hello, i'm carl nasman. ukraine's president came to the annual nato summit in lithuania with high hopes, widespread western support, and a demand for a timeline for his country's entry into the military alliance. volodymr zelensky didn't get that last one. but he did not walk away empty handed either. nato member nations offered a variety of pledges this week. france says it will provide ukraine a "significant number" of so—called scalp cruise missiles able to stike targets as far as 250 kilometres away. the united kingdom has commited to providing more than 70 vehicles, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition for the challenger two tanks the uk has already provided to kyiv. 11 nato members will train ukrainian pilots in the use of the f—16

fighterjet, beginning in denmark in august. the hope is that ukraine could start using the planes in combat by the beginning of next year. germany, norway and nato itself also offered a variety of monetary and hardware pledges. our europe editor katya adler has been covering the nato summit for us, and has more from vilnius. i think if you stand back, what we saw is a west united behind ukraine, against russian aggression. but what we did see is real tension between the realities of war on the one hand, decimating ukraine, upending stability in all of europe, and then on the other, the very real domestic political pressures facing all the leaders there. take vladimir zelensky. because of what his people are going through, they expect him to be able to rock up to a summit like this with a whole wish—list for weapons and a demand for a timetable for nato membership, and they do not really understand why they cannot get it. then look atjoe biden.

he's facing an election in the us next year, and on a very delicate tight rope he has pledged billions of dollars of military aid to ukraine and taken on a leadership role here in europe over the war. then look at rishi sunak or france's emmanuel macron, their countries are facing the cost—of—living crisis. so the idea of a potential blank cheque for ukraine for years and years to come, people may not like that, so it is tricky. you heard katya talking about president biden there, well, here he is speaking to a crowd of university students on wednesday in vilnius. since this war began, i assured president zelensky, as ijust said aboutan hourago, or in washington, in kyiv, in hiroshima, and now in vilnius, i declared to the world what i say again, we will not waver! cheering and applause we will not waver. i mean that. our commitment to ukraine will not weaken, we will stand for liberty and freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes. cheering and applause.

earlier, my colleague sumi somaskanda spoke to sabrina singh, deputy press secretary at the us defence department. i want to talk to you about what came out of the summit. ukrainian president was clear he wanted to see a timetable to ukrainian membership. do you think these security guarantees are enough?— think these security guarantees are enough? look i think as the resident are enough? look i think as the president said _ are enough? look i think as the president said and _ are enough? look i think as the president said and you - are enough? look i think as the president said and you heard i president said and you heard from other world leaders who attended the nato summit. nato is united behind ukraine. so, while ukraine might not be a nato member it is getting the assistance and support it needs to continue on in its fight over its sovereign territory and territory that was invaded by russia and so it is going to continue to get the military

supplies, the training that nato countries and allies and partners all around the world, including the united states, have been providing and so, while ukraine might not be in the nato alliance itself, it is getting all the support of every single country a part of that alliance and the alliance is even stronger. we just welcomed finland as the 31rd country. sweden will soon be ascending to the nato alliance — our 32nd country as part of the group, part of the block, so, again, this is a real step forward in strengthening the alliance and ultimately more support for ukraine. is there any concern about the frustration expressed by the ukrainian president. ukraine is an award for— ukrainian president. ukraine is an award for its _ ukrainian president. ukraine is an award for its sovereign - an award for its sovereign territory of course the president is frustrated and we understand that and we are

meeting his needs in the country's request, we have already sent $15 billion of military support to ukraine, we will continue flowing that aidan has the war continues. as you said, you have heard before the president has committed to being with ukraine for as long as it takes and we stand by that commitment.- as it takes and we stand by that commitment. about the su - ort that commitment. about the support president _ that commitment. about the support president biden - that commitment. about the support president biden was| support president biden was asked before he left vilnius whether the us is thinking about sending tactical ballistic missiles. he said yes they have something that is equivalent but what they really need is artillery right now. he said we are working on that. ukraine is having a shortage of ammunition right now. that has asked for more artillery the counteroffensive is progressing slower than desired. as the us able to provide that steady supply of artillery, of ammunition?- supply of artillery, of ammunition? ., , ammunition? one of the things we did a week _ ammunition? one of the things we did a week ago _ ammunition? one of the things we did a week ago is _ ammunition? one of the things we did a week ago is provide i we did a week ago is provide ukraine with cluster munitions, 155 millimetre rounds that will help bridge the ongoing support

to ukraine in terms of the artillery that they need. while we have been able to do that we are ramping up production at home to increase the production and output of those 155 millimetres rounds, we have confidence we can continue to support ukraine and their artillery fight. you have to remember it is notjust us we have allies and partners around the world supplying ukraine, whether it is 105 rounds, 155 millimetres rounds and different capabilities and systems copy what the president said we have never taken anything off the table, ukrainians are making incredible use of what they have been provided by the uk, with the storm shadow missiles, systems i should say. they have also been employing the high mast to great effect on the battlefield. to mast to great effect on the battlefield.— mast to great effect on the battlefield. to the domestic debate on _ battlefield. to the domestic debate on defence, - battlefield. to the domestic debate on defence, $874 i battlefield. to the domestic - debate on defence, $874 billion debate on defence, $871; billion national defence authorisation act, is going to be put to a vote in the house of representatives, there is been controversy because of a fight

between democrats and republicans around amendments targeting diversity and inclusion programmes in the pentagon. how worried as the department of defence about this bill actually passing? congress is having a healthy debate about the bill, this is pending and going through the congressional progress as amendments are added or stripped from the bell, all of that process will play out and we will get ahead of any decisions the congress will make. ., . , ., make. no concerns we might not aet this make. no concerns we might not get this through? _ make. no concerns we might not get this through? we _ make. no concerns we might not get this through? we have - make. no concerns we might not get this through? we have seen l get this through? we have seen these debates _ get this through? we have seen these debates take _ get this through? we have seen these debates take place - get this through? we have seen these debates take place we - get this through? we have seen| these debates take place we are confident in the budget and proposals we put forward to the congress that they are taking to consideration what the department needs, and so we will wait and see what happens there. ., , ., ., there. one more question on the domestic debate, _ there. one more question on the domestic debate, a _ there. one more question on the domestic debate, a republican i domestic debate, a republican senator has been holding up the nomination of 200 top military appointments, the us marine corps is without a permanent leader because she is protesting pentagon policy that offers travel allowances and

time off for military personnel who want an abortion. he said the president has not spoken to him, nobody has spoken to him in the last five months, has the defence secretary austin spoken with them? unfortunately, that is just not true secretary austin has reached out to the senator and his office, i believe they spokein his office, i believe they spoke in march, and our office continues to engage with the senator and his office, not just obvious democrats and republicans in the senate because on both sides of the aisle there is a concern of our general and flag officers not being confirmed. as you mention the commandant of the marine corps, this is a time where in over a century we have not had a senate confirmed commandant of the marine corps leading the marines, at a time when we are facing the rising and growing pace of china, the acute threat of europe and it is important to have not only our senate confirmed leaders in this position but we also have a

chairman of the joint staff thatis chairman of the joint staff that is also going to be turning out soon, so we have many different positions, and by the end of year, we could look at over 650 positions that are not filled, senate confirmed positions that are not filled. of course we are concerned about this. the senate is, both members of the aisle are concerned as well. sabrina singh, deputy pentagon press secretary great to have you on the show. turning now to capitol hill, where house republicans grilled fbi director christopher wray, accusing him of "weaponizing" the nation's top law enforcement agency. wray, a republican himself, who was appointed by former president donald trump, defended his record during his hours—long testimony before the housejudiciary committee. republicans have repeatedly accused the fbi and other federal agencies of targetting conservatives. the committee focused on the bureau's handling of investigations into donald trump and current presidentjoe biden�*s son, hunter biden. here's one heated exchange between republican matt gaetz and director wray.

"i am sitting here with my father, i will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows in my ability to forever hold a grudge, you will be regret not following my direction. i am sitting here waiting for the call with my father." sounds like a shakedown, doesn't it, director? i'm not going to get into commenting on that. you seem deeply uncurious about it, don't you? almost suspiciously incurious. are you protecting the bidens? absolutely not... crosstalk that is a shakedown and everybody knows why you will not answer it because to the millions of people who will see this, they know it is. meanwhile, elon musk hosted his own congressional panel of sorts on wednesday — with two lawmakers joining him on twitter spaces for a bipartisan chat on artificial intelligence. the lawmakers expressed their desire for congressional regulation, warning

about china's use of ai and its wider effect across industries. the conversation follows musk�*s launch of a new ai start—up earlier on wednesday, he tweeted: "announcing formation of �*xai�* to understand reality." musk hopes xai will be an alternative to chat gpt. musk had been sounding the alarm for months on the speed of ai development, which he believes has the potential for "civilizational destruction." it's unclear if he's now changed his mind. i spoke to sophia cai, axios' congressional reporter for more on all of this.

claimed they were biased. what is behind the claims? i think this is a narrative that they have been trying to portray both in congressional hearings and also the campaign trail. this is the first time that the fbi director is testifying since trump's first and second an indictment and the whole narrative spans congress and it really is this idea that republicans and conservatives feel like they are being unfairly targeted and treated differently and the examples they have used have included school boards, they have included targeting catholic churches and targeting parents, so these are some examples that they continue to harp on, and chris wray, he spent hours today defending the department against all of these accusations. some republicans have also threatened to "defund" the fbi. is thatjust like a political slogan or is there actually

a chance that we could see some funding taken away from the fbi if those republicans get their way? i think funding will come later when congress kind of really doubles down and decides how they want to fund each of these agencies. it sounds like for now that is, for the most part, a political cry. we saw the fbi director today, he reminded the congressman from florida that in florida, the number of floridians who wanted tojoin the department was up by 100%, so i think he will continue to return to the basics and he really showed just how much is at stake. he told congress that there is now a new unit to track threats against the fbi and the department. i think this is really

significant and shows just how tense things are in the us with regards to this. it should be said, of course, that democrats on that committee very much disagreed with what the republicans had to say. it has been an eventful week already. congress has been back in sentient only a couple of days. there was a senate hearing on artificial intelligence today. how likely do you think it might be that we could see some sort of concrete regulation of ai this year? ai is the definitely story of the year. ai is the definitely the story of the year. we have seen a couple of senate bills. today we saw bipartisan lawmakers gather in twitter spaces with elon musk, who just launched his own ai company, and that's significant. they've moved from congress and an official hearing to this twitter space which, at the top, they mentioned they wanted to be in more productive conversation devoid of the politics.

so, what we saw was both lawmakers as well as elon musk being open to some form of measured government regulation, and so i think they are asking very basic questions. should we be providing guardrails? who should be providing those guardrails? who has the expertise to make those decisions? and we saw slightly different answers from these three guys who were in conversation today. is there a sense because we heard this twitter spaces, around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news: bringing you different stories from across the uk. serving a vital community function, badges has been here since the 19th century but it could be gone by the end of the summer. it is notjust tennis, it is a community.

with players young and old they train people of all abilities. the club is on land owned by the same family that run the kamson pharmacy chain which has 80 branches in the southeast, one of them less than half a mile down the road. we have tried to get in touch with the company had so far they have refused to comment but it's understood plans to convert the site to housing have been in the pipeline for a decade. initially they took up closing just the four courts but the club has now been served an eviction notice and the plans which require permission to change the use of the land designated for sports facilities are not supported by the local council of. facilities are not supported by the local councillor. with just a couple of months to challenge the eviction they will take their fight to wimbledon this week, leafleting the tennis faithful for support. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. he's one of the most recognisable faces on british television, anchoring coverage of major national and international events, but huw edwards, the lead

anchor of the bbc�*s news at ten, has been revealed as the man at the centre of allegations over the payment of thousands of pounds to a young person for explicit pictures. he was identified in a statement on his behalf by his wife, who said he's now receiving in—patient hospital care, having suffered a serious mental health episode, after what have been five extremely difficult days. huw edwards has not resigned from the bbc. the statement went on to say that... the uk metropolitan police, having reviewed the allegations, said there's no evidence of a criminal offence having been committed. as the bbc tonight resumes its own inquiry into his conduct, the sun newspaper says it won't be printing any more claims. here's our culture editor, katie razzall. tonight at 10, we are in edinburgh where the king has been presented with the crown jewels of scotland. named, and likely a huge

shock to many viewers. this ceremony was steeped in tradition. wednesday was the last time huw edwards appeared on bbc news, that night from edinburgh. the next day, the bbc quietly took him off air. now, the secret that has been speculated upon across social media for days is public. huw edwards, the main face of the bbc�*s flagship news at ten for two decades, is the presenter at the centre of allegations of misconduct. this evening, his wife released a statement, naming her husband...

she said her husband had been first told of the allegations last thursday. moments earlier, the metropolitan police had confirmed it was not investigating, that there was no evidence to suggest a criminal offence had been committed in the case. the bbc had responded, saying, having paused its investigation yesterday at the request of the police, it would now restart it with a thorough assessment, while continuing to be mindful of its duty of care to all involved. for many, the processing of this news isjust beginning. he is the face of bbc in many ways, particularly in terms of news, absolutely.

i don't think it is quite such a shock. i think this speculation has been so rampant for the last few days that it is more a relief in a sense than a shock. the sun broke the story in its saturday paper, alleging that a high profile, unnamed presenter at the bbc had paid £35,000 to a much younger person for sexually explicit images, beginning when the young individual was 17. more allegations were front page every day since, although on monday, the lawyer for the young person said the story was rubbish and nothing criminal had taken place. some will now be asking whether the sun has questions to answer for its decisions. tonight the paper said... why are we not saying to the sun newspaper, you published these allegations, you asked the bbc to give the detail you wouldn't

to give the detail you wouldn't give, what is the sun's response? has it got photographs, details of bank transfers and so on? it has not put them forward and a lot of former tabloid editors are asking the same questions. we must not forget though that huw edwards is suspended from the bbc. he may not be facing a criminal investigation but he is accused of potential misconduct, and if true, there is a family and a young person who are also in trauma. in recent years, huw edwards has publicly shared his struggles with mental health in a welsh documentary. the future of the united kingdom is uncertain. now the man who has held viewers' hands through some of the most significant moments of the nation's history is asking to be left in private. that is bbc news at ten... whether he can find a way back to health and broadcasting is a question for the future. huw edwards became a trusted name for millions,

presenting flagship bbc programmes, and anchoring coverage of some of the most important news stories, for more than two decades, as our media correspondent, david sillito, now reports. a very good evening. for the fourth time in the space of five years... when huw edwards took the helm of the bbc�*s tv election coverage of 2019, it was the first change of presenter in a0 years. there are 650 mps... when millions are watching at the important moments in british life... 10 seconds... ..it needs someone who can project reliability, trustworthiness, dignity. presenting the news is just a part of it, it's the great state occasions, and over the years, only a handful of names have been entrusted with such a role. one of them was huw edwards. tonight at 10 — thousands of police officers deployed across france... he speaks welsh

his career, from reporting on politics for bbc wales, to being made a lead presenter of bbc tv news saw him become one of the most familiar faces on british television. welcome to windsor... the great royal events, the coming and going of prime ministers. tonight at 10, we are live in downing street... the one voice that links it all, huw edwards. the serious, reliable, dignified presence for those era—defining moments. here, the minutesjust before the announcement of the death of the queen. and then suddenly, a newspaper headline changed everything. a tv career of almost a0 years that had taken him to the very top of bbc news, one of the corporation's highest paid and highest profile figures, was off air. and while the guessing game about the bbc presenter at the centre of the week's headlines is now over, there is still much to resolve.

david sillito, bbc news. thailand's parliament is voting on whether the reformist winner of the elections in may should become prime minister. pita limjaroenrat and his move forward party swept to victory as voters rejected the conservative military rule that has been in place since a coup in 2014. he is now the only candidate nominated to contest the prime ministerial vote on the premier. but mr pita needs the support of lawmakers appointed by the military to secure a majority. due to his anti—monarchy sentiments, its unclear if he will secure the vote needed to win. ahead of he vote, mr pita said he's confident in the result. we have some dramatic pictures coming in to the bbc of the lava spewing out of a volcano in iceland. these are live images. it lies some 37—miles, or 60 kilometers from the country's capital, reykjavik. there had been intense seismic activity in the area

in the past few days prior to the eruption. officials had to warn curious onlookers to stay away from the area. locals have been avised to shut tehir windows and switch off their ventilation system, to make sure no toxic gases spread into nearby homes. we ta ke we take an hour to their cityscape of london. alcoholics of their emma lund have the news at the top of the other. thank you so much for watching. —— our colleagues there will have the news. hello. if you thought summer had already taken a bit of a back—seat, just wait till friday and into the weekend. this is the area of low pressure that's developing. it will be responsible for some big changes. before that arrives, and as one area of low pressure pulls away into scandinavia, into a slightly quieter spell on thursday. still a few showers around to start the day in the north and the west.

temperatures like they were on wednesday morning. but low pressure still close enough by for the shower clouds to bubble up once more. thing is, with thursday, there'll be fewer showers around. the heaviest of the showers, some will be across scotland, slow moving here. large rainfall totals for some, but equally, some will stay dry. northern ireland, england and wales, fewer showers by and large. many will spend the day, well, at least the bulk of it, dry. though, we'll start to see cloud gather towards the south—west. feel a touch warmer with winds that little bit lighter. now, into the evening, rain at times, northern ireland, north wales, spreading its way into central southern scotland. elsewhere, some clear skies into friday morning. temperatures 9—13 celsius again. but already the change is towards the south—west. this is the area of low pressure. it's going to make it feel like autumn at times through friday and into the weekend. strongest of the winds, though, for friday, mainly towards the south—west of the uk. we could see gales around hills and coasts and some pretty rough seas developing too. it's here where we start with the rain on friday, some of it should become heavy and thundery. dry start elsewhere, a bit of patchy rain in scotland working its way north, but far north

of scotland stays dry throughout. outbreaks of rain, though, spread to much of england, wales, northern ireland, maybe not too much east anglia south—east until late in the day. and while temperatures high teens low 20s, the strengthening wind will start to make it feel a little bit cooler. and that cooler story continues into the weekend. an unseasonably windy spell through the weekend too. not what you want to see this stage injuly. low pressure by saturday, will be to the north of ireland, wrapped around it, rain, but it's wrapped around it where we've got some of the strongest of the winds, far north of scotland and towards the south west approaches, widespread gales, strong winds more widely on saturday than they will have been on friday. lightest winds through parts of scotland, but that rain will be persistent in the far north. heavy thundery downpours quite widely across much of the uk. they could give some large rainfall totals. strong winds, making it feel rather cool as well, despite seeing temperatures again, high teens and low 20s. winds strengthen for scotland on sunday. elsewhere, sunshine and blustery showers yet again.

voiceover: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme.