friends with superpower benefits. talk with china's shooting pain. after weeks of negotiationsjoe biden and donald trump finally agreed to go head to head into presidential debates.

welcome to the program. at seven in the morning here in singapore and one in slovakia where primary server and critical after being shot multiple times in an assassination attempt he was attacked as he spoke to a crowd to the street after attending a meeting. in the last few hours his deputy is told the bbc that he believes he will survive. a suspect has been arrested. he has been a controversial leader seen by some of his fellow eu leaders as being close to leaders. this was a moment a european leader was shot. as he greeted members of the public in front of the local community center. he was shot in the stomach and the arm. his security team half

dragged have carried him to his car for that a few metres away security officials push a man to the ground. the suspect is believed to be in his 70s. witnesses say he shot at the prime minister several times. it was quick one by one likely through firecrackers on the ground.

they can become a little bit

upset. they can become a little bit u set. , ., ., they can become a little bit uset. , ., ., ., upset. plenty more on that story on — upset. plenty more on that story on our— upset. plenty more on that story on our website. - russia's president vladimir putin will meet china's leader xijinping in beijing on thursday. his plane flew in a few hours ago. it's mr putin's second trip to china injust over six months, russia's president vladimir putin will meet china's leader xijinping in beijing on thursday. his plane flew in a few hours ago. it's mr putin's second trip to china injust over six months, perhaps underlining the importance to moscow of the relationship, after the unprecedented sanctions it's facing as a result of the war in ukraine. china has benefitted from cheap imports of russian energy and other natural resources, with bilateral trade worth $240 billion over the last year according to chinese customs figures. but a clampdown triggered by the us on financial institutions helping russia appears to have slowed that down. nonetheless, the chinese government seems to be looking forward to the summit. our relations have continued to

develop in a healthy and stable manner, with the leaders of the two countries maintaining close contacts. it two countries maintaining close contacts. , , ., , contacts. it is still early in the morning _ contacts. it is still early in the morning in _ contacts. it is still early in the morning in china. - it's still early in the morning in across china, but an hourfrom now, we'll get the lowdown on the meeting between the two presidents, when our correspondent stephen mcdonelljoins us from beijing. fighting continues in gaza, with israel claiming that half a million people have been able to move to safety, away from rafah, where the israeli military has been advancing. meanwhile, the us says it has started to move a pier towards the gaza coast, after constructing it at the israeli port of ashdod. it's intended to help speed up deliveries of aid by allowing ships to dock and unload their cargo directly into the territory. the far—right dutch leader geert wilders says he will reach an agreement with other political party leaders on forming a government.

talks have been going on for six months. as and when it happens, it would be the most right—wing political alliance to take power in the netherlands in recent history. the home office has announced that it's expanding the rwanda deportation scheme to cover failed asylum seekers. under the original plan, only people who had arrived in the uk on or after january 1st 2022 could be deemed elibigle to be deported. failed asylum seekers are also eligible for a voluntary scheme announced last month. the deal has been a long time coming, butjoe biden and donald trump have finally agreed to hold two presidential debates, as they fight each other to become the next president in the white house. the first will take place on the 27th ofjune. the second, in september. the vote, of course, is on the first tuesday in november. president biden gave this confirmation on the social media website, x.

donald trump lots two debates in 2020, now he's acting like he wants to do it again. make my day, pal. i'll even do it twice. pick the dates, donald. i hear you are free on wednesdays. �*i hear you are free on wednesdays�* — that of course is a jibe at mr trump's expense as it's currently the only weekday when he doesn't have to attend the hush money trial in new york. so mr trump was free to respond, and he didn't waste much time. he posted this message on his truth social website — saying that �*crooked joe biden is the worst debater i have ever faced'. trump added that he wants a very large venue for excitement purposes, and said biden is supposedly afraid of crowds. and he signs off, let's get ready to rumble. so why did it take so long to arrange these debates? i put that question to our north america correspondent will vernon. because there wasn't any agreement until today over when

and how to hold them. there is and how to hold them. there is an independent body which usually decides all of this. the commission on presidential debates. that has certain rules and conventions that have been in place since the 80s, that there should be three debates in front of a live audience and they should take place after they should take place after the party conventions. that was alljettisoned today. the agreement was that there would be two debates, at least that the agreement at the moment, and at least one will not have and at least one will not have a live audience and will be before the party conventions. so before the start of the election campaign. why is that? well, i thinkjoe biden�*s basically demanded this because he wants to kick—start the election campaign off early. he is hoping to turn this election campaign, this election i should say, into a referendum. not a yes vote on his

presidency, but a no vote on donald trump. he is hoping when presented with the stark choice between the two men, voters will decide donald trump is the worst choice. so i think by going with this debate, he is hoping basically to kick—start that comparison a little bit early. the other interesting thing about this date, june 27th, it's likely to be shortly after we get a verdict in donald trump's criminal trial in new york, where he is accused of falsifying business records over an alleged hush money payment to an adult film actress stormy daniels, we could get a verdictjust before this date so that will play into it as well. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

ukraine's president zelensky has cancelled foreign trips, as a russian offensive

in north—east ukraine gains ground. ukraine has pulled back troops from some areas in the border region and thousands of people have left the area. attack in the border town of vovcha nsk. james waterhouse town of vovcha nsk. not your usual traffic jam in russia's belgorod region, as a rocket launcher pulls over to pourfire into neighbouring ukraine, causing panic across the border. "what do you need to take? "let's move quicker, let's go," says this police officer. the russians are using new tactics here — constant ground assaults and relentless air strikes, although not all bombs go off. now ukrainian troops are withdrawing from some positions near the border. for the first time in 18

months, this war is no longer a grinding stalemate. russia has momentum, and that is fuelling a sense of diplomatic urgency here in kyiv. a two—day visit by america's secretary of state, antony blinken, ended with tributes to ukraine's war dead and another $2 billion to arm those still fighting. we're rushing ammunition, armoured vehicles, missiles, air defences, rushing them to get to the front lines, to protect soldiers, to protect civilians. and on air defences, as dmytro said, this is, of course, a top priority. in moscow with his new defence minister, a confident sounding vladimir putin announced more funding for a war he thinks he's winning. translation: all enemy - counterattacks were repelled. 0ur troops are improving in all positions, in all directions, every day. and here are the consequences — kherson in the south,

like so many cities and towns across ukraine, is becoming increasingly uninhabitable. nowhere is immune to moscow's desire to conquer its neighbour. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. french troops have been deployed to secure ports and airports in the french pacific islands territory, new caledonia. four people are known to have been killed since monday, in violence which broke out after the parliament in paris backed changes to voting laws, which the indigenous population of new caledonia say will reduce their influence in governing their own affairs. a state of emergency is in place, along with a curfew — and the social media site tiktok has been temporarily banned. the situation in areas of afghanistan hardest hit critical�* the world health organisation has said and the authorities have predicted more

bad weather to come. 0ur correspondent caroline davies and her team have visited some of the remote areas hit by the flooding and sent this report from northern baghlan province. this used to be a village. little trace of lives swept away... ..only the debris. sticky mud, heated — hardening. salvaging what�*s left is tough. translation: we haven't got even a glass left - for a cup of tea. there is nothing. this is one of the worst hit villages, and people are still trying to excavate their homes, trying to salvage what they can from the rubble. everywhere you look, there are uprooted trees, there are bits of building and the destruction is just in every direction. over here, more people, more homes, more buildings destroyed, more belongings, and people here who still don�*t have a home to stay in tonight. flash floods tore through villages in north—east

afghanistan, sweeping away everything in their path. here, a miraculous rescue — dragged alive from muddy waters. many were not. abdul�*s family�*s three homes stood here for 20 years. he returned to find nothing but this wall. ten out of 18 of his family were killed, swept away. translation: we were searching for family - members in knee—deep mud. so we took off our shoes and continued searching. eventually, we found the bodies miles away from here. these stark valleys have seen flooding before, but no one we spoke to had seen anything like this in their lifetime. on the broken road, women walk between bereaved families... ..offering graveside prayers. they will make more

than one stop today. the grieving is not over. caroline davies, bbc news, baghlan. singapore has a new prime minister. lawrence wong was sworn in, replacing lee hsien loong, who�*d been in office for two decades. mr lee will, however, remain in the cabinet with an advisory role. mr wong used his inauguration speech to warn that singaporeans face a world of conflict and rivalry and they must be braced to adapt to a messier, riskier and more violent world. with more, here�*s my colleague in singapore, nick marsh. this was a once in a generation event for singapore, and the p°mp event for singapore, and the pomp and circumstance of the occasion did well to match that. the man who lawrence wong is replacing is lee hsien loong, who has been in thejob

for 20 years. his father before him was the legendary lee kuan yew, the founding father of singapore. sojust having yew, the founding father of singapore. so just having a leader of the country whose surname isn�*t lee is actually a bit of a novelty. kind of like a new era for singapore. but it�*s not as if singapore will wake up to a drastically different country. everything is carefully choreographed and lawrence wong was hand—picked two years ago by the people�*s action party as a solid, smart, competent, safe pair of hands. a man for continuity. having said that, in his speech, lawrence wong pointed out he is the first leader to have been born after singaporean independence. he said he would lead in his own way, befitting of a new generation. but the challenges he faces are broadly the same. he will have to keep navigating the tricky us china

relationship in the way singapore has traditionally done so well. and at home, he will have two call an election by the end of next year. there is no question of his party losing, they never do, but it will be interesting to see how his popularity matches up with his popularity matches up with his more, let�*s say illustrious and long serving predecessors. from next week, some prisoners will be released 70 days early as part of a government plan to free up space in england�*s prisons. prison overcrowding has also prompted the government to order the delaying of some court appearances to try to manage the numbers. here�*s our deputy political editor, vicki young. england�*s prisons are overcrowded and running out of space, so the government is taking emergency action to control the flow of prisoners through the system. some will be let out up to 70 days early, and court hearings could be delayed. and court hearings could be dela ed. �* ' , ., , and court hearings could be delaed. ' , and court hearings could be delaed. delayed. after 14 years of tory government. _ delayed. after 14 years of tory government, the _ delayed. after 14 years of tory government, the present - delayed. after 14 years of tory i government, the present system is in chaos. government, the present system is in chaos-— is in chaos. the labour leader wanted more _ is in chaos. the labour leader wanted more details - is in chaos. the labour leader wanted more details about. is in chaos. the labour leader|

wanted more details about the prisoners being released. haifa prisoners being released. how man ? prisoners being released. how many? where _ prisoners being released. how many? where are _ prisoners being released. firm many? where are they? what crimes have they committed? will he at least guarantee that none of the criminals he is instructing to be released early are considered high risk? mr speaker, there are strict eligibility criteria in place, with— eligibility criteria in place, with exclusions based on public safety, — with exclusions based on public safety, and no one will be put on the — safety, and no one will be put on the scheme if they are deemed _ on the scheme if they are deemed a threat to public safety _ deemed a threat to public safe . �* ,, ., safety. but sir keir said a high-risk— safety. but sir keir said a high-risk inmate - safety. but sir keir said a high-risk inmate had - safety. but sir keir said a l high-risk inmate had been safety. but sir keir said a - high-risk inmate had been freed high—risk inmate had been freed early from prison. high-risk inmate had been freed early from prison.— early from prison. does the early from prison. does the early release _ early from prison. does the early release of _ early from prison. does the early release of stalkers, i early release of stalkers, domestic abusers and those considered a risk to children sound like the work of someone who is making the country more secure? it who is making the country more secure? ., , ., ., , , , ., secure? it does not apply to an one secure? it does not apply to anyone serving _ secure? it does not apply to anyone serving a _ secure? it does not apply to anyone serving a life - secure? it does not apply to i anyone serving a life sentence, anyone — anyone serving a life sentence, anyone convicted of a serious violent — anyone convicted of a serious violent offence, anyone viole nt offence, anyone convicted violent offence, anyone convicted of terrorism, anyone convicted _ convicted of terrorism, anyone convicted of terrorism, anyone convicted of a sex offence. at the convicted of a sex offence. the start of convicted of a sex offence. git the start of the week, the prime minister said if labour was in charge, it would risk

the country�*s security, so this was an awkward moment for him. releasing prisoners early allowed the labour leader to turn that attack back on the government. today, ministers also announced some trials will be delayed, and suspects could be delayed, and suspects could be released on bail rather than being sent to a cell. and with a number of prisoners projected to rise, some think of these measures could last for years. if we were to follow that trajectory, there is no way the government can build enough prison places in time to beat those numbers. so we are looking at emergency measures actually being in place for the foreseeable future to continue to deal with what is an ongoing crisis of capacity in the system. crisis of capacity in the system-— crisis of capacity in the sstem. . , , crisis of capacity in the sstem. . , system. lawyers say they are seekin: system. lawyers say they are seeking more _ system. lawyers say they are seeking more information - system. lawyers say they are i seeking more information about the emergency measures, and in the emergency measures, and in the meantime, victims and defendants face uncertainty. eltonjohn and his husband david furnish have one of the greatest private collections of photographs in the world — with more than 7,000.

now an exhibition of some of those images will open at london�*s v&a this weekend. they�*ve been talking exclusively to our culture editor katie razzall. # i�*ll write a symphony just for you and me...# 300 photographs, many on show for the first time. # i�*ll paint a masterpiece...#. sir eltonjohn started collecting after he got sober in the �*90s, and with his husband david furnish, now has one of the world�*s great collections. i�*m so proud of what we�*ve collected, because we both love photography so much. itjust hits so many emotional moments for both of us. the nan goldin especially, i bought that because i thought, that�*s my life, my old life, on the wall. the addictions and the people we lost to aids. yeah. there�*s a lot of pain and grief on these walls. 9/11, political riots, assassinations. what makes you want to collect that pain? because in pain sometimes, there�*s a lot of beauty, unfortunately, and i�*m drawn to that.

that�*s why the show is called fragile beauty. # seems to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind...#. we are sitting surrounded by some very beautiful people. but of course, there�*s sadness here as well. we�*ve got marilyn, chet baker. and i�*m looking at miss piggy. so there�*s something for everyone! marilyn monroe, chet baker, they clearly suffered for their art. do you think you suffered for your art? well, i did in a way, but it was self—inflicted. the pain i suffered was because of addiction, and alcoholism and unhappiness. but music saved me and it always has done. the couple have 2,000 photographs from 9/11. it�*s the first time they�*ve exhibited any of them. it�*s too raw for people who lived through that, but it�*s good to see some of them. there�*s only about four of them out. reportage is very important. and there�*s a very powerful photo of the january the 6th capitol hill riot. yes, i think the importance of photographs like that is

that we live in an age now where people seem to want to rewrite history and want to deny truth, and i think when things are captured photographically, it's irrevocable. it�*s important to have photographs like that and it�*s important to keep a record of what happened. but there is little record of the man himself in the show. there arejust two photographs of eltonjohn — one of his hands, and this more playful image. completely spontaneously, he picked the plastic eggs up and put them under his glasses, and that to me says more about elton's personality, and sense of humour and irreverence than anything, and that's what i love about photography. it is extraordinary that i collect photographs, because i don�*t like being photographed. i find it really painful. # hold me closer, tiny dancer...#. many will find pain, but also joy in this extraordinary collection — a chronicle of our times. katie razzall, bbc news. just time to update

you on a row in the art world — centering around a large pile of missing money. it�*s all to do with this blank canvas — which was what a museum in denmark was not pleased to receive — after agreeing to loan an artist the equivalent of over £60,000 in cash to stick to it. the artist, jens haaning, kept the money, and offered this portrait of nothing. he called it �*take the money and run�* — and the museum sued. jens was ordered to give the money back — but now it seems the issue may have been resolved with the works of art given to the museum permanently. that�*s all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. looking at thursday�*s weather, we�*ve got some, i think wet weather on the way to parts of england and wales with some thundery rain at times. on wednesday, here�*s

the day of sunny spells and passing showers. some of those showers, mind you, were very heavy, for example, here in hebden bridge. but looking at the satellite picture, you can see a stripe of cloud just here, that�*s a weather front that stretches all the way into europe. there�*s our fronts. but bumping into that front, we�*ve got this trough here, this line of very intense showers. you might get the sense that these areas of rain are merging together. well, i think that�*s exactly what�*s going on. and they will tend to run towards england over the coming hours. so weather wise, over the next few hours, not so much of an issue. we�*ll have some low cloud effects, some of our north sea coast, a few mist and fog patches here and occasional spots of rain or drizzle. drier weather elsewhere with temperatures around ten or 11 degrees quite widely. the problems with the forecast come tomorrow. i think there is a risk of seeing more widespread rain initially across eastern areas of england through thursday morning before moving across the midlands and on it�*s parts of wales and the west country as we head into the afternoon. so the details are going to be

quite difficult to come by but expect the chance of seeing some heavy thundery rain at times across parts of england and wales. further northwards for northern ireland sunshine through the morning and a dry morning. the afternoon, yeah, you could see a storm or two breaking out. most of scotland, in contrast to all of that will be dry, although there will be some mist and low cloud across eastern areas and spots of drizzle through the morning, the afternoon, the best of the sunshine into the northwest and that�*s where we�*ll see temperatures at their highest, probably reaching around 23 degrees or so. heading into friday the weather pattern is still rather unsettled, but hopefully a bit more straightforward. it should be a day of sunshine and showers through the afternoon for england and wales. some of those turning heavy and thundery. the drier weather will be further north again for scotland and for northern ireland, where most places will keep spells of sunshine and temperatures well into the low twenties. that�*s going to feel pleasant with light winds for the weekend weather picture, we�*re still at low pressure close to the south of the uk, a ridge of high pressure trying to build in from the northwest. and so it�*s again scotland

and northern ireland that will have the dry ice weather through the weekend. england and wales, meanwhile, will have the chance of seeing a few more showers to come. bye for now.

wall street rallies, as prices in the us show signs of cooling down.

despite the high cost of living, travellers are breaking boundaries in 2024 and searching for new adventures across asia. hello, and welcome to business today. i�*m suranjana tewari. we begin in the us — where the latest data shows inflation has fallen slightly. consumer prices rose 3.4% in the 12 months to april — that figure was down from 3.5% in the previous month. as we can see here, the news sent us markets to record highs as investors count on the federal reserve cutting interest rates. our business correspondent erin delmore has more for us from new york. a banner day on wall street with all three major indexes closing at record highs. that�*s

right, the dow, snp 500 and