british and dutch youngsters are among four young children injured by among four young children injured by a knife attacker in france. at among four young children in'ured by a knife attacker in franceh a knife attacker in france. at this staae, a knife attacker in france. at this stage. we — a knife attacker in france. at this stage. we are — a knife attacker in france. at this stage, we are talking _ a knife attacker in france. at this stage, we are talking about - a knife attacker in france. at this stage, we are talking about a - stage, we are talking about a syrian, who has refugee status in sweden. , , , . , syrian, who has refugee status in sweden. , sweden. the suspect is in custody. this is the moment _ sweden. the suspect is in custody. this is the moment he _ sweden. the suspect is in custody. this is the moment he was - sweden. the suspect is in custody. | this is the moment he was detained by police. we will get live reaction. the ukrainian president has visited the area badly affected by the destruction of a huge dam in southern ukraine. hello and welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. a man with a knife has attacked nursery school children in the french town of annecy. the victims are as young as three, according to french reports which say two children and a man are in a life—threatening condition. one of the children attacked

is a british national and another is a dutch national. a man was arrested near the scene, the moment of his arrest was captured on camera. take a look. the man in this video injured whilst being arrested, police say he is a syrian who has refugee status in sweden, with no known links to islamist groups. he has a child who is apparently the same age as the little chldren he attacked. this all happened in the town of annecy, in the french alps. the children, all aged three and under, were on an outing to a park, some in pushchairs. the attacker also stabbed an elderly man walking nearby, before he was overpowered by police. phone images taken by witnesses show a bearded man in black knee—length shorts and top, wearing a bandana and sunglasses. france's president has tweeted. emmanuel macron says...

the french prime minister, elisabeth borne, says the country has been shaken by the attack and has given more detail about the suspect. translation: we are talking | about a syrian national who has refugee status in sweden. and who applied for asylum in france but this was overridden by the swedish one which dates from ten years back. this person in question has no criminal record. neither does he have any kind of psychiatric record.

i have to say that we are talking here about infants, very young infants, who have been very seriously injured, and i think that everyone who is a parent, all of us, are terrifically shocked by this event. it is a terrible thing that has happened. i intervened as soon as possible to make sure that everybody was being cared for and looked after. and of course, everybody in the administration is going to be looking at the refugee status of this individual. as i said, he has refugee status from sweden and therefore because sweden is part of the eu, he can come to france without any particular permission.

but i think the message, the most important message is one of solidarity with the children, the six victims, and the parents of those children as well. i want to underline again how shocked we all are. british foreign secretary james cleverly offered specialist support for the families of those injured. we stand ready to support the french authorities in whichever way we can. also we are aware that one of the people, one of the children injured, was a british national. we have already deployed british consular officials who are travelling to the area to make themselves available to support the family. our paris correspondent, hugh schofield, has more on the story. we know an awful about it now because there are videos circulating now of what happened. i have seen

the worst of them and they cannot be broadcast. very shocking. and one sees a playground like you see in any town in france with slides and panels and swings and so on and children playing with parents and guardians and so on, some in pushchairs, and then a man breaks in. these are preschool children. it is children of a very young age with their guardians and parents. and a man appears very suddenly and before you can realise what is happening, you can realise what is happening, you can realise what is happening, you can see that he is attacking the children. and it is extremely shocking. what is most upsetting is that it shocking. what is most upsetting is thatitis shocking. what is most upsetting is that it is a scene from ordinary life and it suddenly tilts into a scene of horror and some people in the film realise what is going on and the man prowls around, he is obviously looking for young children, that is very obvious. the

man is looking for targets among the young children. and then he is caught. there is the police intervening. the man is overpowered. the other reading feeling of it all is that this is a young man, early 30s, attacking, you know, toddlers and that is extremely upsetting to watch. we know also of course more about him, a syrian who has... who has refugee status in sweden. he is not illegal, he is travelling perfectly legally around europe at what is interesting and significant is that he was not in a marriage —— he was any marriage with a swedish woman which apparently has broken up and he came to france by himself, leaving behind him a child of three years old. i think that is a

significant factor in this, especially as the religious islamist terrorist angle seems to have been rolled out. the man is a christian. he told police he was a christian of syria and when he was caught, he had a cross on a medallion around him. that element, that angle, that aspect, that motivation, does not hold up. far more likely it is some kind of troubled psychological story. figs kind of troubled psychological sto . kind of troubled psychological story. as always, there is more a map developing _ story. as always, there is more a map developing story _ story. as always, there is more a map developing story on - story. as always, there is more a map developing story on our- story. as always, there is more a - map developing story on our website. there is a live page where you can get the latest information what is happening right now with the investigation in annecy. you can stay with us, we will be moving on, there is the live page with the latest detail on what is happening in france was it is updated constantly by our correspondent on the ground and in the uk. now to ukraine, where president zelensky has visited the region of kherson, that's been devastated by flood waters after the collapse of a major dam.

a mass evacuation is still under way, to get people areas already flooded, or at risk from rising waters. around 600 square kilometres of the southern region is now underwater after the kakhovka dam was destroyed. alongside the humanitarian, environmental and agricultural disaster, aid agencies are now warning that there is a growing risk from landmines that have been dislodged by the waters, and are now floating downstream. water continues to flood out of the dam's reservoir. in some areas, rescue teams have reported coming underfire. kyiv has accused russia of leaving people to die and said the damage caused to farmland, threatens a globalfood crisis. president zelensky says it's impossible to tell how many might die without international assistance and has called for help from outside aid groups. paul adams sent this report from kyiv. a wartime president with yet another crisis on his hands, thanking rescue workers and volunteers who've been working

around the clock since tuesday. the president is angry. he says aid agencies have been slow to respond, that ukraine is dealing with this catastrophe alone. the floodwaters in kherson are no longer rising, but people are still being rescued from low lying areas. translation: i wish i could get someone for this. one of the russians for what they did. how many people's lives are ruined and for destroying our environment? at a local hospital, a warm welcome for mr zelensky. "how are you being treated?" he asks the women. it seems they have no complaints. ukrainian officials say 230 square miles of land either side of the river is under water, an area the size of the isle of man. but the river sustains agriculture across a huge swathe of southern ukraine. the scope of this disaster is vast. while the eyes of the world are on the flooded streets of kherson, fierce battles are raging to the east.

ukraine's long anticipated counteroffensive, which seemed to begin in earnest on monday, is still gathering pace. gunfire the long running battle for bakhmut is now part of that offensive. ukraine says its forces are making progress, hoping perhaps to cut off russian troops inside the city. russia says its soldiers still control the city, but these battles just outside seem intense. translation: the ukrainian tactics are like this. - first, smaller groups move in with the support of armoured vehicles. they make up a concentrated task force, but they've had no success at all so far. but ukraine's main effort is likely to be further south, near the shattered city of vuhledar. it's been on the front line for months. a dire existence for those hardy civilians who remain. translation: people are constantly dying, regularly wounded. _ they're taken away from the city.

we're very afraid. ukraine is deliberately saying very little about its military plans, keeping its enemy guessing. we know there's heavy fighting not far away, but we don't know who's winning. pauladams, bbc news, kyiv. let's ta ke let's take you back to our top story, the stabbing by a man of a number of very young children and adults as well in annecy. it all happened in a village called annecy, which is in... near the border with switzerland and what we know about the attacker is that he is a syrian man, he has refugee status in sweden, but he is currently living in france. we know also that a number of children rna very serious state, in terms of their health and are being treated in hospital. i am joined by the deputy mayor of

annecy, who isjoining me now down the line. thank you very much for joining us on the bbc. first of all, i can ask you, what more do we know about this attack?— about this attack? nothing more for now, the about this attack? nothing more for new. they are _ about this attack? nothing more for now, they are waiting _ about this attack? nothing more for now, they are waiting for _ about this attack? nothing more for now, they are waiting for the - about this attack? nothing more for now, they are waiting for the police | now, they are waiting for the police to say what they have discovered by interviewing the attacker, so we don't have any more news as to what you said before. ailiiur don't have any more news as to what you said before.— you said before. our people in annecy reacting _ you said before. our people in annecy reacting to _ you said before. our people in annecy reacting to this? - you said before. our people in annecy reacting to this? it - you said before. our people in i annecy reacting to this? it must you said before. our people in - annecy reacting to this? it must be so completely shocking, i cannot imagine. so completely shocking, i cannot imauine. , ., so completely shocking, i cannot imauine. , . , ~ so completely shocking, i cannot imaiine, , ., , ~' ., imagine. they are shocked and devastated. — imagine. they are shocked and devastated, they _ imagine. they are shocked and devastated, they are _ imagine. they are shocked and devastated, they are really - imagine. they are shocked and| devastated, they are really sad. they feel also some anger. so we share this with them. we try to answer some questions that we can. we try to protect the children because we have schools around, so we locked them down for a while and so we had also to give information to the parents and also to the people working in those schools, so first, all the people in annecy are very shocked right now. tell first, all the people in annecy are very shocked right now.— first, all the people in annecy are very shocked right now. tell me a bit about the _ very shocked right now. tell me a bit about the area _ very shocked right now. tell me a bit about the area in _ very shocked right now. tell me a bit about the area in which - very shocked right now. tell me a bit about the area in which this i bit about the area in which this

happen. was it a public park? yes. happen. was it a public park? yes, it was a public— happen. was it a public park? yes, it was a public park, _ happen. was it a public park? yes, it was a public park, it _ happen. was it a public park? yes, it was a public park, it is _ happen. was it a public park? yes, it was a public park, it is a - happen. was it a public park? yes it was a public park, it is a very big park where we can have a walk, near the lake, and we have two fun parks for the kids, on each side of the river, and there are a lot of children that go there. with their parents, with the kindergartens around. and with the grandparents, it is really nice place for the kids. we go there as people from annecy, we go there with my children often. it is always crowded. the kids really like that place. and so it is a place where you can find a lot of people. the attacker, i think, knew where he was going. there was some speculation a little bit earlier that he may have been seen by an eyewitness, someone running an ice cream shop, an ice cream van nearby, over the last few days. can you verify that? have you heard that as well? we days. can you verify that? have you heard that as well?— days. can you verify that? have you heard that as well? we cannot verify

that. i heard that as well? we cannot verify that- i have — heard that as well? we cannot verify that. i have heard _ heard that as well? we cannot verify that. i have heard that _ heard that as well? we cannot verify that. i have heard that information l that. i have heard that information as well but i cannot verify that. i think the police are going to do theirjob and we are going to see if it was right that he was looking for a couple of days but as death e—mail, i don't have this information myself. e-mail, i don't have this information m self. ~ ., ., ., information myself. what more do we know about the _ information myself. what more do we know about the victims, _ information myself. what more do we know about the victims, in _ information myself. what more do we know about the victims, in terms - information myself. what more do we know about the victims, in terms of l know about the victims, in terms of what they were doing on the park? were they without parents, with a nursery school, on an outing? it was kids with their _ nursery school, on an outing? it was kids with their parents, _ kids with their parents, grandparents, people that were looking after them, it was just like a normal morning, it was no school event or something, just people there, and we know that two of them were not french, we don't know if they were living in annecy or if they were living in annecy or if they were living in annecy or if they were here on vacation, we don't have any more information about that either because i think the parents and the families want to stay a little bit next to it and they don't want to give more information for

now. �* ., want to give more information for now. ~ . ., ,., want to give more information for now. ~ . ., ,,. ., ., now. and i heard also speculation, i have heard — now. and i heard also speculation, i have heard the _ now. and i heard also speculation, i have heard the police _ now. and i heard also speculation, i have heard the police were - now. and i heard also speculation, i have heard the police were very - have heard the police were very quick and arriving on the scene after they were called.- quick and arriving on the scene after they were called. yes, but it is a place. — after they were called. yes, but it is a place. they — after they were called. yes, but it is a place. they go _ after they were called. yes, but it is a place, they go there - after they were called. yes, but it is a place, they go there often, i is a place, they go there often, because it is a really crowded place, so they go there a lot in the day, so i am not surprised that they were already there or not to far to be able to arrest the attacker very quickly. be able to arrest the attacker very iuickl . ., , be able to arrest the attacker very iuickl. ., ,�* i, ., be able to arrest the attacker very uickl . ., , �* a ., ., be able to arrest the attacker very iuickl. ., ,�* i, ., quickly. how is annecy going to come back from this? _ quickly. how is annecy going to come back from this? this _ quickly. how is annecy going to come back from this? this is _ quickly. how is annecy going to come back from this? this is going - quickly. how is annecy going to come back from this? this is going to - quickly. how is annecy going to come back from this? this is going to be i back from this? this is going to be so difficult for people to process over the coming days. what is being done to help people? we over the coming days. what is being done to help people?— over the coming days. what is being done to help people? we have put in lace a done to help people? we have put in place a psychological _ done to help people? we have put in place a psychological help, _ done to help people? we have put in place a psychological help, a - place a psychological help, a freephone number that people can phone, we also took into account the witnesses and the victims also, with the hospitals and with some doctors, so they could speak out and we have

done it also in a school because there was a class that was doing the sport on that field during the attack, so we have put the psychological help also in that school. to help people to express and to try and find a way to help them, as we can, so the phone number is on the website for people. it is iood to is on the website for people. it is good to talk _ is on the website for people. it is good to talk to _ is on the website for people. it is good to talk to you. a shocking event. i am so grateful you took the time to talk to us. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. alli—year—old boy who died after an incident in a school in west lothian has been named locally. emergency services were called to the school in blackburn on tuesday afternoon. the teenager was taken to hospital but died shortly after. it is understood another 14—year—old boy was involved in the incident, which

the school described as isolated. the head of the met police has apologised for the force's past failings towards the lgbtq community. in a letter to the human rights act pena peter tatchell, it was said there were systems in place that led to bias and discrimination towards the public over many decades. the apology has been described as ground breaking. there has been a significant shift in the way we do our grocery shopping since the pandemic. it seems shoppers visit this will market less often and spend more on own label goods and are turning to loyalty schemes to get discounts on their favourite food and groceries. i want to take you now two pictures from washington. this is where the uk prime minister rishi sunak is arriving shortly for talks withjoe arriving shortly for talks with joe biden. arriving shortly for talks withjoe biden. he was there

arriving shortly for talks with joe biden. he was there yesterday in virginia, neighbouring virginia, where he visited the arlington cemetery and paid his respects at the two the unknown soldier but todayis the two the unknown soldier but today is all about business. he and the president will be discussing various topics, including of course the conflict in ukraine, the damage done to the dam near kherson but also on the agenda will be the regulation of artificial intelligence. that is very much at the forefront of the prime minister's mine. he has talked in great detail about the need for regulation and so that'll be front and centre of these talks. i can cross live now to our correspondent. talk us through what is on the agenda for these two men. it is a re full agenda for these two men. it is a pretty full agenda. _ agenda for these two men. it is a pretty full agenda. you _ agenda for these two men. it is a pretty full agenda. you are - agenda for these two men. it is a i pretty full agenda. you are looking at ukraine, as you mentioned, and artificial intelligence. they will want to talk about trade, possibly, even northern ireland, so there is a whole range of key issues for both leaders to discuss. at this stage in

time, we will see what happens, we are not expecting any large announcements, may be something on ukraine, who knows? and whether or not there is anything specific on artificial intelligence because we know rishi sunak has already announced a summit for the autumn in london where he wants to bring together leaders and others, he believes britain can shape the conversation, as he puts it. there is a belief in the long—term that he can fight some kind of —— find some kind of artificial intelligence issue but it is not clear if the american is assigned up to that. rishi sunak is keen to push a certain kind of a gender in terms of the us. how keen willjoe biden beadle talk about what he wants talk about? , ., beadle talk about what he wants talk about? . . ., beadle talk about what he wants talk about? . ., ., ,., ,., about? yes, i mean there are some so the differences — about? yes, i mean there are some so the differences under— about? yes, i mean there are some so the differences under the _ about? yes, i mean there are some so the differences under the surface. - the differences under the surface. especially on things like trade. the

british post—brexit were very keen and the conservative party indeed promised to get a full—scale trade agreement with —— america, that is completely off the table now. and joe biden has pinned his colours to the whole idea of made in america, there are big subsidies now in place for green industries in america and he is trying to bring back onshore a lot of chip manufacturing and things like that and so that is making it difficult for some of america's allies, the eu is worried about that, the uk is worried about that, so there are some talks there but rishi sunak is a free trader and believes in free trade and some of this stuff to conservative politicians in london does not look like free trade. that'll be something that they will want to discuss but you may look at some kind of sector by sector negotiation on this or that ticketing. he says

for example, british beef and british lamb is back on the shelves in america anyway it was not before and that is fine but there is a lot more bigger markets that they want to get some agreement on and whether they achieve that today, i think is probably unlikely but they may make some progress. probably unlikely but they may make some progress-— some progress. these visits, these meetin . s some progress. these visits, these meetings between _ some progress. these visits, these meetings between the _ some progress. these visits, these meetings between the uk - some progress. these visits, these meetings between the uk prime i meetings between the uk prime minister and us president often are very visual. photo opportunities, little moments we look for. you can forget theresa may and donald trump gripping each other�*s arms as they walk through the rose garden? how we expecting anything from these guys? do they get on very well? you expecting anything from these guys? do they get on very well?— do they get on very well? you will also remember _ do they get on very well? you will also remember that _ do they get on very well? you will also remember that moment - do they get on very well? you will| also remember that moment when do they get on very well? you will - also remember that moment when he grabbed her hand and they were walking down the stairs. i don't think she was quite expecting that at the time. i think she was quite expecting that at the time-— think she was quite expecting that at the time. . ., , g ., �* at the time. i am not sure joe biden will do that! — at the time. i am not sure joe biden will do that! there _ at the time. i am not sure joe biden will do that! there is _ at the time. i am not sure joe biden will do that! there is a _ at the time. i am not sure joe biden will do that! there is a belief - at the time. i am not sure joe biden will do that! there is a belief in - will do that! there is a belief in british circles, _ will do that! there is a belief in british circles, in _ will do that! there is a belief in british circles, in london, - will do that! there is a belief in british circles, in london, and. will do that! there is a belief in i british circles, in london, and you hear it in america, thatjoe biden

is not all that keen on the british. that is a very simplistic way of putting it but you will remember when he went to ireland for the anniversary of the good friday agreement, he spent really quite a brief time in northern ireland and had a brief meeting with the prime minister and then spent a lot of time in the south and when he got back year, he actually went to a democratic party fundraiser in new york and sort of quit, although he knew everyone would pick it up, that he had gone to ireland to stop the british screwing around over northern ireland, the free trade agreements with the european union and the protocol and all that kind of thing. there is a sense in which joe biden is not as warm to the british as other previous american presidents have been. however, there are significant strategic partnerships and alliances. britain is second only to the us in terms of its contribution to ukraine, in both defence terms and in humanitarian terms and america is, the ministry,

very gratefulfor terms and america is, the ministry, very grateful for that kind of support and unswerving support in many ways. the british have been in many ways. the british have been in many ways. the british have been in many ways pushing that agenda very hard and have agreements, now the americans are looking at training ukrainian pilots, for example, which is something they did not want to do for a long time. they did not want to sent tanks for a long time and thatis to sent tanks for a long time and that is now happening. in some ways, the british government has led the way on those issues. though sort of things will be discussed and how much they can push that agenda on, they both said, look, our governments are in this for the long—term, in this for the long haul, we are notjust going to fade away, we have to support ukraine right through and indeed in some sort of reconstruction once the war is over. i think you will hear a lot of unity messages on that one today as well. i am just checking whether or not he is... he is due to come in through the northwest gate to my

right—hand side and he should be coming... he was meant to be here at 20 past. he is not there yet. he will come past and he will drive past where i am standing and they will move right over to where the west wing... where he will be greeted byjoe brier. we west wing. .. where he will be greeted by joe brier.— west wing... where he will be greeted by joe brier. we are keeping our knife. greeted by joe brier. we are keeping our knife- we — greeted by joe brier. we are keeping our knife. we have _ greeted by joe brier. we are keeping our knife. we have another - greeted by joe brier. we are keeping our knife. we have another invasionl our knife. we have another invasion camera of the scene. we are expecting to the —— the prime minister to swing into. the beatles once sang, you can't buy me love. can rishi sunak byjoe biden�*s love with gifts that he has. he has a copy of a book written by the joe —— by the president's great—grandfather. we by the president's great-grandfather. by the president's ireat- . randfather. ~ , . great-grandfather. we will see. we will see if he _ great-grandfather. we will see. we will see if he has _ great-grandfather. we will see. we will see if he has anything - great-grandfather. we will see. we will see if he has anything to - great-grandfather. we will see. we will see if he has anything to say i will see if he has anything to say about that. it has to be better than what gordon brown got when he came

here. i think he got a dvd box set, which was regarded tapuai that is so 19905! 1990s! we are 19905! we are promised a kind of personal moment. we are not entirely sure what that might mean and what it might entail. it could be awful, it could be quite touching. we will see what they managed to pull out of the hat but i think that tells you there is a need to indicate that they need to demonstrate some more closeness on the currently have at the moment. rishi sunak went to a baseball game last night, the washington nationals, i think that was an attempt to get involved with american culture etc. they are trying very hard to build a firm relationship and to reinforce that whole business that we hear on these occasions of the importance of the

special relationship and the oldest ally, although that is sometimes the french and sometimes the british, depending on who you ask. that secial depending on who you ask. that special relationship _ depending on who you ask. that special relationship has been very much in doubt, under discussion, forensically looked at, over the past few years. it does not feel the same as it used to be. why is that? i think there are a lot of... there are big shifting sands really in the global order at the moment. we exited the cold war and then we had a sort of period where everyone believed it was a triumph of western liberalism and that really did not last very long because places like russia turned into a bit of an autocracy and ready—made booting, of course, the economic rise of china and the military might of china,

very much involved in the international order and these things have thrown up new challenges. you have thrown up new challenges. you have had times... you look back to the gulf war and tony blair and george w bush really trying to lock step, and since then, i think the atmosphere has been a little cooler between washington and london. they was a lot of annoyance in washington that britain left the european union. they definitely believe that britain was better off inside the european union. and in a sense, they are a foreign power, it is not really up to them to say that either way, for the british people, but they believed it was a mistake and thatis they believed it was a mistake and that is why you saw a real coolness from president obama, some talks took place under president trump, but under president biden, that business of an overarching trade deal has really disappeared from the agenda completely stop that is not something they are talking about. it is not something that matches the

joe biden administration's economic strategy. it is not something that suits the way he sells that strategy internally. the british have really had to abandon any hope of doing something like that aren't trying to build what they are calling economic alliances, so trying to look at things like supply chains, ensuring the reliability of supply chains without completely relying on china for things like rare earth metals, these things that are so crucial in technology and the future and green technology and the future and green technology in particular. trying to work out ways of making sure that allies like the us, britain, the european union, have access to these things in a more hostile world, a more hostile sort of bipolar world with china on one hand and the west on the other. with china on one hand and the west on the other-— on the other. while we have been talkin: on the other. while we have been talking about _ on the other. while we have been talking about the _ on the other. while we have been

talking about the political - on the other. while we have been. talking about the political backdrop to the visit, gary, i know that washington has also been hit by some of that smoke from those wildfires that have hit new york. our things today, better? i that have hit new york. our things today. better?— today, better? i would say it is a little bit worse _ today, better? i would say it is a little bit worse today _ today, better? i would say it is a little bit worse today than i today, better? i would say it is a little bit worse today than it i today, better? i would say it is a little bit worse today than it was | little bit worse today than it was better. it is catching in the throat a little. we don't have anything as bad as they are getting in philadelphia and new york at the moment but it may be heading our way. we were down by the capital yesterday when rishi sunak was there, meeting congressional leaders and the view down the mall, which is usually pretty impressive, was certainly according to my cameraman pretty hazy. it did not look too good. it is descending i think towards... if you think of the geography, we are south of new york. we are south of philadelphia. we think it may be heading our way unsteadily yesterday, in the area, the schools were told not to do any of their outside activities. they told kids to keep indoors.