hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. you're watching the context on bbc news. it's very hard to compute what is happening here on top of everything else, on top of the occupation, it's a city already on its knees. it's an environmental catastrophe. it a city already on its knees. it's an environmental catastrophe. it feels like the will — environmental catastrophe. it feels like the will of — environmental catastrophe. it feels like the will of your _ environmental catastrophe. it feels like the will of your whole - environmental catastrophe. it feels like the will of your whole life - environmental catastrophe. it feels like the will of your whole life is - like the will of your whole life is 'ust like the will of your whole life is just one — like the will of your whole life is just one day. like the will of your whole life is just one day-— like the will of your whole life is 'ust one da . , �* , just one day. otherwise we're very crateful to just one day. otherwise we're very grateful to everyone. _ just one day. otherwise we're very grateful to everyone. these - just one day. otherwise we're very grateful to everyone. these acts i grateful to everyone. these acts against — grateful to everyone. these acts against civilian _ grateful to everyone. these acts against civilian infrastructure - grateful to everyone. these actsl against civilian infrastructure that we've _ against civilian infrastructure that we've seen — against civilian infrastructure that we've seen in— against civilian infrastructure that we've seen in the _ against civilian infrastructure that we've seen in the past— against civilian infrastructure that we've seen in the past are - against civilian infrastructure that we've seen in the past are born, i we've seen in the past are born, their_ we've seen in the past are born, their pollen, _ we've seen in the past are born, their pollen, they're _ we've seen in the past are born, their pollen, they're causing - their pollen, they're causing enormous _ their pollen, they're causing enormous suffering - their pollen, they're causing enormous suffering and - their pollen, they're causing i enormous suffering and that's their pollen, they're causing - enormous suffering and that's why it's important— enormous suffering and that's why it's important we _ enormous suffering and that's why it's important we continue - enormous suffering and that's why it's important we continue to - enormous suffering and that's whyl it's important we continue to stamp with ukraine — it's important we continue to stamp with ukraine firmly. _ it's important we continue to stamp with ukraine firmly. —— _ it's important we continue to stamp with ukraine firmly. —— stand - it's important we continue to stamp with ukraine firmly. —— stand with l with ukraine firmly. —— stand with ukraine — in ukraine housands of people are leaving their homes. escaping flood waters after the attack on the dam. at the same time, ukrainian forces say they're

advancing on the battlefield. we'll have all the latest developments. day two of prince harry in court. he says he found it suspicious, that difficult conversations between him and an ex—girlfriend appeared in stories in the daily mirror. the uk prime minister is in washington dc. we'll ask how he's being received and what he's trying to get out of his trip. and the croccodile who got herself pregnant. on her own. we'll find out how. we're going to look at ukraine's military advances in a minute. first the damage by the attack on the dam. look at this. this is the scene in the city of kherson. not streets but rooftops. many people spending night

on rooftop waiting for rescue. 29 towns and villages tens of thousands of people at risk. remember the size of the area impacted. dnipro river, kherson. these are satellite pictures. you could see just two days apart, you can see the difference of the flood water. our correspondentjames water. our correspondent james waterhouse is water. our correspondentjames waterhouse is there. to move down the street in this part of kherson, you need one of these. that sign would normally be at head height. there are trees with their trunks completely submerged, and the silence reflects just how uninhabitable pockets of the city have now become. if you just look at these shop windows, if you look further down, there are teams making their way through, trying to find anyone trapped. and you can see why you would be trapped. it would be impossible to swim through this. the water is completely cloudy.

it's thought to be contaminated from the hydroelectric station further upstream. and it's just very hard to compute what has happened here. on top of everything else, on top of the occupation. it's a city already on its knees. it's an environmental catastrophe amidst an active war zone and it doesn't get more active than kherson because of where it sits close to the river. but now, of course, the river has come to the city. james giving us an insight to those extraordinary circumstances. we can hear now from somebody who is managed to escape the flood waters. we managed to find the simplest boat but my— we managed to find the simplest boat but my father and a neighbour got carried _ but my father and a neighbour got carried away in it. it came loose in the current— carried away in it. it came loose in the current was too powerful yesterday, rowing didn't help. we will left _ yesterday, rowing didn't help. we will left with my kids, the three of us for— will left with my kids, the three of us for the — will left with my kids, the three of us for the night. will left with my kids, the three of us forthe night. it will left with my kids, the three of us for the night. it feels like we've lived a whole life and just

one day — we've lived a whole life and just one day. otherwise, we're very grateful— one day. otherwise, we're very grateful to— one day. otherwise, we're very grateful to everyone. uk prime minister rishi sunak is in washington and spoke to our political editor chris mason about the dam. if it does turn out to beat russia i think it would fit with a pattern of behaviour throughout this war, which is where rusher has an active strategy deliberately targeted civilian ancestor structure if intentional this attack would represent the largest attack on infrastructure during the war. it's hard tender two hundreds of thousands of people. let's look at the map again. the reservoir provides water to cool the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that you see there the north. that is under russian control. of course the dam also supplies water, large tracts of agricultural land, all now

at risk. downstream it is all the way down to crimea that it's right at the bottom of that map. there are plenty of risks now for plenty of people for the hundreds of thousands of people are going to be without clean water, that's according to ukraine's president zelensky. the un says the dam collapse will have "a grave and far—reaching consequences. i. our grave and far—reaching consequences. " our correspondent and heaved has this assessment. —— steve. —— steve. we've been speaking to officials at the ministry of agriculture, and they are just beginning to get a sense of what this is going to mean for their work, because that vast reservoir behind the kakhovka dam, that 100 mile or iso kilometre long reservoir that is basically emptying and it's going to continue to empty for weeks to come we're told. all of that water heading down the dnipro into the black sea, having all sorts of ecological implications where the river meets the sea, but also leaving a whole irrigation system for a large part

of southern ukraine high and dry. and so officials at the ministry of agriculture say that the damage wrought by that could take years to repair. that fields that are going to be without irrigation for a substantial amount of time until some kind of provision can be made, are simply going to dry out. there are fields in that area of southern ukraine which do not get much in the way of natural rainfall. they need irrigation. they will, in the words of an official this morning, become deserts if a solution is not found. let's go live to kyiv now and speak to ukraine's former infrastructure minister, volodymyr omeylan, who's also served as a soldier in the ongoing war. thank you so much for coming on the program. good evening. thank you for having me. what is your assessment of the damage of what's happening right now?

of the damage of what's happening riaht now? ., ., , of the damage of what's happening riaht now? ., . , h of the damage of what's happening riaht now? ., ., , �*, ., right now? unfortunately it's not the final assessment _ right now? unfortunately it's not the final assessment because . right now? unfortunately it's not| the final assessment because war right now? unfortunately it's not. the final assessment because war is ongoing. we do understand that russia is crossing another redline by destroying sewer infrastructure and hitting civilians. concerning this damn, it will definitely take years. i'm not sure about five years, i hope it will be shorter. but it will cost a lot. it's also a big question whether we should rebuild everything or build brand—new. rebuild everything or build brand-new.— rebuild everything or build brand-new. , ., , ., brand-new. those questions are important _ brand-new. those questions are important just _ brand-new. those questions are important. just before _ brand-new. those questions are important. just before i - brand-new. those questions are important. just before i come i brand-new. those questions are important. just before i come toj important. just before i come to looking ahead, on the immediate impact, what are the kind of areas that are going to be impacted now? we've heard volodymyr zelensky talking about a lack of drinking water but what else is at stake here? , ~ water but what else is at stake here? , ,, ., . ., water but what else is at stake here? , ,, . . ., ., here? things like agricultural land? absolutely it's _ here? things like agricultural land? absolutely it's a _ here? things like agricultural land? absolutely it's a huge _ here? things like agricultural land? | absolutely it's a huge environmental impact was of at least three regions of ukraine are directly impacted by this catastrophe. right now it's

about thousands of ukrainians, especially those who live in occupied territory. ijust got news from my friends who are there and they are forced by russia to stay in their houses, regarding floating for their houses, regarding floating for the russians will shoot at them if they want to escape.— the russians will shoot at them if they want to escape. that's pretty difficult to listen _ they want to escape. that's pretty difficult to listen to. _ they want to escape. that's pretty difficult to listen to. just - they want to escape. that's pretty difficult to listen to. just you - difficult to listen to. just you know, we're seeing pictures alongside you. efforts to try and contain what's going on and try and help. this in the middle of a war, to try and carry out effectively humanitarian rescues and repair work is extremely challenging. absolutely. we hope that russians will be responsible for this and is the crime they committed the day before yesterday. and putin will be sent not only because of may 17,

ought not only because he started war in ukraine but also because of this catastrophe by blowing up. vladimir putin saying this was an act of sabotage by the ukrainians will do what is your response to that? ., . , will do what is your response to that? . . , ,., ., ., , that? exactly the same language they use all the time. _ that? exactly the same language they use all the time. during _ that? exactly the same language they use all the time. during chernobyl- use all the time. during chernobyl catastrophe, may 17, shooting prisoners, when they captured ukrainian soldiers and regardless all rules of law simply destroy them and kill them bite missiles. it's language or kremlin, they always live. ~ ., , language or kremlin, they always live. . language or kremlin, they always live. we really appreciate your time and exoertise _ live. we really appreciate your time and expertise and _ live. we really appreciate your time and expertise and talking _ live. we really appreciate your time and expertise and talking us - live. we really appreciate your time | and expertise and talking us through some of the extreme challenges. thank you very much for coming on the program. we look at the impact of the attack on the dam. now we're going to look at the fighting on the ground.

we're going to talk about donetsk. and bakhmut. the deputy defence minister says. ukraine has switched from being defensive to offensive. think troops are advancing. saying troops are advancing. one example here. this is claimed to be two assault operations near bakhmut. footage released by the ukrainian armed forces. not been verified by the bbc. russia said it had defeated ukrainian attacks near the city. we have not independently verified that. we have not independently verified that. here's our correspondent quentin sommerville on the ukrainian military strategy. for months in this war, we've been talking about incremental gains. we've been talking about street one here, buildings taken there, maybe 100 metres lost somewhere else. well, now the ukrainians, particularly in donetsk, seem to be making far bigger gains, five, ten kilometres. and it's notjust the fact they're moving forward, it's how they're moving forward. they're using armour, they're using tanks,

they're moving fast. they're attacking from multiple points. those are the kind of tactics we expect to see when the main offensive starts. and that main offensive, though, is going to be very, very challenging because they're up against a full, let's say there's about 60,000 ukrainian forces who have been trained overseas, some of them in britain with british tanks and other western weaponry. they're facing a formidable foe that's been well dug in for months. the russians have built very elaborate fortifications, and it will be a very difficult task. president zelensky made a declaration. he said ukraine is ready for this counteroffensive, but he said that in the coming weeks and months, many lives will be lost. we will be moving along to a different story here in the uk. we will be moving along to a different story here in the uk. during his second day being cross—examined in the high court, prince harry has said he found it

suspicious, that difficult conversations between him and an ex—girlfriend appeared in stories in the daily mirror. the paper's publisher denies using unlawful means to gather information about the duke, saying its reports were based on publicly—available sources. our culture editor, katie razzall, was in court. the interest in this story shows no sign of waning. for the second day world's media gathered in a cul—de—sac in central london waiting for the high court's star witness. prince harry arrived here for another bout of cross—examination. the mirror group is determined to show he is wrong to claim that articles about him were based on unlawful information gathering. mgn's barrister told him there was not a single item of evidence in these articles to show phone hacking and that prince harry's claims were pure speculation. the prince says this one, about a secret dinner he had with the late tv presenter caroline flack at the close's house was based on home phone hacking as he and his friend had out voicemails for each other and take a sided game from photo agency.

this one about his then girlfriend chelsy davy�*s period at the visit to a lap dancing club was also based on hacking, prince harry says and mgn says it was another paper is the day before. when he split from chelsy there was this headline. prince harry told the court he was likely to exchange voicemails about the difficulties in their relationship and said, i now find this very suspicious. mgn says the story was in the news of the world before. prince harry blames the tabloids for his break—up with chelsy davy. today he told the court he had once found a tracking device on her car. put there, he claims by a private investigator. for my whole life, he said, the press have misled me and covered up the wrongdoing. andrew green for the mirror group asked him, would you be relieved or disappointed if the court decided he hadn't been hacked by mgn? prince harry said, phone hacking was on an industrial scale across three of the papers at the time and that is beyond doubt. yes, i would feel some injustice.

andrea green continued. prince harry responded... at the end of his evidence is barrister asked prince harry the toe going through it all had taken. the prince appeared to fight back tears. it is a lot, he said in a cracked voice. he stayed in court to hear jane carr, a former royal reporter who court insisted must give evidence. the byline appears almost a third of the article is about prince harry being examined by the court. she commissioned private investigators to help with stories but she said she had never asked anybody to do anything unlawful. prince harry spent around eight hours in the witness box. he will be leaving here probably giving relieved having kept his cool and focus in the face of some tough questioning. there will be relieved also from his estranged family. because there was nothing in his testimony that would be embarrassing to the royals. prince harry's focus here solely is the tabloid press.

an effort he said to an end to the abuse and intrusion of and his wife. let's speak to jack royston, chief royal correspondent for the us magazine newsweek and co—host of the podcast the royal report. thank you for coming on the program. as we heard, prince harry, eight hours being cross—examined examined. overall, how do you think he will be feeling now? i overall, how do you think he will be feeling now?— feeling now? i think he will be feelin: feeling now? i think he will be feeling better after _ feeling now? i think he will be feeling better after today - feeling now? i think he will be feeling better after today that | feeling now? i think he will be i feeling better after today that he was out yesterday. i think yesterday was out yesterday. i think yesterday was quite difficult for harry. he did say at the end of the day today that the whole experience had been a lot. i think it was quite visible, particularly during yesterday's evidence. in terms of him trying to move his case on, i don't know that he actually made a huge amount of progress for his case on either day. i think that mere groups barrister will be happy with some of his answers along the lines that he doesn't know whether specific pieces of information and stories were a product of phone hacking or not.

let's take on that one example for a moment. because that is the crux of it, isn't it? , moment. because that is the crux of it, isn't it? yes. underthe moment. because that is the crux of it, isn't it? yes. under the general araument it, isn't it? yes. under the general argument he _ it, isn't it? yes. under the general argument he feels _ it, isn't it? yes underthe general argument he feels he's being treated in his life. but that is separate to this specific court case. what do you think you would point to are referred to you about what we heard in court today? the referred to you about what we heard in court today?— in court today? the mirror barrister is been taking _ in court today? the mirror barrister is been taking to _ in court today? the mirror barrister is been taking to the _ in court today? the mirror barrister is been taking to the story - in court today? the mirror barrister is been taking to the story after- is been taking to the story after story and say to him so, in this particular story, which piece of information are you saying was obtained through phone hacking? harry will then say perhaps it's two which playing chelsea davey would be on of the fact that we had an argument with each other. the barrister of the mirror group will say, ok so whose phone was hacked in order to get that information? harry's answers had been slightly better in some and then and others. there are times where he said he

doesn't actually know he is given an educated guess. perhaps her number or a maid of his or something like that. his case is lacking specific, concrete details. this is the answer. he doesn't have a recollection or a specific answer that he knows was left by him or for him is on somebody�*s phone. it's all quite vague. i him is on somebody's phone. it's all quite vague-— quite vague. i suppose were generally — quite vague. i suppose were generally the _ quite vague. i suppose were generally the idea _ quite vague. i suppose were generally the idea of - quite vague. i suppose were generally the idea of the - quite vague. i suppose were - generally the idea of the stories about visiting lap dancing clubs, breaking up with ex—girlfriends, this is pretty tricky granule to help the public. for this is pretty tricky granule to help the public.— help the public. for sure. absolutely. _ help the public. for sure. absolutely. one - help the public. for sure. absolutely. one thing - help the public. for sure. l absolutely. one thing that help the public. for sure. - absolutely. one thing that the mirror group barrister said they are sympathetic to him and to the press intrusion in his life that comes across very strongly for the end harry's witness statement is 55

pages in excess of 20,000 words go strongly on the impact this is had on him saying he if he stood under the street is a product of things that have been written about him in the papers, stories about him visiting that dancing clubs are always going to be embarrassing. there was an account of him in which he denied getting a lap dance from a statuesque blonde who was a close resemblance to his girlfriend at the time. he denied that but needless to say those details are embarrassing. there embarrassing to discuss in court now. particularly in the modern area, that will be reviewed quite differently to how they would have been in 2007. it's a difficult case for him in a number of ways. i'm afraid we have to leave it there for the upgrade to get your thoughts. thank you. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

let's ta ke take a look at stories hitting the headlines here in the uk. the daily and sunday telegraph newspapers, along with the spectator magazine are to be put up for sale. it's due to debts owed by their parent group. lloyds banking group is looking to recover money owed by companies controlled by the barclay family. it said the loans did not affect the newspaper operations. security staff at heathrow airport have announced a fresh wave of strikes this summer. the unite union will stage 31 days of action in what it has called a "major escalation" of its pay dispute. the strikes coincide with school holidays and affect every weekend in august. a heat health alert has been in parts of england to hit 30 degrees over the weekend. the alert is in place from nine o'clock friday morning until nine o'clock on monday morning until nine o'clock on monday morning for the mud two blood midlands and southern england. and julie goodyear, best known

for playing barmaid bet lynch in coronation street, has been diagnosed with dementia. you're live with bbc news. it is a rite of passage for every british prime minister — fly to washington and try and forge as special a relationship with the us president as possible. the latest person to tread that path is rishi sunak — who arrived in washington in the early hours of wednesday morning. he's due to meetjoe biden on thursday. he spent some time in arlington national cemetery. he spent some time in arlington national cemetery. a short while ago he met the speaker of the united states house of representatives, kevin mccarthy. the two sat in his office. the speaker lauded the long history of the shared beliefs shared by the two countries. as well as renew pledges of british support from ukriane, he will also lobby for the uk to play a leading role in regulating artificial intelligence. as we heard earlier,

he's also been speaking with our political editor chris mason — who asked him this question on al. we haer a lot about it in the news now and some quite doom—laden predictions about it into the future. how worried should we be when people talk about its potential to kill people? how worried, as the person in charge of our security, are you about artificial intelligence right now? well, i want to make sure that we in the uk can realise the clear benefits of ai, whether that's in drug discovery or in other areas. but at the same time, we've got to put guardrails in place to protect ourselves, our country, our people from the very real risks that it poses, risks that the creators of ai themselves have highlighted. that's why i took a leadership role. i convened the leading ai companies in downing street a few weeks ago to talk about these guardrails, what the right approach to regulation is. i'll be talking to president biden about that tomorrow. i believe the uk is well placed to lead and shape the conversation

on this because we are very strong when it comes to ai. and it's a topic that i in particular started talking about two years ago to make sure that we are prepared. so when people say rock bottom, the uk is at rock bottom, it's even prince harry saying that, you say, not at all? long standing convention that british prime ministers don't comment on matters to do with the royalfamily, which i know you'll appreciate. but look, what i'm doing for the country is delivering on my five priorities to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists, and stop the boats. that's what people want me to be focused on. that's what i'm going to deliver for them. and just this week, people could see that the number of small boat crossings into the uk this year down by almost a fifth for the first time since the phenomenon arose. and that shows that we can make a difference on these important issues. the plan is working, but i'm not complacent. i've got lots of work to do, so i'm going to keep on and deliver for people. fairto fair to say he doesn't miss an opportunity to talk about the boats. let's speak to the bbc�*s washington correspondent, gary o'donoghue. were lucky to talk about boats were

talking about his itinerary. we've got a little flavour of what he's been up to. got a little flavour of what he's been up to-_ got a little flavour of what he's been u- to. . ., ., .,~ ., been up to. what do you make of it? pretty standard _ been up to. what do you make of it? pretty standard stuff. _ been up to. what do you make of it? pretty standard stuff. lots _ been up to. what do you make of it? pretty standard stuff. lots of - pretty standard stuff. lots of meetings on capitol hilljust now. notjust meetings on capitol hilljust now. not just with meetings on capitol hilljust now. notjust with kevin mccarthy but also talking to some chairs of some of the key congressional committees, also some senators. in some ways that's a recognition that particularly on something like paying, congress has the power of the purse. they control the money and in a sense the administration needs all the help he can get to make sure congress doesn't turn off the taps when it comes to funding for ukraine. i'm sure that's part of it. also don't forget, any questions of not a free—trade deal because that's not on the table but any specific sectors of a specific trade deals, they could need congressional approval or legislation in congress. i'm sure that's part of his agenda up i'm sure that's part of his agenda up on the hill, to push the british

case for doing economic deals. fin case for doing economic deals. on artificial intelligence, why do you think he's pushing that so hard? it's been one of his things for the last couple of years. he talked about it before. he believes that britain is a leader along with the united states on this. he points to one of the ai companies that has set “p one of the ai companies that has set up shop in the uk and has edge set “p up shop in the uk and has edge set up shop in the uk and has edge set up shop elsewhere for the he there a skills and britain to do this. i think also the sense that europe is looking at regulation of ai, the americans, he sees britain perhaps as a bridging point of where sufficient expertise in somewhere thatis sufficient expertise in somewhere that is not beholden to our writer block at the moment, could be a place perhaps for even biting one of those regulatory authorities if they'd be in an international agreement on that. i think that some way off that sort of thing but he wants to make sure britain is in on

the conversation because of the nature of the skills we have in the uk. ,_ , , uk. gary, 45 seconds left in the program- _ uk. gary, 45 seconds left in the program- the — uk. gary, 45 seconds left in the program. the big _ uk. gary, 45 seconds left in the program. the big event, - uk. gary, 45 seconds left in the program. the big event, the - program. the big event, the president tomorrow. big program. the big event, the president tomorrow. big event. lots of brid . es president tomorrow. big event. lots of bridges to — president tomorrow. big event. lots of bridges to build, _ president tomorrow. big event. lots of bridges to build, i _ president tomorrow. big event. lots of bridges to build, i think. - of bridges to build, i think. famously, we're not absolutely sure how much joe famously, we're not absolutely sure how muchjoe biden likes britain, he was very rude about britain just after his ireland visit. i think this will be a key opportunity for the prime minister to build one of those personal relationships that allows him to actually get business done. i think that will be the key outcome tomorrow for him. gary, thank you — outcome tomorrow for him. gary, thank you so _ outcome tomorrow for him. gary, thank you so much _ outcome tomorrow for him. gary, thank you so much for— outcome tomorrow for him. gary, thank you so much for that. - outcome tomorrow for him. gary, thank you so much for that. absolute professional finishing thank you so much for that. absolute professionalfinishing on thank you so much for that. absolute professional finishing on time as i knew you were at. busy day tomorrow for gary and the team in washington who will be keeping us right across the latest on rishi sunak stripped bare. i will be back injust a minute. i am bare. i will be back injust a minute. iam lewis bare. i will be back injust a minute. i am lewis vaughanjones, this is bbc news.

hello. we are heading for a spell of warmer weather. on top of that, increasing humidity and also the possibility of one or two heavy showers, perhaps some thunderstorms as well. and we do need the rainfall because it has been so very dry over the last two or three weeks in some parts of the country and even in others, close to a month of no rainfall at all. central parts of england, church lawford, last time it rained was the 11th of may, and southern parts of wales have not seen rain for about a month. and the reason for it is this persistent area of high pressure. it's sinking air through the atmosphere. that's why we call it high pressure. it's stuck here and it prevents weather fronts from coming off the atlantic. doesn't necessarily mean it's been all that sunny. in fact, we've often seen low gray clouds forming in the north sea and being pushed by that wind that blows around the area of high pressure. so cloudy mornings, but then brighter afternoons.

so, through the course of the night, we'll see low cloud being pushed in once again by that breeze off the north sea. skies across western parts of the uk will be clearer. i think temperatures will be no lower than around seven degrees and more typically nine or ten in city centre. so on thursday morning, cloudy start for many of us, particularly across eastern parts of scotland and england. and then, that strong june sunshine works its magic. the cloud burns back to the eastern coast, but it does look as though that eastern strip will stay on the cloudy side and chilly in places, maybe no higher than 15 degrees in hull, newcastle and norwich, or 17 in norwich or so. the higher temperatures will be further west. pollen levels still remain very high across parts of england and wales. further north, little bit lower. the forecast then for friday, and we are going to see that change in the weather across south—western parts of the uk. increasing humidity, i think hazy skies and the risk of showers, maybe some thunderstorms too,

but very isolated in the south—west on friday. in fact, they could arrive as early as thursday night. elsewhere, the weather will be more or less the same. what we've been used to in the last few days. now, the temperatures will steadily rise. we could see highs approaching the high 20s in some spots. so not too hot, i think. warm enough for most of us. that's it for me. bye— bye.