this is bbc news. the main headlines: president zelensky says hundreds of thousands of people have been left with her drinking water after the attack on a dam in southern ukraine. vladimir putin has blamed kyiv for the destruction, calling it barbaric. prince harry told the high court in london phone hacking was carried out on an industrial scale across the british press, which then destroyed the evidence. and more than a dozen us states, including new york, are under smoke because of wildfires burning in canada. more on all of those stories in a minute or two, first to the bbc sport centre. thejude bellingham transfer looks like it has gone through. we have talked about it for months, finally it is happening?

yes, two big football transfer stories, jude bellingham to real madrid in a moment but in the last hour we have heard argentina legend lionel messi willjoin the american side into miami after his exit from paris saint—germain. the former barcelona player is certain to reject a more lucrative offer from a saudi arabian side. he wanted to remain in europe for another year but after no satisfactory offers were received he had a choice between into miami and the saudi arabian side, he went with the american team full reasons including lifestyle and to deal with big brands extending beyond football. real madrid have agreed a deal with borussia dortmund to sign england midfielderjude bellingham £a86 million. the 19—year—old joined dortmund from birmingham city in july 2020 and was one of england's top performers at the world cup last

year. bellingham want the move and will have a medical at the next few days. the midfielder has been linked with some of the top sides in europe and will sign a six—year deal. more on those stories on the sport website. fifa made false and misleading statements about the reduced environmental impact of the qatar world cup, according to the swiss advertising regulator. the ruling was made following complaints lodged in the uk, switzerland, france, belgium and the netherlands relating to marketing claims that the tournament was carbon neutral. the commission advised fifa for making unsubstantiated claims in the future. prague hosts the european conference league final later as west ham take on fiorentina, david moyes�* first european final in his 25 years as a coach. moyes' first european final in his 25 years as a coach.— moyes' first european final in his 25 years as a coach. jarrod bowen admits it is _ 25 years as a coach. jarrod bowen admits it is a _ 25 years as a coach. jarrod bowen admits it is a big _ 25 years as a coach. jarrod bowen admits it is a big occasion. - 25 years as a coach. jarrod bowen admits it is a big occasion. i - 25 years as a coach. jarrod bowen admits it is a big occasion. i have | admits it is a big occasion. i have been here three years and if you had told me we would be any european final three years later i would have

bitten your hand off. it was so disappointing last year to lose in the semifinal which probably gave us extra motivation to do at this year. with the season we have had, that adds into wanting to make it even more special. the fans are travelling here in i don't know how many numbers but the fan base is incredible. ., , a incredible. rory mcllroy has admitted — incredible. rory mcllroy has admitted he _ incredible. rory mcllroy has admitted he was _ incredible. rory mcllroy has admitted he was surprised i incredible. rory mcllroy has i admitted he was surprised and incredible. rory mcllroy has - admitted he was surprised and has mixed emotions after hearing about a merger between three golf associations but that ultimately it would be good for professional golf. in his words he said it was a surprise, he knew there were discussions in the background but did not expect it to happen this quickly. he said, ultimately when i try to remove myself from the situation and try to look at the bigger picture and ten years down the line, i think ultimately it will

be for the good of the professional game. he added, it is hard for me not to sit here and feel like a sacrificial lamb, feeling i have put myself out there and this is what happens. he was also keen to distinguish between the venture liv golf and the public venture fund liv, he says he hopes it will go away and he fully expects that it will. to the french open were the world number one gets tech has beaten the american coco gauff to reach the final four. the defending champion, who beat coco gauff last year, continues her dominance, a seventh straight win over her. she won 6—4, 6—2 to reach the next round where she will face beatriz haddad maia, the brazilian is in her third grand slam semifinal after stunning ons jabeur of tunisia. the

27—year—old is the first brazilian woman to reach this stage of the grand slam since 1968. in the men's singles quarterfinals, alexander zverev is up against tomas martin etcheverry of argentina and it is currently 3—3 in the first set. australia are warming up for the ashes series with the world chess championship final against india at the oval. india won the toss and elected to bowl, they had just resumed, australia one —— 171—3, travis head reaching a half—century. new zealand are the holders have beating india in the inauguralfinal in 2021. live text commentary on the bbc sport website if you want to follow that, but that is the sporty for me. thank you, see you again in about one hour. let me show you the live pictures from the high court in central london, we are waiting to see the duke of sussex emerge after

giving evidence on day two of his session in his case against the mirror group newspapers, he is inside court, still listening to another witness the cross by his own lawyers. that is happening inside the court, but the prince's work is done, another day when they went through so many of the 33 articles being focused upon with rigorous cross—examination from mirror group newspapers in terms of demanding of the prince what is proof that was to suggest those stories came from phone hacking and the duke of sussex going through article by article, saying the only place the information could have come from was phone hacking. this scene is very much that, we will return to our teams down there and the legal teams analysing that in a little while.

let's return to the war in ukraine where more than 40,000 people are at risk from flooding after a major dam in the south of the country was attacked and collapsed only yesterday. these are the latest pictures coming into the bbc newsroom from the kurdistan region, flooded houses, people moving around the streets on dinghies, debris everywhere —— from the kherson region. james water sent this update from kherson. there was almost a grid system and people are incredibly concerned about friends and neighbours who are trapped. further along, the water gets higher, rooms are poking through, even the roof of a truck. if you go down here you can see the cycle of people coming back on boats, if you look down the street you can see how far the water stretches. what is

hard to comprehend it as it is thought these water levels could get even higher. the volume of water from the dam is huge, when you go up viaduct market through the tyre being preached it has caused endless devastation because of the torrent unleashed on a landscape torn apart by war. everything this city has gone through and now this. you can see another boat coming in, moving at speed, which suggests how deep the water is and i think we will see this for some time. i have always been a major doppler threshold the people's willingness to leave the city, it is far from safe, there are people who have lived through russian occupation, the reduced freedoms that means, and now even if their homes survive the brunt of this conflict to date, it has been

submerged in the waters of the dnipro river. james waterhouse, plenty more on that in the next couple of hours. let's turn to the us, the british prime minister rishi sunak has laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington national cemetery. rishi sunak is in the united states seeking to forge a strong economic ties. he will meet with president biden as well as members of congress and business leaders and is likely to raise the impact ofjoe biden�*s subsidies for green technology, and the two leaders are expected to discuss the war in ukraine and the regulation of artificial intelligence. let's go live to capitol hill and our correspondents gary o'donoghue. let's start with al, rishi sunak flies into washington hoping to lobby that britain is at the forefront and taking a lead role in regulating ai. that is slightly

tricky given most of the regulation is done by the eu and the us? yes. is done by the eu and the us? yes, and i is done by the eu and the us? yes, and i think— is done by the eu and the us? yes, and i think they _ is done by the eu and the us? yes, and i think they will _ is done by the eu and the us? yes, and i think they will try _ is done by the eu and the us? yes, and i think they will try to _ is done by the eu and the us? is: and i think they will try to portray that in some ways as a strength that they can be, or london could be potentially an arbiter in the place, a neutral place where perhaps any authority could be based. we will see how strongly he pushes that agenda but it is absolutely true that over the last couple of months here in the us everyone is talking about the risks, the dangers and the opportunities of ai, he had seen share prices in the companies involved in it, companies like nvidia which make the chips, absolutely rockets. it touched $1 trillion the other day, that is the same sort of league as apple and people like that. it is a hot topic and perhaps the british see an opportunity here. no talk any more

of an overarching free—trade agreement but there is sector by sector agreements and economic alliances particularly in the light of a new atmosphere in world trade when supply chains and infrastructure are the kinds of materials and bear off minerals and that sort of thing which have become hugely politicised and have become a real battleground between the superpowers and a rising china —— bare earth minerals. superpowers and a rising china -- bare earth minerals.— bare earth minerals. london and washington _ bare earth minerals. london and washington have _ bare earth minerals. london and washington have been _ bare earth minerals. london and washington have been so - bare earth minerals. london and| washington have been so instep, bare earth minerals. london and i washington have been so instep, is there any unease in terms of comments last week from the british foreign secretary about western weapons and where they potentially could be used, whetherjust in ukraine all —— over the border in certain circumstances? there seems

to be different in terms of emphasis?— to be different in terms of emphasis? to be different in terms of emhasis? �* , ., emphasis? the americans are completely — emphasis? the americans are completely concerned - emphasis? the americans are completely concerned about l emphasis? the americans are l completely concerned about the emphasis? the americans are - completely concerned about the idea that these weapons could be used inside russia, but it's something they would regard as a significant and a very dangerous escalation and thatis and a very dangerous escalation and that is why you had seen lots of the weaponry supply to be in pretty short range. there has been a change in american policy in the last couple of weeks, we have an agreement from joe biden made at the g7 meeting to enable and allow the training of ukrainians on f—16 planes, i suspect the americans will not want to supply those planes themselves, they help to supply some of the training. things are moving a bit by bit. the other concern is here at the capitol where the republican speaker kevin mccarthy has made it clear he does not want any big supplemental ukrainian funding bills to be pushed through

congress, or attempt to push them through congress, he wants about done through a budgetary process which is slower and takes longer and there was a lot more to and fro, but interestingly yesterday the white house said there was enough money allocated for this year but nobody expects at this stage the ukrainian situation too end this year. gard; situation too end this year. gary o'donoghue. — situation too end this year. gary o'donoghue, live _ situation too end this year. gary o'donoghue, live in _ situation too end this year. gary o'donoghue, live in washington, thank you. it is bad news for travellers using london's heathrow airport this summer, a series of fresh strikes has been announced by security guards at the airport in a dispute over pay. more than 2000 members will work out for 31 days from june the 24th to coincide with the beginning of the school holidays and the august bank holiday. here is our transport correspondence, katy austin. my understanding is that it is the security officers that check cargo, this is not security officers

across the whole of heathrow airport that will be involved, it is those at terminal 3 and terminal five and the ones we have mentioned on campus security. it will stretch resources across the airport, these will not be the strikes which have taken place in the ongoing pay dispute, there were also some at the start of there were also some at the start of the easter holidays and open the may half term but at that point the staff at terminal 3 were not involved. —— under over the may half term. they are nowjoining in the action and it is escalating, more than 40 strike dates have been set between late june than 40 strike dates have been set between latejune and the end of august. what will the impact be? it is not totally clear but those previous strikes i was talking about did not have a huge impact because heathrow airport put some contingency measures in place like getting agency workers in. at the start of easter british airways, the only airline that uses terminal five, to out some flights from its

scheduled, cancelled some in advance as a precaution, it is not clear whether they will do that again over the summer. katy austin on the strike dates. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from around the uk. almost 5500 miles of roads in kent, a network in a state of decline. here, residents say the roads are so bad in deal they are no longer face. say the roads are so bad in deal they are no longerface. it is they are no longer face. it is horrendous, _ they are no longer face. it is horrendous, they _ they are no longer face. it is horrendous, they did -- - they are no longer face. it 3 horrendous, they did —— they do not give two hoots about what happens to people and vehicles. people are tripping at the potholes, the conservation area is not well lit at night. conservation area is not well lit at niuht. , conservation area is not well lit at ni ht, , ., , ., conservation area is not well lit at ni ht. , . ., conservation area is not well lit at niuht. , ., ., ~ , , night. repairs have not kept up with the potholes — night. repairs have not kept up with the potholes over— night. repairs have not kept up with the potholes over the _ night. repairs have not kept up with the potholes over the years - night. repairs have not kept up with the potholes over the years and - night. repairs have not kept up with the potholes over the years and the | the potholes over the years and the maintenance backlog is almost half £1 billion, road resurfacing costs 30% more than last year and government funding is lower than two years ago. the department for

transport says it is giving kent over £40 million to invest in roads for next year alone. the council says if government funding does not increase, it will have to consider closing some roads. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. extraordinary pictures from north america where tens of millions have been warned about potentially dangerous air quality as well fires burn across canada. a haze hangs over much of north—eastern us, with some cities including new york reporting the worst air quality of any major city in the world. much of the smoke is coming from quebec, where 160 fires are burning. canadian officials say the country is bracing for its worst wildfire season on record. let's talk to an environmental researcher and author, the footprint for these

fires is quite enormous. in and author, the footprint for these fires is quite enormous.— fires is quite enormous. in many wa s fires is quite enormous. in many ways they _ fires is quite enormous. in many ways they are — fires is quite enormous. in many ways they are unprecedented, i fires is quite enormous. in many| ways they are unprecedented, we fires is quite enormous. in many - ways they are unprecedented, we are seeing this in every fire season. these fires are not unusual but the severity is the unusual thing, it has been driven by the climate crisis, we think. in has been driven by the climate crisis, we think.— has been driven by the climate crisis, we think. in terms of the health risks _ crisis, we think. in terms of the health risks it _ crisis, we think. in terms of the health risks it is _ crisis, we think. in terms of the health risks it is very _ crisis, we think. in terms of the health risks it is very difficult i health risks it is very difficult for people to protect themselves from this. , ., for people to protect themselves from this. , . , , , from this. yes, and this reminds us that at the end _ from this. yes, and this reminds us that at the end of _ from this. yes, and this reminds us that at the end of the _ from this. yes, and this reminds us that at the end of the day _ from this. yes, and this reminds us that at the end of the day the - that at the end of the day the climate crisis is a health crisis. things that are burning now across north america will be breathed in by people in cities like new york and that will have a very negative health impact. we must remember with all of the day, abstract signs, the impact of the climate crisis are health impacts.—

impact of the climate crisis are health impacts. you constantly reference the _ health impacts. you constantly reference the climate - health impacts. you constantly reference the climate crisis, i health impacts. you constantly| reference the climate crisis, i'll be seeing more of these events all of the time in your view? we had the summer heatwave in the uk —— are we seeing more of these events? are you connecting these things? the seeing more of these events? are you connecting these things?— connecting these things? the climate crisis is making _ connecting these things? the climate crisis is making the _ connecting these things? the climate crisis is making the world _ connecting these things? the climate crisis is making the world will - connecting these things? the climate crisis is making the world will know. crisis is making the world will know so we will get more of the heat extremes like you mentioned in the uk, making things drier so we get more of these wildfires. we must remember that the impact is notjust on health but that route is coming from carbon pollution and there has been some scientific work which has drawn the direct line between wildfires in north america and the carbon pollution that fossil fuel companies put into the atmosphere and those companies are very intransigent in moving towards what they need to do. in intransigent in moving towards what they need to do.— they need to do. in terms of everything _ they need to do. in terms of everything we _ they need to do. in terms of everything we are _ they need to do. in terms of everything we are seeing i they need to do. in terms of. everything we are seeing with they need to do. in terms of - everything we are seeing with these fires, and we are at the start of the wildfire season so it is concerning, how long does this stuff stay in the atmosphere, being

briefed by people?— stay in the atmosphere, being briefed by people? they can be very ersistent, briefed by people? they can be very persistent. it _ briefed by people? they can be very persistent. it is _ briefed by people? they can be very persistent, it is the _ briefed by people? they can be very persistent, it is the same _ briefed by people? they can be very persistent, it is the same types i briefed by people? they can be very persistent, it is the same types of i persistent, it is the same types of small particles that impact people's health in cities from the and so on. one of the big concern since we are about to enter the el nino part of the weather cycles around the world, making the weather even hotter, so the wildfires we will see next have to be the final reminder of a need for us to push back against those fossil companies who are not getting on top of the root causes of this problem. b, on top of the root causes of this roblem. �* , , on top of the root causes of this roblem. �* , _ ., ., ., on top of the root causes of this roblem. �* , _ ., problem. a busy afternoon, so we will have to _ problem. a busy afternoon, so we will have to leave _ problem. a busy afternoon, so we will have to leave it, _ problem. a busy afternoon, so we will have to leave it, but - problem. a busy afternoon, so we will have to leave it, but thank i problem. a busy afternoon, so we | will have to leave it, but thank you forjoining us. pope francis has been admitted to hospital in rome for surgery on his abdomen. the pontiff, aged 86, has been in hospital where he will have the operation to repair a hernia under general anaesthetic. operation to repair a hernia under generalanaesthetic. he operation to repair a hernia under general anaesthetic. he is expected to stay in hospital for a few days while he recovers. pope francis has

faced a series of health issues in recent years that uses a cane and a wheelchair due to a persistent knee problem. —— and it uses a cane and a wheelchair. this extraordinary story has raised eyebrows just about everywhere where people have read about it, scientists at the us have identified the first ever case of a crocodile who made herself pregnant, producing a foetus with a 99% dna much to herself. the crocodile who laid the egg has been kept apart from other crocodiles its entire life. the phenomenon is called a virgin birth. let's talk to warren booth from virginia tech university, one of the researchers who worked on the study. thank you so much for joining us, absolutely mind boggling, the obvious question, how? great question and we are still working through the mechanisms, but we understand it to the point that it is a protest cell fusion process

where the egg essentially fuses with the bi project which makes it feel like it has been fertilised and leads to development, the big issue is the offspring produced is not a clone of the mother, it is essentially a half clone because it contains a set of chromosomes from the egg, they have used with another set pretty much identical to it and as a result they are very highly inbred and often they do not do very well. i inbred and often they do not do very well. ., ., ., ., , well. i read out that line that this crocodile had _ well. i read out that line that this crocodile had been _ well. i read out that line that this crocodile had been kept - well. i read out that line that this crocodile had been kept separatej crocodile had been kept separate from other crocodiles. you are 100% certain about that fact? essen from other crocodiles. you are 10096 certain about that fact?— certain about that fact? even if it had been with _ certain about that fact? even if it had been with other _ certain about that fact? even if it had been with other male - certain about that fact? even if it i had been with other male crocodiles, we can tell from the dna that no male was involved in the production of the offspring, we sequenced the genome of the crocodile and we sequenced the genome of the

carcinogen and we were not able to find any evidence of a male contributing to that offspring. what we know about that animal is that it was housed in isolation for 18 years. in was housed in isolation for 18 ears. , ., , ., ,, years. in terms of this happening, we said in it _ years. in terms of this happening, we said in it was _ years. in terms of this happening, we said in it was a _ years. in terms of this happening, we said in it was a first, _ years. in terms of this happening, we said in it was a first, there i years. in terms of this happening, we said in it was a first, there is i we said in it was a first, there is anything like this happen with any other species? it is anything like this happen with any other species?— other species? it is pretty widespread, _ other species? it is pretty widespread, in _ other species? it is pretty widespread, in the - other species? it is pretty widespread, in the last i other species? it is pretty | widespread, in the last ten other species? it is pretty i widespread, in the last ten years other species? it is pretty _ widespread, in the last ten years we are starting to realise how common it is among a certain group of organisms, it has been found in a variety of shark species. in my research group at with collaborators we have documented it across a whole group of snakes including boa constrictors, reticulated pythons and king cobra, it also happens in a variety of lizard species and in birds, and the interesting thing is they all use the exact same mechanism which is quite a diverse

set of mechanisms that can be used and they are all using the exact same mechanism, suggesting that trait is very ancestral, not something that has evolved in all those lineages, and what is really cool about that is why it leads us to make inferences about other organisms that are now extinct. i am reading here that scientists say the trait may have been inherited from an evolutionary trait may have been inherited from an evolutiona_ an evolutionary ancestor, so dinosaurs — an evolutionary ancestor, so dinosaurs might _ an evolutionary ancestor, so dinosaurs might also - an evolutionary ancestor, so dinosaurs might also have . an evolutionary ancestor, so i dinosaurs might also have been capable of self reproduction. is that where this takes you? yes! that where this takes you? yes, crocodiles _ that where this takes you? yes, crocodiles and _ that where this takes you? yes, crocodiles and birds _ that where this takes you? yes, crocodiles and birds are - that where this takes you? yes crocodiles and birds are part of this group of organisms and in between those two groups that book end this lineage we have the dinosaurs on the pterosaur is, so if birds can do it and crocodiles can, they use the same mechanism, and reptiles and lizards which have evolved prior to the crocodile also

use that mechanism, suggesting pretty strongly that dinosaurs and pterosaurs have the ability to reproduce by parthenogenesis. mit? reproduce by parthenogenesis. why has this been _ reproduce by parthenogenesis. why has this been noticed by decades, why are we stumbling across this now? ~ ., ., ., , , ., why are we stumbling across this now? . ., . . , , ., , now? we now have the ability to test it relatively easily, _ now? we now have the ability to test it relatively easily, sequencing i now? we now have the ability to test it relatively easily, sequencing dna l it relatively easily, sequencing dna is not difficult any more we have the technology and the software to analyse the dna very effectively and conclusively. and also people are just becoming aware, there have been a number of studies over the last ten or 12 years, our own work on boa constrictors went worldwide maybe ten years ago and since then we have been inundated with potential examples across a whole variety of different reptile species and there was a paper published on california

condors, another high—profile species, so i think it has been happening that people have not been aware. ll} happening that people have not been aware. :: , _, , happening that people have not been aware. :: , , ., aware. 20 seconds, if you would, in terms of the — aware. 20 seconds, if you would, in terms of the egg. — aware. 20 seconds, if you would, in terms of the egg, tell _ aware. 20 seconds, if you would, in terms of the egg, tell me _ aware. 20 seconds, if you would, in terms of the egg, tell me briefly i terms of the egg, tell me briefly about that? it terms of the egg, tell me briefly about that?— terms of the egg, tell me briefly aboutthat? ., ., , ., about that? it was part of a small clutch of eggs _ about that? it was part of a small clutch of eggs which _ about that? it was part of a small clutch of eggs which were - about that? it was part of a small clutch of eggs which were laid, i clutch of eggs which were laid, whenever they were excavated, because the female was acting aggressively around the nest, they found seven appeared to be fertile and they were incubated and when they opened one up, it never hatched, it contained the stillborn american crocodile foetus. it is hatched, it contained the stillborn american crocodile foetus.- american crocodile foetus. it is a jaw-dropping _ american crocodile foetus. it is a jaw-dropping story. _ american crocodile foetus. it is a jaw-dropping story, thank- american crocodile foetus. it is a jaw-dropping story, thank you i american crocodile foetus. it is a| jaw-dropping story, thank you so jaw—dropping story, thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. i will take you briefly back to the high court, in the next little while we will see the duke of sussex emerge after day two of that illegal court case. he has completed giving evidence. we are back with our teams at that, and analysis here

too. hello. the sunshine has been a little hit and miss over the last few days but it has been very dry indeed. that is about to change. temperatures are expected to rise, as is the humidity and also we are expecting one or two storms towards the end of the week. on that dry weather it really has been incredibly dry. in fact, the last time it rained across parts of england was the 11th of may. the reason for it is this persistent area of high pressure, sinking air blocking the atmosphere, stopping weather fronts from coming in. look at the wind arrows coming off the north sea. that has allowed that low grain north sea cloud to spread across parts of the country. it doesn't always burn off. that's why we have most of the sunshine across western parts of wales. in northern ireland and wales we have really enjoyed some glorious sunshine but we do need the rainfall. our gardens are desperate for it. here is the forecast for wednesday,

lots of sunshine around. the high temperatures will be where the sunnier skies are, out towards the west. on the north sea coast, hull, only around 15 celsius. the further east you are the cloudier it will be. something many of us are noticing, the pollen levels are very high across parts of england and wales. tonight that north sea wind once again pushes in the cloud inland, quite far west, meaning it will be a cloudy morning for many of us. not particularly cold, around 7 or 8 degrees and then that strong june sunshine will work its magic, burning the cloud away towards the east. notice how the cloud melts away by the time we get to midday and it is probablyjust the coast itself that will be shrouded with cloud. lower temperatures here, 15 degrees, whereas pushing the mid 20s in cardiff. that's thursday's weather forecast. let's look at friday. we are starting to see the first signs of those showers building and the humidity increasing across the south—west.

again, really warm in the south—west with temperatures typically in the low to mid 20s. still on the fresh side closer to the north sea coast all the way from hull to aberdeen. temperatures will continue to creep up and by the weekend we could be talking about high 20s in some spots and also the risk of showers and thunderstorms, which we do need. goodbye.

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