it follows the destruction of a major dam in russian—occupied territory, as emergency services search for people stranded by the water. one family managed to catch supplies of water, dropped from the sky, in a region already devastated before the latest disaster. rescue teams are trying to help people. the water is cloudy. kherson, after everything it's gone through, is a city on its knees. we will have the latest from james waterhouse in the heart of the affected region. also on the programme... prince harry says he brought his privacy case against mirror group newspapers to stop the hate towards his wife, meghan. a sum of trouble in prospect at heathrow for the

dozens of strike days are announced by security officers through july and august. # i'm forever blowing bubbles... and west ham on the quite for the club's first trophy in a0 years. and on newsnight at 10.30pm: we'll go deeper behind the headlines and talk to some of the key players behind today's stories. good evening. as many as 29 towns and villages in southern ukraine have been overwhelmed by floodwater, following the destruction of a major dam in russian—occupied territory. ukrainians and russians are blaming each otherfor the damage to the nova kakhovka dam, which has led to thousands of people being moved from their homes in the region of kherson. president zelensky says hundreds

of thousands of ukrainians have been left without drinking water, while emergency services are searching far and wide for people stranded by the floods. water levels are still rising rapidly, and ukraine's prime minister has urged the united nations, the international red cross and other agencies to act immediately, to help those in areas controlled by russian occupiers. our ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, reports from kherson. this eastern bank of the river is currently a no man's land. neither russia nor ukraine controlled their stop now no one can live here. the ukrainian army drone spotted catalina trapped in her home and tried to drop her water. no luck. her son, tried to drop her water. no luck. herson, max, missed a tried to drop her water. no luck. her son, max, missed a crucial catch. they are both taken to kherson along with her daughter,

maria. a city once occupied by russia then liberated by ukraine, now on its knees. translation: ~ ., ., ., translation: we managed to find the sim - lest translation: we managed to find the simlest boat translation: we managed to find the simplest boat but _ translation: we managed to find the simplest boat but my _ translation: we managed to find the simplest boat but my father— translation: we managed to find the simplest boat but my father and - simplest boat but my father and a neighbour got carried away. it came loose and the current was too powerful yesterday. rowing didn't help. we were left with my kids, the three of us, for the night. it feels like we live a whole life in one day. otherwise, we are very grateful to everyone. day. otherwise, we are very grateful to everyone-— to everyone. this once innocuous road now rescue _ to everyone. this once innocuous road now rescue boats. _ to everyone. this once innocuous road now rescue boats. as - to everyone. this once innocuous| road now rescue boats. as people pulled to safety from submerged streets, the relief is palpable. to move through the streets now, you need one of these stop the silence reflects our uninhabitable pockets of the city have become. that sign would normally be at head height. the trunks of those trees are completely submerged. rescue teams are trying to help people and you can see how they would be trapped.

the water is cloudy to tip kherson, after everything is gone through, is after everything is gone through, is a city on its knees. shelling is a common occurrence here. the russians might have left but they are never far. it takes a lot for locals to be forced to leave here but, for a growing number, that moment has come. president zelensky has criticised internet response to what's happened, accusing the un and red cross of not being here. —— is the international response. in two days, kherson has partly been submerged by the river dnipro stop the flooding is more extreme on the eastern bank, controlled by the russians. there is a military dynamic to the nova kakhovka dam construction flip is for those living here, it's gone from difficult to the vertical impossible james waterhouse, bbc news, kherson.

the damage caused to the dam in ukraine has happened at a significant moment in the war, just as ukrainian forces seemed to be embarking on their long—awaited offensive against the russians. and this is the focus — this front line in the conflict , some 600 miles long, with the areas under russian control shown in red. we know that fighting continues around the city of bakhmut. earlier this week, there were reports of ukrainian attacks in the area west of donetsk. around zaporizhizhia, while the russians control huge areas of the region, the ukrainians are still in control of the city. our correspondent quentin sommerville is there. quentin, given what's happened in the past few days, what are your thoughts now on the likelihood of a major counteroffensive by the ukrainians?—

major counteroffensive by the ukrainians? ., ., ukrainians? you mentioned donetsk in our ukrainians? you mentioned donetsk in your introduction. _ ukrainians? you mentioned donetsk in your introduction. i've _ ukrainians? you mentioned donetsk in your introduction. i've been _ ukrainians? you mentioned donetsk in your introduction. i've been to - your introduction. i've been to those very front lines where there is an offence of going on right now and it's difficult ground to attack across. it is wide open fields and very little cover and those fields are peppered with russian artillery craters. when we were there a few months ago, the men we were speaking to in the trenches told us the lines had only moved perhaps ten or perhaps a few hundred metres. they are certainly moving mouth. we are getting reports ukrainian forces have gained five kilometres, perhaps even ten of territory to stop its not just of the fact that they are moving, it's how they are moving, which us an indication of how the main offensive will go. they're using tanks and moving fast. they are attacking multiple different axes. but they are facing a very formidable foe because the enemy on the other side of the line has been there for a long time and has dug in and built formidable defences. they

have plenty of artillery and anti—tank missiles. but much anticipated main offensive is coming. the ukrainian commanders will be looking at the lessons of these early offensives, but let's not forget, just the other week, president zelensky said that ukraine was ready for this counteroffensive but he warned that, in the coming days and weeks and months, many lives would be lost stop the ukrainian soldiers we have spoken to have a solemn understanding of that. they realise there is a lot riding on this counteroffensive, perhaps everything. on this counteroffensive, perhaps eve hina. ,, on this counteroffensive, perhaps everything-— on this counteroffensive, perhaps eve hina. ,, everything. quentin sommerville in zaporizhzhia- _ the prime minister, rishi sunak, says that the uk military and security services have yet to establish who was responsible for the damage to nova kakhovka dam in ukraine, but he told the bbc that, if russia was to blame, it "would fit with a pattern of behaviour" of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure.

the prime minister is in washington to meet president biden and other leaders. let's join our political editor, chris mason, who's travelling with mr sunak. tell us a bit more about this visit and what is meant to be achieved. it was always going to be the case that ukraine would be a staple of the conversations the prime minister would have here but it's taken on an added urgency in the light of what's happened in ukraine in the last 48 hours. tomorrow the prime minister will be here at the white house for meetings with president biden. today, is focus was on meeting other senior political leaders, democrat and republicans up remember, there are political voices in this town deeply sceptical about the us's ongoing and expensive commitment to ukraine. a city of many motorcades welcomed another one today. rishi sunak in washington for the first time as prime minister.

band plays star-spangled banner. the day after the 79th anniversary of d—day, mr sunak laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington national cemetery and, from remembering wars passed, to talking about one raging now. i asked the prime minister if uk intelligence knew yet how the ukrainian dam was destroyed and who did it. we don't have a definitive answer on who was responsible. but if it does turn out to be russia, i think it would fit with a pattern of behaviour throughout this war which is where russia has, as an active strategy, deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure. these acts against civilian infrastructure that we have seen in the past are abhorrent, they are appalling, they are causing enormous suffering and that is why it is important that we continue to stand with ukraine firmly. what, in specific terms, can you achieve here in your conversations with the president, on ukraine, particularly in the light of what has happened

in the last 24 hours? i am proud that uk has played a leadership role when it comes supporting ukraine, particularly militarily. the us obviously has been the largest contributor to that effort. what we want to do is make sure ukraine can notjust defend itself today but for years into the future. that will also act as a deterrent to russia for aggression and convince it that there is no point in persisting with this illegal and unprovoked war. that is a huge long—term commitment from the uk, though. well those are the conversations iam having, notjust with president biden here but with other allies. thank you so much for having me. thank you for being here, it's a great alliance. it really is. the niceties, handshakes and smiles of diplomacy are timeless. but this trip offers a glimpse into the government's vision for the uk's place in the world after brexit. after the referendum, there was talk for years about a uk—us trade deal. there is no such talk any more. but the prime minister does seek a global role in artificial intelligence,

ai, the ability of computers to do things that, until now, have required human intelligence. well, i want to make sure that we in the uk can realise the clear benefits of ai, whether that is in drug discovery or in other areas, but at the same time we have got to put guardrails in place to protect ourselves, our country, our people come from the very real risks that it poses, risks that the creators of ai themselves have highlighted. i will 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. i wonder how you make that case, though, to the leader of a superpower, as the leader yourself of a medium—sized country, not in, if you like, a big international bloc, how do you convince a president who might be more tempted to ring up the european union or talk to other global players that the uk should be a kind of convener of the future on al? well, i think we should have confidence in our country being a leader when it comes

to ai because that is what the facts demonstrate. if you look at the number of companies, the amount invested, the quality of our research, other than the rest, there is no other democratic country that has that strength in al. this being america, the prime minister heads to a baseball game later before his appointment with the president tomorrow. that appointment with the president, chris, you hinted at some things in the report. what do you think will be the main focus of that meeting? it's a big moment, always a big set piece diplomatic moment, a british prime minister meeting a us president, from a british point of view. i think ukraine will dominate all of the obvious reasons. as well as that attempt, if you like, cement, reset us uk relations, as the uk begins to attempt to try and get a new place in the world. rishi sunak is staying at their house, the

president guesthouse, the first time a british prime minister stayed there since david cameron was prime minister, and mr zuma and his team think that indicates a sense that the uk is now seen as a dependable, predictable partner on the international stage. but what of that place in the world in a post—brexit era? trying to use those levers, if you like, of sovereignty that allow the uk to make decisions for itself that were impossible before, but outside an international block that provides a booming voice, if you like, of which the uk was a part, in conversations with superpowers like the us. i think, in reality, we are onlyjust beginning to see the early chapters of that. how this plays out will outlast this trip and this prime minister. after the bump years after brexit, the chaos that followed in domestic politics since, now the beginnings of an emergent of how this

government and perhaps future ones will begin to map out our future outside the eu in interacting with countries like america and others. chris, no doubt we will talk about the meeting tomorrow the top thanks very much for now. prince harry has finished giving evidence at the high court in london, as part of his privacy case against the publisher of the daily mirror. he says he took the case to stop "hate" towards his wife, meghan. the mirror denies using unlawful methods and says the stories about harry were obtained using legitimate sources. harry alleges he was unlawfully targeted during a 15—year period that began when he was a child. our culture editor, katie razzall, was in court. the interest in this story shows no sign of waning. for a second day, the 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 hard 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 a close friends house, was based on phone hacking as he and his friend had left voicemails for each other. mgn says it came from a photo agency. this one, about his then girlfriend chelsy davy�*s fury at his visit to a lap dancing club, was also based on hacking, prince harry says. mgn says it was in other papers the day before. when he split from chelsy, there was this headline. prince harry told the court he was likely to have exchanged 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 miss 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 mirror group asked him, "would you be relieved or disappointed if the court decided you 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." andrew green continued, "so you want to have been phone hacked ? " prince harry responded, "no one wants to have been phone hacked, my lord." today we saw a more confident prince harry, making his points more forcefully though at the end of his evidence, his barrister asked him the toll 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 kerr, a former mirror royal reporter who the court has insisted must give evidence. her byline appears on almost a third of the articles 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 feeling relieved, having kept his cool and focus in the face of some tough questioning. there will be relief also from his estranged family. with weeks of other evidence still to come, it could be many months before thejudge makes his decision. katie razzall, bbc news. a court has been hearing how a 23—year—old man being held in a police station in south london shot dead a metropolitan police officer while he was handcuffed, using an antique revolver that he had hidden. the jury was shown cctv of the moment sergeant matt ratana was shot in the chest without warning. louis de zoysa admits firing the fatal shot but denies murder. there are warnings of widespread

problems this summer at the uk's busiest airport, london heathrow, after a new series of strikes by security officers was announced today. more than 2,000 security officers at terminals 3 and 5 will strike for a total of 31 days between the end ofjune and the end of august, including several weekends. our transport correspondent, katy austin, is at heathrow tonight. tell us more about the plans. they could mean — tell us more about the plans. they could mean longer _ tell us more about the plans. tie: could mean longer queues to tell us more about the plans. tie1: could mean longer queues to get through security and even flight cancellations at britain's busiest airport and although the exact impact is not yet clear, it will depend on what level of contingency measures such as agency workers heathrow can put in place. 31 strike dates were set out, spread out in chunks across the busy summer period, every weekend in august is set to be affected. there was a full list of the dates on the bbc news website. the action is due to

involve around 2000 security officers who work at terminal five here and at terminal three which is used by a number of airlines and also security workers who checked staff as they go through that security lanes. the dispute is about pat’- security lanes. the dispute is about pay. unite has predicted a 10% rise, saying it is below the rpi measure of inflation. so far as it was of rounds of talks and the offer of a lump sum on top of that i have not been enough to bring this dispute to a resolution and unite has warned it could escalate further. heathrow airport says it will carry on talking and do everything it can to minimise disruption if the strikes go ahead. minimise disruption if the strikes no ahead. . ~' ,, minimise disruption if the strikes no ahead. ., ~ i. ., minimise disruption if the strikes no ahead. ., ~ ., ., , go ahead. thank you for the latest from heathrow. _ a cyber crime gang, thought to be based in russia , says that it's seized a mass of sensitive data, including payroll information from organisations and companies including the bbc, british airways and boots.

the hackers, part of a group called clop, are demanding a ransom payment by the 14th ofjune. our cyber correspondent joe tidy has the story. it has been described as a massive cyber heist. data stolen from underneath companies�* noses. and now, on a hackers�* website, a warning in broken english. the gang, called clop, boast, "chances that we download a lot of your data as part of exceptional exploit." as well as the boast, an ultimatum was issued to the dozens, maybe even hundreds of organisations affected. "get in touch with us to discuss a ransom payment or we will publish your data online." the bbc, boots, aer lingus and british airways are just some of the organisations we know about. the scale of this mass hack has really shocked the cyber world. it all started with a relatively obscure but popular piece of corporate software called moveit. the clop hackers managed to find a unique way into the system and that gave them access to all the companies that use moveit, for example,

the uk payroll provider zellis. that allowed them to download some of the data of their customers, including the bbc and british airways. they are often dubbed supply chain attacks and what that essentially means, instead of targeting an organisation directly, they target a piece of software an organisation uses, so in this case they will use file transfer software that a bunch of companies use and this really kind of opens the gate a little bit. you use this as your initial entry point, it is your back door, if you like. clop has been a persistent cyber threat for years. an international police operation in 2021 saw arrests in ukraine of alleged members of the gang but with the leaders of the crew thought to be based in russia, clop has continued to make millions extorting organisations around the world. their latest victims are faced with a dilemma of paying the ransom or not. the advice is don't, as it fuels their criminal enterprise and they might sell the hacked data online anyway in secret.

for staff whose national insurance numbers or even bank details are potentially in the hands of hackers, it is a concerning time. but these criminals are less interested in going after individuals, when organisations could pay them more, so the advice is to not panic but be vigilant of any suspicious activity or e—mails. joe tidy, bbc news. now a look at some other stories making the news today. air pollution warnings have been extended across much of eastern north america as hundreds of wildfires continue to burn in canada. a smoky haze has spread from quebec as far south the us states of georgia and florida. pollution from the fires has made air quality in new york city particularly poor. the daily telegraph, sunday telegraph and the spectator magazine are set to be put up for sale. a network of parent firms belonging to the barclay family owes debts to lloyds banking group. the receivers and the barclays both said the move was not a reflection of the financial

performance of the telegraph media group. pope francis has had surgery on an abdominal hernia. the vatican said there were no complications, and francis, who is 86, is expected to stay in hospital for several days. all his audiences until the 18th ofjune have been cancelled. in the us, the latest republican to announce a bid for the presidency is the man who served as donald trump's vice—president, mike pence. he's told a crowd in iowa that following the result of the 2020 election, donald trump had tried to put himself above the constitution when he refused to accept joe biden�*s victory, and tried to overturn the result. our north america editor sarah smith has the latest. the land of opportunity... selling himself as a christian conservative, mike pence kicked off his campaign with a flashy video.

that's why today, before god and my family, i am announcing i am running for president of the united states. not one image of donald trump appears in this launch video. but mike pence cannot escape from four years of servile loyalty as vice president. and mike pence is going to have to come through for us and if he doesn't, that will be a sad day for our country. right up until he refused to try to blockjoe biden becoming president. "hang mike pence," was the cry from rioters who stormed the capitol on the 6th of january. now defying donald trump and defending the constitution is a campaign pitch. i believe that anyone who puts themselves over the constitution should never be president of the united states. and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the constitution should never be president of the united states again.

mr pence is on much safer ground in iowa which will be the first state to pick a republican presidential nominee. also gripping and grinning with voters is florida governor ron desa ntis. senator tim scott, in fact, eight presidential candidates were all under the same roof last weekend. i want to say to you with deep conviction that god is not - done with america yet. applause mike pence is already well—known to voters and yet he is still trailing badly in the polls behind trump, the clear frontrunner. who knows? the more candidates like pence who get into the race, the more they split that anti—trump vote. and the easier they could make it for mr trump to win the nomination. these voters did not get to hear from trump himself but skipping this event doesn't seem to undermine his support. can i ask you, have you decided who you are supporting for the nomination? who i'm supporting? trump. yeah? yeah.

or desantis. i'd go for either one but first i think. well, i voted for president trump last time. i love his policies. the name—calling has got to stop. pence is definitely one - of the guys i'm looking at. i think he needs to be a little bit stronger but i think— if you are going to be i the president, you got to have a little bit - of the bulldog in you. mike pence will do what he can to attract attention. straddling a harley—davidson if that is what it takes. in a very congested race, it's still candidates like him versus the absent donald trump, and it is the former president who still is clearly in the lead. sarah smith, bbc news, des moines, iowa. it's a huge night for west ham's footballers. the club hadn't won a trophy for more than 40 years, until tonight in prague when they beat italian side fiorentina 2—1 in the europa conference league final. our sports correspondent

andy swiss reports. hoping the history... west ham fans descended on prague to see if they could end their long wait for a trophy. thousand had travelled without tickets, as had their opponents, fiorentina. something which prompted security concerns before the game, czech police detained 16 people after a group of west ham fans were attacked by italian supporters. fix, west ham fans were attacked by italian supporters.— italian supporters. a date with destiny- -- _ italian supporters. a date with destiny... as _ italian supporters. a date with destiny... as the _ italian supporters. a date with destiny... as the teams - italian supporters. a date with - destiny... as the teams emerged, the antici ation destiny... as the teams emerged, the anticipation was _ destiny... as the teams emerged, the anticipation was deafening. _ destiny... as the teams emerged, the anticipation was deafening. but - destiny... as the teams emerged, the anticipation was deafening. but a - anticipation was deafening. but a tense first half was overshadowed by this some west ham fans throwing cups at fiorentina players with one missile striking christiana biraghi as he was left bleeding and the stadium announcer and west ham players urged their supporters to stop. it was goalless at the break but after it, it all changed. the ball hitting the hand biraghi and after a lengthy check it was a

penalty to west ham and from there, said benrahma ruthlessly did the rest. ., ., �* , the said benrahma ruthlessly did the rest. ., ., �* . the were rest. you don't stop those! the were ahead and suddenly _ rest. you don't stop those! the were ahead and suddenly their _ rest. you don't stop those! the were ahead and suddenly their fans - ahead and suddenly their fans globally. both inside that stadium and across the city in the fan zone where many more joined the celebrations. but their lead did not last. moments later giacomo bonaventura fired beyond teen level. the biggest drama was yet to come is in the very final minute, jarrod bowen had a shot at glory and took it brilliantly. west ham were back in front and as the fans went wild, this time they held on. victory and euphoria for the hammers after decades of disappointment, a trophy and a night they will never forget.

well, what drama and what a night for west ham. they have just been presented with the europa conference league trophy in front of their jubilant fans and they have waited so long for this, the first major trophy in some 43 years. they will now have a victory parade in london tomorrow but you suspect the celebrations here in prague are only just beginning. well done to them and thank you for the latest from prague. time for a look at the weather. here's sarah keith—lucas. a hint of a change in the weather on the cards in the next few days, it had been a case of deja vu for the last couple of weeks, largely dry and settled weather, the best of ascension in the west but a bit of a change in the end of the week. a beautiful end to the day in orkney and over the next few days, still a lot of blue sky and sunshine but temperatures will be building and the humidity as well and that will

spark off the chance of some showers