live from london. this is bbc news the us secretary of state begins talks with his chinese counterpart in beijing — amid great tensions between the superpowers. initial estimates suggest swiss voters have approved a referendum on whether to make the country carbon neutral by 2050. uganda s army is still pursuing militants who attacked a school 7 brutally killing 37 students and in the uk, a senior government minister slams a lockdown party after new footage emerges, calling the behaviour �*unacceptable and indefensible�*. hello, i�*m luxmy gopal. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has met

the chinese foreign minister in beijing. it�*s the highest—profile visit to china by a us official since president biden took office. tensions remain high between the two nations over issues such as trade, technology and foreign policy. the conflict in ukraine is set to feature prominently in talks. it�*s possible the us secretary of state will also meet president xi during his stay. our correspondent stephen mcdonell is in beijing and says mr blinken�*s visit is symobolic. well, the fact that the meeting is even taking place is quite an achievement. i can�*t recall another visit by a us government official which has had such low expectations and yet which is so crucially important. i mean, the relationship is so toxic between beijing and washington. if, at the end of these meetings, at least some new pathways towards communications, at least

some new possibilities for more high level meetings, if those types of things can be set up, i think both sides will be happy and think that they�*ve come away with something that it�*s been successful, but it�*s because relations are so bad that nobody expects any sort of a breakthrough on any of the key issues. and if they can just agree to keep talking, well, that�*ll be something. dr yuka kobayashi is a lecturer in china and international politics at the school of oriental and african studies. she says the visit is important. this builds on a couple of developments in the past couple months. i think when the spy incident happened and blinken�*s visit was cancelled in february, really us—china relations hit a real low point. and we also saw earlier this month that this request for discussion with the defence ministers was cancelled. but what tends to really focus, be focused is these negative kind of really tension points.

but we forget that, you know, in may, jake sullivan went, met with their counterpart, wang yi, and discussed things. so there have been gradually some kind of opening up of channels. and i think it�*s a real positive point in the sense that we see this visit come and, you know, in terms of like the issues, there are so many issues to discuss. but it is really remarkable that, you know, blinken is actually visiting china, the first of this kind, you know, afterfive years of, you know, this kind of visits being cancelled. so in that sense, i think it�*s a remarkable step. and you mentioned that you think actually perhaps tensions are not as high as they have been recently. but do you also think that concerns over the war in ukraine could be playing a part in encouraging both sides to come together at this stage? yes, i think tensions are really high, there�*s no doubt about that. and there�*s so many issues like, for example, taiwan, ukraine, the, you know, high tech and surveillance issues. however, we forget that there has been a lot of groundwork on both

sides to really get communication channels, because there�*s no doubt that the us and china are real rivals at the moment. and there are many issues like, for example, taiwan. and we are seeing these tensions really develop with pelosi�*s visit over the summer. and, you know, these kinds of, you know, near meetings between us and chinese naval ships. so in that sense, tensions are definitely high. but i wanted to emphasise that it is remarkable that blinken is actually visiting. he�*s meeting tiangong, he�*s meeting possibly xi tomorrow. so in that sense, communication�*s vital to really have this kind of discussion and negotiation and mediation. so i think in that sense, tensions and there�*s so many issues in terms of, you know, getting things out of these talks, it could be possible there may be no resolution. but i think it�*s a, you know, a massive step to actually have

discussions and communications where we see blinken actually going into beijing and holding face to face discussions to hammer out these issues. the ugandan army is continuing its hunt for the militants who attacked a school on friday night, killing at least a0 people, many of them children. the rebels — from an islamist extremist group known as the adf — also kidnapped six students before escaping back across the border into the democratic republic of the congo. our correspondent, barbara plett usher, sent this report from nairobi — and a warning it does contain distressing details. he survived, but has to live with the horror. the community stunned by this brutal attack against children. targeted in their dormitories, the militants set fire to the boys�* residence. the girls were hacked or shot to death as they fled, some abducted. translation: then | they started shooting at the windows and the door. we went to hide under

our beds on the floor. as they continued to shoot out the windows, one of us was hit by a bullet and started shouting, "help! come and help me!" those who escaped, still in shock. schools are an easy target but this was the worst attack in years. there are angry questions. if they are telling us the borders are secured, security is tight, i want security to tell us where they were when these killers came to kill our people. the military drove the rebels across the border decades ago into the eastern congo, but it didn�*t defeat them. they are now linked to the islamic state group. translation: security is a collaborative work. | why do you people keep quiet when you see strangers? right now we have deployed planes in various places to hunt them down. it�*s an alarming escalation and an unbearable tragedy. barbara plett usher, bbc news, nairobi.

our correspondent dorcas wangira in nairobi with the latest. for the six kidnapped, there has been no update still. the updf says it is pursuing the militants more than 2a hours, and it is quite ironic that this tragedy happened on the night of the day of the african child, and in a school particularly. in terms of security, because that is what we heard being mentioned in barbara usher�*s report, concerns around that, what is being done to allay fears, to enhance security measures? for the people who live in this area in western uganda and in mpondwe, earlier we had the mayor raised concerns just like the ugandan member of parliament, who spoke so passionately and angrily in the story that has been aired, when she kept on asking where the security was. we had one general on record speaking to the residents to ask them, they said

they saw people coming as early as two days ago, why didn�*t they report it? it raises the question whether the army had intelligence, because there is presence of the military in this area that borders the drc. some say they have come in their thousands, too little too late, when at the time of the attack, there was no response. in terms of what happens next, of course, this represents an escalation. do we have any indication of what this now might do to relations and tensions, and how much it will further escalate the situation? this is notjust a ugandan problem any more. it is a problem for region, it is a problem for the continent. earlier the chairperson of the african union, mahamat moussa faki, issued a statement. he condemned this attack. but when you have insurgents crossing over borders, it

now calls for a joint effort to control the problem and contain the problem. having groups linked to the islamic state is not something new in africa. there are also other concerns in mozambique, in tanzania, and this is something that agencies, governments, must come together and act upon. lastly, one of the commanders who was speaking, was speaking in swahili in uganda, that means there is a lot of crossing across the borders, and a lot of cooperation between borders. this is not a problem that will go away soon and needs immediate response. now some breaking news from switzerland, and early results suggest voters approved measures to make switzerland carbon neutral by 2050. in a referendum, people were also asked whether to raise the country�*s business tax rate from an average

of ii% to a minimum of 15% to invest in renewable energies. live now to geneva — and our correspondent imogen foulkes. let�*s look at some context here. in practical terms, what changes as a result of this vote? for householders - result of this vote? for householders and - result of this vote? for| householders and small result of this vote? fr?" householders and small businesses, who were actually looking to maybe switch from oil fired who were actually looking to maybe switch from oilfired heating, which is what houses here have, and may be moved to solar panels and heat exchange pumps, that is quite good news. they are going to get some government help to do that. in the long term this is quite an ambitious plan, but it has a big chunk of money attached to it, three and a half billion dollars is going to be made available over the next ten years to move to renewables, to encourage businesses, basically households and businesses. switzerland as a whole has to be emitting 75% less greenhouse gases

thanit emitting 75% less greenhouse gases than it was in 1990, and it is supposed to be their net zero by 2050. swiss voters, concerned about the melting glaciers, and about fossil fuel dependency, the melting glaciers, and about fossilfuel dependency, look at the melting glaciers, and about fossil fuel dependency, look at what the war in ukraine has done to energy prices, they are backing this, it looks like 58%, so quite clear. �* , ., ., . clear. are similar vote was re'ected a coule clear. are similar vote was re'ected a couple of — clear. are similar vote was re'ected a couple of years i clear. are similar vote was re'ected a couple of years ago. i clear. are similar vote was re'ected a couple of years ago. what _ clear. are similar vote was rejected a couple of years ago. what do - clear. are similar vote was rejected a couple of years ago. what do you| a couple of years ago. what do you think is behind the shift in public opinion? we have known about the issue of climate change for quite a few years, so what has caused this? that is such a good question. the swiss have real environmental street cred. we know they are really good at recycling. they often will not vote for anything that might undermine the engine of their very successful economy. two years ago we were still in the covid pandemic.

voters knew how many billions and billions the government had spent on mitigation and supporting the economy, and they were concerned that this would be just another step to undermine their genuine economic success. now, two years on, we have got a terrible report into what is happening to the alpine glaciers. they are shrinking much faster than even the most pessimistic experts had estimated. we have the war in ukraine, where it becomes clear very quickly, if you are buying all your oil and gas from a region of the planet that is at war, or an authoritarian regime like russia, you are going to be in trouble. i think now that voters have said, actually we need to take that step and it will cost in the short term, but in the long term, it looks like they are saying it is a good investment.— they are saying it is a good investment. . . ., ~ , ., investment. image and, thank you, our correspondent _ investment. image and, thank you, our correspondent live _ investment. image and, thank you, our correspondent live in _ investment. image and, thank you, our correspondent live in geneva i

our correspondent live in geneva with an update on that breaking news that early results from switzerland suggest voters have approved measures to make the country carbon neutral by 2050. officials in northern india say nearly a hundred people have died in the past few days during a severe heat wave. temperatures have soared past forty degrees celsius in the states of uttar pradesh and bihar. in these pictures prepared by bbc weather we can see how hot air became drawn up over india by the recent, intense cyclone over the arabian sea, affecting weather patterns over the subcontinent. experts say temperatures have become more intense in the past decade with a prolonged heatwave in neighbouring bangladesh, which has onlyjust begun to subside. the extreme weather has also led to power cuts. the poor and daily—wage labourers employed in outdoor work have been the worst hit. anbarasan ethirajan , our south asia regional editor has more on this story

even from april to june, people usually witness hot months. the temperatures go up in the subcontinent, but the intensity of this heat has a increased according to experts and that is what we have witnessed. if you take the states of uttar pradesh and bihar in northern india, where the doctors are saying that dozens of people have died, and more than 400 have been hospitalised. most of those had other ailments and the heat probably contributed to their deaths. many people are trying various ways to escape from this heat, or to find alternative ways how they can protect themselves, for example, people buy cold water being sold on the roadside, and these pictures were taken in may. you can see how the road surface was melting due to this extreme heat, and people even go to the beach side to call themselves late in the afternoon when the sea breeze sets in.

experts point out that, in the last 30 years, more than 20,000 people have died in the region because of the heatwave. scientists are talking about climate change but they say intensity of this is increasing and that is why we see the very scorching heat in the subcontinent. we know that experts are saying we will see extreme conditions like this more frequently. is anything being done in terms of infrastructure and more systemic changes to try to mitigate this? in terms of this very hot conditions, people are advised to stay indoors, especially those who are elderly and those suffering various ailments. 0n the other hand, people are also using alternative energy resources so they don�*t have to depend on the national grid, because whenever there is a strain on the grid, the power cut happens.

that puts a lot of people in difficulties and that is why people are being advised to stay indoors. now here in the uk, the �*partygate�* scandal has been given new oxygen. footage has emerged showing people dancing at the conservative party headquarters in 2020 despite covid lockdown restrictions. the levelling up secretary, michael gove, has apologised to the bbc after the video was shared. the footage was attained by the mirror newspaper. at the time, there were tier—2 restrictions in london, which meant people should not socialize indoors, unless they were in the same household. police did investigate this event, but did not issue any fines. that is the video that emerged.

the levelling up secretary michael gove has been speaking to the bbc this morning and apologised for the video. yes i am sorry. i do apologise, unreservedly. with this particular event, this led to an investigation that has only happened. the video is new, but it was known that there was an event, there was a photograph, i think, that was made public. as a result there was an investigation, disciplinary action was taken, and as we know, there have been police investigations to what happened in downing street. putting that to one side, on a personal level, iwould like to apologise to people for this behaviour. it is unacceptable and indefensible. that was michael gove speaking a few hours ago. live now to stockport with amos waldman, a member of covid—i9 bereaved families for justice. how do you feel watching this video? i think it is sickening and

appalling, and it is maddening, when i think of what we as a family, what so many otherfamilies, were going through at the time, complying with the rules, wanting to comply with the rules, wanting to comply with the rules, wanting to comply with the rules to protect ourselves and people around us, so other people wouldn�*t have to endure what we had enjoyed. wouldn't have to endure what we had en'o ed. �* , , ., enjoyed. because it is quite easy to foreet how enjoyed. because it is quite easy to forget how different _ enjoyed. because it is quite easy to forget how different things - enjoyed. because it is quite easy to forget how different things were . forget how different things were back then, here we are nearly three years on, just tell us what was life like for you during that time of lockdown restrictions in late 2020? these videos, this video, rather, is extremely triggering. i remember my grandma sadly passed away in april 2020 and a care home. she had moved home for what was meant to be a trial period, but a matter of weeks later, she died. we couldn�*t visit her, there were no video call facility is, we had to telephone calls when we could get through to

her, but they won�*t always able to answer the phone. we had a zoom funeral that was interrupted by someone who kept their microphone on and was eating crisps, drinking tea and was eating crisps, drinking tea and shouting out their kids, so the camera was moving from my grandma�*s coffin to this person. we couldn�*t grieve properly as a family. by a matter of about ten days after this party took place, my mum caught covid and she ended up in hospital after the paramedics came out to her on three occasions. we thought we were going through exactly the same. i remember having a telephone conversation with just after she went in and she said she was getting financial papers ready, which obviously we thought it was because she thought she was going to die, and we thought she was going to die, and we thought she was going to die, and again, we couldn�*t see her, i didn�*t see herfor three months. fortunately she recovered and we had a socially distance walk. i took a birthday cake for her 70th birthday,

which i gave her in the car park of her apartment. we stuck to the rules, and we wanted to stick to the rules. we made those sacrifices, and i can�*t say i don�*t have pangs of guilt for not being with my grandma, for not being with my mum when i thought she was going to die. we can�*t forget those feelings. to see them partying in this way and not caring about it at all, and living in what seems to be a parallel universe, is extremely hurtful and painful. universe, is extremely hurtful and ainful. ., ., ., ., , painful. you heard the apology given b michael painful. you heard the apology given by michael gove _ painful. you heard the apology given by michael gove earlier— painful. you heard the apology given by michael gove earlier today. - painful. you heard the apology given by michael gove earlier today. does| by michael gove earlier today. does that do anything at all to help in this situation?— that do anything at all to help in this situation? ., ., ., , this situation? no, unfortunately it doesn't. this situation? no, unfortunately it doesn't the _ this situation? no, unfortunately it doesn't. the damage _ this situation? no, unfortunately it doesn't. the damage has - this situation? no, unfortunately it doesn't. the damage has already l this situation? no, unfortunately it - doesn't. the damage has already been doesn�*t. the damage has already been done, these people should have been punished a long time ago. i don�*t know why the metropolitan police didn�*t pursue any offences with this. they didn�*t have the video but they did have the photographs. this clearly shows events that shouldn�*t have happened at the time. there should have been consequences in

terms of their employment. a simple apology, when these people were partying, probably putting others�* lives at risk, family members, anyone they came into contact with, it is just not enough. i5 anyone they came into contact with, it isjust not enough.— it isjust not enough. is there an hine it isjust not enough. is there anything that _ it isjust not enough. is there anything that you _ it isjust not enough. is there anything that you would - it isjust not enough. is there anything that you would like | it isjust not enough. is there i anything that you would like to it isjust not enough. is there - anything that you would like to see them do? i�*d anything that you would like to see them do? �* ~' ., , them do? i'd like to see them reflect on _ them do? i'd like to see them reflect on their _ them do? i'd like to see them reflect on their behaviour, - them do? i'd like to see them reflect on their behaviour, i i them do? i'd like to see them i reflect on their behaviour, i think they all need to have a good think about it and think about how it undermined public trust, the party contributed to the government�*s appalling conduct of it which is being looked at by the covid inquiry now. i think, being looked at by the covid inquiry now. ithink, really, there should be consequences, even at this late stage. be consequences, even at this late staee. ., ~' ,, be consequences, even at this late staee. ., ~ ,, be consequences, even at this late staee. ., ~' . ., stage. thank you so much for taking the time to — stage. thank you so much for taking the time to speak _ stage. thank you so much for taking the time to speak to _ stage. thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us, _ stage. thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us, a _ stage. thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us, a memberl stage. thank you so much for taking l the time to speak to us, a member of the time to speak to us, a member of the covid—i9 bereaved families for justice. sudan�*s warring factions have agreed to a new 72—hour ceasefire, which began early this morning. more than 3,000 people have been killed and 6,000 people have been

injured in sudan since the war broke out in april, the sudanese health minister has said. haitham ibrahim said only half of the capital khartoum�*s i30 hospitals were still operating and all hospitals in west darfur state are out of service. at least seventeen people, including five children, were killed on saturday after an air strike in the south of the capital. russian president vladimir putin has been holding talks in saint petersburg with a delegation from seven african nations who�*ve called for peace talks to end to the war in ukraine. earlier i spoke to our correspondent mayeni jones in kyiv. cyril ramaphosa, in a statement that he released on his twitter page today, said that despite that fact he thought they had achieved some of their aims, one of which was to be listened to as a delegation from a region that has been affected by the conflict. he said he was happy to have been able to bring an african perspective

to the conversation, and he said another reason why he thought the trip had been so successful was because his delegation was one of the peace missions that had spoken to both sides of the conflict within a short space of each other. but the ultimate aim of the trip, which was to bring both the ukrainian president and the russian president closer to negotiating hasn�*t really been met at this stage. and do you think the african leaders who were part of that delegation will have another attempt at meeting with either side in due course, or do you think the failure of any consequence from this has closed the door on that? well, he did say that president ramaphosa in the statement he released this morning, did say that there was the russia, africa summit that is taking place at the end of next month, where leaders from across the continent will be travelling to russia to meet with president putin,

and he said that would be another opportunity to re—discuss some aims. i think the sticking point for negotiations at the moment is this idea of territorial integrity. ukraine has said several times it won�*t negotiate with russia until it leaves the territories, the ukrainian territories that is occupied. but president putin repeated yesterday something he has also said multiple times, that in order for there to be negotiations, ukraine would have to respect what he describes as new territorial reality. so, the fact that russia has now occupied some of ukraine�*s territory. so, neither side seems willing to compromise on that, and it is not clear that by next month, when these african leaders meet president putin, that situation will have changed. what back among the seven african nations leaders who are part of the delegation, is there a consensus around their approach? of course they have the same priorities around wanting peace to help secure food

supplies. what about their overall approach to how to tackle this? it is interesting that you ask that question. the delegation was put together to provide some sort of balance, although not many african countries have come down on either side with this, they say that they ultimately see it as a conflict between russia and the west. some have shown indications they lean one way or another, so south africa and uganda are likely perceived to be leaning towards russia, whereas countries like zambia, also part of the delegation, i seem to lean more towards ukraine. they do have slightly different approaches to this. ., ., , slightly different approaches to this. . . , ., slightly different approaches to this. . ., this. that was our correspondent in k iv or is this. that was our correspondent in kyiv or is there. _ this. that was our correspondent in kyiv or is there. you _ this. that was our correspondent in kyiv or is there. you can _ this. that was our correspondent in kyiv or is there. you can get - this. that was our correspondent in kyiv or is there. you can get in - kyiv or is there. you can get in touch about any of the stories we have covered today on social media. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello. a lot of energy pent up in the atmosphere, thunderstorms forming, and while many others will appreciate the rain, we don�*t necessarily want an awful lot of rain in a short space of time, because that of course leads to flash flooding. let�*s have a look at the picture through the course of today at risk of thunderstorms. many areas of england and wales. initially these potent storms will be forming in distinct areas, distinct thunder clouds or cells, and these will produce a lot of rainfall. there will be a lot of run—off as well, many parts of the country are still dry and that is going to lead to flash flooding. we could see 30 millimetres of rain in an hour, may be as much as 80 millimetres of rain, spread over a few hours, on top of that hail and

very strong, gusty winds, and frequent lighting too. away from that there will be plenty of sunshine. not everyone will get the storms. this is what it looks like at the end of the afternoon, fine weather across northern and eastern scotland with sunshine. these storms later in the afternoon, they will then merge, merge into a more coherent and longer spell of rain, and that will travel northwards across northern england and into parts of scotland as well. here there could be a lot of rain through this evening and into tomorrow. this is what it looks like early in the morning tomorrow. the worst of it will have gone through england and wales at this stage, and most of the rain at this stage across parts of scotland. tomorrow, in the wake of this weather front, we will see sunny spells and again, one or two showers developing, again possibly one or two thunderstorms, but on the whole, i think it is going to be a much calmer day for most of us

tomorrow, compared to sunday. as we head into next week, so monday tuesday, we will see these showers again returning to parts of southern and central britain. some of these could bring thunderstorms and again it stays on the warm side, but perhaps not as warm as it has been of late, temperatures typically in the low 20s. there is an indication that, as we head towards the end of the week, it starts to turn warm once again.

counterpart at a time of great tension between the two countries. it isn�*t clear if mr blinken will meet the chinese leader, xi jinping.