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♪ >> this is "bbc world news america." turkiye rues the block for swedish nato membership. in president biden, security guarantees high on the agenda. millions of americans are under flash floodarning -- alerts after torrential downpours slam the region. ♪ >> welcome to "world news america." we start in europe where there have been major developments ahead of tomorrow's nato summit in lithuania. the alliance chief says the turkish president has agreed the bid to supportjoe biden touchede

summit this afternoon and it clears the last major hurdle for their exception. the swedish prime minister, ulf kristersson, called it a good day for sweden. and here's what the native chief had to say about it earlier. -- nato chief had to say about it earlier. >> this is a vital security contract. nato will be stepping up work in this area. i will establish for the first time a nato post ospecial coordinator for counterterrorism. completing sweden's accession to nato is a historic step that benefits the security of all nato allies at this critical time. it makes us all stronger and safer. >> our correspondent, jessica parker, his life in washington with a look at the upcoming

summit. this is indeed a significant summit, turkiye paving the way for joining. what has changed? >> a significant development. as you say, what we are hearing from the secretary of nato test -- secretary-general of nato, stoltenberg, calling this a necessary step. all nato members need to agree to new and aspiring members. this had been a big roadblock for sweden. turkey had accused sweden of hosting kurdish militants and talks have been going on hosted by stoltenberg between the turkish president and the prime minister. they have obviously made leeway, though other issues have been flagged along the way in the journey. though it is a significant step and important to say that we don't actually have a clear date as to when this might actually happen. >> this was very much a priority

for the biden administration, wasn't it? >> yeah, a priority for president biden information as well. these summits for the heads of state gather are huge stress tests of the alliance unity. in a test for president biden as well because of his he has tried to highlight the fact that he is invested in nato, trying to hold it together in the face of russian aggression and has welcomed this progress today. in a statement he has said that he stands ready to work with president erdogan in turkey and looks forward to welcoming prime minister ulf kristersson and sweden as our 32nd nato ally and i think secretary-general stoltenberg for his steadfast leadership. people remember that sweden and finland applied to join last year following the russian invasion after having had policies of nonalignment. it was seen as a reframing of

european security and a revitalization of the nato alliance. president macron of france said that nato was in fact reading dead but following the russian invasion of ukraine, the alliance clearly has relevance. >> so members want to see ukraine join nato. is there agreement? >> here the agreement ended. some states, particularly those in the east, really want to see some kind of fast tracking of membership. president biden really trying to set out some reality checks ahead of the summit. in interviews he's been talking about it saying that he doesn't think that ukraine is ready for membership in that you -- reform is needed in that it is a country at war and there is a

mutual defense clause as he was saying. making it more clearly a situation that everybody would want to avoid. >> jess, thank you so much for the update. before heading to the nato summit, president biden kicked off his trip in the u.k., meeting with prince charles for the first time since coronation. they discussed climate change. he also met with prime minister rishi sunak. president describe the relationship with britain as rocksolid. bbc political correspondent ian watson is live in london tonight. great to see you. we heard the u.s. president there calling this a rocksolid relationship. yet we also know that they discussed the u.s. decision to send cluster munitions to ukraine. we know the u.k. is a part of the treaty that man's these. was this a point of contention between these leaders? >> the key thing ahead of that

summit of course was really to show a united front. more words, as you mentioned. joe biden saying clearly that there is no greater friend or closer ally then the u.k. and u.s., and they had some warm tea and words for the cameras in the garden of downing street. if you like that was the kind of public image that both men wanted to portray. certainly when it came to the question of cluster bombs it's controversial because it can spread munitions across a wide area. sometimes unexploded munitions cause a problem for civilians. the u.k. has signed up with many other countries to add to this convention, discouraging their use. rishi sunak said that downing street would be diplomatic about th because the u.k. is inside this convention and had to make it clear that u.k. discourage

the use of these. the u.s. is not a signatory to that convention and i don't think necessarily the two men fell out about that. but the view from president biden, that this is russia's fault and they are trying to give ukraine the munitions they need. that it was the illegal invasion causing this in the first place. they have both been arguing for creative fence spending from the countries who have not contributed quite so much. they did not skate over it. >> do they see eye to eye on what security concerns for ukraine should look like? >> i think they do and they don't. the starting point is they agree that the ukraine is at war, can't possibly join nato. but also agree that the final destination if you like is the u.k. -- is ukraine inside of nato.

the big difference is how swiftly, for example. and what to signal in terms of ukraine swiftly joining afterwards. president biden thinks there are other ways you can give security guarantees during that time. citing nato giving a lot of weaponry and technology from the west. there is agreement on the ultimate destination. >> ian watson, live in london tonight. thank you so much. to talk about all of this i am happy to speak to the former u.s. ambassador to nato and former u.s. special envoy for ukraine. ambassador, great to have you back on the program. i'm going to start with this significant development of turkiye clearing the way. what do you think that nato members were able to provide the turkish president for him to change his mind? >> i think that turkiye made a sound point about terrorism. sweden addressed the point.

which is to say that sweden doesn't see itself as supporting terrorism and does not want its territory used by terrorist groups and tried to address turkish concerns that it had been the case in the past. they did this originally when president erdogan issued the invitation along with other nato allies and reinforced this with a bilateral security pact today. in addition the biden administration has been working earnestly to try to get assistance to turkey. something turkey has been interested in. finally, i think that president erdogan getting through his reelection has given him more running room to do the things that need to be corrected, such as on the economy and on drones making their way to ukraine, so he is doing a lot of bridge building. >> if we look at what the nato secretary-general said today, we know that sweden makes it

stronger, feet -- finland joining as well. what does it mean for these new members? >> geographic coherence and depth, all of northern europe. giving you coherent oversight and control of the airspace, the sea space around northern europe, and the ability of forces to work together seamlessly in operation,hether supporting efforts such as we had for a long time in afghanistan or kosovo, or any contingencies that may arise as a defense. >> i want to ask you about what presiden zelensky has been saying. confirming that ukraine is a de facto member of nato. what do you think of that? >> de facto is not a term that anyone working in nato would use . you have this article five treaty commitment obligating countries to come to turkish

defense. you don't want to have this be ambiguous or unclear in any way. at a time when a country becomes a nato member, you want that commitment under -- perfectly understood, ironclad. you can't say it in advance. what should be said and what i hope is said for the benefit of zielinski, the commitment that nato made 15 years ago to ukraine's eventual membership is becoming operational and they are going toin beg ukraine intoe alliance. several practical steps will be taken and it will be reviewed next year in washington. >> president biden was asked about this in an interview. here's what he said. >> if the war is going on, we would all be in a war, a war with russia if that were the case. we have to lay out a rational path for ukraine to be able to qualify to get into nato.

>> ambassador, what does this path actually look like? >> a couple of things about that statement, he was answering a question about whether ukraine should be invited to join nato now. that is to say, and he's right, it would require nato to start fighting with russia to defend ukraine and no one wants to do that. we do need to give a clear pathway, as he was saying, but not because ukraine has more work to do. ukraine is ready. the alliance is that he. they don't want to take on this conflict with russia at the time. -- this time. we need stable lines in europe and then we need to bring ukraine fully into nato and help deter any further aggression against ukraine or anyone else in europe. >> just to jump in, the president was asked specifically if he thought ukraine was ready

and he didn't think that was the case. you disagree with that? >> i do. if you look at several existing allies and say who would you rather fight alongside of, ukraine or one of these smaller less capable european allies, you would pick ukraine. they are fighting and defending frontiers of freedom right now and are prepared to do so. they already have one of the strongest militaries in europe. >> what else do you want to see come out of this summit, ambassador? >> renewed commitment to defense spending is important, it's critical for maintaining u.s. support for the alliance. if we feel that we are doing everything and others are not, as many president's have discussed, especially donald trump, it weakens support for nato. it's great that we will see

sweden admitted. i think they ought to be making a statement that ending these gray zones, eliminating the places in europe where putin feels free to attack is in the interest of nato. if we don't deal with it, we are dealing with the effects such as we are dealing with in ukraine today. that would be a very powerful statement to make. it's not only about ukraine, it's about nato. >> and bassett are, great to speak with you. >> thank you very much. >> the kremlin has confirmed that vladimir putin met in person with the head of the wagner mercenary group after they staged a mutiny. the putin spokesman said that that took place five days after the revolt. 35 members of wagner were there, including their leader, yevgeny prigozhin. details are scarce but the spokesperson said that both sides assess what happened and the wagner group said they

strongly supported putin. there has been an increasing warning amongst baltic states about disruptions from belarus. as we found out, wagner appears to still be active in russia and may not be moving anytime soon. >> on the eastern border of poland, there are more patrols than ever. talk of mercenaries from the wagner group moving to belarus has made poland extra vigilant. they are raising their guard. there are already miles of metal fencing here, installed after belarus encouraged thousands of illegal migrants to cross two years ago. now the government is warning wagner forces could be used to spark more trouble. >> i'm looking for no people near the fence from the other side. and from our side, from poland.

>> but all is quiet for now. >> the biggest threat is that our neighbor, belarus, is completely unproductive bowl. wagner will be a problem. but no one really knows why they are going there or what they are preparing for. >> all of this, the giantence, the wires, the lights, the cameras, they are all a huge physical sign of how much has changed. the fact that poland now sees belarus as hostile and a direct threat, what does it mean for the country, nato, and europe. it is now the wagner group has only added to that. two weeks since the mercenaries took over and started marching on moscow. the hasty deal that stopped them was meant to see wagner fighters exiled to belarus, only they haven't actually been spotted there yet.

in fact, right after the mutiny, we callewagner centers across russia and they were still recruiting. soe decided to check the lines again. >> [speaking non-english language] >> it's not working. >> we got a message from a wagner contact. >> yes, we are recruiting. everything is normal. >> he then sent instructions on how to join wagner at the russian training base. belarusians think that wagner will never had there in that the authoritarian leader would be wary of armed men with a history of betrayal and that wagner's a leader would be wary of belarus. >> i think he will wind up somewhere where it is harder for the russian fsb to poison him.

they would just march in and do what they want. >> is the mystery of the wagner mutineers continues, poland fears may prove unfounded. for now, though, they are taking no chances. >> now more information has emerged concerning allegations that a bbc presenter paid a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit images. the young person, now 20, claiming by lawyer that nothing in a part -- on appropriate or unlawful took place and that the claims that emerged our rubbish and an invasion of their privacy. "the son" tonight -- sun" since they stand by their story tonight. the male presenter, who has been suspended, has not been named. our media editor has this report. >> the story has dominated the front pages for days, driven by

the newspaper that first reported it in saturday additions. now a lawyer for the young person at the center of the allegations told the bbc that they told "the sun" the statement from their mother was wrong, there was no truth in it, and that nothing inappropriate had taken place and that the allegations are rubbish. "the sun" has pushed back, telling the bbc that their story was about two concerned parents who made a complaint about the behavior of a presenter and welfare of their child and that the complaint was not acted upon by the bbc and that they had seen evidence that supported those concerns. >> time is of the essence. it's not fair on victims. it's not fair on the implicated. and it's not fair on the bbc. which does an important job. i do think they need to get their house in order and proceed properly otherwise you will have plenty of collateral victims. >> according to "the sun," the

presenter paid tens of thousands of pounds for explicit images from a 17-year-old. what do we know about the timeline of events? the family complained to the corporation on the 19th of may. two months on last thursday,he bbc says that they received new allegations. the next day, "the sun," posted claims that a bbc presenter paid for explicit images from a teenager. the next day, the presenter was suspended. >> who did the complaint come too, was it escalated fast enough? and should a red flag come up when there is an issue of this seriousness? should it go straight to senior management and should they deal with the issue immediately? >> escalation involved referral

of allegations to police. after meeting with crime command, police said they are working to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offense. they added there is no investigation at this time. >> until it is clearer and we have greater knowledge from the police or the bbc itself, the alleged victim or the mother of the victim in this case, it's hard to know exactly what we are criticizing the bbc for. >> the acting bbc chairman is only in her role after the resignation of the literately appointed former chairman, richard sharp. now she and the director general will have to face the media as they launch the annual report. the corporation in the eye of a storm. >> 13 million americans were under flood watches and warnings monday as torrential downpours

pounded the u.s. northeast, threatening catastrophic flooding. these images are out of the city of putnam, where you can see rainfall washed out roadways and overwhelmed rivers. one person died after being swept away by floodwaters, attempting to leave their home. the national weather service predicted as many as seven inches of rain are expected to fall in eastern new york threw two western maine. meanwhile, in japan a 77-year-old woman died after a landslide hit her home following what forecasters called the heaviest ever rain never to hit the country. 400,000 -- over 4000 people have been advised to leave their home . in india dozens have been known to have died after heavy rainfall there. buildings swept away while northern india recovers from devastation. additional weather warnings have been issued across the nation as the capital registered its highest daily rainfall in more than 40 years. meanwhile, sea surface temperatures in the north

atlantic have been breaking records. our correspondent has more. >> what we are looking at today with this latest data is a list of worrying records. the hottest june ever recorded. the smallest volume of antarctic sea ice government or. the highest temperatures in the north atlantic ocean ever measured. what does that all mean? climate scientists are concerned by how fast these records have been achieved. it goes way beyond even their most pessimistic modeling. but most worrying is the temperatures in the north atlantic ocean. higher sea temperatures mean less oxygen in the water. that's really bad for the fish populations. it's really bad for the marine environment. higher sea temperatures also trigger extreme weather events, higher temperatures on land, and coincidentally we have seen today here in switzerland the

government saying that 2022 was the hottest year ever in switzerland. glaciers melting at three times the expected rate. so the concern really is, is climate change going much, much faster tn even the scientists had warned us about? have we reached a tipping point where we cannot actually stop it anymore, even if we tried as hard as we could and of course we all know we are not trying as hard as we could yet. the answer, the scientists said, will come with more analysis. they don't know if it is a tipping point, but they are worried. >> remember, you can find more on our website and bbc news app and you can follow us on twitter, instagram, and facebook. we will be back tomorrow with full coverage of president eigen at the nato summit in lithuania. thank you for watching "bbc 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. ♪ ♪

amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the "newshour" tonight, the u.s. grapples with deadly temperatures as a heat wave grips the west and south. amna: the u.s. ambassador to nato discusses the future of the alliance and its potential expansion ahead of a crucial summit. geoff: and the supreme court's decision on affirmative action sparks concerns over whether it could lead to fewer doctors of color and more racial bias in medicine. >> we see a seven-year gap between life expectancy in white americans and black americans. my worry is that that gap is going to widen in this post-affirmative action world. ♪