>> this is dw news. life in berlin. the future of boris johnson suddenly endowed. two senior ministers resign today, saying the no longer in good tough -- in good conscience be a part of boris johnson government. russia increasing its attacks in eastern ukraine. resident of the city have been told to evacuate.

plus, police arrested the suspected gunman in the latest u.s. mass shooting. six people were killed in the assault on independence day in chicago. italy grappling with its worst drought in 70 years, water levels dropped to record those, farmers are desperate and meteorologists are worrying this is just the beginning. i am brent goff. to all of you around the world, welcome. we begin this tuesday with boris johnson. two of the most senior members of his cabinet resigned today. the finance minister has gone, saying the public expects the

government and its business to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. and health minister is also quick. saying that he could no longer serve in good conscience. boris johnson has faced a series of scandals over parties during the covid-19 lockdown. his most recent troubles are over the appointment of a senior party official who is accused of sexual misconduct. the prime minister has now admitted that decision was an error in judgment. >> i think it was a mistake. i apologize for it. in hindsight, it was the wrong thing to do. >> she joins me by telephone

tonight. >> it has been said many times that the most difficult day of his political life -- it is very hard for boris johnson now to regain the trust of his cabinet, the conservative party and he is really fighting for political survival. it is a very fluid situation. the people are watching who else is going to resign. this is really a moment where boris johnson does not know if he could still be prime minister in the next day or week to come.

he could be forced out of office but it is not very clear. he has just narrowly survived one. the rules in the party need to be changed. there is mounting suspicion that this will be changed. >> we know that he still has supporters in the party. could all of this lead to

division and his conservative party? >> they want to know -- also, every simple just yesterday shows he is at his lowest point ever. there are not members of the conservative party who see him as a one who can lead them in the next election. it could happen. >> before we let you go, we know

that boris johnson in the last election, he won with a sizable majority. does that past election performance -- does it mean anything for him moving forward? >> this has meant a lot because his drinking, party members and conservative colleagues have said that he reached out to an electorate that is no longer conservative. the prime minister has not been able to reach out that far. this argument he had been with you wind majority.

>> to the latest on the war in ukraine. russia is stepping up. there is no safe place left in the area. >> the wreckage is everywhere. commanders have ordered their forces to pull back, rather than

attempting to hold the city. for the exhausted soldiers, the artillery adventist proved overwhelming. >> there is at least five times more russian artillery here. even up to 10 times more. daily, we pinpoint up to 116 on enemy positions. this makes up the wider donbass. they had been reinforcing defensive positions for months but russian forces have already turned their eyes toward the donetsk region. particularly these major cities. slowly ask has been bombarded for weeks now. living residence with little options other than to evacuate.

>> we are trying to take everything we have because life you has become scary. we only had time to evacuate the children. >> i don't know. i think it is only going to get worse. it would be wise not to expect things to get better. >> i asked her about russia's victory in eastern ukraine. >> russia's vtory, we are now conducting the defending

operations. we need to go offensive and get more weapons. that is what we expect to get. believe be. after a femonths of very heavy, very hot, just to get this small to towns, it is not a victory for them at all. >> they are at least estimated to be ch higher. let's talk about what we know in terms of the cities.

we know e city has been taken by the russians. is it going to be harder for the russians to take more territory if they want to keep control of major urban city life? >> we see russia is regrouping their troops. now, the threat is coming from southern regions. southern directions. also, they are still there in kharkiv. obviously, russia will try to stay there. it was basically nothing to defend their. we are trying to take a beneficial position for us.

>> waited for these weapons to arrive, most of them from the u.s.. once those weapons are in the hands of ukrainian forces, will they be able to push the russians back into russia? >> absolutely. if we get more weapons, we can go offensive. we need more artillery and more rocket systems. we need the armored hicle and more weapons to get rid of russian troops. from the eastern and southern regions. >> we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. thank you. >> here is a quick roundup of some of the other developments connected to the war in ukraine. nato members have signed the protocols for sweden and finland to join the alliance. the nordic nations were joined

at last week's summit. an international conference on funding ukraine cost recovery has agreed to a set of principles for rebuilding the country. 40 nations have signed a declaration of support in the swiss city of uganda. ukraine prime minister has committed to strengthening transparency and democracy and to rooting out corruption in government. u.k. is holy a final online sale . they are closing their russian operations although it says it hopes to maybe one day return. ikea just one of many western countries quitting pressure over the war in ukraine. to the united states, police say the man suspected of shooting dead at least seven people at a fourth of july parade in chicago

-- they had escaped the scene after shooting at crowds from a rooftop. he was later arrested. officials say the attack appeared to be completely random and that the government was not targeting any specific groups. i asked our correspondent for more details on what else the police know about this attack. >> officials have been releasing more details about this terrible shooting. we have learned this was a premeditated attack. the shooter had case to the building and the area where this was taking place. he had women's clothing on as disguise to blend into the crowd and to be able to evade police as he was fleeing that rooftop where he positioned himself for the shooting. we also learned he was taken into custody after a citizen reported seeing the suspect's car. police have warned people to

keep their eye out and a citizen actually noticed the license plates and other employees and according to authorities, the suspect did not resist arrest. he is in custody, awaiting charges. more than 70 bullets were fired into the crowd and the weapon was a legally purchased firearm. in iowa -- and ar-15 style gun. a lot of details are still being released. >> we heard the police were not aware of this 22-year-old. he did not have a criminal record. he was not on their radar. do we have any inkling about what would have been his

motivation? >> police are still coming through a lot of information to determine that motive. what we do know is that the suspect had a long and troubling trail of social media posts. there were attributes to mass shootings. he had numerous profiles on different platforms. he performed as a rapper. he posted violent music videos and there was a violent youtube video as well. one in which he did a stick figure and tactical gear. clearly, the suspect had a deep digital footprint. there were signs that he was in trouble. >> this happening during a fourth of july parade. this was not the only shooting to take place on indents day -- independence day parade. >> it was a violent july 4

weekend. there were several mass shootings over this holiday weekend. we have seen these images of people running in philadelphia when shots rang out there at the firewood celebration. two officers were injured in that shooting. investigators are trying to figure out what happened. we were talking about the shooting in highland park in chicago. we saw at least 57 people shot. this is just adding to a list of mass shootings we have seen in recent weeks. >> thank you. back here in europe, italy has declared a state of emergency as millions grapple with the worst drought the country has seen in years. water levels have dropped to record those. and residents in some areas are facing restrictions on how much water they can use.

>> a cry for help in the midst of an early heat wave. italy is facing its worst drought in decades. the government has announced funds of over 35 million euros to address water shortages. and the state of emergency that makes it easier to access them. the emergency also allows authorities to declare water rationing. many don't see why this is necessary. >> it is a good idea to save water, gas and electricity. >> we are trying to get our children to pay attention to the importance of saving water.

>> other cities are set to turn off their water fountains. the drought has hit the agriculture the hardest with water levels dropping 85% below normal. agriculture experts say the drought threatens a third of national food production. >> we have a ventilation system to help them cope better with the temperatures. >> for this artist, the battle has provided an opportunity to deliver an important message. one that the government as well as the people of italy seem to be heating. question earlier, i asked alexander dumais if he expects any relief from this drought anytime soon. >> i am afraid not because the amount of rain from december to

now has been the lowest in the last 15 years. it has rained a bit since june but this has not really happened during the drought. i don't think it will rain for the next 14 days. >> we hear descriptions of the drought of the century, the flood of the century. is this a 500 year drought that italy is now experiencing? >> it is really dramatic and arming at the moment. >> this novel has impacted all

of this. smaller glaciers might disappear completely. as we have heard earlier, food prices will rise. the addition of electrici, it is down about 50% due to the sources. they have entered a record of 30 kilometers which is about 90 miles into the river. they are trying to supply drinking water here. >> this is a long-term situation that italians are faced with. are there any long-term

solutions? what i hear you saying is that the future of agriculture in northern italy could be in doubt if this continues. >> they declared a state of emergency. that will go until the end of this year. this will help the hard-hit communities in need. and long-term solutions could be changing your habits and energy to recruit -- to produce more renewable energy. if this is enough, we will not

meet the paris agreement. >> it is a sobering assessment unfortunately. we appreciate your time and insights tonight. >> rising temperatures in italy may have had a response before the partial collapse of a glacier on sunday that killed at least seven people. 13 hikers are still missing. this glacier in the dolomite mountains has been shrinking for years and lost a third of his volume. mario draghi says the climate change has contributed to the shrinkage. rescue efforts have resumed but hopes of finding survivors now are fading. >> most likely one of the hardest moments of their lives relatives having to identify

their loved ones killed in the alpine avalanche. one of them sent his parents a picture just moments before it collapsed. >> they also called us. he sent us a smiling picture. look how beautiful it is here. and then it broke loose. the ice block triggered an avalanche of ice, rocks and water on the glacier. the past week and saw record high temperatures. there was less snowfall than usual. the result is massive amounts of melt water collecting the glacier. given the avalanche such destructive force. the massive amounts of water

acted like a lubricant, exhilarating. anyone below would have not had a chance to get out of the way. if it were a dry ice avalanche, it could have stood a chance. >> they are facing extremely difficult conditions. the search has been limited to flyovers by planes and helicopters. >> we were met with an almost impossible task because there are massive amount of ice in block everywhere. we had to leave because the temperatures are rising again and we don't want to risk it. >> mario draghi expressed his condolences and looked to the future. >> we have to take all the necessary precautions to make sure this doesn't happen in the future.

>> is that came so quickly. >> a military parade recalled the declaration of independence and the bloody eight year war that preceded it. algae reclaims up to 1.5 millio people were killed in the conflict. that remains a source of tension between algeria and france. deep beneath the border between france and switzerland, the roles most powerful particle accelerator has begun a new testing program. there was an protons smashing into each other at close to the speed of light. scientists hope that the test will yield valuable insights into the building blocks of the

universe. before we go, a quick look at our top stories this hour. boris johnson is undergoing pressure to quit after two of his most senior ministers resigned today, casting fresh doubon his integrity. both say they can no longer serve in good conscience. you're watching dw news.

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>> welcome back to life in paris. these are headlines. nato leaders gather in madrid for a summit aimed at discussing russian aggression. turkey said it is no longer going to stand in the way of finland and sweden joining the alliance. ghislaine maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in prison for recruiting and grooming teenage girls, who were then abused by the late financier, jeffrey epstein. and a horrific human tragedy, the bodies of 50 migrants found in a lo