanistan. the taliban will be hoping some countries may be more inclined to help them than others. pakistan has previously engaged with the taliban. you are the former ambassador of pakistan. what could pakistan be doing to engage with the taliban? the taliban in pakistan are very closely engaged. pakistan's ambassador in kabul talks to the taliban frequently, in fact, pakistan is the window into afghanistan while

the international community maintain sanctions against afghanistan. but the problem is, pakistan does not have the resources or the means to be able to support afghanistan. that is something that people like myself, who were critical of pakistan's policy of supporting the taliban, pointed out earlier as well, that pakistan cannot afford a satellite state. the taliban have received pakistani support but they're not in pakistan's control, and that creates a serious problem for pakistan in influencing the taliban while getting international support for further acceptance of the taliban by the international community. let's get some of the day's other news. authorities in israel say they've shot down three unarmed hezbollah drones heading towards a rig in the karish gas field. ownership of the field is disputed between israel and lebanon. the militant group says it launched the drones as part of what it called

a reconnaissance mission. palestinian authorities have handed over to us experts the bullet that killed the palestinian—american journalist shireen abu akleh earlier this year whilst she was working for the al jazeera news network. palestinian authorities say she was killed by israeli soldiers when she was covering clashes in the west bank. israel says she wasn't shot intentionally. it's now known that at least 2a people have been killed in a landslide in northeastern india. a section of a hill fell on a railway construction camp in the state of manipur after heavy rains. 38 people are still unaccounted for. as the us prepares to celebrate independence day, it hasn't gone unnoticed on social media that in some states, the freedom being celebrated is being taken away from women's reproductive health choices. presidentjoe biden has weighed in on the topic and around the world, there have been protests in solidarity with the

pro—choice movement. crowds in france standing in solidarity but underneath the shows after ports, it is own rights they are scared for. translation:— rights they are scared for. translation: , ., , ., ., translation: this demonstration is a reaction _ translation: this demonstration is a reaction to _ translation: this demonstration is a reaction to what _ translation: this demonstration is a reaction to what happened - is a reaction to what happened with the us supreme court. it is also a demonstration to remind everyone that the right to abortion is a right and we must be able to attain it. beyond that what we are also calling for is the right for abortion to be tried in the french constitution. the recent successes _ french constitution. the recent successes in — french constitution. the recent successes in the _ french constitution. the recent successes in the far _ french constitution. the recent successes in the far right - successes in the far right people justice party successes in the far right peoplejustice party of marine le pen not farfrom minds of people. on the other side of the world, people in sydney ignoring pouring rain to protest a decision, with thousands more in melbourne. in the us, the fight isjust

getting started. the us, the fight is 'ust getting started. extremist government _ getting started. extremist government trying - getting started. extremist government trying to - getting started. extremist| government trying to block getting started. extremist i government trying to block a woman travelling from her state that prohibits her to seeking medical help she needs to a state that provides that care, the federal government will act to work to protect her write it through the attorney general office. ,, ., through the attorney general office. , . , , office. some states wishful thinkin: office. some states wishful thinking but _ office. some states wishful thinking but others - office. some states wishful thinking but others think. office. some states wishful thinking but others think it | we still have a equal rights amendment. president biden could — amendment. president biden could collaborate with members of congress to really push them to get— of congress to really push them to get their women's health protection act enacted, and that— protection act enacted, and that is— protection act enacted, and that is an _ protection act enacted, and that is an act that quantifies roe — that is an act that quantifies roe versus wade and a lot of authority— roe versus wade and a lot of authority in power within the president hans. its authority in power within the president hans.— president hans. as the pro-choice _ president hans. as the pro-choice movement | president hans. as the i pro-choice movement in president hans. as the _ pro-choice movement in america pro—choice movement in america laws are kicking in, many are facing the reality of their productive rights going back in time.

greece has welcomed the first of more than 200 firefighters from other european countries who will help to contain summer wildfires. last year, following the worst heatwave in decades, a spate of fires caused devastation across the country, as gail maclellan reports. the first european firefighters from romania and bulgaria have arrived in greece along with their firetrucks. they will be joined by colleagues from france, finland, germany and norway. the project is being funded by the eu's civil protection mechanism and the greek government is grateful. translation: we thank you very much for coming to help us - during a difficult summer for our country and for proving that european solidarity is not just theoretical, it's real. greece is on high alert this year. the government conscious of the anger that followed last year's devastating fires and what was seen as their slow response. this year they have boosted firefighting capacity and the european forces will provide crucial backup.

translation: france has. a strong knowledge when it comes to forest fires, particularly around the mediterranean region, so this mission will be an opportunity for very interesting discussions with the greek firefighters. we will see what they have to teach us, what we can teach them and how it will benefit both sides. this is what they have come to prevent. in two weeks last august, more than 16,000 hectares went up in smoke on evia just 80km east of athens, laying waste to homes, pine forests, olive groves and livestock after the worst heatwave in 30 years. the european firefighters will be on standby with the local groups during the hottest months, july and august, all hoping that history will not repeat itself. gail maclellan, bbc news. here in the uk, there are fresh allegations about the behaviour of chris pincher, the mp suspended from the conservative

party amid allegations he groped two men. mr pincher resigned as deputy chief whip on thursday, after admitting he had drunk far too much and embarrassed himself at the carlton club in london. he now says he's seeking professional medical support. 0ur politcal correspondent damien grammaticus has more. the sunday papers, which will be out in the morning, they are now saying that they have new allegations, and that these are just allegations, made about chris pincher and his behaviour. the mail on sunday and the sunday times in particular including things like, the mail says, they have spoken to someone who claims that, a decade ago, when they were 2a, they were subjected to unwanted advances from mr pincher. another claimed that a tory staffer said they tried to prevent lecherous advances to a young man at a tory conference, and mr pincher threatened to report that staffer to her boss. another claim that boris johnson was made aware of two months ago, about claims that mr pincher had made unwanted

advances to a tory mp, and when rebuffed, had gone to that tory mp's wife with allegations of a sexual nature about the mp. so all of these are now being reported by the sunday papers. there are warnings of further disruption for air travellers passing through heathrow this summer, with more flights likely to be cancelled in the coming weeks at the uk's busiest airport. the cuts are expected as the airlines change their schedules ahead of the school holiday period. our business reporter noor nanji has the story. after big queues at airports this summer, warnings of more disruption, with a new wave of flight cancellations expected to be announced next week. we're now right in the midst of the peak summer travel season but we're still experiencing the problems of lack of manpower, not only for airlines but across airports,

ground handlers and even in some cases border control staff, so the mix of high volumes and lack of people is causing tremendous dislocation at many airports. the government is allowing an amnesty on airport slot rules, which they say is part of their plan to tackle disruption ahead of the summer season. it means airlines are able to cancel flights without being penalised for not using their slot, but they must finalise their schedules by this friday. british airways services from heathrow are likely to bear the brunt of any cancellations. but ba said the relaxed rules would help them provide certainty to customers by making it easier to consolidate some quieter flights. ba is already facing the threat of summer strikes from cabin and ground crews over a pay dispute. today, there are already strikes by ryanair and easyjet cabin crew in spain, and some passengers are being stranded across europe. so what should you do if you're caught up in all of this?

crucially, i know what my rights are if anything is cancelled and that is to get a replacement flight on the same day if there's anything available that will take me there at the airline's expense, and then furthermore hotel accommodation if need be and compensation if it's the airline's fault, which if its technical issues or staff shortage, it generally is. but for one passenger who's stuck in geneva after having his flight to bristol cancelled for three days in a row, it's tough. i don't have any available funds to pay for anything. easyjet have said they'll refund me any expenses, but i can't pay for anything at the minute. after two years of covid rules, the travel industry and passengers were hoping for a return to normality, but for now those fears of delays and cancellations are not going away. and it's notjust the uk facing travel chaos in the us,

thousands of americans have had their fourth ofjuly plans disrupted. airlines have cancelled more than 1,000 flights across the independence day holiday weekend amid a shortage of pilots and crew. london has seen its biggest ever pride, more than a million people have taken part, in the first event since 2019, because of the pandemic. it's also the 50th anniversary of london's first pride event. 0ur lgbt and identity correspondent lauren moss reports. cheering. it's loud, it's proud, and it is back where it all began. the pride march took to the streets of london once again, led by the gay liberation front, who started it in 1972. generations came together under the rainbow flag, including 17—year—old erin, and her mum vicky, who travelled from leicestershire. i came out this year to my mum as bi, and i have always wanted to come to one of these festivals, and when i discovered we would be down here, because we went

to a guns n' roses concert yesterday, i asked if we could go, and my mum was so for it. i am so proud of erin, i really am, and to see everybody today, it is the most amazing experience. for others, it was a homecoming. jamison went to his first pride 46 years ago. it is wonderful now, i to see the progression of what it was, and - what we have become. it is thought around 30,000 people took part in the parade today, including some from the original pride in 1972. it is one of the most colourful celebrations in the country, but pride is still a protest at its heart. not being complacent, we saw this time last week in oslo, hours before their pride, a terrorist attack, leading to two people being killed and more than 20 people being injured, so we can't pretend that there isn't discrimination, bias and violence against people in this community. pride is reaching far and wide in the uk, with events

from shetland to salisbury, and will continue for the next several weeks. lauren moss, bbc news. tennis, and wimbledon has had its fair share of characters down the years. there'sjohn mcenroe of course, or you might remember jeff tarango, who was so upset he walked off court. the latest bad boy is australia's nick kyrgios. he beat number—four seed, stefanos tsitsipas, in a match that was far from good—natured. with that, and the rest of the action, here's the bbc�*s tim allman. look up fiery in the dictionary and you will probably see a photo from this match. two players who despite once being doubles partners, clearly don't always get along. things seemed to turn a little sour when the greek player hit a ball into the crowd, nearly striking a spectator. the australian insisted his opponent should default the match and made his opinion

clear loudly and repeatedly to the umpire. it's constant bullying, that's what he does. he bullies his opponents. he was probably a bully at school himself. he has some good traits in his character as well, but he also has a very evil side to him. kyrgios continued to berate the officials in a match described as being like a circus but in the end he won it in four sets. i don't know what to say, i'm not sure how i bullied him. he was the one hitting balls at me. he's the one that hit a spectator, he's the one that smacked it out of the stadium. i didn't do anything. i was actually, like, apart from me just going back and forth to the umpire a fair bit, i did nothing towards stefanos today that was disrespectful. elsewhere, rafael nadal booked his place in the second week of the tournament beating italy's lorenzo sonego in straight sets. there was a big upset in the women's draw, world number one iga swiatek saw her 37—match winning streak come to a close. france's alize cornet beat her 6—4, 6—2.

the 32—year—old says she is like a good wine that has aged well. for the first time ever, sunday will see scheduled to play at wimbledon. a centre court marks its centenary. history is always being made around here. tim allman, bbc news. before we go, let's bring you an update on the conflict in ukraine. it's being reported by the reuters news agency that at least three people have been killed as a result of blasts in the russian town of belgorod, which is about 35km, 20 miles, from the border with ukraine. that's according to the local governor of the belgorod region. he said in a post on the telegram messaging app that the blasts had partially destroyed 11 apartment buildings and at least 39 private residential buildings and that the reasons for the incident are being investigated. we'll bring you more on that story as soon as we have it. you can keep up—to—date on the

bbc news website. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @richpreston. from all of us on the team here in london, thanks for watching, we will see you next time. hello, there. part two of the weekend is looking fairly unsettled as well. we'll have more showers around, some of them could turn out to be quite heavy in places, maybe some rumbles of thunder. the winds light in the south, quite breezy across northern areas, and it's because we've got low pressure to the north of the uk, high pressure towards the south and a couple of weak weather fronts crossing the country. these will enhance the shower activity. now, one such front will be lying across central parts of the uk through the morning, so it'll be rather cloudy here with some showery rain, some sunshine across the south, showers. quite breezy across scotland and northern ireland. but into the afternoon, all areas will see sunshine and showers — some of them could be heavy across some central and eastern areas. it could turn a bit drier towards western areas later in the day. top temperatures 21—22 degrees in the south and east, generally the mid—teens further north. now, there could be a passing shower at wimbledon, but i think the emphasis will be on drier and sunnier

weather, with light winds, and a top temperature of around 22 degrees. now, through sunday night, it looks like the showers will fade away. lengthy clear skies again across england and wales. scotland and northern ireland will stay breezy, with showers or longer spells of rain, and temperatures will range from around nine to 12 celsius across the uk. so, monday, we start off with some sunshine across southern and eastern areas, a few showers developing here into the afternoon. most of the showers, though, will be across the north and west of the country, leaving some longer spells of rain at times, for the north and west of scotland. temperatures again, the mid—teens in the north. we could see 22, or even 23 degrees, across southeast england. this area of high pressure want to continue to build into the southwest, but around the top of it, it will feed in a lot of cloud to northern and western parts of the country. some cloud getting down

into the south and the east as well, maybe just one or two showers here, and top temperatures around 17 to 22 celsius. now, as we move deeper into the week, it looks like this area of high pressure will continue to influence our weather, pushing these weather fronts away, but it'll always be cloudier, with the chance of some showers, and stronger breeze across the north and the west of the uk for the rest of the week. you can see the cloudier sky across scotland and northern ireland. the further south that you are, a better chance of staying dry, and it should start to turn warmer, perhaps reaching 26 degrees on friday.

this is bbc news. the headlines: fighting appears to be intensifying around the ukrainian city of lysychansk as russian forces try to take the only remaining city in the luhansk region not under their control. it's come under intense shelling but a ukrainian spokesman denied claims that russian—backed fighters had now encircled the city. libyan activists say they'll continue protesting until the ruling elite steps aside. the comments follow rallies in most parts of the country on friday, which ended in the parliament building in tobruk being stormed and then set on fire. the united nations has called for calm in libya. a three—day meeting of religious and tribal leaders in afghanistan has ended with a call on the international community to recognise the taliban government and lift all sanctions on the country. the male—only meeting also declared that any armed resistance against the militants would be considered a rebellion.