live from washington. this is bbc news, welcome to viewers on pbs in america this is the scene in hiroshima where world leaders are gathering for the g7. and i'm neck marsh. _ gathering for the g7. and i'm neck marsh, live _ gathering for the g7. and i'm neck marsh, live from - neck marsh, live from hiroshima. g7 leaders have arrived and they are about to lay a wreath at the memorial to the victims of the world's first ever atomic bomb attack. a sweeping crackdown on gang violence in el salvador has lowered crime, but it's believed thousands of innocent people are still stuck behind bars more than a year later.

hello i'm sumi somaskanda. welcome to our show. let's take you straight to live pictures from hiroshima, where world leaders are meeting for the g7 summit. at the moment we know that they have already arrived as nick marsh just mentioned, have already arrived as nick marshjust mentioned, we have seen some of the leader is going on, they are expected to exit now and lay a wreath at the hiroshima peace memorial park and there we see them, president biden and the japanese prime minister fumio kishida there as well. the european commission president ursula von der leyen just behind them. again, this is a poignant moment as we just heard from nick marsh there and there of course we saw all of there of course we saw all of the leaders, rishi sunak and the leaders, rishi sunak and the german chancellor olaf scholz. we also see the french president emmanuel macron there and the european council president shall michelle as

well as the italian prime minister. we see all of those leaders again in all of those important moments symbolically as they lay a wreath in the backdrop of the scars of war. they will be laying this wreath there as they discuss the current threats of war facing the world and in particular these g7 leaders so this is the moment that we are watching and a significant one for these world leaders. they will be discussing several current pressing issues, war and conflict, the war in ukraine, discussing the combined effort to continue to support ukraine, we see the canadian prime minister there, and containing china in the region, while also trying to maintain diplomatic relations. the bbc�*s nick marsh

is in hiroshima for us and we can bring him in now. as you have been covering the lead up to the summit and have been waiting for this moment where they lay the wreath down, what are you looking for is the significant moments that come out of this meeting? the significant moments that come out of this meeting?— out of this meeting? the fact that this is — out of this meeting? the fact that this is the _ out of this meeting? the fact that this is the very - out of this meeting? the fact that this is the very first - out of this meeting? the fact that this is the very first act i that this is the very first act that this is the very first act that the g7 leaders will do together, that it marks the beginning of this summit is highly symbolic in and of itself, that this summit is taking place in hiroshima, the first—ever place to suffer an atomic bomb attack when the united states dropped the nuclear bomb in august 1945, the first of two. the second was in nagasaki three days later marking the culmination of the second world war. it tells you that the echoes of the past are never too far away. you just walk around hiroshima yesterday, we went to the peace museum which is where these world leaders have just

come from. we took a look around and it really does bring home how present this event is in hiroshima. there were peace protesters, peace campaigners shall we say, there was nuclear disarmament protesters as well, some of these world leaders actually had to walk past protesters earlier, shouting no wall, so there definitely is a feeling that although this conflict may seem, although the idea of this devastation might seem its many, many decades ago, the pieces fragile and i am referring to things like militarisation in this area. china and its relationship with other countries and territories in the south china sea and of course the issue of taiwan which china has said will and must be united with the mainland, whether that is peacefully or whether that is by force. all of those issues

will be dominating proceedings, g7 leaders will be talking about them and the fact that it is all taking place in hiroshima does give it that extra sense of historical significance and urgency. we are seeing — significance and urgency. we are seeing these images right now is the world leaders are lining up here to pay their respects at this memorial, let's watch for a moment.

so there we have it, the g7 leaders there all laying a wreath at the hiroshima peace memorial park as nick was just

saying, this has been an important symbolic start to this summit and this is one thatjapan was keen this summit and this is one that japan was keen on hosting for many reasons but this of course is an important location as they stand there for a, it would appear, just before they get there summit started and nick was giving us some of the background of what the city is like, a day that the g7 summit is starting and have a question of militarisation and peace, these questions are still very much on people's minds here in hiroshima. you can see the leaders there as they stand together and they have promised together and they have promised to make a commitment again to reaffirm their commitment to try to continue to support ukraine in a current conflict and of course as we mentioned, contain china as well amid fears, particularly there in japan about the possibility of a chinese attack on taiwan. so it looks like they are just

about to turn up the steps for about to turn up the steps for a moment perhaps for another picture or they will be walking just off and neck, just to speak to you again here, tell us a little bit about what you expect to see coming out of the summit. ~ , , ,.,, ., summit. well i suppose the two bi . . est summit. well i suppose the two biggest subjects _ summit. well i suppose the two biggest subjects on _ summit. well i suppose the two biggest subjects on the - summit. well i suppose the two biggest subjects on the agenda | biggest subjects on the agenda today will be the issue of ukraine, where dominic we are more than a year into that wasn't russia's invasion in february 2022, g7 leaders will be wanting to project yet another united front against russia, trying to weaken the country economically and therefore militarily. the other big issue is of course china, not a g7 member, not invited today but g7 countries are concerned about china's influence in this region. that's the influence

militarily, the suppose it threat in this region according to g7 countries from their perspective but also economically, there is this idea of economic coercion, it is a term we have been hearing quite a lot recently and the idea is that china is weaponising its vast economy to punish or threaten countries that it has disputes with, that it doesn't get along with. we have seen examples of trade restrictions with countries like australia recently, japan, south korea as well and that is a problem for g7 nations and they are trying to find a solution to that. the us is quite clear on what it wants to do, it wants to severely restrict investments into china, european countries are more tied up, theyjust can't exactly break off ties like that with the will�*s second—largest economy succumbing to a consensus there is going to be another issue. indeed and just for our viewers, we see the leaders

care it appears receiving a little bit of information about this memorial, some of the inscriptions there are, they are receiving not only information but a translation there as we can see before they get started on their working lunch and get the summit under way, and an important point you made, we saw president biden standing there, he of course was planning originally to go to australia and to papua new guinea, just after this g7 summit, in a sense also to show the commitment to the region and also to counter china, we know now that the president has cut that trip short because he has to return back here to washington because of debt ceiling negotiations, we have also heard that the president is keeping a close eye on that as he is there injapan, he apparently held a call with his debt ceiling negotiation team as well today so he is very obviously keeping a close eye as we said and very much focusing on solving that debt

crisis but first of all wanting to show american presents there at the summit and we see the leaders walking off there but tell us a little bit more about some of the announcements we heard ahead of this summit beginning on new sanctions being rolled out against russia? ., being rolled out against russia? . , ., ., russia? yeah, 'ust i get onto that very _ russia? yeah, just i get onto that very quickly, _ russia? yeah, just i get onto that very quickly, interesting | that very quickly, interesting to note that president biden is only the second sitting us president to visit hiroshima after barack obama some time ago. so the poignancy, the symbolism of having a sitting us president come here is not going to be lost onjapanese people, on people here in hiroshima, itjust kind of adds to the historical weight of what is going on on top of all of the pressing issues that the g7 leaders are going to be discussing over the weekend so like you mentioned, those sanctions on russia, even before this summit kicked off we were hearing from us officials that some fresh ones

were being laid down effectively to try to limit russia's access to battlefield materials, again trying to weaken russia militarily but of course there is a big difference, isn't there, between putting sanctions in and making sure that they stick. lots of countries have gone down the route of economically restrict in russia but we know is that there are ways of getting around this there are loopholes russia is exploiting using third—party countries, countries in central asia have been accused of helping russia evade sanctions so tightening things there is going to be a priority. we haven't had any official communications, i think if you pay pose attention to the language when these sorts of things come out in the next few days we will get an indication ofjust how days we will get an indication of just how strong days we will get an indication ofjust how strong these sanctions are going to be and how united g7 partners are, both the us aside from washington, the europeans and also japan as well.—

also japan as well. indeed and we are still— also japan as well. indeed and we are still seeing _ also japan as well. indeed and we are still seeing these - we are still seeing these images of the world leaders here, the g7 leaders taking in more information about the memorial. interestingly we see the japanese prime minister kushida there, he is actually from hiroshima and he said in the lead up to the summit, i hope that here the g7 and leaders from elsewhere will show their commitment to peace which will be remembered in history so again touching on what you have said about this being an important location and one of course where leaders will be discussing current conflicts against this backdrop. interesting to talk about those sanctions, economists are divided about just how much these sanctions have actually hurt russia and hurt their war effort in one of the questions that has been asked is, with an expected counteroffensive coming from ukraine, how long can support from these g7 leaders continue? what do you expect to see on that front from the summit?

it's absolutely no question that the support for ukraine is going to continue, both in rhetoric and also in material terms, so the united states has already committed billions and billions in lethal military aid for the ukrainians, that doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon, britain has just signed an agreement with ukraine forfighterjets just signed an agreement with ukraine for fighterjets as ukraine for fighter jets as well. ukraine for fighterjets as well. it is unlikely we are going to see these fighterjets featuring in this upcoming offensive in the coming month or couple of months or so but that really does show you the long—term commitment that countries in the g7 are placing, are putting on record when it comes to ukraine. this might be even with a view of securing ukraine's potential nato status further along the line. who knows, after this walk includes, whenever that may be. the presence of eu leaders as well, charles

michael, ursula von der leyen, very much important figures here, invited to the g7, they will be important when it comes to sort of representing european opinion there, there has been a lot of talk about potential eu membership for ukraine. after this walk includes as well. so when it comes to support, and i think that will remain steadfast i think, the bigger question is how much sanctions, how much economic restrictions can hurt russia. we know the economy has taken a hit, a big hit, let's not forget. but russia doesn't just trade with the g7, it is notjust just trade with the g7, it is not just affected just trade with the g7, it is notjust affected by just trade with the g7, it is not just affected by this alliance. china is a big partner, india has been buying a lot of russian oil recently and then there is the whole situation of the so—called global south, developing are not exactly on—board of the g7 at at the moment. mil not exactly on-board of the g7 at at the moment.— at at the moment. all right, thank you — at at the moment. all right, thank you so _ at at the moment. all right, thank you so much - at at the moment. all right, thank you so much for- at at the moment. all right, thank you so much for that l thank you so much for that analysis of. we will of course

be speaking more with you as we go on our the programme but thank you very much and we will talk to you a little bit later. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. my my name is shirley robinson. i'm 90. anai havejust done a skydive. well, my children offered to give me an event for my birthday. so a settled for a skydive. i was diagnosed with leukaemia, i suppose, skydive. i was diagnosed with leukaemia, isuppose, eight months ago. and its chronic so i shall have it until they die. and although i will never get better, they told me, i'd just go plodding along. i have done

this skydive to raise money for crisis because imagine what it's like sleeping rough. i didn't go out with the idea of raising vast amounts. but i did, i have raised over 5000. it'sjust wonderful. how it's just wonderful. how generous people have been. you're watching bbc news. let us go back to hiroshima and see some of the pictures we're getting there. while leaders have just been planting trees, it appears. you see the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, the german chancellor olaf scholz, and the italian prime minister looks like they are all taking part in this planting of trees. they had just previously been visiting the hiroshima peace memorial park before coming here. so this is part of this visit to the memorial park and they got a description of what the memorial park is therefore and

what the museum inside details, of course, an incredibly important backdrop. this is a moment heavy with symbolism. they did lay readers as well at the hero memorial, escare —— commemorates around 145,000 people who were killed in the nuclear bomb in the city. it has been a moment for world leaders to come together and we have our correspondence nick marsh, who has been covering this summit for us. we will speak to him injust this summit for us. we will speak to him in just a this summit for us. we will speak to him injust a moment as we see our world leaders leaving the scene here, just to give you an idea of what to expect, they will be holding a working lunch where they will be discussing many of the issues we mentioned, the russian invasion of ukraine, preventing conflict with china, as we have been discussing this entire show, and then they will be moving on to discuss artificial intelligence, which is a new item on the agenda there. i believe we have nick marsh with us now who has been standing by in hiroshima. he

has been covering the summit. if you could hear me, there are other countries that have also been invited as guests to the summit you are not part of the g7, most importantly india and brazil, the leaders of india and brazil. tell us why they are taking part.— are taking part. they are crucial countries, - are taking part. they are crucial countries, aren'tl are taking part. they are - crucial countries, aren't they, huge economies and, crucially, countries were politically though not exactly sure where they stand, they're not exactly aligned this u.s.—led coalition of partners in the g7, but they are not totally within the sphere of economic or political influence of the other superpower in the world, china. and i think countries like india, brazil, loss of developing countries as well, we have come across representing the african union

and a pacific islands country as well, analyst described them as well, analyst described them as the global south. i think what happens after the invasion of you drain illustrated how important these countries are going to be because western countries, we are very quick to impose sanctions on russia. but they didn't really have any success in getting anyone else on board. these countries, in fact, they were heard by the sanctions, heard by the inflation and the restriction on oil supplies and so on and so forth. they don't really share the same political ambitions that say the united states or western countries do. so if something were to happen, let's say theoretically involving taiwan and this part of the world, g7 countries will have to do a lot of work to mobilise these sorts of countries to impose sanctions orjoin in with sanctions. they are going to have to offer something which is much more

attractive financially, rather than a kind of moral or political encouragement. it will be interesting to see how these sorts of countries are involved as well and if they feature in any kind ofjoint communication at the end of this summit. we communication at the end of this summit.— communication at the end of this summit. ~ . ., , this summit. we have also seen some interesting _ this summit. we have also seen some interesting bilateral - some interesting bilateral agreements that have been introduced. just before the summit began we saw introduced. just before the summit began we sanapan and france wanted to deepen their bilateral co—ordination and the uk prime minister, rishi sunak, announcing more cooperation with japan as well, tell us more about what is part of that bilateral agreement between japan and the uk.— bilateral agreement between japan and the uk. yes, he got his business _ japan and the uk. yes, he got his business done _ japan and the uk. yes, he got his business done early, - japan and the uk. yes, he got his business done early, even| his business done early, even before the summit started, the hiroshima lord, it is quite grandly titled, it was announced, more than 20 billion us dollars of investment from japanese companies into the uk, about half of it is actually a hydrogen plant, renewable energy plant, which is going to be funded byjapanese be funded by japanese

companies. be funded byjapanese companies. i think the idea really is that post—brexit written is going to have to go around and forge as many valuable trade partnerships and investments as it possibly can. it's no longer the eu, can't collect plea—bargain or take part in collective agreements like it once did. the uk government is obviously wanted this is a pretty big success, a good coup. i think they will have to start doing more of this in this part of the world as well. �* , ., this in this part of the world as well. ~ , ., , this in this part of the world as well. ~ ,., , ., as well. also interesting to see japan _ as well. also interesting to see japan in _ as well. also interesting to see japan in the _ as well. also interesting to see japan in the lead - as well. also interesting to see japan in the lead up i as well. also interesting to see japan in the lead up to | seejapan in the lead up to this really has been flexing its military might, if you will, announcing back in december it will double its military expenditure. tell us how significant that is in japan being a partner in the region. japan being a partner in the retion. �* , japan being a partner in the retion. v ., , region. it's really significant. - region. it's really significant. this i region. it's really| significant. this is region. it's really i significant. this is a region. it's really _ significant. this is a country, as we have been talking about all morning, that really suffered the ravages of war. you know, decades and decades ago, back during world war ii. there is a strong current of

pacifism, both the constitution, but also among the general public stop we have the general public stop we have the peace campaigners, the nuclear disarmament protesters earlier today. but at the same time japan, earlier today. but at the same timejapan, the region, does face threats. i think there is a growing recognition in this part of the world that countries cannotjust rely on the united states when it comes to military support. japan is ramping up its spending in the event of any aggression, as they would see it, from china, particularly when it comes to any potential invasion. japan is kind of rallying around, its trying to get people on it's trying to get people on board to oppose china if and when it does something that it considers egregious. but this is very controversial injapan. it reflects both historical suffering, historical pain, but also current realities, current threats. it's a really fine line that politicians have always had to walk here. very

interesting — always had to walk here. very interesting point _ always had to walk here. very interesting point there. - always had to walk here. very interesting point there. they do want to in one piece of news we'rejust getting this do want to in one piece of news we're just getting this is bloomberg is reporting that the ukrainian president, lotta ms zelenska, will actually attend the g7 summit in person. the bbc has not been able to verify this information just yet. bloomberg is reporting this information. how significant would the key? it information. how significant would the key?— would the key? it would be hutel would the key? it would be hugely significant. - would the key? it would be l hugely significant. obviously thatis hugely significant. obviously that is not been confirmed yet at all, there have been rumours in the lead up to this summit you might attend in person. it would be the first time he has attended something like this. essentially all his allies in one place. we know that one by one place. we know that one by one g7 leaders have been going to kyiv, affirming their support. president zelensky has been to washington, he has just been to washington, he has just been to washington, he has just been to london as well, other european capitals. but the symbolism of having him with the president of the youth council, the president of the european commission, the leaders of all the g7 nations, that would send a huge message

of solidarity. there was talk that he might have gone to the 620 in that he might have gone to the g20 in bali last year. that would have been awkward, because there was a russian presence there, there was a presence there, there was a presence of lots of countries were not necessarily sympathetic to the ukrainian course. here he is a place where he be able to get a lot of solidarity and we will have to wait and see, obviously not confirmed yet but it would be hugely significant if he did turn up. hugely significant if he did turn u-. , , turn up. very interesting indeed- _ turn up. very interesting indeed. the _ turn up. very interesting indeed. the bbc - turn up. very interesting indeed. the bbc has - turn up. very interesting indeed. the bbc has not| indeed. the bbc has not verified that information but we are hearing from bloomberg that ukrainian president, vlad ms long skeate, maybe attending the g7 summit —— volodymyr zelensky. nick marsh reporting there. it has been great talking to you. we look forward to your reporting as it gets under way. you very much. just to remind you. the g7 group of advanced economies, as they are starting their summit advanced economies, as they are starting theirsummit in starting their summit in hiroshima starting theirsummit in hiroshima and they will be talking about a number of

topics. brussow�*s invasion of ukraine and preventing conflict with china top of the agenda. —— russia. thank you for watching bbc news. i'm sumi somaskanda in washington. do stay with us. hello there. here at home, our weather is quite quiet but in italy, the flood situation will be ongoing. there's more cool, wet and windy weather developing in southern parts of europe and this is the rainfall accumulation in the next few days. heavy rain for corsica and sardinia. the heaviest of the rain this time is more for the north—west of italy, and that could lead to some further flooding. away from that thickening cloud, we've had this band of cloud on that weather front producing just a little bit of rain. that's heading its way down into england and wales in some areas. clearer skies following to scotland and northern ireland. and first thing in the morning, temperatures could be as low as about five degrees. we will have more sunshine, though, on friday for scotland and northern ireland, although it may well cloud over a little more in the afternoon. some areas of cloud for england and wales producing this rain and drizzle.

it will tend to peter out but as it brightens up will trigger a few showers all the way from yorkshire into the west midlands and the west country as well. but there will be some warm spells of sunshine around on friday and in light winds, those temperatures are going to be very similar to what we had on thursday. it could actually be a bit warmer in scotland, particularly across the east with more sunshine. now, this developing area of low pressure is storm nino and that's going to bring all that wet weather into central parts of the mediterranean. here at home, it's high pressure that's tending to dominate, although there is this strip of cloud coming in from the atlantic and it looks like it could be quite cloudy for scotland and northern ireland. probably dry. most of that cloud is going to be quite high cloud. and away from here, england and wales seeing the lion's share of the sunshine. a bit of a breeze picking up perhaps in the far south—east of england but warm in the sunshine — temperatures hitting 20 or 21 celsius, particularly in the west, holding at 16 or 17 for scotland and northern ireland. and into the second half of the weekend, we've still got a lot of cloud for scotland and northern ireland.

a little or no rain around. it could well brighten up and warm up in the south—east of scotland but again, sunshine for england and wales, some fair weather cloud and temperatures reaching 20 or 21 celsius. a little bit cooler perhaps around some of those north sea coasts. so, we've got some decent weather on the whole for this weekend and not a great deal of change into next week. many places still dry with some sunshine, more cloud in the far north, and this is where we're more likely to have some rain at times.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi. my guest is one of the most celebrated artists of his generation, yet he is little known in his native britain and is only belatedly — to use his word — being given

recognition here in the uk. well, now there is a major exhibition at the prestigious