this is bbc news, i'm frankie mccamley. russia's defence minister, sergei shoigu, says russian troops have completed the capture of the eastern ukrainian region of luhansk. moscow claims its forces have encircled lysychansk, the last city in the area which was being defended by ukraine. the regional governor of luhansk says russian forces are, as he put it, are now "entrenched" in lysychansk. a spokesman for the ukrainian ministry of defence, yuriy sak, said he could not confirm

that the russians had full control of the city. we've been hearing these claims, actually, from yesterday, and these claims have not been confirmed yet by the ukraine's general staff, the armed forces of ukraine, neither by the local administration and authorities. what we can say with certainty, of course, is the situation in lysychansk has been very intense for quite a while now. after the battle for severodonetsk, lysychansk was the key focus of the russian offensive, their ground forces have been affecting lysychansk nonstop, the city was under intense artillery fire, missile fire, bombardments, aerial bombardments. and like we've always been saying, and our minister of defence confirmed it a few days ago, for ukrainians, the value of human

life is top priority, so sometimes we may retreat from certain areas, just so that we will retake them in the future. and there are other claims that russia is encircling ukrainian troops, or encircling the town itself. what's your take on that? trying to encircle ukrainian troops in the east of ukraine, in the area of luhansk and donetsk regions, has been russian tactics from the beginning of this aggressive war. they've very often claimed that they've almost completed an encirclement, but very often, these claims haven not been corroborated, so at the moment we can say that the city is still not under the full control of the russian armed forces, and as for the encirclement, of course, they are trying to achieve that, but ukrainian armed forces are resisting very heroically and are very determined not to allow

this to happen. if russia does take lysychansk, the last major stronghold in the luhansk region, is that game over in the donbas? this will by far not be the game overfor the donbas area because, as you know, there are other large cities in the donbas area, particularly in the donetsk region, including slovyansk and kramatorsk. these are cities which are now controlled fully by the ukrainian armed forces. and these are cities which are, and have been for the last couple of days, targets for very severe missile attacks, artillery shelling in particular. today in the morning, there have been reports of a missile strike on kramatorsk. slovyansk is under artillery shelling every day, but the battle for the donbas is not over yet.

ukraine is hopeful and continues to receive military support from our western allies, and sooner or later, we will accumulate a sufficient number of heavy artillery and other types of weaponry that will allow us to go on the counter—offensive and liberate our lands, and notjust the donetsk and the luhansk regions, but also other parts of ukraine which are temporally occupied by these war criminals and aggressors.

good afternoon. new allegations have emerged against chris pincher, who resigned from the government on thursday, after he was accused of groping two men in a private members�* club the night before. mr pincher, who admits that he'd had too much to drink, says he's now seeking professional help. he denies the latest claims, which are made in a number of sunday newspapers. borisjohnson is facing questions about how much he knew when he appointed mr pincher as the deputy chief whip in february. here's our political correspondent, helen catt.

it was what its claimed happened on an evening of drinking here at london's carlton club that led to chris pincher�*s resignation from the government on thursday night and later his suspension as a conservative mp. intraday�*s papers there are more claims denied by mr pincher of incidents at other locations back and number of years, among them that he made unwanted physical advances towards three male mps, including once in a parliamentary bar and once in his office. it's reported one of those mps told downing street in february about his experience, when the prime minister was considering appointing mr pincher to the whips office, but the government insists mrjohnson was not aware of specific accusations. how campy she was sure he about the allegations? == accusations. how campy she was sure he about the allegations?— he about the allegations? -- how can ou be he about the allegations? -- how can you be sure- — he about the allegations? -- how can you be sure. before _ he about the allegations? -- how can you be sure. before this _ he about the allegations? -- how can you be sure. before this morning, - you be sure. before this morning, he did not know about specific allegations. as has been reported, people spoke to him on friday and the whip was removed from chris

pincher, who is now under a formal investigation process and it's important that process is allowed to happen. is a important that process is allowed to ha en. ,., ., important that process is allowed to hauen. ,., ., , happen. is a former number ten aide now critical of — happen. is a former number ten aide now critical of boris _ happen. is a former number ten aide now critical of boris johnson, - now critical of borisjohnson, cummings, said the prime minister had long before referred to mr pincher is pincher by name, pincher by nature. i pincher is pincher by name, pincher b nature. ~ f . by nature. i think they've made decisions they _ by nature. i think they've made decisions they shouldn't - by nature. i think they've made decisions they shouldn't have l by nature. i think they've made - decisions they shouldn't have made. i can't believe some of the things in the papers today but what the prime minister may have personally been aware of before he made decisions like this, and it affects the reputation of us all, and that's what i find so frustrating. in what i find so frustrating. in a statement — what i find so frustrating. in a statement released _ what i find so frustrating. in a statement released yesterday, chris pincher said the stresses of the last few days on top of those of the last few days on top of those of the last few days on top of those of the last few months have made him accept it would benefit from professional medical support and that he was in the process of seeking that. he said he hoped to return to his constituency duties soon but he has agreed to stay away from parliament while he is investigated by its independent complaints and

grievances scheme. russia says ukraine has targeted missile strikes at the city of belgorod, close to its border with ukraine into its territory. it says at least three people have been killed. let's speak to our correspondent sarah rainsford in kyiv. russia is now saying four people have been killed, as it says three missiles were fired ukraine into russian territory, and its air defence systems knocked those missiles out of the sky and the debris damaged dozens of houses and killed people on the ground. ukraine hasn't commented at all on this claim, this allegation, as it hasn't commented on previous incidents where russia has accused ukraine of firing missiles into its territory, but in one sad twist of fate we do know that several of those who were killed in this incident are said to be ukrainian citizens. in another

div element today, there are claims from the national defence minister in russia that the key city of lysychansk in russia that the key city of lysycha nsk in in russia that the key city of lysychansk in eastern ukraine, in the donbas, has now to russian forces. yesterday evening, we saw pictures on social media of chechen russian fighters claiming to have seized the city. this is a critical moment, because it was the last city held by ukrainian forces in the luhansk region of the donbas, and the russian defence minister has claimed that entire region has fallen to russian troops. ukraine is denying that and saying fierce fighting continues, but i think russia's slow creep across the donbas, its battle for the donbas, is obviously escalating with every single day. thank you, sarah rainsford. the government's spending watchdog is to review borisjohnson�*s pledge to build a0 new hospitals by 2030, to see if it still represents good value for money, given spiralling inflation. details of the national audit office review first emerged in a letter

to the shadow health secretary, wes streeting. but the department of health and social care insists the plan is on track to deliver a0 new hospitals by 2030. tens of thousands of people have been told to leave their homes in sydney, following torrential rain and flash flooding in australia's largest city. up to 35 centimetres of rain have hit certain areas. the emergency services minister for new south wales says the situation is "life—threatening". there are calls for the treasury to cut the cost of fuel in the most rural parts of the country, after the average price of a litre of unleaded petrol reached a new high of over £1.91 on uk forecourts this week. rural fuel duty relief cuts 5p per litre off the cost of petrol and diesel where prices are higher, but is only available in a handful of remote areas in england and scotland, not northern ireland or wales, as hywel griffith reports.

this is linda's office. her car roams the roads of rural west wales, clocking up 1,000 miles a month so she can care for people in their own homes. it's a lifeline for her community... you 0k, ian? ..in one of the most remote areas of britain, but it comes at a rising cost. even with a mileage allowance from her employer, linda says she now spends half of her wages on fuel. i will have to leave this job, and i would hate to, i would really hate to. we don't have enough staff, i don't think any care company has enough staff, and they are going to leave. there is a government scheme to bring down the cost of petrol and diesel in remote places. rural fuel duty relief is only available in a handful of post codes in england and scotland, and nowhere at all in wales or northern ireland.

it's meant to compensate for the cost of getting fuel to remote forecourts, not the extra miles people drive in the countryside. the treasury says every driver in the uk has already benefited from the fuel duty cut in march. there's another garage, he's below £2. but nick says he has not felt the benefit. the cost of fuelling his cabs has risen 50% in the last six months, and after holding out, this month he has put up his prices. don't like it. i feel i'm letting people down. i don't like doing it, but i've got to, because otherwise, next week i won't be here. oh, you have grown it more now. robin has already put up her prices and doesn't feel she can do it again, so this mobile hairdresser now stays at home. most of her customers now drive to her. for the time being, with the costs of the fuel,

and everything else going up, working more from home i am not putting that price up for the clients. what did you do there? the cost of fuel has driven inflation across the uk, but in some of its most rural communities it risks changing lives and livelihoods for good. hywel griffith, bbc news, ceredigion. the all england club is celebrating 100 years of the centre court at wimbledon today, and the british numberfour, heather watson, is first up, having reached the fourth round for the first time in her career. 0ur sports news correspondent, laura scott, is there for us. tennis fans will know only too well we are normally only here at wimbledon on the middle sunday of the championships when we have had a lot of rain but it's all changed. the rest day is a thing of the past,

as wimbledon comes into line with the other grand slams by scheduling play all 1a days, and it's particularly special this year because it's the centenary celebrations of centre court. every single champion has been invited and there's already been a sighting of eight times champion roger federer as well as 1500 local refugees from ukraine, afghanistan and syria. there will be live music and memories of iconic moments on centre court. hoping to keep that party atmosphere going is britain's heather watson, who has paid on every day of the tournament so far, because she is true to the last 16 of the singles and doubles. she expects a difficult match against world number 97jule niemeier, then there's a blockbuster match between jannik sinner and novak djokovic. then there is the match between cameron norrie and tommy paul, good friends, but you would imagine that will be left in the locker room as they play for a spot in the

quarterfinal. there will be coverage of all the action at wimbledon on bbc one and two this afternoon — and we'll be back with on bbc one with the news at 5, bye for now. this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm frankie mccamley. our top stories: 0ne one of post—war britain's leading theatre directors, peter brooke has died in paris at the age of 97. peter brook's early stage career ranged from radical interpretations of shakespeare to broadway musicals. his best—known film was lord of the flies, released in 1963. sarah campbell looks back on her life. -- his —— his life. i know a bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxslips and the nodding violet grows... a midsummer night's dream

on trapezes, surely not? yet those who saw the royal shakespeare company's 1970 production thought it brilliant. what better way to capture the strangeness of shakespeare's playful comedy of dreams, fairies and love? peter brook had been directing for 20 years, always original, always challenging. he had flourished in the �*60s and �*70s, one of thousands of artists who rebelled against the old conventions. how are you today? then, controversially, he turned his back on english theatre. at the bouffes du nord, a former music hall in paris, he created an international company of actors. they toured the globe, performing in africa and australia, and with them, brook produced work that fused many different theatrical traditions, like a nine—hour version of the hindu epic, the mahabharata. the theatricality of theatre is that

one group is telling a story to the other and there is this intimate relationship which must never be broken, and a complete shared understanding that, of course, it is not for real. to many, he was the greatest theatre director of the 20th century, a man whose talent crossed continents and cultures, to create memorable and magical work. boris johnson's pledge to build a0 new hospitals by 2030 is facing a review from the government's spending watchdog. the national audit office intends to conduct a "value for money review" later this year. the bbc understands only five nhs trusts are currently building a new hospital. labour has accused the tories of "overpromising and underdelivering". the department of health and social care said the first of the a0 new hospitals "opened for patients last year and a further six are under construction". we can speak now to nigel edwards,

chief executive of the nuffield trust, a think tank focused on health policy. thank you ever so much forjoining us. do you welcome this review? 1 think it's possibly probably necessary, quite a lot has changed since the programme is announced. november last year, a body that i think i had never heard of, but maybe someone else had done, but something called an infrastructure project authority, part of government, had whip —— had issued warnings about the project being delayed and also has been a huge inflation and the costs of building construction, partly due to the pandemic and brexit, but also worldwide, the costs have been going up. a number of the schemes that were originally thought to be affordable when the mac might actually be in trouble. find affordable when the mac might actually be in trouble.- actually be in trouble. and this seems to _ actually be in trouble. and this seems to be — actually be in trouble. and this seems to be confusion - actually be in trouble. and this seems to be confusion over . actually be in trouble. and this| seems to be confusion over the number of new hospitals being built? do you know how many are being

built? , , ., , , ., built? this is a very good question, it turns out — built? this is a very good question, it turns out the _ built? this is a very good question, it turns out the word _ built? this is a very good question, it turns out the word new _ built? this is a very good question, it turns out the word new is - built? this is a very good question, it turns out the word new is a - it turns out the word new is a surprisingly slippery. if you think new means a completely new building on a new site, there is probably only two of those. the rest are largely rebuilding or refurbishment or a new wings on existing buildings and all are very welcome now, because the uk is a massive outlier on high income countries, and how much we have been spending on health infrastructure, diagnostic equipment and buildings. this is all very welcome, but one of the province of the programme is that the idea behind it was to try to approach this with a standardised approach to building, reducing costs, but because these are all refurbishment and buildings on existing sites, having to fit into existing building structures. it is very hard to standardise, the schemes become a more complex, and the approach they want to take is going to prove very

difficult, ithink. bud want to take is going to prove very difficult, ithink.— want to take is going to prove very difficult, i think.— difficult, i think. and do you think we need 40 _ difficult, i think. and do you think we need 40 new— difficult, i think. and do you think we need 40 new hospitals? - difficult, i think. and do you think- we need 40 new hospitals? welcome a number of these _ we need 40 new hospitals? welcome a number of these hospitals _ we need 40 new hospitals? welcome a number of these hospitals are - number of these hospitals are literally falling down, some built with a type of aerated concrete planks have been propped up, i think, with1500 planks have been propped up, i think, with 1500 props on the one, for its roof, another has been waiting for a redevelopment for 30 years, hillingdon, similarly, wits cross, it made a good work—out in february but has again been supposedly been thought of for a rebuild since the 1990s. the one hospital that has opened was actually started a very long time ago, it was delayed due to the collapse of... there is a massive backlog of billions of pounds of maintenance across the whole of the nhs's maintenance across the whole of the nhs�*s buildings, and as i say, it has been a black hole, with very

little investment put into it, and visitors for hospitals will be familiar with the problems of buckets collecting waters, operations being cancelled because things are not working. it is a real problem and a number of these places, i havejust named problem and a number of these places, i have just named a few, problem and a number of these places, i havejust named a few, i have more of a list that of places that have been waiting longer than a decade, two decades, or refurbishment of the age of the state. we are really out of line with our european neighbours on this. it with our european neighbours on this. , ~' with our european neighbours on this. , ,, this. it sounds like you really believe that _ this. it sounds like you really believe that we _ this. it sounds like you really believe that we do _ this. it sounds like you really believe that we do need - this. it sounds like you really believe that we do need a . this. it sounds like you reallyj believe that we do need a lot this. it sounds like you really i believe that we do need a lot of investment into hospitals, but do you think this is the main problem the nhs faces at the moment? should be focusing elsewhere? the the nhs faces at the moment? should be focusing elsewhere?— be focusing elsewhere? the main roblem be focusing elsewhere? the main problem the _ be focusing elsewhere? the main problem the nhs _ be focusing elsewhere? the main problem the nhs faces _ be focusing elsewhere? the main problem the nhs faces is - be focusing elsewhere? the main problem the nhs faces is a - be focusing elsewhere? the main i problem the nhs faces is a staffing. nicer environments with proper environments for staff, would be more likely to keep the staff. we have a problem with keeping the staff, we haven't trained the right number of nurses and doctors, but it

turns out that keeping them is even more of a priority than training them, so all of these things fit together. giving people proper equipment, digital equipment, computers, environments which are nice, staff facilities which help support them, a good environment for patients so it is pleasant to do your work... these things are all interrelated, and am the whole approach don't like this predates this government, to be honest. the british treasury, her majesty's treasury is very tall —— short term in its outlook, it doesn't really seem to think strategically in a way that ministries are finding other european countries, so we have not just underinvested it to —— underinvested in our building, but we have also underinvested in staff, dynastic —— diagnostic technology, the system is required in health care, it is not a happy story. we are falling behind as a consequence.

it all sounds very expensive to fix. labour has criticised this plan as a waste of taxpayers' money, the infrastructure watchdog said this programme was simply unachievable. do you share that view? i think the infrastructure watchdog is the one that i was trying to remember earlier! i have not looked at the details of the business cases and plans, underlying this, so i can't really comment on that. we do make the process of building more expensive, in this country, but perhaps it needs to be, partly because of this, but for example in australia, queensland and new south wales, have been building new hospitals on vacant space, rather than trying to build in and around existing buildings, which delays the project. the massively bureaucratic approvals process that the central

government, civil service have created, as a lot of delay, and of course as you will be aware, any delay in planning and building large projects, inevitably, add to the cost. —— adds to the cost. as a consequence, these hospitals end up being more expensive than they should be, but! being more expensive than they should be, but i think something like the nar, there national order office, they are very good at looking at these sorts of projects, i think there is definitely something there needs to be looked at here. —— nao. it is notjust a problem with this particular programme, i think it is also a problem of how these big so—called capital projects, the big investment projects, are managed across government more generally, we'll be waiting i think for a similar review of hs2 and a variety of other big infrastructure projects because they all suffer from these types of problems. all suffer from these types of problems-— all suffer from these types of roblems. ., ,, , ., , all suffer from these types of roblems. . ~' , ., , . problems. 0k, thank you very much, food to

problems. ok, thank you very much, good to hear— problems. 0k, thank you very much, good to hear your — problems. 0k, thank you very much, good to hear your thoughts, - problems. 0k, thank you very much, good to hear your thoughts, nigel i good to hear your thoughts, nigel edwards, chief executive of the nuffield trust think tank. buying a home has become increasingly difficult for young people across the uk — but in the western isles of scotland the issue is threatening to destroy communities which have thrived there for generations. in uist, there's a plan for affordable new houses based on a system of communal living which dates back to before mediaeval times. 0ur reporter iain macinnes has more. with these challenges, it's looking more likely we'll have to move away again. ijust turned 29 last week and i'm still living at home. i'mjust finding there is nowhere even to rent. you lose young folk, i there is no community. people move, there is going to be no community at all. _ these stories are not unusual. depopulation is of course a long—term challenge in our islands. but a lack of housing is pushing it to crisis point. i think it's really no exaggeration to say housing poses an existential

threat to island life. if we don't address the problems that, as you say, particularly young people are facing, the population will continue, people will move to the mainland forjobs, not because they want to but because they are faced with no alternative. ——de—population. so this is where i grew up. and that section down there is hillary ballater. stephen's family have spent generations here, but for him and his new wife the lack of housing may mean they have to turn their back on the place he calls home. my dream was always to move back here and raise a family myself. but housing isjust one of the main difficulty is that we find. so we are in a predicament now where, if we aren't able to find something long—term, we are going to have to sadly move away again. similar challenges. there is nowhere even to rent. there's nothing looking on us

property and things like that. anything that gets built typically will have people waiting to get in. so it's just really hard to find a place to live. the housing issue here is a longstanding one, but there is hope that a potential solution may lie in a new take on an old concept. what's being proposed builds on the idea of an island clachan which was a handful of houses for communal working was key. there were communities that were formed together, that work together, that shared their workspace and shared their growing space. this smart clachan would be offered to islanders in the first instance on a shared ownership model. the houses wouldn't be built right on the road. they'll be away from the road slightly so that it gives people the opportunity to have a bit more land with each home, as well. and also, we'd be looking at communal garden spaces and with our community workspace, we hope that that will enable people who are living in the homes to be able to work from those spaces. the houses would also be built in the islands in modules at a local factory,

and shipped to the site on barges. but the hope is that the project could then be replicated elsewhere. we know that if this project happens, this will start the ball rolling here, not only in uist but across the islands because it's very much needed. the smart clachan is now at planning stage, with those behind it looking for local and national support to make the project a reality. but for those searching for a place to call home, the project would be just a small step in the majorfight against depopulation in our island communities. ian macinnes, bbc news, uist. time for a look at the weather. here's matt. hello. there's a lot of dry weather around today with some places staying completely dry. still keep on guard for darker clouds on the horizon. a few showers scattered across the country as we've seen so far today and will continue into the afternoon. main rain—bearing weather front we had through yesterday. that's pushing its way

off into the continent, bringing a drop in temperature after record—breaking heat. a few weather fronts weakly tangled across the uk. one, a focus for a few showers, yorkshire down through towards east wales and the midlands as we go through lunch, and into the afternoon, eastern areas most prone to some of the heaviest showers. in the west, though, after starting with showers, many places becoming dry, longer spells of sunshine and a brighter afternoon in the north of scotland compared with this morning. temperatures here a little on the low side, but quite a brisk breeze because of that. we've got winds gusting 30, 35 miles an hour, and that wind will freshen a bit further through tonight, bringing further batches of showery rain across scotland. maybe the odd one into northern ireland, northern england. much of england, wales, though the daytime showers fade away and it will be a dry night for most. and so as we start the monday morning commute, temperatures similar to recent mornings, around 10 to 13 degrees. a dry bright start for the vast majority could be a bit more cloud. isolated showers drift its way southwards across england and wales during the morning. more showers at times in scotland, northern ireland, but actually, very few in number. the vast majority will have a dry day on monday,

and temperatures 16 to 18 degrees across the north but feeling a bit fresher in the cloudier spots and the breeze, low 20s in the south. as we go through into tuesday, high pressure is trying to swing and take milderair, waiting to come round it, but it will come with a lot of cloud. so after a bright start, we'll see cloud thicken up in western scotland, northern ireland, patchy rain later in the day. 0dd isolated showers across some other western areas, many places having a dry day, best of the sunshine to the south and the east. and that area of high pressure will slowly and only slowly nudge its way in as we go through the week. still some weather fronts and breezy conditions toppling around the north, but eventually, temperatures rising. at the moment, we've got the warmth across europe where we've seen record breaking heat. notice those warmer colours depart, turns cooler, the blue colours relative to normal, whereas we start to warm up relative to normalfor this stage injuly. showing up on our city forecast for cardiff and london, temperatures mid 20s later in the week with the best of the sunshine. always cloudy in scotland, northern ireland, but not

desperately chilly.