this is bbc news. the headlines at apm: six new claims of inappropriate behaviour by former deputy chief whip chris pincher have emerged, days after he was suspended as a tory mp after allegations he groped two men. russia says it now controls the whole of the luhansk region in eastern ukraine, but ukrainian officials say they can't confirm the reports. thousands of residents in australia's largest city sydney have been ordered to evacuate their homes after torrential rain and flash flooding. the influential british theatre director peter brook, whose career ranged from radical interpretations of shakespeare to broadway musicals, has died at the age of 97. and coming up at a30, the bbc�*s sophie long spends three weeks at a family planning service in arkansas, looking at the supreme court's abortion ruling.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. six new claims of inappropriate behaviour by the former deputy chief whip chris pincher have emerged, days after he was suspended as a tory mp over allegations he groped two men. mr pincher denies the latest claims, which are reported in several sunday newspapers. borisjohnson is facing questions about how much he knew when he appointed the mp as the deputy chief whip in february. here's our political correspondent helen catt. it was what it's 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.

in today's papers, there are more claims, denied by mr pincher, of incidents at other locations, stretching back a 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. one of those mps, it's reported, told downing street in february about his experience, when the prime minister was considering appointing mr pincher to the whip�*s office. but the government insists mrjohnson was not aware of specific accusations. so, how can you be sure that he didn't know about the allegations? what i'm saying is i have been informed this morning that he did not know about specific allegations. as has been well reported, people spoke to him on friday and in agreement with the chief whip, the whip was removed from chris pincher, who, by the way, is now under formal investigation process and it is important that process is allowed to happen. the former number 10 aide, now critic of borisjohnson, dominic cummings said that the prime minister had long before laughingly referred to chris pincher as pincher by name, pincher by nature.

downing street has so far not denied he said this. i don't think they've taken these things seriously, i think they've made decisions which they shouldn't have made. i can't believe some of the things in the papers today about what the prime minister may have been personally aware of before he made decisions like this. and all of politics suffers, there is no doubt about that. it affects the reputation of us all, that's what i find so frustrating. in a statement released yesterday, chris pincher said... ..and that he was in the process of seeking that now. he said he hoped to return to his constituency duties soon but he has agreed to stay away from parliament while he's investigated by its independent complaints and grievance scheme. breaking news from italy, reports of a glacier collapse in the italian

alps, local media saying five people have been killed. will believe this happened in the dolomites, 60 miles north of venice. that is the only information we have at the moment, that five people have been killed in the collapse of a glacier in the dolomites, north of venice. more as that comes in. the russian defence ministry says its troops have gained control of the eastern ukrainian region of luhansk. moscow's forces had been encircling lysychansk, the last city in the area which is still being defended by ukraine. earlier, we spoke with yuriy sak, spokesman for the ukrainian ministry of defence, who countered russia's claim. 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 attacking 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. 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. 0ur correspondent sarah rainsford is following developments from the ukrainian capital kyiv. these reports of russia capturing the city began yesterday evening, in fact, we started seeing pictures

on social media of chechen fighters, fighters from russia, saying they were in central lysychansk and celebrating its capture. they were shouting allahu akbar, god is great, and they were celebrating, saying that they'd taken the city. this is a really important city, the last big, significant one that has remained under ukrainian control in the luhansk region of the donbas, in eastern ukraine. since then, what we have had is a statement from the defence ministry in moscow claiming that lysychansk had fallen to their forces. and we have then heard that the defence minister sergei shoigu himself has been and told vladimir putin, the russian president, that not only lysychansk but the whole of the luhansk region of the donbas is under russian control. that is disputed by ukraine, they say there has been intense fighting but lysychansk the city itself is not yet encircled. but this is clearly a key moment,

you don't normally get the defence minister of russia telling vladimir putin his forces have taken an entire region unless he's pretty confident that that's the truth on the ground. in another development, russia says kyiv has targeted missile strikes at the city of belgorod, close to its border with ukraine. it says at least four people have been killed. ukraine has made no comment about the claim. joining me now isjustine crump, who is the ceo of sibylline, an international intelligence and risk analysis consultancy. thank you for being with us, what you make of these russian claims that they are now in control of the luhansk region? how important is it to them and what do you make of the fact they are making this statement in the first place? i fact they are making this statement in the first place?— in the first place? i think you are completely _ in the first place? i think you are completely correct _ in the first place? i think you are completely correct any _ in the first place? i think you are i completely correct any observations that it would be a big claim to make every russia wasn't pretty sure the situation, while any battle is

always confusing, we talk of the fog of war the lack of clarity, and the donbas has had more than its fair share of dance, the are pretty confident in all their internal and external comms that they have achieved not only via capture of lucy hanks but also the complete capture of lu ha nsk lucy hanks but also the complete capture of luhansk oblast completely, one of their aims, and the one they have always being to achieving, and we have expected this development for some since severodonetsk fell and the pressure towards the encircling of lysychansk began around a week ago. we are about 72 days into this and this is the first thing that the russians have achieved in the dom bess. what have achieved in the dom bess. what does this mean _ have achieved in the dom bess. what does this mean for _ have achieved in the dom bess. what does this mean for the _ have achieved in the dom bess. what does this mean for the wider region, in the context of the russian aims and goals? in the context of the russian aims and coals? , , in the context of the russian aims and goals?— and goals? this is something that the russians _ and goals? this is something that the russians could _ and goals? this is something that the russians could accept - and goals? this is something that the russians could accept as - and goals? this is something that the russians could accept as a - the russians could accept as a victory, that they could really sell, if they captured the rest of

donetsk oblast, which will be a bigger toss and what they have achieved. russia started square are trying to take big chunks of ukraine and they have gone down and down and finally seem to have captured this small bit at the end of donbas. if you have a much bigger struggle with the cities further to the west, sorry aunts and kramatorsk. it is important to note, there are falling back from lysychansk and when they came back, they came back in very good order, they want to be chased out, not driven out, they weren't crushed by the russian forces, they were steadily moved back. if they have done it well, it is hard thing to do good, though russia is not generating the pressure on ukraine that indicates the ukrainian front is about to collapse so we will see more fighting with russia losing its momentum as ukraine builds up, as we have seen a door few weeks.—

have seen a door few weeks. ukraine make the point— have seen a door few weeks. ukraine make the point they _ have seen a door few weeks. ukraine make the point they of _ have seen a door few weeks. ukraine make the point they of strategic - have seen a door few weeks. ukraine make the point they of strategic and | make the point they of strategic and having places withdrawn to then regroup and go back to try and retake an area again and they have been successful in doing this over this war? in been successful in doing this over this war? , .., . this war? in the donbas conference, it is so important _ this war? in the donbas conference, it is so important to _ this war? in the donbas conference, it is so important to russia - this war? in the donbas conference, it is so important to russia and - it is so important to russia and russia will keep the pressure on and will keep advancing, but the expenditure russia is having to make to do those advances, it's beginning to do those advances, it's beginning to bleed them out. i think they are increasingly using older equipment, older shoulders, increasingly using older equipment, oldershoulders, having increasingly using older equipment, older shoulders, having to find volunteers from strange places to keep flushing out the ranks, their attacks remain amateur, though not managing to build up theirforces. although ukraine are losing ground because there are heavily outnumbered and facing a large weight of artillery in particular, there being clever about how to strike back. of the trent favourites ukraine overtime with continued western support. russia is in a race to maintain its combat power. the point is that russia at some point will peak and not have the ability to advance any more, the question is

where with that come? was to achieve what they need to achieve in donetsk before they are pushed on the back foot by ukraine again? that all depends on western support, which is why been talking so much about it and why the nato summit was so important this week.— and why the nato summit was so important this week. thank you for that analysis- _ the chief executive of the uk health security agency dame drjenny harries has said the number of people going to hospital with covid is expected to rise further. the latest official figures show covid—i9 infections in the uk jumped by more than half a million in a week. dr harries was speaking on the bbc�*s sunday morning programme. whilst we have an armament now of vaccines and anti—viral treatments, we do have, as you havejust highlighted, a rise in hospital admissions and occupancy, and that means it's notjust covid we are concerned about but our ability to treat other illnesses as well. thousands of people have been told to leave their homes in australia's biggest city sydney because of the risk of flooding. the australian weather bureau has warned that heavy rainfall could lead to flash flooding across the state of new south wales

as some areas are already inundated by floodwater. 0ur correspondent shaimaa khalil is in sydney and sent this report. another extreme weather event, only a few months since the last one. in the southwestern sydney suburb of camden, home to more than 100,000 people, local shops and a petrol station were inundated. not much else has been spared here. many communities have seen a month's worth of rain in the last two days alone. thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate southwest sydney. with torrential rain and damaging winds thrashing the east coast, there have been dozens of emergency rescues. heavy rains have also caused sydney's main dam to overspill and the bureau of meteorology is warning of more flood risks. we are now facing dangers on multiple fronts. flash flooding, river flooding and coastal erosion. this is a life—threatening

emergency situation. the wind and rain have been relentless here in sydney and the surrounding areas, with more wet weather expected in the next couple of days across new south wales. this is the start of the school holidays here and many families were getting ready to travel. the message from the emergency services is that unless you are ordered to evacuate, people should stay home. experts say the flooding emergency has been worsened by climate change, and a la nina weather phenomenon. insurance companies in australia are warning that communities prone to flooding may be forced to relocate as new figures suggest that floods earlier this year were one of the country's costliest ever natural disasters. some of the areas currently at risk have just been hit by devastating floods back in march. scientists have said that unless something is done to reduce carbon emissions and stop global warming, these extreme weather events will become the norm.

for now, australia is once again experiencing first—hand the reality of climate change. the headlines on bbc news: six new claims of inappropriate behaviour by former deputy chief whip chris pincher have emerged, days after he was suspended as a tory mp, after allegations he groped two men. russia says it now controls the whole of the luhansk region in eastern ukraine, but ukrainian officials say they can't confirm the reports. thousands of residents in australia's largest city sydney have been ordered to evacuate their homes after torrential rain and flash flooding. 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. i'm joined now by saffron cordery, interim chief executive of nhs providers, which represents hospitals and trusts across england. welcome to you, thank you for being with us. do you think this pledge is still on schedule? we with us. do you think this pledge is still on schedule?— still on schedule? we know there have been some _ still on schedule? we know there have been some real— still on schedule? we know there have been some real challenges. still on schedule? we know there - have been some real challenges with the progress of the new hospitals programme and many trusts are behind schedule because they haven't been given the go—ahead to get building. i think we have to put this in the context of wider challenges for the nhs, in terms of investment in bricks and mortar and investment in its infrastructure, but the expenditure to date has been woefully lacking. things like states maintenance and backlog are already at £9.2 billion worth needs to be done, and that's just for repairs

and maintenance. then we have this whole programme that we are waiting to see delivered and we haven't yet seen a sufficient funding or the right time frames come forward to fund it. ~ ., , right time frames come forward to fundit.~ .,, ,, right time frames come forward to fundit. .,, ,, ., fund it. who is responsible for these delays _ fund it. who is responsible for these delays and _ fund it. who is responsible for these delays and this - fund it. who is responsible for these delays and this lack- fund it. who is responsible for these delays and this lack of. these delays and this lack of funding allowing progress to be made? we funding allowing progress to be made? ~ ~' ., funding allowing progress to be made? ~ ., ., , ., ,. , made? we know many of the schemes within the programme _ made? we know many of the schemes within the programme had _ made? we know many of the schemes within the programme had previously i within the programme had previously been given the go—ahead but the idea behind the programme was to bring all projects together to help them consolidate what they were doing and also to bring forward things like modern methods of construction, which should be more sustainable and actually more cost efficient. however, we know programme a whole, and things like investment has been lagging behind because there have been delays and those delays sits between the treasury, the department of health and social care and number

10. 50 of health and social care and number 10. ,., ., , of health and social care and number 10. so the government has made these romises 10. so the government has made these promises but — 10. so the government has made these promises but not _ 10. so the government has made these promises but not been _ 10. so the government has made these promises but not been quick— 10. so the government has made these promises but not been quick enough i promises but not been quick enough in providing the cash needed to fulfil them?— in providing the cash needed to fulfilthem? , . �* fulfil them? they aren't given the reassurance _ fulfil them? they aren't given the reassurance that _ fulfil them? they aren't given the reassurance that cash _ fulfil them? they aren't given the reassurance that cash will- fulfil them? they aren't given the reassurance that cash will be - fulfil them? they aren't given the l reassurance that cash will be there to fulfil them. what we also have to remember is, later this year, the government is due to give the go—ahead for a further eight schemes. so, will go from a0 schemes to a8 schemes are not always challenging at the moment understand how they will afford those when we know there are particular pressures for the budgets of those that are fairly well along the track for delivery. fairly well along the track for delive . . , fairly well along the track for delive . ., , , , ., delivery. that must be frustrating for ou, delivery. that must be frustrating for you. do _ delivery. that must be frustrating for you. do you — delivery. that must be frustrating for you, do you welcome - delivery. that must be frustrating for you, do you welcome the - delivery. that must be frustrating - for you, do you welcome the national audit review?— audit review? absolutely, it is alwa s audit review? absolutely, it is always good — audit review? absolutely, it is always good to _ audit review? absolutely, it is always good to see _ audit review? absolutely, it is always good to see the - audit review? absolutely, it is i always good to see the national audit office looking at public expenditure because they have that laser—like focus on what is going on, so we look forward to seeing what comes out of that. but in the meantime, we know trusts are really challenged and many of them are what we call shovel ready and ready to 90,

we call shovel ready and ready to go, just waiting for the go—ahead. thank you for being with us. travellers are facing more disruption to their plans as the industry struggles with staff shortages ahead of a busy holiday period. holidaymakers are being told to expect more flight cancellations over the next few days. and in the us, a thousand flights have been cancelled across independence day weekend. azadeh moshiri reports. it's scenes like this that airlines and the government want to avoid. but after months of travel chaos, which included the easter and jubilee holidays, passengers now face more disruptions in the days ahead. what you are going to see in the next few days are thousands of flight cancellations by british airways and others because they have a window in which they can effectively hand back the slots that they use for taking off and landing at airports like heathrow. and with this window, there is no penalty for them. they also want to give consumers more than 1a days notice

of any cancellation, because if they give more than two weeks notice, they won't have to pay compensation to those of us who find flights are cancelled. so the next few days are going to be very tricky indeed. staff shortages have been causing long queues at airports and severe problems with baggage handling. after thousands of aviation jobs were lost during the covid pandemic, businesses have struggled to hire new staff in time for the holidays. that's why ministers have said security checks are being turned around in record time for new recruits. the department for transport has even said counterterrorist checks are being processed on average in under ten days. that is half the time it took in march. in a statement, transport secretary grant shapps said...

but labour argue the government have been missing in action and are now simply playing catch—up. the same issues have been plaguing other countries. in the united states, it is a holiday weekend with the county celebrating independence day on ath ofjuly. but a shortage of pilots and crew has meant airlines have cancelled more than 1,000 flights. meanwhile, in the uk, with airlines due to fix their schedules by friday, it means a nervous few days for passengers. the food and drink federation has warned that relentless food prices may not peak until next year, with inflation set to hit double digits. the group, which represents uk food and drink manufacturers, said it usually takes between seven and 12 months for producers' costs to reach shop shelves. our business correspondent

noor nanji is here. so, prices set to go up even higher, bad news for all of us?— bad news for all of us? that's ri . ht, bad news for all of us? that's right. we _ bad news for all of us? that's right, we know _ bad news for all of us? that's right, we know food - bad news for all of us? that's right, we know food prices i bad news for all of us? that's| right, we know food prices are bad news for all of us? that's - right, we know food prices are going up, now comes a warning they could go higher. this one has come from the boss of the food and drink federation and she is warning that food price inflation could continue to rise into next year due to soaring costs. food inflation, the rate at which prices rise, was already at 6.7% in april and 8.7% in may, we asked her how high she thought it could go? how high it will go really is anyone's guess, it is really hard for me to estimate that. but other organisations, economists, have estimated it's going to go well over 10%, and i certainly don't have any evidence to counter that. as i say, food price rises have been relentless over the last few months, there really has been no let—up, and all of the input costs

at the moment continue to rise. what you see in food and drink is there's usually a seven to 12—month time lag in the prices that manufacturers pay before those price rises are felt on shop shelves. so, if manufacturers are still facing price rises now, it follows that, in seven to 12 months' time, we will still be seeing some food price inflation, albeit we hope that it might have levelled off or started to peak by then. so, all of this yet to hit consumers?— so, all of this yet to hit consumers? a , consumers? as she says, the manufacturers _ consumers? as she says, the manufacturers are _ consumers? as she says, the manufacturers are all- consumers? as she says, the manufacturers are all talking | consumers? as she says, the - manufacturers are all talking about soaring input costs, prices going up, everything from labour cost to raw materials to energy prices as well. partner, that has been fuelled ljy well. partner, that has been fuelled by the war in ukraine, pushing up the prices of things like energy, oil and gas, fertilisers. but it takes time for that to filter

through to consumers and two supermarket shelves, and that is she talks about this concept of there being a time lag. 0ther being a time lag. other organisations have warned that food price inflation could hit as high as 15%, so all of that is obviously very worrying for consumers, particular those of the lowest incomes. . ., particular those of the lowest incomes. ., ,, , ., one of post—war britain's leading theatre directors peter brook 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 his life. i know a bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxlips 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. 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's 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. to whiten peterborough, who has died at the age of 97. —— peterborough, who has died at the age of 97. breaking news, glacial collapse in the northern italian alps has killed at least five people today according to emergency service. it happened near the dolomites, 60 miles north of venice. at least five killed and eight others injured, more on that as we get it. now it's time for a look at the weather with lucy martin. hello there. broadly speaking, today is a day

of sunny spells and showers. the showers generally in the west, pushing east through the afternoon. here is the pressure chart, high pressure to the southwest, low pressure in the north, so blustery in scotland, particularly the north, through the day. the temperatures in the high teens, low 20s. through tonight, showers fading away across england and wales, we continue to see a flow of showers on that blustery wind across scotland, northern ireland, into northern england and the far north of wales into the early hours. temperatures generally sitting at an overnight low of eight celsius. tomorrow, a band of cloud sitting across northern england and north wales, bringing the odd, isolated shower. that slips south quickly, increasing cloud for a time but then sunny spells behind it. across scotland, northern ireland and northern england, some showers but fewer than today, remaining windy in the far north with temperatures at a maximum of 23 celsius.

hello, this is bbc news, with samantha simmonds. the headlines. six new claims of inappropriate behaviour by former deputy chief whip chris pincher have emerged, days after he was suspended as a tory mp after allegations he groped two men. russia says it now controls the whole of the luhansk region in eastern ukraine, but ukrainian officials say they can't confirm the reports. thousands of residents in australia's largest city sydney have been ordered to evacuate their homes after torrential rain and flash flooding. the influential british theatre director peter brook, whose career ranged from radical interpretations of shakespeare to broadway musicals, has died at the age of 97. now on bbc news, the supreme court's abortion ruling repealing roe v wade and ending the nationwide guarantee to abortion has divided america. some 26 states are now expected to ban or restrict abortion

in the next few months. the bbc�*s sophie long spent three weeks on the front line of the debate with staff, patients and protestors at the little rock family planning service, in arkansas, as they waited for the court's ruling in a ruling that rocked america, the supreme court of the united states scrapped the constitutional right to abortion. people told me it was impossible, that we would never see this kind of victory. and now i know that victory is not only possible, it has happened. seldom does a ruling result in such a reaction. abortions will continue, theyjust will not be legal and women will die from botched abortions. this decision will impact the lives of millions of americans. we were with medical staff inside an abortion clinic

in the final days before they were forced to stop