this is bbc news. i'm david willis. our top stories: in the us, six children are among the 16 people killed in kentucky's flash flooding. officials warn the death toll could double. washington's mayor calls for help from the national guard as a protest sees thousands of migrants bussed into the us capital. a0 ukrainian prisoners of war are said to have been killed in a missile attack in russian—controlled donetsk. both sides blame each other. the battle of the footballers�* wives comes to an end. rebecca vardy says she's "devastated" after losing her libel case against colleen rooney. and action from day one

of the commonwealth games where england's alex yee got the competition's first gold. hello and welcome to bbc news. dozens of people have lost their lives this week in unprecedented flash floods. in iran officials have reported more than 50 people have died in landslides. at least seven people are now known to have died in the united arab emirates. and in kentucky in the united states, at least 16 people have died as president biden declares the situation there as a major disaster. leana hosea reports.

floodwaters from days of torrential rain have inundated hundreds of homes and wiped out entire towns in eastern kentucky. bridges have been washed away and roads submerged, sending some residents are scrambling to the rooftops. but worst of all, the floods have taken people's lives, including those of children. four of whom from the same family. search—and—rescue same family. sea rch—and—rescue teams same family. search—and—rescue teams and helicopters and both are still looking for survivors. i are still looking for survivors.- are still looking for survivors. . . survivors. i have received notice that, _ survivors. i have received notice that, located - survivors. i have received notice that, located the l survivors. i have received - notice that, located the bodies of the four children, means we got at least six dead children, and that's hard. there are still a lot of people out there, still a lot of people unaccounted for, we will do our best to find more.— best to find more. according to some scientist, _ best to find more. according to some scientist, what _ best to find more. according to some scientist, what we - best to find more. according to some scientist, what we are i some scientist, what we are seeing is the new normal with climate change.— climate change. here in the united states, _ climate change. here in the united states, as _ climate change. here in the united states, as you - united states, as you mentioned, kentucky is experiencing severe floods, earlier this week it was that

lewis but climate change, as temperatures rise, the air can hold more moisture so when it rains, it rains really heavily. we get these heavy, heavy downpours and in the case of a place like iran, they've actually been experiencing extended drought, and when you get these heavy rains in a very short time, falling on very dry, barren land, that can trigger floods, dry, barren land, that can triggerfloods, mudslides, flash flooding, that comes up very quickly and people get caught up in it.— very quickly and people get caught up in it. rescue efforts are under— caught up in it. rescue efforts are under way _ caught up in it. rescue efforts are under way in _ caught up in it. rescue efforts are under way in a _ caught up in it. rescue efforts are under way in a run - caught up in it. rescue efforts| are under way in a run weather has been flooding in numerous provinces. the red crisis has casualties have been highest in the tehran province. rescues have been under way where there have been under way where there have been under way where there have been numerous casualties, highest in the tehran province. temperatures are one celsius higher than pre—industrial levels but the frequency and

intensity of floods is already increasing. leana hosea, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. a court in london has ruled in favour of venezuela's opposition leader, juan guaido, in an ongoing legal battle for control of gold reserves deposited with the bank of england. the dispute began two years ago when president nicolas maduro requested access to nearly $2 billion worth of venezuelan gold deposited with the bank. mr guaido managed to block the move. he argued that mr maduro would use the money to support what he described as an illegitimate and corrupt regime. a final decision is expected later this year. four spectators have been injured following an explosion inside the international cricket stadium in kabul. the blast happened during a domestic league match, halting the game for a few minutes. no players or officials were hurt. this year's tournament, the eighth in its history, is the first since the taliban

seized power last year. palestinian health officials say a 16—year—old boy has been shot dead by israeli forces during clashes in the occupied west bank. the palestinian teenager died of chest wounds during the violence in an area close to the city of ramallah, where hundreds of palestinians had gathered to protest against the expansion of israeli settlements. one of the settlers is reported to have been armed, so it's not yet clear if the shot came from them or israeli soldiers. the mayor of washington, dc says she's asked for national guard troops to be brought in to deal with thousands of migrants who have been bussed into the us capital. muriel bowser called the arrival of some 4,800 migrants from the southern border a "humanitarian crisis" that had brought her city to a "tipping point". the bus trips were organised

by republican governors in texas and arizona, in protest against the biden administration's border policies. it comes as migration across the us—mexico border has surged to record levels. we can speak now tojennifer kerns who's a republican strategist and conservative talk—show host. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. the white house has accused your party of using migrants as a political tall. what would you say to the? ~ ., ., tall. what would you say to the? ~ ~' tall. what would you say to the? ~ ~ �*, the? well, it looks like it's been fair _ the? well, it looks like it's been fair play _ the? well, it looks like it's been fair play for - the? well, it looks like it's been fair play for years. i been fair play for years. democrats have been pressuring red border states like arizona and texas do notjust take on thousands of migrants, aerial browser is only dealing with 4800 browser is only dealing with a800 migrants. 0ther border states in biden�*s first year alone could have taken an a

million migrants have come across the border, and those are just the ones that have been captured. so democrats are getting a taste of their own medicine, they don't like the policy when it comes to their backyard but the truth of the matter is, these border states, southern states in the us, have been grappling with the financial repercussions of this, the economic repercussions, the healthcare costs that they have to burden, you look at the costs of illegal immigration across the country is crippling the us, it costs about $2 million according to some think tanks, and the state of texas alone annually is spending $700 millionjust on the annually is spending $700 million just on the healthcare for these migrants, and so washington, dc has to take some of that burden because it's their policy, and i think that's fair.— their policy, and i think that's fair. , ., , that's fair. these are people who are fleeing _ that's fair. these are people who are fleeing poverty, - who are fleeing poverty, oppression and in some cases war. here you are bossing them to another city and effectively dumping them. how can that be

justified? dumping them. how can that be 'ustified? ., ., ., , ., justified? you have to share the wealth, _ justified? you have to share the wealth, so _ justified? you have to share the wealth, so to _ justified? you have to share the wealth, so to speak. - justified? you have to share| the wealth, so to speak. you can't expect these states that have limited resources, by the way, state governments, the state of texas, arizona, new mexico, state governments. if the biden administration doesn't want to close the border and it doesn't look like they do, they have to shoulder some of the burden. look, i think that the one thing that we saw from democrats a decade ago, were democrats who were actually willing to go up and support things like the secure fences act, we had hillary clinton when she was a senator vote for that, so did chuck schumer and so did barack 0bama. what has happened to the democratic party in the united states that they are now so liberal? they not only want to not fortify the boiler, they want to open the floodgates and let the men, so if washington, dc has to bear some of that burden, i say so be it. but art of burden, i say so be it. but part of this. _

burden, i say so be it. but part of this, a _ burden, i say so be it. but part of this, a large - burden, i say so be it. but part of this, a large part of this, is down to the situation, the polarisation in congress, the polarisation in congress, the fact that immigration reform laws haven't been passed because in large part of opposition from your party, the republicans?— republicans? well, the democrats _ republicans? well, the democrats have - republicans? well, the democrats have been l republicans? well, the - democrats have been promising reform for over ten years. they promised the dreamers and on the 2010 midterms they were gonna give them citizenship, it never happens. sometimes the democrats in the us want to keep these issues more for a campaign season than to solve the problem. campaign season than to solve the problem-— the problem. jennifer kerns, thank you — the problem. jennifer kerns, thank you very _ the problem. jennifer kerns, thank you very much - the problem. jennifer kerns, thank you very much for - the problem. jennifer kerns, i thank you very much forjoining us. we must leave it there. when 53 migrants died last month inside an overheated truck in texas, it was called the deadliest human—smuggling tragedy in american history. most of the victims were from poor rural communities in mexico and central america, hoping to find a better life in the united states. 0ne family from veracruz in mexico lost three cousins in that truck. 0ur correspondent, will grant, went to their village

as the victims�* remains were returned. it was a tragic homecoming. when three cousins are set off from the village of san marcos last month, they were full of hope for a future in the us. now their bodies are back with their grieving family and the entire town was there to receive them. 0thers entire town was there to receive them. others and their cousin were among the youngest victims in the abandoned, airless trailer in san antonio in which a staggering 53 people died. a heartbreaking and to a journey north which most here have either done or considered doing at some point. by their mother insists they knew the dangers ahead of them. translation: we all knew it

exists but there are 70 people young people like them to make it over, even little girls. that motivated them to try. they asked themselves, why not ask was not even i was confident that they would be fine. ., fine. the village the three bo s fine. the village the three boys set _ fine. the village the three boys set off _ fine. the village the three boys set off from - fine. the village the three boys set off from it - fine. the village the three i boys set off from it couldn't be more different to the place they were trying to reach. the modern, bustling city of austin in texas. this is rural, mountainous mexico, with all the economic struggle and lack of opportunities that that entails. but such is the prospect of study work in the us that more and more mexicans are attempting the same fateful journey as the three cousins, especially now the cost of living is rising so fast. san marcos is like one long assembly line for shoes and boots. besides agriculture, shoemaking and small family run workshops is the mainstay of the local economy. it's poorly paid informal work which the

three young men did before deciding to leave. the older generation fears for the town's future. translation: if things here carry _ future. translation: if things here carry on — future. translation: if things here carry on as _ future. translation: if things here carry on as they _ future. translation: if things here carry on as they are, - future. translation: if things here carry on as they are, we . here carry on as they are, we will end up a ghost town. he hasn't heard _ will end up a ghost town. he hasn't heard from his son, who is migrating north, in eight days. you worry about it after what happened, he adds. for now, the three cousins and the terrible fate may deter others from leaving. the problem not for long as the everyday hardships here will soon outweigh the risks again. and even one victim's father thinks young people in san marcos shouldn't necessarily be put off from trying. translation: they should chase their dreams. only god knows our fates. it's not the same tragedy for everyone. each person has their own destiny. they should fight

for their dreams. own destiny. they should fight fortheir dreams. only own destiny. they should fight for their dreams. only god knows how they will end. the return of _ knows how they will end. the return of the _ knows how they will end. the return of the boys _ knows how they will end. the return of the boys will —— albeit in the worst circumstances, brings little comfort to the family. but three sets of hopes and dreams suffocated along with 50 others in a truck far from home, suffocated along with 50 others in a truck farfrom home, such tragedies are unlikely to and as long as the doer of the north and yours. —— lure of the north and yours. —— lure of the north endures. will grant, bbc news. the plight of migrants going to the us there are. to ukraine where getting more details about the rocket attack that's thought to have killed a0 ukrainian prisoners of war being held by russia. it happened in the occupied part of the donetsk region. these images have come in of the attack. the russian defence ministry claims ukraine was behind it and claims the rockets were us made. but ukraine says russia fired the rockets, and moscow this is trying to cover up evidence

of torture and war crimes at the site. the bbc�*s paul adams is in kyiv with the latest about the incident. this is a war of competing narratives over a particularly gruesome episode. what i've seen, and i do not recommend that people watch this, is a horrible scene of a warehouse that was housing a significant number of prisoners of war. there are mangled metal bunk beds and in among them, many, many charred bodies. there are also bodies lying outside on the ground. none of the circumstances surrounding this are clear. the russians say this was the result of a ukrainian missile strike using sophisticated western equipment.

that ukrainians adamantly reject that accusation and say this was a deliberately staged episode by the russian military, designed to liquidate a number of prisoners. the prisoners, we believe, were mostly from the mariupol area captured at the end of that prolonged siege and may well have included many members of the legendary azov battalion, who have been the subject of russian hostility. so, this competing narrative is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. this is not a part where we can go and independently verify. the bbc has been banned from that part of rebel—controlled territory for a number of years. in the last few minutes, the ukrainians have released what they say is an interception of a conversation they say sheds light on what happened.

we're still listening to find out what that really shows, but at the moment, this is definitely two very contrasting narratives. paul adams there in the. a reminder of our headlines. in the us, six children are among the 16 people killed in kentucky's flash flooding. officials warn the death toll could double. washington's mayor calls for help from the national guard as a protest sees thousands of migrants bussed into the us capital. here in the uk, more than a,000 people affected by the infected—blood scandal should receive immediate compensation of at least £100,000 each. that's the recommendation of the judge leading the public inquiry into what's been called "the worst treatment disaster in the history of the nhs." the government says it will consider the recommendation

with the �*utmost urgency�*. if it accepts it, it will be the first time compensation will have been paid in the uk after thousands of people were infected with lethal viruses, including hiv and hepatitis, through contaminated treatments in the 1970s and �*80s. our health correspondent jim reed reports. in 1978 richard warrick was given a new treatment for the blood disorder haemophilia. he later found out it was contaminated with two forms of hepatitis and hiv. the impact on his life was devastating. no life insurance, no pension. everything that the normal guy on the street that would be the norm, that isjust gone. we were advised, well, we were told in no uncertain terms to have our one and only child aborted, so we lost a child because of the risk to the child of hiv. but richard and other victims of this disaster have often had to survive on benefits

and annual support payments. unlike in other countries, full compensation has never been paid. it is recognition of the harm that has been done to us. compensation to families and victims will enable them to get on with their lives and... yeah. you�*ve been waiting a long time for this. been waiting a long time for this. too long. today, then, an important moment. the chair of the public inquiry made his first formal recommendation, that some interim compensation should be paid now, with more possible later. i've decided to recommend interim payments of no less than £100,000 are made to all the infected people and all the bereaved partners currently registered with the schemes. in a room in the inquiry building messages are left in bottles, remembering loved ones. since the start of the inquiry in 2019 one infected person has been dying every four days. in total 2,500 have

lost their lives. steve always felt that the treatment destroyed his life. sue remembers her husband steve, as she visits his grave in devon. he was infected with hepatitis c after being given contaminated treatment, and died in 2018. i had my earning power taken away from me. my husband had his earning power taken away. we lost our home, we lost everything we had. why shouldn�*t i financially — because that is the only thing the government can now give me — have some part of what i lost? thousands of victims were affected by this historic disaster. the government has said it would now consider the recommendations with utmost urgency. if it agrees, thousands of victims could receive the first ever compensation payments before the end of the year. jim reed, bbc news.

staying here in the uk. rebekah vardy has lost her libel case at the high court. in what had become known as the wagatha christie trial, the wife of the former england footballerjamie vardy had sued coleen rooney after she accused vardy of leaking private information about her to the tabloid press. our correspondent colin paterson has followed the trial and sent this report. two footballers�* wives, both with huge social media followings and brands in their own right. rebekah vardy, married to leicester city striker jamie vardy, and coleen rooney, wife of england�*s all—time top goal—scorer, wayne rooney. they went head—to—head in a libel trial at the high court. today�*s judgement could not have gone much worse for rebekah vardy, her evidence described by the judge as "not credible, and on occasions, "manifestly inconsistent, evasive or implausible." it�*s a disaster for rebekah vardy. you know, her brand, her career in the sense of, you know, being a personality,

has been completely ruined because she�*s effectively been found to be a liar by a high courtjudge, which is going to be hanging around her neck for the rest of her life. the case all centred on detective work coleen rooney conducted in october 2019. which ended with her accusing vardy, online, of leaking private stories about her to the sun. rebekah vardy said that this accusation had caused untold damage to her reputation, and she was left with no option but to sue coleen rooney for libel. but in court, things began to go wrong for mrs vardy. coleen rooney�*s legal team accused her of being evasive and of changing her story. today, the judge said that rebekah vardy had actively engaged time and time again in the process of selling stories about coleen rooney to the sun via her agent, caroline watt, seen here on the left. the judge said that it was likely both of them had destroyed crucial evidence, including

caroline watt�*s phone being dropped into the north sea. when rebekah vardy was giving her evidence at the high court, i was sitting about five feet away and saw as she repeatedly broke down, and when she was accused of lying under oath, she put her head in her hands and sobbed. she looked like she was thinking, "why have i brought this to the high court?" and with today�*s judgement, she will be seriously regretting doing so. crucially, coleen rooney�*s original post, with the accusation, was ruled to have been substantially true. in a statement, coleen rooney said... coleen rooney has struck a major victory, a major, major home run here. and it makes her look, in a sense, a certain amount of statesperson over this. she understands the game. vardy doesn�*t. this afternoon, rebekah vardy said

that she was disappointed and devastated by thejudge�*s finding. she also asked for an end to what she called the vile abuse against her family, abuse the judge condemned. rebekah vardy hoped this case would restore her reputation. that reputation has now fallen further. colin paterson, bbc news, the high court. the american actor will smith has reiterated his apology to chris rock after he slapped him on stage at the oscars in march. in his first public statement for three months, smith said he had reached out to rock, but the comedian had said he was not yet ready to talk. there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave, in that moment. there is no part of me that thinks that�*s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect, or insults.

australia leads the medal table after the opening day of the commonwealth games in birmingham, with eight golds. the hosts — england — claimed two golds, but will be hoping for more luck tomorrow, afterfinishing second in five events today. chetan pathak has more. it has been an eventful first day of action here in birmingham and in london where the track—side got under way. more on that in a moment. the first medals were won, though, in the sprint triathlon, the men�*s race was first to go, and the expected tussle between new zealand�*s hayden wilde and england�*s alex yee, did not disappoint, wilde had a 16 second lead over alex yee at one point but the englishman fought back to take gold. it would have been a tighter finish but for a 10 second penalty for the new zealander. in the women�*s race, meanwhile, bermuda�*s flora duffy, the olympic reigning champion once again proved too strong for the competition.

she took gold, ahead of england�*s georgia taylor brown and beth potterfrom scotland. so, then, to the cycling where it was a good day for australia, as they won three gold medals. they won the man�*s team sprint and women�*s a,000 metres team pursuit whilejessica gallagher won the women�*s tandem b sprint. new zealand took two gold medals, while scotland�*s neil fachie took the men�*s tandem time trial, his fifth commonwealth games title. other highlights, well, in the pool, we saw an astonishing performance from 15—year—old summer mcintosh, as she emphatically took gold in the women�*s a00 metres individual medley, winning by eight seconds in a new games record. and australia�*s ariarne titmus, 21 years old, again showing her class, a 21—year—old, as i repeat, olympic champion, set a new commonwealth best as she narrowly beat compatriot mollie o�*callaghan in the women�*s 200 metre freestyle final. on saturday, meanwhile, there are 23 gold medals up for grabs. we will see the men�*s and women�*s marathons which will come to a finish right behind me in the centre of birmingham, and the women�*s and men�*s

t53, t5a marathons. there is weightlifting, too, and more cycling in the women�*s and men�*s individual pursuit. that is it from us for now here on bbc world news. hello there. it really is a bit of a mixture for us this weekend. some cloud, even some rain, but also some warm spells of sunshine. and we ended the week on a warmer note, with more sunshine around, temperatures in southern parts of england reached 28 celsius. wasn�*t quite as warm as that in birmingham. and for the commonwealth games this weekend, there�*ll still be a lot of cloud around. may get some rain actually sunday and later on monday, as well. all that rain will be coming in from the atlantic. this ribbon of cloud here will be staggering down across the uk — it�*s already brought some rain across northern ireland into scotland, some patchy rain maybe for a while across northern england and north wales. but we start off quite warm, actually, for much of the country on saturday morning. but for the northern

half of the uk, this is where we�*ve got the thickest of the cloud, and we�*re seeing most of the rain. through the morning, though, it should become drier and brighter in northern ireland and scotland, some sunny spells in the afternoon. still some rain for england and wales — most of it will be across northern parts of england and north wales. further south, it�*s generally dry, and there�*ll be some sunshine, as well. another warm day to come through much of the midlands, particularly in the southeast and east anglia, temperatures 26—27 celsius. could make a warm 22—23 in eastern scotland with some sunshine in the afternoon. but there�*s a lot of cloud heading our way from the atlantic overnight, continuing into sunday, perhaps bringing some more rain — that�*s more likely across england and wales, although it could prove to be rather hit—and—miss. and with that damper weather moving southwards, it�*ll dry off with more sunshine across north wales and northern england. may stay dry all day in scotland and northern ireland, slightly cooler and fresher here. but again, little or no rain, really, ithink, across the far south of england, and it should be quite warm at wembley for the women�*s euro final. a lot of cloud here —

hopefully we�*ve got something to cheer about by the end of the day. heading into the beginning of next week, though, we�*ve got some more weather fronts heading our way from the atlantic, and that potentially will bring some more rain. having said that, many places will start dry on monday, and there�*ll be some sunshine around, too. but the cloud will be thickening up from the west — that�*ll bring with it some rain. at the moment, mostly across northern ireland, wales, moving over the irish sea later in the day to the northwest of england, and into the south—west of scotland. still dry though, towards the southeast, and temperatures here again into the mid—20s.

this is definitely two very contrasting narratives. this is bbc news. the headlines: in the united states, the number of people known to have been killed by flash floods caused by torrential rains in kentucky has risen to 16, and is expected to double. six children are among the dead. kyiv and moscow are accusing each other of a rocket attack that�*s said to have killed a0 ukrainian prisoners of war in the donetsk region. those detained are said to have included members of the infamous azov battalion who were the last defenders of mariupol. rebekah vardy says she�*s devastated at losing the high court libel claim she brought against another footballer�*s wife, coleen rooney. vardy had sued after she was accused of leaking private information to the press.