of potential war crimes evidence of potential war crimes being last by social media companies using artificial intelligence. hello, welcome to bbc news now, 3 hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we start in moldova — the country which neighbours ukraine to the west — and has become increasingly strategically important following the russian invasion. a former soviet republic, it retained a high degree of economic dependence on moscow — and has struggled for years with pro—russian rebels in its transnistria region. other european nations have moved to support moldova's government, and in the coming hours, a majorsummit bringing together dozens of european leaders will be held there, to discuss a joint response to the war in ukraine. uk prime minister rishi sunak arrived a short while ago. he was greeted by moldovan president maia sandu.

ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky was among the first to arrive earlier this morning. he's been addressing delegates reiterating the russia is an aggressor and needs to be stopped. his says aside from peace, there are only two options for countries not in the eu and nato —— russian invasion. european country that borders russia and that does not want russia to tear it apart, should be a full member of the eu and nato. and there are only two alternatives to this — either an open war or creeping russian occupation. we see what is happening in belarus. we see what is happening in georgia. we see how these nations are being dragged, although in different ways, into the same state of lawlessness.

the talks are being held at mimi castle, in the wine region, a short distance from the capital chisinau, where our correspondent jenny hill is. jenny, very strong words there from the ukrainian leader and the message is really simply either back us or you will find yourself in a similar situation. ,, ., ., , , , ~ situation. strong words, yes. and i su ose situation. strong words, yes. and i sunpose his _ situation. strong words, yes. and i sunpose his point _ situation. strong words, yes. and i suppose his point is _ situation. strong words, yes. and i suppose his point is reinforced - situation. strong words, yes. and i suppose his point is reinforced by l suppose his point is reinforced by last night's bombardment of kyiv. he is going to various capitals recently go out hoping for more ongoing support. he has had more promises of weapons and money from various capitals but what he really wants is longer term security guarantees. he has made it very clear that he wants ukraine in the eu and part of nato. those are sentiments which are certainly

echoed by the moldovan leadership too. it is no accident that this summit is happening in this country where residents are concerned. moldova has great reason. it is wedged between ukraine and the eu and has that breakaway region transnistria which is controlled by pro—russian separatists. there are russian troops on the ground there is a hangover from the way in which the soviet union fell apart and the way in which it did so in this particular part of the world. the leadership of moldova is very plain. it leads heavily towards the west and once to join the eu. it leads heavily towards the west and once tojoin the eu. they it leads heavily towards the west and once to join the eu. they are very adamant on that point and on the eve of the summit, the moldovan president said once again that she wants eu accession negotiations to

begin by the end of this year. both moldova and ukraine have been given candidate status officially as has georgia. particularly a country like moldova which has russian troops an effect on its soil or a country like ukraine which has an open conflict raging. all of these issues are as you imagine dominating this. it is only the second meeting of this particular group, the european political community and is an idea of president macron of france. he wanted to bring together not only the block of eu itself but also its neighbours, countries like britain which has left and like moldova. he was to bring them all into the conversations that they can speak bilaterally or in small groups or in one giant group about the many and different issues that they face. and

different issues that they face. and as we have — different issues that they face. and as we have highlighted, the conflict in ukraine is top of the agenda. perhaps a close second is migration. i'm not sure i would even say it's a close second. rishi sunak is coming here and wants to urge his other european peers to put the issue of migration and illegal migration in particular at the top of the agenda. if you look at the various countries here, they all have their own agendas. migration is something that concerns a good number of these european countries but actually, a lot of the talk here is around to other real flashpoints causing a lot of concern. that is firstly the dispute between azerbaijan and armenia over the disputed territory and there is some hope that the two leaders of those countries can be brought together for some talks which might bring that to a peaceful conclusion. it has been bubbling along in a very concerning way for

some time. secondly is what is happening in northern kosovo in recent weeks. real tensions there. the leaders are not in considered true form. but again, that is something that can be brought to a resolution potentially. there is a lot to discuss before talking about things like cybersecurity and future energy supplies. things like cybersecurity and future energy supplies-— things like cybersecurity and future energy sunplies-— energy supplies. thank you very much. energy supplies. thank you very much- we'll _ energy supplies. thank you very much. we'll have _ energy supplies. thank you very much. we'll have more - energy supplies. thank you very much. we'll have more analysis| energy supplies. thank you very i much. we'll have more analysis on moldova's role within the importance of the west and eu and nato later in this hour. finance ministers around the world will breathe a sigh of relief today. after weeks of tense negotiations, the us house of representatives have passed a bill which will increase the amount of money the country's government can borrow. the legislation still requires approval from the senate before monday to avoid defaulting on its debts, which would

have serious global economic consequences. president biden released this statement after the vote: with the details of what happened on capitol hill on wednesday — and what could happen next — here's our north america correspondentjessica parker. it's been closing in on president biden and the us, the prospect that the government may not be able to pay all its bills, potentiallyjeopardising welfare payments and some people's wages. amid warnings of an economic catastrophe, he insisted it would all be ok. we're going to deal with the debt ceiling. we got, we got — i think things are going as planned, god willing. the house will come to order.

the lower house in congress has now approved a bill to raise the debt ceiling, though not without regrets and recriminations. republicans claim that theyjust had to threaten the economic well—being of every american man, woman and child because of the $31 trillion debt was too high. the bill alters our fiscal trajectory and helps remedy the federal government's insatiable spending problem. this landmark legislation lowers non—defence discretionary spending and forces congress to employ a functioning appropriation process. it's been a frantic few weeks for this man, who headed up the talks for the republicans. some in his own party say he failed to get sufficient spending cuts. we decided that you had to spend less and we achieved that goal. is it everything i wanted? no but

sitting with one house with a democratic senate and a democratic president that didn't want to meet with us, i think we did pretty good for the american public. yes, this is all a rather predictable display of those deep political divides between republicans and democrats, and splits within those parties as well. but because of the power and the magnitude of the us economy, this looming debt ceiling deadline is being watched across the world. because if this looks like a smooth ride, it isn't over yet. the senate still needs to approve the deal, with days to go until a us treasury deadline. jessica parker, bbc news in washington. live now to new york to speak to cbs correspondentjarred hill. jared, how much of a relief is this to global financial markets? it is a global issue. or do think many were secretly thinking they would sort it out. ., ., secretly thinking they would sort it out. . ., . ., , secretly thinking they would sort it out. . ., , ., , out. there are a couple of things lookin: out. there are a couple of things looking at _ out. there are a couple of things looking at the — out. there are a couple of things looking at the number— out. there are a couple of things looking at the number in - out. there are a couple of things

looking at the number in the - out. there are a couple of things| looking at the number in the data out. there are a couple of things - looking at the number in the data we have seen, there is a bit of a slowdown with some of the global markets at least yesterday going into this vote which happened overnight. some of the ramifications are seen this morning. asian markets were looking a little bit positive but on a bigger scale, there never has been a situation in which the us defaulted on its debts. so there was by and large a feeling among a lot of people including members of congress that this was going to be worked out in some way shape or form. the questions to still bear in mind is in if this clears senate because it is only a couple of days before signing into law. 50 because it is only a couple of days before signing into law.— because it is only a couple of days before signing into law. so the next ruestion before signing into law. so the next question obviously _ before signing into law. so the next question obviously is _ before signing into law. so the next question obviously is how _ before signing into law. so the next question obviously is how big - before signing into law. so the next question obviously is how big was i question obviously is how big was the compromised? how significant was at and what does it mean to the direction of the us economy now? there are a couple of things here. this was a significant amount of

compromise, you have to remember that president biden was going into this saying that he and democrats didn't want to see any compromise or negotiations and just wanted to raise the debt ceiling. republicans were saying with some more stringent policies that they were trying to put in place to in their minds slow the spending that didn't all go through so we saw significant numbers of the democratic and republican party not signing on to this thing. in the long run, it still yet to be seen and there is a dispute in to how much money this will save the us down the road. and how much this may or may not hurt to some of the individuals who were impacted by some of the social programmes that will not be receiving the same amount of funding. in receiving the same amount of fundinr. , , . funding. in the broader picture, we did see what _ funding. in the broader picture, we did see what was _ funding. in the broader picture, we did see what was in _ funding. in the broader picture, we did see what was in the _ funding. in the broader picture, we did see what was in the financial. did see what was in the financial markets in the last few weeks as a result of this concern. no question about this. has there been as a result of this crisis, because it

became that, a lasting impact on the credibility of the united states as a cornerstone of the financial system? a cornerstone of the financial s stem? ., , , a cornerstone of the financial s stem? . , , ., a cornerstone of the financial s stem? . ,, .,, a cornerstone of the financial sstem? . ,, , . system? that is yet to be seen. we did see one — system? that is yet to be seen. we did see one thing _ system? that is yet to be seen. we did see one thing back _ system? that is yet to be seen. we did see one thing back when - system? that is yet to be seen. we did see one thing back when this i did see one thing back when this happened in 2011 where the united states's credit rating did go down because we got so close to default. there wasn't talk about this but this does bring up a broader question for a lot of other countries in other economies here on how much they can rely on the us economy but again, you see many united states politicians saying that the us still is the cornerstone of the financial system. if this continues to be the case, we will have to wait and see. to developing political stories in the uk. the mp geraint davies has been suspended by the opposition labour party.

it's after politico reported claims that the mp is accused of subjecting younger colleagues to unwanted sexual attention. he told the publication that he didn't "recognize the allegations". in a statement the labour party said "these are serious allegations of completely unacceptable behaviour" and they "strongly encourage anyone with a complaint to come forward". meanwhile — the uk government has until four o'clock local time to hand over the former prime minister, borisjohnson's unredacted whatsapp messages to and inquiry related to the coronavirus pandemic or they could face possible criminal prosecution. mrjohnson appears to have added to pressure on ministers by stating he'd already given the cabinet office all relevant material. our political correspondent leila nathoo told me more about the public inquiry which is about to begin it's first public hearings into the government's handinling of the covid pandemic. it's already been doing a lot of work behind—the—scenes and as part of that, it has asked the government to provide borisjohnson's whatsapp messages, his diaries

and his notebooks between 2020 and 2022 as part of its evidence gathering, if you like. there is a bit of a stand—off going on between the inquiry and the cabinet office, the department of the government it is dealing with. the cabinet office say you shouldn't be able to see all of the messages in full and should only be to see redacted versions because it might stray into territory which doesn't actually concern the work of the inquiry. the inquiry, meanwhile, are saying you should handover everything and it should be up to us to decide what is relevant to our work. there has been a bit of back and forth but, ultimately, the government has been given until 4pm uk time today to hand over these documents in full or else face legal action because it is a legal process that governs what the inquiry is doing. severally, there is an argument between the government and the former prime minister boris johnson over what material he is providing. he says he is handed over everything

to the government in full and he is in fact trying to urge the government to pass them on to the covid inquiry so there is a bit of multiple characters in this going on. but this is about what official records the government is going to provide to the covered inquiry to allow them to do their work. we will find out later this afternoon whether the government is going to comply with the request. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. some to some other stories making news in the uk. building society nationwide says house prices fell at their fastest annual pace in nearly 1a years in may. it says prices fell by 3.4%, the biggest drop sincejuly 2009. it also warns more rises in interest rates could hit the housing market.

more adults in northern ireland are now considered potential organ donors as �*daithi's law�* has come into effect, named after a local six—year—old boy who needs a heart transplant. northern ireland was the only part of the uk where an opt—out organ donation system was not in place. a new alert system will warn the public when high temperatures could damage their health this summer in england. it'll be run by the uk health security agency and the met office, aiming to reduce illness and deaths among the most vulnerable. and a rare plant, normally found only in the swamps the heat health alert system will operate year—round but it will run from june until september with the alert system. and a rare plant, normally found only in the swamps dorset police have said an early investigation into an incident that killed a 12—year—old girl and 17—year—old boy near bournemouth beach on wednesday suggests it was not caused by any physical contact between a vessel and swimmers. the two teenagers had been pulled from the water with fatal injuries. eight others were also

found with mild injuries and taken to hospital. the cause of the deaths remain unknown but a man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. let's get the latest from our correspondent helena wilkinson in bournemouth. dorset police are clearly trying to piece together what happened during what is a tragic incident unthinkable for the families of the two children who died. you mentioned a 12—year—old girl and a 17—year—old boy were pulled out of the water here just off bournemouth beach. they sustained critical injuries and were taken to hospital where they died. there are details we don't know yet that the police haven't informed us about as they piece together what happened here yesterday afternoon. emergency services got called at 432 to

bournemouth. for many schools it was half term so very packed on the beach when the incident unfolded. we know that an air ambulance landed just on the beach behind us yesterday and lifeguards attended on a jet ski to try and rescue those who were in the water. in addition to the two teenagers who were pulled out of the water who later died in hospital, another eight people were also pulled out of the water. they were treated here on the beach we understand but they had mild injuries. there will be a press conference in that story in about 30 minutes. german prosecutors investigating the dissapearnace of madeleine mccann say it's too early to link items found during a reservoir search at the algarve last week to her case.

lets get more from our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford. .. daniel, what more can you tell us? i was there last week because. was there last week it daniel, what more can you tell us? i was there last week it was a search into the spit of land was there last week it was a search into the spit of [and about 30 kilometres away from where madeleine mccann disappeared from. we were able to watch from around 100 metres away and stop we could see the police were concentrating on some very specific areas and could see them bagging evidence and scraping away at the top soil in some places. they were also using sniffer dogs to go across the spit of land. it is essentially a car park where you can look at the view but is also used as an informal campsite by people including 16 years ago by christian brueckner who is the german prime

suspect in the disappearance of madeleine mccann. german police clearly took away samples and we saw that on thursday and when we went to the site afterwards we could see holes they had dug. it wasn't clear whether they had just taken soil samples or something else but what they said their statement today translated from german is that they secured a number of which presumably is more than soil samples and said it will take days or even weeks to analyse those objects. they go on to say does not yet clear if those objects are relevant to the case of madeleine mccann. it doesn't look like this any kind of light bulb moment where it is obvious they have something that definitely links to the case but it is something that will take analysis and as a result of that analysis they will realise what they have found that peninsula and whether or not it is relevant to this 16—year—old mystery. and whether or not it is relevant to this 16-year-old mystery.- and whether or not it is relevant to

this 16-year-old mystery. one of australia's most decorated soldiers has lost a lawsuit. ben roberts—smith a former corporal in the australian special sources was found to be someone who broke the legal and moral rules of military engagement. here is the summing up. the applicant while a member of the asos are unarmed and defenceless man by caking him off a cliff and commanded soldiers to shoot him. two, the applicant broke the legal and moral rules of military engagement and is therefore a criminal. three, the applicant

disgraced his country, australia, and the australian army by his conduct in afghanistan. iirrui’ith and the australian army by his conduct in afghanistan. with the latest from _ conduct in afghanistan. with the latest from sydney, _ conduct in afghanistan. with the latest from sydney, here - conduct in afghanistan. with the latest from sydney, here is - conduct in afghanistan. with the latest from sydney, here is phil. thejudge latest from sydney, here is phil. the judge has dismissed the long—running and high—profile defamation case. thejudge long—running and high—profile defamation case. the judge said the media outlets involved had managed to prove some of the most serious allegations of war crimes against australia's most decorated living soldier. the newspapers began backin living soldier. the newspapers began back in 2018 publishing a series of articles on ben roberts—smith alleging that he had been involved in the murders of six unarmed civilians or prisoners in afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. there was also a claim that ben

roberts—smith had used a machine gun to kill a captured fighter and stole a dead man's artificial leg as a trophy. he had always denied any wrongdoing and his lawyers said the trial evidence against him was fanciful and inconsistent. but in the end, thejudge decided fanciful and inconsistent. but in the end, the judge decided that they media outlets relying on a defence of truth had managed to prove some of truth had managed to prove some of those more serious allegations that they had made against ben roberts—smith. it's worth pointing out that this is a civil case and not a criminal matter. ben roberts—smith would be expected perhaps to make an appeal against this verdict and the judges full decision, the fulljudgment, is expected to be published here early next week.

a climber narrowly avoided death on mount everest. a nepali sherpa saved the relation climber. he carried him over six hours. the rescue was described as almost impossible. and now for a happy conservation story, a rare plant normally found only in the swamps of south—west florida and cubais the swamps of south—west florida and cuba is beginning to flower in the uk for the first time. this is what they look like. this is the florida ghost orchid. there are less than 2,000 in existence. one of them was flown into the uk from chicago two weeks ago with the blood displayed at chelsea flower show and now displayed at kew gardens in london. we will bring you

more on the summit in moldova in the next half an hour so stay with us for that very important meeting and any news that emerges from us here with the bbc. hello again. the weather today is very similar to what we've had the last few days in that the sunnier skies will be the further west you travel. we're hanging on to more clouds in the east. high pressure still dominating our weather. we've got this weak weather front, sinking south, which is enhancing the cloud across the east coast of england. so the cloud continues across the east today. we also will have some lingering cloud across the midlands and with a keen onshore flow, the breeze coming in from the north sea, like the last few days it will feel chilly. move to the far south of england, wales, the north west, northern ireland and scotland and we're looking

at a lot of sunshine. now, these are the wind gusts — as you can see, not particularly strong. but if you're exposed to the wind, it will feel chilly, especially if you're hanging around outside, maybe waiting for public transport. these are our temperatures — lower in the east under the cloud, but we're looking at up to 22 celsius in the southwest. through this evening into overnight, more cloud comes in from the north sea and drifts westwards. it will be thinner cloud and more broken tonight, scotland and northern ireland and parts of northern england having clear skies. so here it will be cooler, in some rural areas because the temperatures here are getting down to two or three degrees. so there mightjust be the odd pocket of frost. but here is where we'll start with some sunshine tomorrow. tomorrow, though, the cloud will break up more readily than today. and along this east coast, it's going to be a sunny day than we've had of late. at times there'll be little bits of cloud coming in and we still will have that fresh breeze coming in from the north sea with temperatures up to 21 celsius. heading on into the weekend, then, high pressure is still very much with us.

it's not really moving anywhere too quickly. we've got weak weather fronts trying to penetrate it, not having a lot of success other than introducing a bit more cloud at times, as you can see here across the north west of scotland. and it will be a cooler start to the day on saturday under clear skies. but most of us will have a dry day. at times again along the east coast, there will be areas of cloud, but not as extensive as we've seen in the early half of the week, with highs up to about 22 celsius in glasgow. that will feel pleasant in the sunshine. high pressure remains with us in the period. sunday into monday, once again, a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of sunshine around, but a little bit more cloud at times in the east.

this is bbc news — the headlines. at a meeting of european leaders in moldova — president zelensky demands that ukraine be urgently allowed tojoin nato and the eu. financial markets breathe a sigh of relief — as the us house of representatives votes to suspend the debt limit. still behind bars — the seven environmental campaigners being held prisoner in iran accused of spying.