♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news".

>> this is bbc world news america. cluster munitions are deadly, controversial, and part of america's commitment to ukraine. we will take a look at why. a gunman in the u.s. gets 90 consecutive sentences for killing 23 people at a walmart in texas. one of the deadliest shootings in the nation's history. bats are mammals of history and sometimes disease. we visited a facility looking at their question -- connection. welcome to world news america. starting in washington. officials confirmed the u.s. government's commitment to sending cluster munitions to

ukraine. the biden administration sent a range of weapons to support the fight against russia. let's look at why these are different. each cluster munition carries large numbers of smaller bomblets dispersed over a wide area. the concern is any bomblets that pose a danger to civilians long after a conflict has ended. for that reason, they are banned in 120 countries. both russian and ukrainian forces have used cluster munitions, killing civilians as well as military personnel. i'm joined by our correspondent for more. talk about how the white house is justifying sending these cluster munitions to ukraine. >> president biden said it was a difficult decision. it is one he discussed with allies around the world. also with lawmakers. there's not a huge amount of resistance towards them here.

quite bluntly, they are running out of ammunition. america has always been very clear. it does not want to leave ukraine vulnerable at all. more than 100 countries of munitions. for good reason. they are seen as these indiscriminate weapons that live on for years if not exploded. children pick them up in playgrounds. and i guess there will be an argument made that the u.s. has somehow lost the moral high ground by deploying -- sending over these weapons, or that it is hypocritical in some ways. they are trying to justify it. earlier today, the national security advisor attempted to do that. >> we recognized the cluster munitions created risk from unexploded coordinates. this is why they deferred the decision as long as they could. there was also a massive risk of civilian -- if russian troops and tanks

rolled over ukrainian positions and took over ukrainian territory, subjugating more civilians because ukraine doesn't have enough artillery. that is intolerable to us. >> really interesting words. how much of the reaction from the white house to the fact ukraine's counteroffensive has progressed slower than desired? >> we can probably read into that. we are at a critical point in the war in ukraine. there struggling to make these. general mark milley said it is going to be difficult and bloody. these munitions will become passable, so they will launch from the ground. that artillery allowed ukraine to really try to take back a loss of land over the last year. if we can read something into the fact they are being sent over at this time, president

biden heading off to europe on sunday for a week. the nato summit on the agenda. pretty sure the war will be a key issue as well as ukraine's push to join nato. >> other countries, allies to the u.s. have banned munitions. >> you have germany, who has come out to criticize the u.s. over it. jake sullivan said we have been talking to allies. you can't help but speculate the americans must have been spent a good year getting allies on board. they don't agree with the munitions, but they said they believe america did everything it could to be responsible sending these munitions. >> thank you for your reporting. a little wire earlier, i spoke with democratic congressman -- he sits on the house intelligence committee. the decision to send cluster munitions to ukraine was the

right one. >> the ukrainians need to have what they are required to have for the criminal invasion of their country. i think the white house is correct to provide them with these and other armaments. >> are these armaments the right decision given the criticism? >> i'm going to defer to the president and his nationa security team on this. i think we have to remember the ukrainians are facing an onslaught of weaponry that few other nations have faced. they have what is required to defend themselves. >> i want to ask about your colleagues in congress. representative jim mcgovern spoke out against sending these weapons. he said "i universally oppose the use of these internationally banned weapons. i urge president biden such as the united kingdom, france,

germany oppose sending cluster munitions to ukraine for the same reasons." are you concerned about actually breaking with nato allies who are not using these weapons, especially ahead of the summit next week? >> i'm concerned, but the white house is balancing those concerns against what is required by ukrainians on the battlefield. as you and your viewers know, ukrainians are facing a barrage of armaments and are in a situation where they have no choice but to use what is required to defend themselves and mount their counteroffensive and end the invasion of their country. >> we spoke to ambassador taylor yesterday. he said the armaments could clear the battlefield. do you agree? >> i don't know. i think it will be used judiciously if they are used at

all. ukrainians having this capability will be important for them on the battlefield at a very crucial time in this particular war. >> one of the concerns we have seen is something up to 40% of bomblets in the munitions failed to explode in some recent conflicts. they remain on the battlefield and can explode afterwards and put civilians in harms way. what should the u.s. do about that? >> once this conflict ends, and hopefully it ends soon, there will be an effort to clear the country of not only the unexploded munitions, but the thousands, if not millions of landmines placed in the soil by the russians as they try to defend their lines and they need to be cleared as well. the issue of unexploded

ordinance is a big one around the world that we as an international community have to address. the ukrainians have to prevail. >> i want to ask about the russian response. there are concerns the u.s. sending these weapons could trigger a response to use even more severe weapons and bring out the nuclear threat, as well. >> i think the russians will always nuclear sabr radel compared to ukraine. they have been doing so since the beginning of the conflict. we have to be concerned. at the same time, they are nuclear saber rattling cannot prevent us from providing ukrainians with the weapons they need to defend themselves. at this point, we are at an inflection point where either they press forward and push back the russians, or the russians

maintain or make further gains further criminal invasion to be worse than it is. >> thank you for joining us. >> as we have been discussing, ukraine has been pressing the west for more weapons against russia now in its second month. fighting has been ongoing in the eastern regions. ukraine says his forces have continued their advances and have retaken nine sediments and 160 square kilometers of territory since the start of the counteroffensive on june 4. our correspondent reports. >> ukrainian troops barely flinch. another russian shell hits the front lines. for a month, the counteroffensive has raged. come on, the commander urges his

men forward. they are making progress. but it is slow work. too slow for some. this soldier lost his foot a wild back and has not recovered and is fighting again. but he's worried. >> we need help, we need more artillery systems. >> and without that? >> we will have lost this game. >> the counteroffensive is certainly proving costly for ukraine. another casualty arrives at a field hospital in the southern front. he's just 19 years old. wounded this morning by shrapnel from the water. >> despite the rising ukrainian casualty rate, it is important to remember ukraine's

counteroffensive is still in its very early stages. it is not appropriate to judge whether it has been a failure or success. >> ukraine's president zelenskyy has arrived in turkey for talks with his counterpart. part of diplomatic push ahead of the nato summit that has seen him visit bulgaria, the czech republic, and slovakia. he's expected to seek support for his own country's eventual succession to nato, but urged the president of turkey to end sweden joining the alliance. near the only members to ratify sweden's admission. >> the whereabouts of wagner's boss has been a mystery since he disappeared after his rebellion. charges were dropped that he was offered a move to belarus. yesterday, belarus' leader says he was in russia after all. bbc verify revealed these

satellite images appearing to show activity at a disused military base around 64 miles from the belarusian capital. the area has been reported in russian media as a place that can house wagner's fighters. our russia editor has visited the site and sent this report. >> we are looking for answers. where is wegner? where is their chief? no one seems to know. could the russian mercenaries end up here? an abandoned base in belarus. the leader is offering to host wagner's fighters on this site. we are among a group of journalists allowed in for a tour. plenty of space here for a private army. a lot of tents that have only recently been put up. enough for 5000 people. >> come on in. >> no wagner's fighters here.

not yet. we are told these are belarusian soldiers off shift. something strange about this. belarus says this camp could be wegner if they want to come here. we are told all of these new tents have nothing to do with getting ready for wegner, era territorial defense exercise. forward planning by the belarusians. >> yesterday, mr. lukashenko told us there are dozens of x soviet military bases in his country that could accommodate wegner. he admitted the group expected move to belarus wasn't a done deal. if the russian mercenaries do move in, what will the belarusian army make of it? >> we don't see any reason for danger. >> the major general says. private companies exist in many companies -- countries.

true, but not all of them mutiny and march on the s wagner's date in russia. one of the time in belarus? and those questions we came here with? about the wegner mercenaries? about their leader? their future? we are still searching for answers. steve rosenberg, bbc news. >> the dutch prime minister said he would tender the resignation of his government after failing to reach an agreement on immigration policies. he said the situation was regrettable and the coalition government would carry on in the caretaker role until new elections could be held. tensions came to a head when he demanded support for a proposal to limit the scope for families reuniting. the children of war refugees who were already in the netherlands.

a court sentence a gunman who since -- shot 23 people at a walmart supermarket in texas in 2019 ot 90 consecutive life sentences -- to 90 consecutive life sentences. he targeted people of hispanic descent after putting a message referring to the immigration of the united states. he's been covering the case and joins us. what happened in this mass shooting in 2019? >> this was a hate crime in el paso. a border town in texas 80% hispanic. people were going about their shopping getting back-to-school supplies when the shooter entered with an ak-47 style rifle, black t-shirt, and started gunning down shoppers down. prosecutors outlined how it was a clearly -- carefully planned attack.

minutes before the attack, he posted on online racist manifesto saying he was carrying out the attack to defend the u.s. from an invasion of hispanic people. he was able to flee the scene. but he did surrender himself to officers saying he's the shooter. that is when we saw more about the motivations, hate -- admitting he targeted mexicans. >> he was handed 90 consecutive life sentences. what have the families of the victims said? >> it caps off two very emotional days of impact statements. dozens more were injured, including an infant. families of the 23 killed. it was their first chance to confront the shooter.

they called him a coward, racist. some traveled as far as oklahoma to be there, saying they wanted to stand up against hate. the father of the youngest victim, a 15-year-old, wearing a picture of his son telling the shooter to look at his son's face. he said he was a coward, he carries his son's ashes with him every day, remembering him. family members described how upset they were they had to wait for years for this sentencing. many want to see him face the death penalty. it is a federal trial. there is a separate state trial where the death penalty will be on the table. >> thank you so much for bringing us up to date. >> bats are known to be super incubators for thousands of viruses. since the covid-19 pandemic,

growing interest in these flying mammals and the role they can play in so-called zoo not expel over events. when diseases come from animals to humans. naomi grimley has been given access to a scientific research project honoring bats. her reports contain images of dead animals and other distressing footage. >> dusk is the witching hour. it is the best time for this group of scientists to test these bats for different viruses and superbugs. >> trying to test for resistant antimicrobials. >> is the bacteria resistant to antibiotics? >> exactly. [laughter] >> bats are a mystery because they carry all of these pathogens. including coronavirus is, but don't get sick themselves. >> this is an adult female, i

think it is pregnant. >> he's conservation us the university of ghana. he's worried human activity is forcing them to change their normal behavior. >> it is becoming difficult to leave the natural habitat. we have modified it so much there's constant contact. maybe they are not to be blamed for the troubles we are having. >> next up, he's leading down a disused railway. following the covid-19 pandemic, renewed interest in the idea. the markets are a pinch point where animals come into contact with real contact with people. it creates a risk scientists

want to preempt. >> something has been going on for thousands of years. it is important to understand these complexities rather than calling for a blanket one. the trade is dominated mostly by women. it is the only trade they know because it is handed down from their grandparents mothers. >> the bat droppings we saw are tested here at this high-security lab. it is helping expand knowledge about so-called zoo not it diseases. >> since covid, we have a broader understanding about viruses in terms of how they cause infections, manifest on humans and all of that. we started having other outbreaks recently. we had yellow fever.

some of the systems set in place to go out there, and stop >> the spread. there's still so much we don't know about bats and their immune systems. research into them is being turbocharged around the world. in ghana, they are doing that. >> let's bring you up-to-date on some other headlines. three railway employees have been arrested in india over a crash involving three trains that resulted in more than 290 deaths last month's. a train packed with passengers was diverted onto a loop line and slammed into a stationary goods train. the derailed compartment struck the carriages of the third train coming from the opposite direction. production of the one of the world's most popular car models has come to an end. the final vehicle rolling off the production line in germany.

more than 22 million produced globally since it was launched. aimed at those wanting smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. the car giant switching his focus to electric vehicles. the city of -- announced as the next contest following sweden's liverpool in may. the town in southern sweden selected ahead of stockholm. it will stage the semifinals and finals in may 2024. with her pop anthem, tattoo. >> day five of wimbledon brought the heat on and off the courts as bbc sports -- reports. >> friday was the hottest day of the championships. there was disappointment for andy murray, one of three british players to go out in a few hours with cam norrie and liam brodie. murray was beaten in five sets.h

seedek two cents to one down from last night. howard through in the end to win in five. safely into the third is carlos alcaraz. the top seed of exile or muller -- alexander moeller. women's number one seed got past martic. aryna sabalenka and ons jabeur. rybakina plays katie boulter on saturday. >> police in las vegas say no one will be charged after an alleged incident involving britney spears. she claims she was hit in the face by a security guard working for a well-known basketball player. she was backhanded after she approached victor wembenyama from behind. in an emotional statement, she

described it as traumatic. before we let you go, not many couples get to celebrate 77 years together. former president jimmy carter and his wife got to do just that in their hometown of plains, georgia. the couple was married in july 1946. after nearly eight decades, they've become the longest married presidential couple in history. the former president who was 98 has been in hospice since february. ms. carter is 95 and suffers from dementia. they credit their long marriage to open communication and their shared christian faith. the ex-president once said his secret is to marry the right person. you can find more on the news on our website and see what we are working on at any time, check us out on twitter. thank you for watching world news america.

narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

introducing a technological achievement so advanced... it rivals the moon landing. that's one small step for man..

one giant leap for mankind. ♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff bennett is away. on "the newshour" tonight... the biden administration approves giving cluster bombs to ukraine to fight against russia's invasion, despite risks to civilians. ukrainian children try to settle back into life at home after being abducted by russian forces. >> everyone started to panic. then the soldiers came, put us in the military truck, and took us away. the little ones cried, they were scared. but it was too late. amna: and it's friday... david brooks and jonathan capehart weigh in on the republican primary race and president biden's upcoming trip to europe. ♪