this is bbc news. ukraine accuses russia of blowing up a crucial dam on the dnipro river unleashing a flood of water. dozens of towns and settlements are being evacuated. moscow denies involvement and says ukraine has sabotaged its own dam. it ukraine has sabotaged its own dam. is being inves�* crime. water levels are still rising. before here was a passage, you see the trees, you see the level of the trees. and here are the steps which come into the dnipro river. a dramatic day in london as prince harry takes on the tabloid press at the high court. he says, the papers�* behaviour had put him into a �*downward spiral�*. and an influential uk business lobby group the cbi faces a crunch vote on its future.

hello, i�*m matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. we start with that major development in ukraine, where thousands of people have been told to evacuate their homes after kyiv accused russian forces of blowing up a major dam, threatening a �*catastrophic�* flood. this video tweeted by ukraine�*s president zelensky shows the breached kakhovka dam. he has accused russia of blowing up the dam to slow its offensive — by making it harder to cross the dnipro river. russia says, ukraine is to blame. this dam is over the dnieper river, between areas controlled by russian and ukrainian armies in the south of ukraine — and there are fears for the cooling capacity at the nearby zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest one in europe. regardless of who or what caused the breach, it has potentially deadly

consequences for towns and villages in the path of the water. bbc verify has established there was already some damage to the dam, even before today�*s developments. in these satellite images, there�*s been increasing damage to the dam starting on the first ofjune. within the past hour or so, the ukrainian operator of the dam says the power station there has been �*completely destroyed�*. these images from areas downstream, show the scale of the flooding. the russian—installed mayor of the town immediately next to the dam says, the water level there could rise by up to 12 metres. ukraine�*s president zelensky has just been giving an update.

ijust want i just want to break this line that has come from the cbi because uk businesses have just given a vote of confidence to the confederation of british industry, there are plans of reform after the all the controversies and scandals that have been investigated with the departure of the last director—general. the new boss put forward a plan are reforms for the cbi and those have

just been given a vote of confidence from those members of the cbi. many headline names of companies have beaten departing from the last few months but those remaining listened to the outlines of the plans to take the cbi forward and they have given them the thumbs up. it really was a make or break vote for the cbi but certainly initially a vote of confidence there to the confederation of british industries. our correspondent will be on in the next few minutes to give analysis as the news comes in. that news is breaking in the last few seconds. let�*s return to ukraine and that dam breach because an mp in the hair son region has been speaking to the bbc from the flooded area. this direction is the dam of khakovka hydroelectric station. this direction is the black sea, and here is the river. and the level is coming up because all these huge amounts

of water which were stopped by the dam now is moving to to the sea. by the way, you smell there is a smell of an oil by the way, there is a smell of oil, machine oil, engine oil, because more than 150 tonnes of engine oil is in the water. engine oilfrom the dam. and maybe more will come because there is more than 300 tonnes. so this is a huge ecological catastrophe. with that, the consequences will last for decades after what had happened. and that is, again, according to geneva convention, such attacks on hydroelectric stations, it equals the use of mass destruction weaponry. a glimpse of what it is like they�*re

on the ground. the ukrainian foreign minister, says the international community andriy kostin is the prosecutor generalfor ukraine — i spoke to him earlier. the geneva convention, as my colleague said, directly prohibit attacks on facilities like dams or nuclear power stations. we open an investigation in both for war crime and possible case of ecocide. destruction of flora and fauna, poisoning. we will open national investigations in just a few minutes ago, i signed a letter to the international criminal court with evidence of this terrorist attack, asking for the icc to add to this investigation into their main case which they investigating the situation in ukraine. let me ask you, do you have any

evidence at this stage that does point the finger at russia? what is it? firstly, we have a lot of intelligence information. secondly, we suspect that russia has... at this time president zelensky addressed the issue. he said a mission should be set up at the dam. this hasn�*t been done and we are now witnessing the aftermath. as we have said, we will carry out all necessary examinations. the territory of the dam is temporarily and do control the territory of the dam is temporarily under control of the occupying forces. but numerous investigated actions can use footage and imagery so we need support of international communities sharing with us satellite imagery and intelligence information.

we are open to investigation on an international level as we have already mentioned, we have sent this information to the icc. we will work with our international partners to our on the ground we will work with our international partners to our experts on the ground to check all the information and collect necessary evidence. at this stage, are you leaving open the possibility that this could have been the result of ukrainian shelling as moscow says? or are you completely ruling that out? no, this is impossible. the version investigating is that the dam has been been blown up. it�*s impossible to do this by shelling. you all know that this dam and power station was occupied on the first day of invasion.

this was all under control of russian forces. the current our correspondent tells us why this gives a strategic advantage to the russians. this was an act of sabotage. _ advantage to the russians. this was an act of sabotage. there _ advantage to the russians. this was an act of sabotage. there are - advantage to the russians. this was an act of sabotage. there are some | an act of sabotage. there are some wasn�*t in any way accidental. you can see that the bridge on the road that ran across it represents the only viable crossing over the river south of the ukrainian city of staffordshire. if you are a russian general in southern ukraine consider

that the evidence of attacks, probing attacks and save station attacks as this counteroffensive gets underway, your attention would be focused quite heavily on that dam and that road. if you look at who had a stronger motive for wanting to destroy it, in the immediate circumstances of an unfolding ukrainian operation, then clearly the strongest motivation was with the strongest motivation was with the russian side. it will take some time and we may never frankly establish who precisely was responsible for it, the evidence is now underwater as civilians deal with the humanitarian consequences of this. but it is likely that this was a russian attempt to slow down ukrainian advances. let�*s get more on this from our russia editor steve rosenberg.

early this morning that the messaging coming out of moscow was very confused. i remember seeing, reading a report from the tass news agency on my phone about 6:30 this morning, which quoted the moscow—imposed official in nova kakhovka saying that everything was peaceful and calm in the town. there was nothing going on at all. soon after that, another report from tass, quoting the same official saying, well, actually, no, there had been a terrorist attack during the night, missile strikes on the dam. his story completely changed. and then tass reported a source in the security forces saying, no, no missile strike. the dam had just collapsed. by lunchtime, people had seemed to agree on on an official version of events here. we heard it from president putin�*s spokesman, dmitry peskov. we heard it from the defence minister, sergei shoigu. and that is that as far as moscow is concerned, this was a terrorist attack by ukraine on the dam, as mr peskov said, a deliberate act of sabotage by the ukrainian side.

russian officials seem to link it to the ukrainian counter offensive, which moscow claims has been faltering. that is the official russian version of events. so 180 degrees from the version of events that ukraine is putting forward. steve, in the last little while, the defence ministry has also been speaking about the offensive or the beginnings of what we think is the offensive from ukraine, saying that it had come from seven different directions. yes. as far as russia is concerned, ukraine�*s counteroffensive has been going on for three days. sergei shoigu put forward some figures. i don�*t know whether...how accurate these are. he suggested that more than 3000 ukrainian soldiers had been killed in three days. and he said that 71 russian soldiers have been killed. again, we have to be very careful with these figures. we cannot verify them.

what is interesting about that is that the defence minister very rarely comes up with figures about the number of russian soldiers who�*ve been killed. i think the last time he came out with some figures was like last september, last autumn. so for some reason, he was talking about 71 russian soldiers killed in the last three days in what he says was a ukrainian counteroffensive. the latest line coming from the united nations secretary general has been kicking recently saying he has no independent information but says it is clear that this is a devastating consequence of the russian invasion of ukraine. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news.

some other stories now developing in the uk... to bournemouth beach, where local authorities have suspended all boat operations off the pier following the death of two young swimmers. joe abbess, i7, and sunnah khan, 12, both died in hospital on wednesday. an inquest heard a suggestion a riptide led to the pair drowning. the independent mp margaret ferrier has been suspended from the commons for breaking covid rules. she was expelled from the snp in 2020 because she�*d travelled on a train when she knew she had the virus. the covid inquiry�*s lead lawyer says problems with evidence provided to them by some government departments could disrupt progress. the inquiry is currently locked in a legal battle with the cabinet office over whether unredacted messages between former prime minister boris johnson and other officials during the pandemic should be handed to the inquiry.

you�*re live with bbc news. let�*s return to the breaking news from the cbi that the vote of the future way the cbi will be organised, it was yes or no for those members. our correspondent has the details. do we know the percentage of that vote? we know that 9396 of _ percentage of that vote? we know that 9396 of those _ percentage of that vote? we know that 9396 of those who _ percentage of that vote? we know that 9396 of those who voted - percentage of that vote? we know| that 9396 of those who voted voted percentage of that vote? we know i that 9396 of those who voted voted in that 93% of those who voted voted in favour of backing this package of reforms aimed at winning back trust are series of scandals. that is what the cbi does, it tries to influence the cbi does, it tries to influence the members. we don�*t know how many people were eligible to vote but we know a number of organisations, big ones, natwest, john lewis, bmw, for

example, voted. a number of big ones, microsoft for example, said they would back the proposals. we do not know how strong a mandate this is and it is not entirely transparent. we don�*t know how many individual votes were available to be cast. there were 371 cast, they got 93% of those cast. it is unclear how much of a ringing endorsement and mandate this is. but they say there was who could vote said let�*s move forward. the critical test will be whether the government accepts that they have now regained the face of their members and will engage with this group which were nearly 60 years has done two things, lobbying the government and the interest of its members and promoting best practice. this recent crisis left it unable to do either. we will see now if they feel they can move forward.

evenif if they feel they can move forward. even if they do move forward, a lot of people say it�*s will be by its very nature a smaller organisation, they have admitted that a prepared their staff for big job cuts. many say their voice says will be diminished. iam say their voice says will be diminished. i am fully expecting when we hearfrom rain newton—smith that this is a ringing endorsement that this is a ringing endorsement that allows them to move forward. it is too soon to say if they are in the clear but we should see this as the clear but we should see this as the beginning rather than the end of their mission to re—establish trust and influence with the government. thank you. to another story now that is just breaking thank you. to another story now that isjust breaking in thank you. to another story now that is just breaking in the last few seconds. this involves the met police, motorcyclists could face criminal charges over the death of an 81—year—old woman killed in a

collision with the officers vehicle last month. she was struck on the junction in earl�*s court in west london on the afternoon of may the 10th. she suffered serious injuries and died two weeks later. the latest line that we are getting from the independent 0ffice line that we are getting from the independent office for police conduct said the constable had been told they are under criminal investigation for the offensive causing death by dangerous driving or careless or inconsiderate driving. they are also being investigated for potential gross misconduct although it does not mean that the charges will follow. the latest on the story when there is more, we will return to it. the duke of sussex is in the witness box at the high court in london, being cross—examined in his case over alledged unlawful press intrusion,

by mirror group newspapers. in a witness statement, he said the tabloids hacked his voicemail when he was a pupil at eton, making him feel he "couldn�*t trust anybody". prince harry is the first member of the royal family to appear in the witness box, for over a century. live to my colleague nancy kacungira at the high court in central london. take us through some of what we have had in the last hour or so. it take us through some of what we have had in the last hour or so.— had in the last hour or so. it has been for hours _ had in the last hour or so. it has been for hours and _ had in the last hour or so. it has been for hours and counting. - had in the last hour or so. it has i been for hours and counting. that cross—examination continues and as it does, the questioning is becoming more direct and intense. we are getting a lot of detail into the allegations that prince harry has made that information was gathered on him unlawfully. 0ur correspondent helena is with us. just tell us some of the details coming out of this. there are very specific cases being married done on. to there are very specific cases being

married done on.— married done on. to put it into context, prince _ married done on. to put it into context, prince harry- married done on. to put it into context, prince harry has - married done on. to put it into - context, prince harry has selected 33 articles — context, prince harry has selected 33 articles at the heart of this case — 33 articles at the heart of this case which he says information was received _ case which he says information was received from unlawful methods of newsgathering from journalists working — newsgathering from journalists working for the publisher. the barrister— working for the publisher. the barrister for the publisher has been going _ barrister for the publisher has been going through each of the articles throughout today and prince harry has been — throughout today and prince harry has been in the witness box as you say for— has been in the witness box as you say for four— has been in the witness box as you say for four hours and counting and it is stiii— say for four hours and counting and it is still going on at the moment. his evidence has been tested by the barrister— his evidence has been tested by the barrister representing the publisher. let's look at one of the articies— publisher. let's look at one of the articles that has been brought up in prince _ articles that has been brought up in prince harry's witness statement earlier— prince harry's witness statement earlier on — prince harry's witness statement earlier on. this refers to win he was _ earlier on. this refers to win he was at — earlier on. this refers to win he was at eton— earlier on. this refers to win he was at eton college as a teenager. he said _ was at eton college as a teenager. he said he — was at eton college as a teenager. he said he was extremely worried he would _ he said he was extremely worried he would be _ he said he was extremely worried he would be expelled from eton following press reports that he was using _ following press reports that he was using drugs. he was referring in the statement _ using drugs. he was referring in the statement to a front—page article, a

daily mirror— statement to a front—page article, a daily mirror story. the witness statement goes on to say that prince harry— statement goes on to say that prince harry says _ statement goes on to say that prince harry says the story has had a huge impact _ harry says the story has had a huge impact on _ harry says the story has had a huge impact on his life and he wrote that eton had _ impact on his life and he wrote that eton had a — impact on his life and he wrote that eton had a zero drugs policy and he was extremely worried he was going to be expelled. he carries on to say it seemed _ to be expelled. he carries on to say it seemed to me that there was never any let-up _ it seemed to me that there was never any let-up in — it seemed to me that there was never any let—up in the press coverage of every— any let—up in the press coverage of every detail— any let—up in the press coverage of every detail of my childhood by the defendants journalists and others. they have — defendants journalists and others. they have been going through each article _ they have been going through each article in _ they have been going through each article in detail and prince harry is being — article in detail and prince harry is being questioned about each of those _ is being questioned about each of those articles and it is the job of the opposing barrister who is asking those _ the opposing barrister who is asking those questions to try to undermine prince _ those questions to try to undermine prince harry's case, his credibility as a witness. there are still quite as a witness. there are still quite a few— as a witness. there are still quite a few articles to get through. at one point— a few articles to get through. at one point today, our colleague watching — one point today, our colleague watching the proceedings said that prince _ watching the proceedings said that prince harry said his mind has gone blank— prince harry said his mind has gone blank when — prince harry said his mind has gone blank when he was questioned about a particular— blank when he was questioned about a particular article. blank when he was questioned about a particulararticle. perhaps blank when he was questioned about a particular article. perhaps a sign

that he — particular article. perhaps a sign that he is— particular article. perhaps a sign that he is getting rather tired after— that he is getting rather tired after what must have been a intense questioning. we suspect he may have to come _ questioning. we suspect he may have to come back tomorrow for further cross—examination. you to come back tomorrow for further cross-examination.— to come back tomorrow for further cross-examination. you can certainly understand why _ cross-examination. you can certainly understand why he _ cross-examination. you can certainly understand why he would _ cross-examination. you can certainly understand why he would be - cross-examination. you can certainly understand why he would be tired. i understand why he would be tired. 0ne understand why he would be tired. one thing is that to me while he was being questioned was revelations of his drug—taking as a teenager. the barrister put it to him that it was a matter of public interest and prince harry replied that there is a difference between public interest and what interests the public. that is really the difference between the two sides, in terms of the arguments they are putting forward. they are looking at the same cases but having very different interpretations. absolutely and let�*s not forget that absolutely and let's not forget that prince _ absolutely and let's not forget that prince harry has brought this case to the _ prince harry has brought this case to the court— prince harry has brought this case to the court himself. he has the money— to the court himself. he has the money to— to the court himself. he has the money to do it and also the burden of proof— money to do it and also the burden of proof is — money to do it and also the burden of proof is on him to prove his clainr~ — of proof is on him to prove his claim. mgn, the publishers, are saying _ claim. mgn, the publishers, are saying that no phone hacking took place _ saying that no phone hacking took place and — saying that no phone hacking took place and it continues here. we expect— place and it continues here. we expect to — place and it continues here. we expect to see prince harry come out of those — expect to see prince harry come out of those doorsjust behind us, you

can see _ of those doorsjust behind us, you can see the — of those doorsjust behind us, you can see the photographers lined up for when _ can see the photographers lined up for when the hearing concludes today~ — for when the hearing concludes toda . ~ ., , ., for when the hearing concludes toda .~ . , ., ., today. we are still far from the ends and there _ today. we are still far from the ends and there is _ today. we are still far from the ends and there is sure - today. we are still far from the ends and there is sure to - today. we are still far from the ends and there is sure to be i today. we are still far from the i ends and there is sure to be more on that. we will be here to bring you all the updates as they come. let�*s all the updates as they come. let's talk to joshua _ all the updates as they come. let's talk to joshua rosenberg. - all the updates as they come. let's talk to joshua rosenberg. joshua, you followed every minute of this. what stood to you? this you followed every minute of this. what stood to you?— what stood to you? this is clearly auoin into what stood to you? this is clearly going into a _ what stood to you? this is clearly going into a second _ what stood to you? this is clearly going into a second day _ what stood to you? this is clearly going into a second day because i what stood to you? this is clearly| going into a second day because if prince harry hasn�*t finished giving evidence yet, the court will normally finish sitting at about half past four and there needs to be time for re—examination which means his own barrister will be asking him questions. what we have seen though is this desperate need for harry to justify and explain the problems he has been facing and the difficulty of connecting the publicity he has received it has been damaging to

him. whether he can make that connection is a challenge i�*m not sure he has achieved or not. there is something the dutch will have to decide. in is something the dutch will have to decide. , ., ., decide. in terms of that hurdle, tell us what _ decide. in terms of that hurdle, tell us what he _ decide. in terms of that hurdle, tell us what he has _ decide. in terms of that hurdle, tell us what he has to _ decide. in terms of that hurdle, tell us what he has to clear i decide. in terms of that hurdle, | tell us what he has to clear here decide. in terms of that hurdle, i tell us what he has to clear here to win the case. he tell us what he has to clear here to win the case-— win the case. he has to show that all the stories _ win the case. he has to show that all the stories are _ win the case. he has to show that all the stories are at _ win the case. he has to show that all the stories are at least - win the case. he has to show that all the stories are at least some l win the case. he has to show that| all the stories are at least some of them were produced by illegal behaviour, phone hacking or other improper behaviour. certainly there are stories, they were based on invasions of his privacy, but can you link those stories to individual phone hacking even though he has got receipts and documents, even though he has inferences to draw? that is what he needs to do and only the judge can decide whether he has achieved it so far. irate judge can decide whether he has achieved it so far.— achieved it so far. we are also exnecting _ achieved it so far. we are also exnecting to — achieved it so far. we are also expecting to see _ achieved it so far. we are also expecting to see the - achieved it so far. we are also i expecting to see the departures from the high court as it concludes today. that is the scene, we have cameras there pointing at the doors, waiting for prince harry in the next

little while. we will be back in a moment or two. hello. the pause button is held firmly down on our weather across the uk at the moment. many of us have seen no significant rain so far this month and before the end of the week there�*s none to come. why is it so dry? the area of high pressure being held down across the uk currently. you can see it wobbles about a little bit in the next few days. that affects the wind direction somewhat and potentially where we�*ll see some of the thickest cloud, but it�*s not until we start to see this low, that�*s close to portugal at the moment, coming up from the south—west that we�*re likely to see any rain, and that is late on on friday. some big differences in the temperature, though, across the uk, despite us all being under that big area of high pressure. that�*s because of where we have the sun towards the west and where we have the thicker cloud in the east and the breeze off the north sea. through the evening, very little changes in that picture, but once the sun sets we�*ll tend to see our temperatures coming down

and then the cloud builds back westwards as any moisture condenses back out. clearer skies towards the west closest to the center of the high. quite a chilly night to come — lows of five or six degrees. through wednesday daytime, we see the sun getting to work as it comes up, burning that cloud back again towards the east coast and it�*ll look a very similar picture for wednesday afternoon to this afternoon. temperatures 15 or 16 adjacent to the north sea, warmest spots in the west where we could see highs of 23, maybe 2a or even 25. thursday, very little difference to speak of. we start off with a bit more cloud spread out across the uk and it burns back to the east coast as we go. wind direction perhaps just a shade different, a little bit more northerly than easterly could mean we see the odd degree added to our temperatures thanks to a bit more sunshine along the north sea coast. it�*s friday into saturday, though, that things start to get moving. friday night and particularly into saturday, the remnants of that storm 0scar, this band of rain pushing up towards the uk and ahead of it hooking in some much warmer, more humid air. so for the weekend ahead,

temperatures are going to come up, potentially even into the high 20s, but when we inject that moisture and that instability, thanks to the remnants of oscar moving in, it looks like we could see it as a pay—off for us getting that warmer weather certainly much higher humidity, but also the threat of some really meaty thunderstorms. for some areas, there�*s the potential of those storms bringing up to a month�*s worth of rain in a matter of hours.