live from london. this is bbc news. the tempo of the war in ukraine appears to quicken — as kyiv launches what could be the start of a much—anticipated counter—offensive. lawyers accuse prince harry of "wasting time" by not attending the first day of his high court trial against a newspaper publisher. the royal will now give evidence on tuesday. and as services resume on the line, there are calls for a second independent inquiry into last week's deadly train collision in india, as family members continue to search for their loved ones. translation: i had never thought i this would happen - just the day. before, we had so much fun.

hello, welcome to bbc news. i am ben thompson. we begin this hour in ukraine. kyiv says it's "moving forward" in what appears to be the start of a counter—offensive. the ukrainian army has released these images — showing what it says are ukrainian forces destroying russian positions in the direction of bakhmut, in the occupied eastern region of donetsk. in contrast, russia claims it's thwarted a major ukrainian attack in the same region. it's defence ministry has released this video, that it says shows ukrainian armoured vehicles coming under heavy fire. moscow says 250 ukrainian troops were killed and a number of armoured vehicles were destroyed. the claims have not been verified by the bbc. here's a map showing you some of the areas where ukrainian forces have made several probing attacks, along the south and eastern front line. around bakhmut and also the western part of zaporizhzhia region,

and, as i mentioned, in the eastern part of donetsk. in particular, around the town of vuhledar, some 150 km, or 93 miles, south—west of bakhmut. meanwhile , ukraine's military has released this cryptic video, which appears to refer to the counter offensive. take a look: distant explosions. the words written in ukrainian read "plans love silence. "there will be no announcement about the start". it then shows two fighter jets, f—16 aircraft which ukraine has been pushing western countries to send. i asked our ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, whether it's unusual for most of the information to come from the russian side. i don't think anyone is expecting kyiv to comment on the alleged

offensives that russia says is happening. i think, offensives that russia says is happening. ithink, if offensives that russia says is happening. i think, if we look at the balance of probability, if we look at without war of words you talk about, if you look at the undeniable increase in military activity, it seems at this moment in time that ukraine has started its much anticipated counteroffensive. now, we have seen images released by the ukrainian side this morning, showing armoured vehicles and tanks storming, apparently storming russian trenches, footage we cannot verify at this moment. and what russia's defence ministry has released its footage of armoured vehicles which they say are ukrainian coming under heavy fire as they move across fields. now, there has been a heightening of the language. we have got ukraine also claiming to have retaken territory to other parts of the front line. and i think when you have this pattern, this is a conflict with patterns, by the way, and i think over the last six months we have

seen phase after phase of russian attack, hugely costly assaults with minimal games and now we are seeing in ukraine trying to break the deadlock along the front line of six miles long —— 600 miles long, pushing toward cities like vuhledar and i think when you look at the words, the military activity, as well as the fighting we are seeing in russian territory in the belgorod region, i think we are seeing significant movements. it is reminding me of one case on was liberated last autumn. we knew there was death when kherson was liberated last autumn. we knew that the fights that liberated the city, i think we could be talking about a longer time frame this time around. it's more than 100 years since a a senior member of the british royalfamily gave evidence in person, in court from the witness box. then it involved a prince over a card game. tomorrow prince harry,

the duke of sussex, is due to appear at the high court in london in his case against mirror group newspapers. the younger son of king charles alleges information was gathered unlawfully on him over a iii—year period — starting when he was just 12 years old. here's helena wilkinson. she is at the high court for us in central london. helena, we now know the prince will arrive tomorrow to begin giving evidence. the other side of this, mirror group newspapers have said this is a total waste of time, that it cannot turn up waste of time, that it cannot turn up on day one, but it could be pretty explosive testimony? yes. pretty explosive testimony? yes, absolutely. _ pretty explosive testimony? yes, absolutely, courtroom _ pretty explosive testimony? 1&1: absolutely, courtroom drama are expected tomorrow when prince harry does come and enter into the witness box in the building just behind us, called the rules building, which is part of the royal courts ofjustice. let's just show you behind us there, you can see dozens of photographers who have been there since early, first thing this morning, waiting for prince harry to arrive. has happened is that today, to give you

the context, this morning and for much of the afternoon, if not all of the afternoon, both sides are going to open their case. this is not the first day of the trial. it has been going on for about three weeks so far. but prince harry was directed by the judge to attend court today because if there was a chance that those opening submissions were finished in good time, then perhaps he could enter the witness box and begin his evidence. but we heard from prince harry's barrister earlier on in court, who said that he had travelled from america last night and he was not going to be coming to court today. instead, he will be coming tomorrow. the judge, mrjustice van court, said he was a little surprised that prince harry was not going to be attending court today and the lawyers for the publisher, mgn, mirror group

newspapers, that is the publisher which prince harry is making these allegations against for breach of privacy, the publishers' lawyers or loyal, rather, andrew green casey, told the court earlier he is thought it was absolutely extraordinary that prince harry was not available for day one of his own trial. the court hearing took a short break for lunch, it has now resumed and we have colleagues in the courtroom. and just to bring you some details of what the court heard this morning, the barristerfor prince harry, david sherborne, had told the court that prince harry was subjected to unlawful information gathering activity right when he was a young boy at school. the barrister added, there was no time or area in prince harry's life when he was safe from this activity. so no prince harry today. we are expecting him to turn up tomorrow to start that

evidence. he will enter the witness box, he will be questioned first of all by his barrister and then he will face cross—examination. and thatis will face cross—examination. and that is when he might think things are pretty tricky. it will be a highly skilled barrister whose job under cross—examination is essentially to try and undermine the opposing party's case, to try to undermine prince harry's credibility. so he will face difficult questions and it will be interesting to see what else prince harry might reveal when he is in the witness box. harry might reveal when he is in the witness bom— witness box. yes, interesting, as welll witness box. yes, interesting, as well i have _ witness box. yes, interesting, as well i have seen _ witness box. yes, interesting, as well i have seen descriptions - witness box. yes, interesting, as i well i have seen descriptions today saying those questions could be pretty tough, they could be pretty intrusive. it is not going to be an interview like the one he gave to 0prah interview like the one he gave to oprah winfrey, they will delve into some elements of his personal life that he may not want to share, but prince harry has alluded to the fact that he is prepared for that and he says it is in his life's work to change the culture of the media, so thatis change the culture of the media, so that is perhaps just the price you will pay to do so stop yes,

absolutely. it will pay to do so stop yes, absolutely.— will pay to do so stop yes, absolutel . , ., ., . absolutely. it is a risk for prince har . absolutely. it is a risk for prince harry- not _ absolutely. it is a risk for prince harry. not everyone _ absolutely. it is a risk for prince harry. not everyone can - absolutely. it is a risk for prince harry. not everyone can take i absolutely. it is a risk for prince harry. not everyone can take a| absolutely. it is a risk for prince - harry. not everyone can take a case to trial like he has. just to be clear, when we talk about a trial, this is not a criminal case. this is a civil case, a private action that prince harry and a number of others are bringing gates any publisher. but yes, it is absolutely a risk that he is willing to take financially if he loses he will take a big hit, but he has clearly the money to be able to pay for this. and, as you mention fair, he has previously said that he wants to change the media landscape. that is his life's work. he wants to be seen in court, he wants his day in court and it does probably feel to him like it has been years in the making, when he comes here tomorrow to give evidence. i suspect members of the royalfamily to give evidence. i suspect members of the royal family will be watching, if they are going to be watching, if they are going to be watching, with some anxiety about what might come out of the court case. of course, members of the

royal family traditionally don't speak publicly about such personal issues. and, as we saw previously, prince william, we know, settled out of court with wannabe publishers. and so, it will be interesting to see exactly what prince harry has to say in the witness box and also how he performs under what will be no doubt intense pressure. when he faces cross—examination. doubt intense pressure. when he faces cross-examination. eleanor, for now, faces cross-examination. eleanor, for new. thank— faces cross-examination. eleanor, for now, thank you. _ faces cross-examination. eleanor, for now, thank you. i _ faces cross-examination. eleanor, for now, thank you. i know - faces cross-examination. eleanor, for now, thank you. i know you - faces cross-examination. eleanor, | for now, thank you. i know you will keep us up—to—date and there are any further developments there today, but tomorrow of course the big day when prince harry will give evidence. it is worth doing if you want to stay up—to—date on all of this you can check out our live page, it is running on the bbc website. if you click the play bottom at the top there is a livestream with all the latest as we get it from the court, but there are plenty of details there, including on the left of the main summary of the points you may need to do is this trial gets under way. but we will have full coverage of course on television for you on bbc news, but details on the website should you

perhaps be away from home. let's look at some of the other main stories for you today. the uk prime minister rishi sunak has said his plan to tackle small boats crossing the english channel is working, but there is "work to do". he was speaking in kent, where he said a deal with albania to return migrants had led to 1,800 people being sent back, and that was having a deterrent effect. he also announced two more floating accommodation barges to house asylum seekers. 0ur political correspondent, nick eardley, explained what the prime minister had announced. this is something that rishi sunak has made a priority. he talks about illegal migration whenever he gets the chance. and today was about, i think, trying to persuade the public that stopping boats crossing the channel was still going to be one of his priorities. so what the prime minister told us earlier this morning is he thinks the plan is working, that the number of crossings in the channel

of crossings in the channel is down by a fifth, and that ultimately he thinks the government is going to be able to deliver on his pledges. we'll come back to that in a minute. butjust firstly, here's what rishi sunak had to say. crossings are now down 20% compared to last year. that's right. crossings are down 20%. this is the first time since this problem began that arrivals between january and may have fallen, compared to the year before. and this progress is not replicated across the channel. illegal migrants entering the rest of europe have risen by 30%. there is one slight caveat to that, ben, which is that some people have suggested that might be as much down to the weather as anything else and it is worth pointing out that the majority of people who do cross the channel in small boats do it later in the year, typically in the summer months

when the water is a lot calmer in the channel. what really struck me about that press conference from rishi sunak, apart from the announcement that two barges, two further barges would be used to house asylum seekers to try and bring down costs, apart from him confirming that stat that the government thinks that crossings are down 20%, is he was asked, "what does stop the boats mean?" you'll notice that it was behind him as he was speaking him as he was speaking and it's something that the government talks about regularly. every single email with a press release i get has stop the boats as one of the government's five priorities. rishi sunak hasn't actually defined that. he was asked, "can

you stop all the boats? "are you committing to no boats crossing the channel?" he basically said it was for other people tojudge. so it does seem that rishi sunak is more trying to persuade us all that this is a plan that he has that is going to continue to develop, rather than saying that's the point at which it will be done. the leader of the opposition labour party, sir keir starmer, has since given his thoughts on the prime minister's plans to tackle migration. let's have a listen: nepa i think everybody wants to make sure that we stop the boats. we don't want people making that dangerous journey. don't want people making that dangerousjourney. all don't want people making that dangerous journey. all we really have, though, is the announcement of a policy that doesn't work, the re—announcement, essentially, and it often feels like groundhog day and meanwhile that is costing a fortune for the taxpayer and there is a growing sense of frustration. i am at hinkley point c here today, a fantastic project, but it is behind schedule and there is a frustration here that it is behind plan, whether it is small boats or nuclear from the government and that dither and delay is holding our country back. so there is a pattern of behaviour here, no plan for this government, a dither and delay and that is holding

us back. sir keir starmer there. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. some other stories now developing in the uk... an inquest opening at dorset coroner's court has heard there was a "suggestion" a riptide may have led to the deaths of a girl and a teenage boy off bournemouth beach. 17—year—old joe abbess from southampton and 12—year—old sunnah khan from buckinghamshire both died in hospital after the incident on wednesday. dorset police said it was keeping an "open mind" about the circumstances that led to the deaths. a man will appear in court today accused of running onto the track during saturday's epsom derby. ben newman, who is 32 and from east london, will face guildford magistrates, charged with causing a public nuisance. he was among 31 people who were arrested. the horse racing event was targeted by animal rights protesters, who attempted to disrupt the race. a petition to introduce a legal duty of care from universities and colleges towards their students will be debated by mps this afternoon. it was started by a group of 25 families

whose children took their own lives while at university. the department for education says a general duty of care to deliver educational and pastoral services already exists in higher education. you are live with bbc news. four days after a deadly train crash killed 275 people in india, a large number of bodies remain unclaimed. officials say over 100 victims remain unidentified. preliminary reports say a signal fault led to the three—train crash on friday night, which has been described as india's worst rail accident this century. archana shukla sent this report. trains start rolling on these tracks again two days after the crash that led to a pile—up. wrecked carriages lay on their sides, a reminder of the horrific disaster. life is still on hold for those searching for their families.

a massive task pending is identifying those dead. this man from a neighbouring state here to look for six people from his village. "they were all going to work in a factory. "i have received one body so far, but i am still looking "for the other five," he tells me. this woman is devastated. even at this place, there is no news of her husband. "i cannot find him anywhere," she breaks down. it is busy at the morgues, as more bodies are brought in. photographed and added to the list, until families come to claim them. this is balasore station, along the railway route where the crash happened and after

50 hours of restoration work, the train services for both goods and passengers has finally resumed. india runs one of the largest railway networks in and railway officials and workers worked day in and day out to get train services back on track as quickly as possible. as the painful process of identification goes on, the indian government has sought to involve the country's top investigative agency to expand the probe into what went wrong. archana archa na shukla archana shukla bear with that report. a little earlier i spoke to archana shukla, she is in the east indian state of 0disha, spoke to her and she puts up—to—date. puts up-to-date. two separate in . uiries puts up-to-date. two separate inquiries are— puts up-to-date. two separate inquiries are ongoing _ puts up-to-date. two separate inquiries are ongoing and - puts up-to-date. two separate inquiries are ongoing and the l inquiries are ongoing and the preliminary report says they could have been a fault in the signalling system. these are electronic signalling systems put in place to avoid any train collision, so that the train for one track doesn't get

diverted onto the other and to avoid train collisions. a preliminary report says they could have been a fault in the train signal. you can hear the train signal, the tween sound behind me. these tracks have now come back on track. if you can see behind me, the train passing by. and it is the signalling system that could have been at fault, which now has been repaired, at least on one line where they train services are, have resumed. the government, however, is saying they yet don't know or they don't want to divulge the details of what led to the fault in the signalling system or who did it and to expand the probe, the railway board has about now recommend that the country's top investigative agency must start looking into this, to expand the probe. looking into this, to expand the robe. ., , ~ . ., ., ,, «a, probe. that is archana shukla there at the scene — probe. that is archana shukla there at the scene of _ probe. that is archana shukla there at the scene of that _ probe. that is archana shukla there at the scene of that train _ probe. that is archana shukla there at the scene of that train crash - probe. that is archana shukla there at the scene of that train crash on l at the scene of that train crash on friday in india. mallets to turn d

return to that breaking news we brought you a short while ago, this from the middle east wary two—year—old palestinian boy has died from his injuries, after being shotin died from his injuries, after being shot in the head by israeli forces israeli forces near ramallah, in the occupied west bank four days ago. let's speak to our correspondent, what do we know about the circumstances of this? it was yesterday — circumstances of this? it was yesterday evening _ circumstances of this? it was yesterday evening when - circumstances of this? it was yesterday evening when he l circumstances of this? it was i yesterday evening when he was circumstances of this? it was - yesterday evening when he was shot. just as they were leaving the house not far from ramallah just as they were leaving the house not farfrom ramallah in just as they were leaving the house not far from ramallah in the occupied west bank, a palestinian journalist was also injured said that there were israeli soldiers close by who had been lying in ambush, waiting for a car that was approaching the village, but then they opened fire. he himself was injured as well as the father and son in the shooting. now, the israeli military said that what happened earlier that evening as there had been a shooting lasting

for several minutes. it released some grainy footage showing two pictures appearing to use guns to shoot in a nearby settlement. the israeli militant, who has got an israeli militant, who has got an israeli postjust outside the village, it is a place where you do often get confrontations between israeli soldiers and the palestinian villages. now, the little boy was taken by an israeli military helicopter to hospital last thursday. his father was treated in a local hospital, but the little boy now has died of his wounds. he had been shot in the head. yes. now has died of his wounds. he had been shot in the head.— now has died of his wounds. he had been shot in the head. yes, and you touch there — been shot in the head. yes, and you touch there on _ been shot in the head. yes, and you touch there on the _ been shot in the head. yes, and you touch there on the israeli _ been shot in the head. yes, and you touch there on the israeli military i touch there on the israeli military is saying it tried to help, it was able to use a helicopter to get that boy and his father to medical assistance. they have now said they were great harm to what they call noncombatants, butjust reminders noncombata nts, but just reminders about noncombatants, butjust reminders about the context and the tensions in that area. about the context and the tensions

in that area-— in that area. that's right, an investigation _ in that area. that's right, an investigation is _ in that area. that's right, an investigation is still - in that area. that's right, an | investigation is still ongoing, in that area. that's right, an - investigation is still ongoing, the israeli military says, in this case, but this place is a place that has seen violence in the past. this settlement nearby was set up in the 19705. settlement nearby was set up in the 1970s. part of it apparently on private palestinian land and that has been an ongoing source of dispute, also since settlers took over a nearby spring and for many years we would see friday protests taking place in that village with a lot of media coverage, as villagers and other activists would walk out towards the spring and as they advanced, there would be israeli forces standing on their way and usually tear gas, rubber bullets. the past there have been deadly attacks by palestinians on settlers living in that settlement nearby and also a number of palestinians have been killed who have been shot by israeli forces. so this is an area

that has seen problems previously and it has also been just looking across the occupied west bank, a particularly deadly starch to be the year and when it comes to palestinians and also to israeli settlers, we have seen a number of palestinians shot, although this boy, aged two and a half, we understand, is the youngest palestinian we understand who has been killed as a result of all the different incidents taking place. we understand that mohammed al—tamimi's funeral will take place tomorrow. yolande snell, thank you. in jerusalem. it will do as the world was has been pardoned and released from jail. the evidence kathleen had not killed the children after she spent 20 years behind bars. as our sydney correspondent, phil mercer reports, scientists believe that they may now have died from natural

causes. katherine fall because australia's most hated woman when she was convicted of the murder of three of her children and the manslaughter of another. they died suddenly between aged in 181989 and... aged between 19 days and 19 months. prosecutors said their mother had smothered each of them in a fit of rage, but new scientific evidence has suggested their deaths could have been caused by genetic disorders or mutations. hat could have been caused by genetic disorders or mutations.— disorders or mutations. not one sinrle disorders or mutations. not one single day _ disorders or mutations. not one single day past _ disorders or mutations. not one single day past where _ disorders or mutations. not one single day past where kathleenl single day past where kathleen didn't maintain her innocence, both innocently and calmly and collectively. there was never any actualforensic collectively. there was never any actual forensic pathological evidence to say that the children were smothered that she committed those crimes that she was convicted of. ., ., , ., , ,

of. kathleen folbigg has been ardoned of. kathleen folbigg has been pardoned and _ of. kathleen folbigg has been pardoned and released - of. kathleen folbigg has been pardoned and released from l of. kathleen folbigg has been - pardoned and released from prison. the new south wales attorney general michael daly says the case is tragic. michael daly says the case is traric. ~ ., ., michael daly says the case is traric.~ ., ., , , tragic. we have four little babies who are dead, _ tragic. we have four little babies who are dead, we _ tragic. we have four little babies who are dead, we have - tragic. we have four little babies who are dead, we have a - tragic. we have four little babiesl who are dead, we have a husband tragic. we have four little babies - who are dead, we have a husband and wife whom _ who are dead, we have a husband and wife who... lost each other, a woman who has— wife who... lost each other, a woman who has spent— wife who... lost each other, a woman who has spent 20 years injail and a family— who has spent 20 years injail and a family that — who has spent 20 years injail and a family that had never had a chance. sow _ family that had never had a chance. sow you _ family that had never had a chance. so... you would not be human if you dhint— so... you would not be human if you didn't feel_ so... you would not be human if you didn't feel something about that. the conviction of kathleen folbigg, who is now 55, was wonderful still your�*s most notorious criminal cases. her exoneration highlights a catastrophic miscarriage ofjustice. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. before we go, let me just take you back to be seen in central london, this outside the high court, where the duke of sussex is set to become the duke of sussex is set to become the first senior royal for more than a century to get evidence from the witness box. that is when he takes a

stand tomorrow. the high court has begun hearing detailed arguments in his case against mirror group newspapers. hello. the weather patterns across the uk have been very static across the uk have been very static across the last few weeks, leaving many of us asking when it is going to rain? well, the answer could be with this cloud here, between madeira and the canary islands, the storm 0scar is going to bring some very wet and windy weather during the rest of today and tomorrow, but notice how this area of low pressure pushes towards our shores as we head through the weekend, bringing a chance of thunderstorms. however, it does not guarantee rain everywhere. that rainfall could be fairly sporadic. what it will do will change weather patterns, the air coming from the near continent instead of the north, bringing warmer and more humid air, temperatures widely across the uk in the mid—if not high 20s, certainly warm up a note as well. that is

coming our way and out there at the moment it is these guys throughout the day, cloud towards the east of the day, cloud towards the east of the country, and that cloud will continue to roll back into the night after retreating towards the coast through the day. notice how it becomes extensive across much of england, towards east wales, a good part of central and eastern scotland as well towards dawn tomorrow. pearce goes on the west, temperatures down into single figures overnight for many, but for many it will be 7—10 tuesday morning. those grey skies a bit more abundant on tuesday, the best of the rest in the west to begin with, are drinking across england, wales and the south, but the club could be a bit more stubborn across yorkshire, east anglia, pushed in again but that rather nagging east to north easterly wind that has been with us for a few weeks now, keeping things cool along those eastern coasts, but still warmer to the west, western and northern ireland has of 23. pollen levels continue to rise

across much of england, wales and northern ireland, the grass pollen season fully under way as it will begin wednesday. wednesday, low cloud will trick a bit quicker and be low lingering because parts of north—east england. sunny western areas, the sunshine will be out, a bit warmer as well, highs across western scotland and northern ireland. forthe western scotland and northern ireland. for the rest of the week, temperatures will rise further and a chance of the few sporadic showers into that weekend, but warmer by day and by night.