welcome to bbc news. i'm david willis. our top stories: ukraine asks the un and red cross to investigate a rocket attack that killed more than 50 prisoners of war held by russia. 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 bused into the us capital. spain and brazil have reported what are thought to be the first monkeypox—related deaths outside of africa. the battle of the footballers�* wives comes to an end: rebekah vardy says she's

"devastated" after losing her libel case against coleen rooney. welcome to bbc news. the united nations and the red cross have been asked to investigate the deaths of more than 50 ukrainian prisoners of war who were being held at a detention centre in the russian—occupied part of the donetsk region. these are pictures of the rocket attack which is thought to have killed them. ukraine and russia have accused each other of the deaths. ukraine says moscow 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 other bodies not burned, but bloodied, lying outside on the ground. none of the circumstances surrounding this are clear. the russians say that this was the result, as you mentioned, of a ukrainian missile strike using sophisticated western equipment. the ukrainians adamantly reject that accusation and say that this was a deliberate —

deliberately staged episode by the russian military, designed essentially to liquidate a number of prisoners. the prisoners, we believe, were mostly from the mariupol area, captured at the end of that prolonged siege earlier this year, and may well have included many members of the legendary azov battalion, who have been particularly the subject of russian hostility. and so, this competing narrative is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. this is not a part of the country where we can go and independently verify. the bbc has been banned from that part of rebel—controlled territory for a number of years. but, just in the last few minutes, the ukrainians have released what they say is an interception of a conversation which they say sheds light on what happened. we're still listening to that, trying to figure out what that really shows but at the moment,

this is definitely two very, very contrasting narratives. paul adams there in key. —— paul adams there in kyiv. dozens of deaths have been reported as unprecedented flash floods hit many parts of the world. in iran, officials say that more than 50 people have died in landslides, while seven people have lost their lives in the united arab emirates. meanwhile, president biden has declared a major disaster in the united states after 16 people died in kentucky. lea na 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 scrambling to their 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 teams in helicopters and boats are still looking

for survivors. i have received notice that they've located the bodies of those four children. means we've 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're gonna do our best to find them all. according to some scientists, what we are seeing is the new normal with climate change. here in the united states, kentucky is experiencing severe floods. earlier this week, it was st louis. 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 triggerfloods, mudslides, flash flooding that comes up very quickly and people get

caught up in it. rescue efforts are under way in iran, where there has been flooding in numerous provinces. the red crescent says casualties have been highest in the tehran province. meanwhile, in the nearby united arab emirates, nearly seven people died from the worst rains in 30 years. rescue efforts have been under way in iran in numerous provinces. temperatures are one degree celsius higher than pre—industrial levels, but the frequency and intensity of floods is already increasing. leana hosea, bbc news. elsewhere, the mayor of washington, dc has called for the deployment of the national guard to deal with thousands of migrants who have been bused into the us capital. muriel bowser has described the situation as a humanitarian crisis after some 4,800 migrants arrived in the city. republican governors in the border states of texas and arizona are said to have organised the trip,

in protest against the biden administration's migration policy. it comes as migration across the us—mexico border has surged to record levels. well, earlier, ispoke tojennifer kerns, who's a republican strategist and conservative talk show host. i asked her reaction to white house accusations that republicans were using migrants as a political tool. well, it looks like it is fair bay, for years democrats have been pressuring red state and border states such as texas and arizona to take on notjust thousands of migrants, notice muriel balser is only dealing with 4800 muriel balser is only dealing with a800 migrants. the other border states are just in border states arejust in biden�*s first year alone have taken in a million migrants who have come across the border and those are just the ones that have been captured. so democrats here are getting a

taste of their own medicine. i don't like the policy when it comes to their backyard but the truth of the matter is these border states, these southern states in the us have been grappling with the financial repercussions, the applications that are economic and other healthcare that are economic and other healthca re costs that are economic and other healthcare costs that they have to burden. you look at the cost of illegal immigration across the country, it's crippling the us. it cost about $2 billion according to some think tanks. the state of texas alone annually is sending $700 millionjust on the annually is sending $700 million just on the healthcare for the migrants, and so if washington, dc has to take some of that burden because it's their policy, then i think that's fair.— their policy, then i think that'sfair. , ., , that's fair. these are people after all who _ that's fair. these are people after all who are _ that's fair. these are people after all who are fleeing - after all who are fleeing poverty, oppression and in some cases war. here you are bussing them to another city and effectively dumping them. how can it be justified?— can it be 'ustified? well, i think can it bejustified? well, i think you _ can it bejustified? well, i think you have _ can it bejustified? well, i think you have to - can it bejustified? well, i think you have to share i can it bejustified? well, i l think you have to share the wealth, so to speak. you can't

expect these estates that have limited resources, by the way, these are state governments, these are state governments, the state of texas, the state government, the state of arizona, new mexico, these are state government that if the biden administration does not want to close the border and it does not look like they do, they may have got to help shoulder some of the burden. look, i think that one thing that we saw from democrats and a decade ago where democrats were actually willing to go up and support things like this secure offences act. we had hillary clinton when she was the senator voted for that and so did chuck schumer and so did drive away barack 0bama. it has happened to the democratic party in the united states that they are now so liberal, not only want to not fortify the border, they want to just open the floodgates and let them in, so if washington, dc has to bear some of that burden, then i say so be it. but bear some of that burden, then i say so be it— i say so be it. but part of this large _ i say so be it. but part of this large part _ i say so be it. but part of this large part of - i say so be it. but part of this large part of this - i say so be it. but part of this large part of this is l i say so be it. but part of- this large part of this is down to the situation in polarisation, the situation in congress, the fact that

immigration reform laws have not been passed because in large part of opposition from your party, the republicans. while look, the have been promising reform for over ten years now. they've promised the dreamers, remember, in the 2010 midterms that are going to give them citizenship. it never happened. sometimes i think the democrats in the united states want to keep these issues more for a want to keep these issues more fora campaign want to keep these issues more for a campaign season than they actually do to solve the problem. jennifer kerns. spain and brazil have announced their first deaths from monkeypox — the first known fatalities outside the african continent. spain is one of the worst—hit countries — around a quarter of the roughly 20,000 global infections were diagnosed there. i've been speaking to professor ann rimoin. she's an american infectious disease epidemiologist whose research focuses on emerging infectious diseases, particularly those that are crossing species from animal to humans.

monkeypox is a serious disease. while it may not carry the same kind of fatality rates that we think about with other viruses, this one can be very serious, and particularly in immunocompromised individuals. the deaths that you were speaking of were, in fact, in people who had issues with their immune system, and so, monkeypox was definitely a contributor here, but it was because they were already immunocompromised. there are various challenges, though, here, aren't there — not least vaccine supply and, i suppose, disease fatigue, if i can put it that way, following all the covid precautions? absolutely. there is a lot of fatigue, as you mentioned it, and i think a very beleaguered health system in the united states,

globally as well, from covid—19, and we have not yet been able to invest globally in better disease surveillance, better global response to infectious diseases, and we're going to continue to see these kinds of emerging threats that will, in fact, tax health systems unless we can do better broadly. now, the head of the world health organization has called on homosexual men to cut back on the number of sexual partners that they have, but this is not a disease that is reserved for the homosexual community, by any means, is it? this is absolutely not a virus thatis this is absolutely not a virus that is specific to any group. i have been working on monkeypox for two decades in the democratic republic of the congo, where it spreads normally from animals to humans and then we see human—to—human transmission, but not very long trains of sustained human—to—human transmission. this new kind of transmission really has to do with the fact

that you see a lot of very close contact. and when it gets into a social and sexual network where there are a lot of contacts, it certainly does facilitate spread, makes it easier to spread, but it could spread to any individual that is in close contact with someone who has monkeypox and or materials, towels, sheets, clothing, other contaminated objects that might contain monkeypox. 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. 0ur 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 —— 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's recognition of the harm that's been been done to us. compensation to families, to 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, yeah. 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 that interim payments of no less than £100,000 are made to all the infected people and all the bereaved partners who are 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 — cos 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 thejudge's 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. a reminder of our headlines.

ukraine asks the un and red cross to investigate a rocket attack that killed more than fifty prisoners of war held by russia in the us, six children are among the 16 people killed in kentucky's flash flooding. 0fficials warn the death toll could double. pope francis has visited the vast arctic territory of northern canada on the last day of what he has called a penitential pilgrimage to indigenous communities in canada. a report by canada's truth and reconciliation commission in 2015 found that many pupils suffered abuse and neglect in indigenous residential schools, many run by the catholic church, in what it called cultural genocide. make our religion editor has been travelling with the pope. pope francis is ending his week—long trip to canada in the capital of the arctic region and he has been meeting people today, some of them survivors

of catholic assimilation schools here and this entire visit has been focused on one thing which is acknowledging and apologising for the actions of many within the catholic church in a pressing indigenous people here, and in his own words, in cultural destruction. indigenous people have been happy that he has come here after years of campaigning for him to do so. and they are glad that he has raised awareness of theissues that he has raised awareness of the issues they still faced today after generations of trauma. 0thers, today after generations of trauma. others, they would have liked to have heard him apologise notjust liked to have heard him apologise not just for liked to have heard him apologise notjust for the apologise not just for the actions apologise notjust for the actions of some individuals within the church but for the institution itself. they would also like to have heard about how they would be specifics on compensation or on investment from the church in indigenous people, a return, for example, a swell of some sacred artefacts from the vatican and crucially that there would be

some accountability for those who perpetrated abuse. those things have not happened on this trip, but the vatican says those are all things going on from here that are under discussion. a lawsuit involving the wives of two former england football players has ended with wayne rooney's wife, coleen, being cleared of committing libel. ajudge found ms rooney's claim, that rebekah vardy had leaked stories about her to the press, to be true. colin paterson reports. 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. celebrity of a different kind now. the actor will smith has posted a video on social media, apologising for hitting chris rock at this year's 0scars ceremony. the bbc�*s tim allman has more. it was at the slap heard around the world. best actor—nominee will smith physically attacking 0scar award presenter chris rock after a joke he had made about his wife. smith has already apologised in writing. now he is saying sorry on camera.

i have reached out to chris, and the message that came back is that he is not ready to talk, and when he is he will reach out. chris, i apologise to you. my behaviour was unacceptable. the fallout from the incident has been dramatic. although will smith went on to win the best actor 0scar that evening, he was subsequently banned from the ceremony for ten years and he resigned from the academy. some have speculated the reason he reacted the way he did was due to the frosty response from his wife jayda pinkett smith. any truth in that, will? no. it is like... you know, i made a choice on my own from my own experiences, from my history with chris. jayda had nothing

to do with it. the actor says he is human and he made a mistake, and he hopes to be friends with the world again. whether chris rock will want to be friends with him is yet to be seen. tim allman, bbc news. and now the good news story of mili, the puppy who journeyed across the atlantic in a container, and survived for a total of a0 days without food and water. gail maclellan reports. this is mili. short for milagro. miracle in spanish. her ordeal clearly far behind her, she is healthy, happy and even has a job. she arrived in panama after a 20 dayjourney across the atlantic in a sealed container which was then stored outside in the sun for a further 20 days before it was open, and she was discovered.

translation:— open, and she was discovered. translation: one of the areas ofthe translation: one of the areas of the container _ translation: one of the areas of the container was _ translation: one of the areas of the container was corroded i of the container was corroded and that there was a small hole. we assumed that she, with her tiny paw, opened a whole where she could draw in rainwater. that is the only way she could have survived. during her stay at _ she could have survived. during her stay at the _ she could have survived. during her stay at the quarantine - her stay at the quarantine unit, she got to know sniffer dogs and customs officials decided to try her out. herjob in the agricultural canine unit is to examine the luggage that has arrived at the airport. and to sniff out fresh fruit and vegetables which are being brought into the country illegally. the trainer says mili meets the four basic characteristics for dogs in the unit — friendly, docile, playful and with a good appetite. there is no doubt she fits the bill. translation: i fits the bill. translation: , ., translation: i consider her a heroine. translation: i consider her a heroine- a _ translation: i consider her a heroine. a little _ translation: i consider her a heroine. a little animal - translation: i consider her a heroine. a little animal that i heroine. a little animal that spent a0 days in a container without water and food. she must have really fought for her

life. ., . must have really fought for her life. a ., ., life. the miracle dog from sain. life. the miracle dog from spain. what _ life. the miracle dog from spain. what a _ life. the miracle dog from l spain. what a heartwarming story to end on. stay with us here on a bbc 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 bbc news. the headlines: ukraine has asked the united nations and the red cross to investigate the missile strike that's killed more than 50 prisoners of war who were being held by russia in the donetsk region. both sides are blaming each other for the attack. the mayor of washington, dc has called for help from the national guard to deal with almost 5,000 migrants who have been bused into the us capital. their trip is said to have been organised by republican governors in protest against the biden administration's immigration policy. spain and brazil have reported what are thought to be the first monkeypox—related deaths outside of africa.

spain's one of the worst—hit countries — around a quarter