this is bbc news. armenia and azerbaijan agree to hold eu—backed talks in brussels — amidst escalating crisis in nagorno—karabakh. the metropolitan police say they're investigating fresh allegations of sexual offences involving comedian russell brand. and the actor david mccallum, who played a russian spy in the man from u.n.c.l.e, has died at the age of 90. hello, i'm sally bundock. we begin with breaking news. envoys from armenia and azerbaijan are due to meet in brussels today for eu—backed talks. it will be the first such meeting between the two countries since azerbaijan seized the armenian enclave of nagorno—karabakh last week.

armenia says more than 6,500 people have fled across the border, amid fears of persecution and ethnic cleansing. now, there are reports of a large explosion at an oil depot as people queued up to fill up their cars to leave. it's believed some 200 people were injured as a result. the territory is at the heart of one of the world's longest—running territorial and ethnic conflicts. it's recognised internationally as part of azerbaijan, but has been controlled by ethnic armenians for three decades. bbc russian�*s nataliya zotova sent this report from goris near the border between armenia and nagorno—karabakh. the exodus of refugees started late sunday night. some arrived in the border town of goris in ambulances — exhausted, too weak to walk on their own. with a few belongings they could transport, families that crossed had lost all hope of ever returning.

translation: we went to the airport. everyone was collected in one spot. everyone was in a terrible state. stressed out. children crying. old people crying. hungry, cold, without enough clothes. driving closer to the armenian border with nagorno—karabakh the next morning, the scale of the evacuation became clear. russian peacekeepers we saw were helping refugees cross the border and unloading their bags. this is the main road leading from nagorno—karabakh to armenia, and we have seen dozens of cars with refugees coming. and they are welcomed with basic supplies. temporary tents have popped up at the border to register the new arrivals. aid workers told us people are in need of food,

clothes and medication. the impact of one day's war and a nine month blockade imposed on the territory by azerbaijan. the azerbaijanis deny it was to target civilians, but say it was to prevent arms being taken into the region. translation: no, there was nothing. how did you cook meals? we only picked what we had in the garden. potatoes, beans. we didn't have bread, flour, nothing. translation: people are malnourished from being in blockade for nine months. they are crushed because they have lost their homes. we see people who come in unsuitable footwear and just the clothes they had on. armenia says that it will take in all refugees from karabakh — potentially up to 120,000 people. in the 1990s, a different

ethnic group fled nagorno—karabakh — the azeris, who haven't lived alongside ethnic armenians for centuries, felt threatened after the region decided to secede. they headed to azerbaijan, where many of them still live, in temporary and often dismal accommodation. for these armenians, it's unclear what the future holds. the priority today is sheltering themselves and the very little belongings they have from the rain. nataliya zotova, bbc news, goris in southern armenia. meanwhile, there've been further protests in the armenian capital, yerevan, calling on prime minister nikol pashinyan to resign. 0pposition groups accuse him of failing to prevent azerbaijan from seizing nagorno—karabakh. mr pashinyan has blamed russia, and particularly, the russian peacekeeping force in karabakh for looking the other way while azerbaijani forces took control of the enclave

earlier this week. the kremlin has rejected the claims. a thai activist and lawyer made famous for his open calls for reform of thailand's powerful regime was sentenced to four years in prison for royal insults. human rights lawyer arnon nampa denies any wrongdoing. he is widely known for his taboo—breaking speech during pro—democracy protests in 2020 during which he called for public debate on the role of thailand's powerful king. we will have more on that one may get more detail, that storage is coming into the newsroom in london. —— write that story just. the metropolitan police have launched an investigation into allegations of sexual

offences following the recent claims against russell brand. they are already looking into a possible offence back in 2003. these new claims are also historic. the comedian and actor has denied all the allegations against him which include rape and sexual assault. here's our media editor katie razzall. i believe this is about freedom. is about real democracy. because for there to be real democracy, there has to be dissent. back streaming on the video—sharing platform rumble, where he has 1.6 million followers, and russell brand was on the attack. we are going to be talking about the state and the legacy media's war on free speech, and in particular how that has affected me this week. less than half an hour before his show streamed, the metropolitan police announced its central specialist crime command team is now investigating a number of allegations of non—recent sexual offences committed in london and elsewhere in the uk. the senior investigating officer said, "we continue to encourage anyone who believes they may

have been a victim of a sexual offence, no matter how long ago it was, to contact us. we understand it can feel like a difficult step to take, and i want to reassure that we have a team of specialist officers available to advise and support." the police statement didn't name russell brand, but it did refer to this investigation by channel 4, the times and the sunday times, and made public two weekends ago. four women made the original claims of rape and sexual assault, which they allege took place in the us and the uk. the day before the programme was broadcast, the comedian and presenter strongly denied any wrongdoing. i don't mind them using my books and my stand—up to talk about my promiscuous consensual conduct in the past. what i seriously refute are these very, very serious criminal allegations. the fallout financially has been swift. content—creators earn money from streaming services when they attract advertising. youtube has barred brand from monetising his video content since the allegations surfaced. rumble prides itself on

standing up to cancel culture. it's accused the uk parliament of what it called a deeply inappropriate demand, after the chair of the culture, media and sport committee wrote to its ceo asking whether his site planned to follow youtube and suspend brand's ability to earn money from his content. since the story broke, the number of people following russell brand on social media and subscribing to his channels has increased by several hundred thousand. katie razzall, bbc news. russia is seeking to re—join the united nations human rights council in an election that will be seen as a key test of its international standing. russia was suspended from the council after its invasion of ukraine. the bbc has obtained a copy of russia's position paper circulated to un members promising what it called "adequate solutions for human rights issues". live now to rachel denber, deputy director for europe at the ngo human rights watch.

good to talk to you. what do you make of this move on the part of russia, looking to rejoin the human rights council? it rejoin the human rights council?— rejoin the human rights council? , ., , , council? it is a completely nical council? it is a completely cynical move. _ council? it is a completely cynical move. russia - council? it is a completely cynical move. russia is . council? it is a completely cynical move. russia is noj council? it is a completely - cynical move. russia is no more appropriate tojoin the cynical move. russia is no more appropriate to join the human rights council now than it was a year ago when it was voted off the human rights council because of the atrocities it had been perpetrating in ukraine. so nothing has changed in the past year, if anything things have got worse. in no way could russia ever in the current circumstances be said to be meeting the standards required of human rights council members.- required of human rights council members. why does russia believe _ council members. why does russia believe it _ council members. why does russia believe it could - council members. why does i russia believe it could rejoin? 0n russia believe it could rejoin? on what basis does it it could? —— does it argue. i think it is

less a matter of what it believes in terms of its qualifications than it is an issue of what it wants, which issue of what it wants, which is to be shielded from scrutiny by the united nations and to shield its friends from scrutiny of the united nations. it wants to stop the united nations human rights council from exerting scrutiny in russia, that is the agenda. but in terms of _ russia, that is the agenda. but in terms of the _ russia, that is the agenda. but in terms of the united nations human rights council, we would assume, would we, that it will not allow russia to rejoin? united nations general assembly votes on the membership of the human rights council, and when russia was suspended from the human rights council a little more than a year ago, it was by a landslide vote against it. right now it is up to delegations and estates to make sure that russia with its

atrocious record of atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity is that the united nations has itself documented against ukraine, and at the same time an unparalleled crackdown against civil society in russia today that is just unprecedented in the post—soviet era. this is also an area, an issue that the united nations has investigated, the un special expert on russia just last week published a new report saying that russia was engaging in a massive crackdown on human rights at home. i massive crackdown on human rights at home.— massive crackdown on human rights at home. i was going to sa , in rights at home. i was going to say. in terms _ rights at home. i was going to say, in terms of _ rights at home. i was going to say, in terms of watching - rights at home. i was going to i say, in terms of watching human rights, which is exactly what you ngo does, what are you able to verify about what's going on in ukraine thoroughly and also in ukraine thoroughly and also in russia? i know that it is a huge question to answer! but give us a sense is a global audience what is happening currently.

audience what is happening currently-— currently. well, russia has been engaged, _ currently. well, russia has been engaged, has - currently. well, russia has - been engaged, has committed atrocities, a litany of atrocities, a litany of atrocities and humanitarian law violations in ukraine that human rights watch has documented and verified through extensive research on the ground, digital research using state—of—the—art methodologies, and we have found case after case of indiscriminate bombing and shelling. we are in the united nations in our own separate investigations have also found widespread systematic torture by russian forces in areas of ukraine they are occupying. we have also found numerous cases, the un has also found numerous cases of summary executions of civilians, arbitrary detention and also forced to transfer of

civilians, ukrainian civilians. and of course the international criminal court has issued an arrest warrant against vladimir putin and the russian human rights, children's rights commissionerfor their rights, children's rights commissioner for their role in the forced deportation and forced transfer of ukrainian children. so that's quite a record. .. ., ~ record. indeed. rachel, thank ou so record. indeed. rachel, thank you so much. _ record. indeed. rachel, thank you so much, we _ record. indeed. rachel, thank you so much, we appreciate l record. indeed. rachel, thank. you so much, we appreciate your time today. india continues to emphatically deny allegations by canada that it had a hand in the murder of a canadian sikh injune. but indian media outlets are now reporting that delhi does want to put renewed pressure on some foreign sikh activists — naming seven britons among 19 people whose indian properties are set to be confiscated. it comes at a time when some british sikhs are concerned

about a mischaracterisation of their community. here's our religion editor aleem maqbool. whenjustin trudeau accused india of involvement in the murder of this canadian sikh, he might have hoped for unequivocal public support from canada's friends. a lot of your allies have been silent on this. i wonder what your reaction to that is... but that hasn't come, even from the uk — leaving prime minister trudeau a lonely figure, and british sikhs upset. some already felt they had reason to feel aggrieved. take the case of jagtar singh johalfrom dumbarton. he's a well—known sikh rights activist, and in 2017 went to india to get married. but there, he was bundled into a car and has been in prison ever since. he says he's been tortured and is frequently marched

to court, accused of extremist offences, which he denies, though he's yet to be tried. there have been six years of protests. a un working group publically called for mrjohal�*s immediate release, but the british government has yet to do the same. jagtar�*s brother says he's impressed by canada's stance. the canadian prime minister stood up for his citizen, heard about what's happened to one of his citizens, and as a result, he's went into parliament, spoke to the opposition and said what he did. i don't see rishi sunak doing that. the prime minister has said he wants jagtarjohal�*s case resolved as quickly as possible. but narendra modi's administration has long demanded britain do more to counter a resurgent movement of sikhs in the uk supporting a breakaway homeland — one they want to call

khalistan. the uk government's formerfaith engagement advisor agrees. it was a major finding in a report he published earlier this year. i think the british government have been, for many, - many years, naive in not- addressing the pro—khalistan extremists and sikh extremists that have been hiding in plain. sight in the uk. well, british sikh groups across the spectrum expressed outrage for what they see as activism is being characterised as extremism. they feel that somehow, the government is kowtowing to delhi. but this is undoubtedly a difficult tightrope to walk for the uk, for whom india is such an important strategic partner, particularly on security and trade. aleem maqbool, bbc news, at the foreign office. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

let's look at some other stories making news. school support staff are due to begin their three—day strike in 2a of scotland's 32 councils. thousands of pupils will be at home for the next three days as members of the union unison stage industrial action in their row over pay. a renewed offer from cosla and last—minute talks over the weekend failed to halt action from the union with the largest representation. a hospital trust failed to send out 211,000 letters from senior doctors to patients and their gps after they became lost in a new computer system, the bbc has learned. newcastle hospitals has warned that the problem, which dates back to 2018, is significant. the health care regulator has sought urgent assurances over patient safety. uk workers are taking more sick days than at any point in the last decade —

according to new research. staff took on average 7.8 sick days in the past year, that's up from 5.8 before the pandemic. you're live with bbc news. the summer counter—offensive in ukraine is drawing to a close without making the breakthroughs many had hoped for. newsnight�*s diplomatic editor mark urban secured rare access to one brigade — the 24th mechanised brigade — who are fighting in the east. the men and theirfamilies spoke to him candidly about the how they are bracing themselves for a long war with no end in sight. in this war, there are the hunted and the hunters. the ukrainians say their russian enemy has far more drones, which makes camouflage and remaining unseen vital. so we were expecting a fire mission within five minutes. and then word came down on the radio

to stand down because a russian drone has been sighted somewhere near here. and that's really very typical of what's been happening. a constant battle of wits, a deadly battle of wits. this russian video shows what happens if you get it wrong. ukrainian self—propelled guns destroyed. we watched the artillery of the 24th mechanised brigade as its own drones searched for targets. then the order came through that they had won. 0nce they'd fired, we were told to leave fast. a shell could soon be heading back in our direction. so let's go. yeah.

we got an inkling of the stresses they're under, but soldiers live under it permanently. where was the incoming? oh, yeah. i've seen the smoke. no date has been set for their demobilisation. it's extremely hard to live with that. just how hard, we saw at the medical centre where one casualty was being brought in. it was described as a panic attack and even our presence was setting people on edge. we've had to leave the medical centre because the doctors were worried that our presence at the medical centre might make it a target. but of course, just as this brigade is being hunted, it's also finding its own targets. we joined the drone company as it hunted russians, and they can respond immediately by dropping various kinds of munitions.

a new machine called an spv can target the russians even when they're taking cover inside buildings and trenches. here we have an assortment of hpv drones. so those are different manufacturers. some are ukrainian. two years ago, would you have ever imagined you would be doing this? oh, no, no. for god's sake, no. but what can we do? we can only fight and protect our land. i just want it to stop. and for neighbours to go away. it's this ability to see so much more and target it,

some call it the transparent battlefield, that's made it so hard to take ground here. so much so that the men in this brigade are preparing for the autumn and winter ahead. mark urban, bbc news in eastern ukraine. the scottish actor, david mccallum — with a film and television carreer spanning 60 years — has died at the age of 90. he starred in the great escape and appeared more recently as a forensic examiner in the hit us crime drama, "n—c—i—s". but he'll be best remembered for playing a kgb spy in the american 1960s tv series, "the man from u.n.c.l.e". here's david sillito. u.n.c.l.e is an organisation consisting of agents of all nationalities. it's involved in maintaining political and legal order anywhere in the world. for a certain generation, david mccallum was and always will be ilya kuryakin from the man from u.n.c.l.e. like my friend napoleon, i go

and i do whatever i am told to. quiet, enigmatic, good—looking. just a wave and a rare smile . were enough for the hundreds of teenage fans who found david irresistible. - the fan worship was rather overwhelming for an actor who was himself quiet, thoughtful and serious. the background that i had made me very reticent. very... very scots. i think this is where the word "dour" comes from — that you're not... you don't show emotion. it's a very inhibiting thing. 50 years later, he was once again back in prime time as dr donald "ducky" mallard in ncis. 0ur victim succumbed to a cerebral embolism here in the parietal lobe. if you wanted someone who looked as though they could solve fiendishly complicated mysteries, he was your man. and he loved doing the research to make it look convincing. clots will develop over a period of minutes or hours. see you in piccadilly.

scott's bar. right. his first taste of big screen success had been the great escape, but his acting career had begun back in the �*aos in bbc radio plays. thank you. good luck. right. the child of musicians, he was born in glasgow and his family then moved to london. he left for america because he felt britain was becoming "worryingly left—wing". however, it didn't stop him returning to work here. they were recaptured - and the architect was shot. colditz. .. so very near. not till we've done what we have to. ..and then sapphire and steel. take it downstairs and burn it. however, it wasn't a patch on the man from u.n.c.l.e. david mccallum — he wrote, he composed music

and he knew a great deal about forensic science. but above all, he was, in the cold war, the west's favourite russian agent. david mccallum, who has died at the age of 90. it is lovely to receive your tributes as well, just looking at what's being said about david on social media. dead sea sent us a tweet saying, saddened to hear about david mccallum passing. i remember him in sapphire ansk dilo, the man from u.n.c.l.e and the great escape. all the top stories on bbc news coming up, including a look at the news that the number of sick days taken his climbing. we will discuss what that means and much more. see you in a

moment. hello there. we've got a bit of rain on the way today, but also should see some spells of sunshine developing. and at the moment, the rain is edging into northern ireland, where it's turning quite heavy. we've got southerly winds feeding in, so it's a mild start to tuesday with temperatures holding up into double figures. and that rain in northern ireland will soon spread to scotland, see a bit of wet weather as well for a time across northern england and north wales. across central and eastern england, a few showers will develop through the day, it'll turn quite cloudy for a time as well. but it is a day where we'll all see some sunshine at some points during the day, and those temperatures continue to run above average for the time of year, about 16—23 degrees. then we've got storm agnes on the way for the middle part of the week, bringing some potentially disruptive weather. now, at the moment, agnes is this lump of cloud in the mid—atlantic — it's got 30 mile an hour winds on it, it is a very weak area of low pressure. however, it's going to pass underneath a very strong atlanticjet stream blowing at 140 mph, and that

will deepen this low pressure rapidly. pressure falls by over 2a millibars in 2a hours. it's an example of a weather bomb. now, thankfully, the peak intensity of this low pressure will be well away from our shores. and actually, as the low pressure moves away from the jet stream, it's going to start to weaken. as that weakening takes place, well, that's what will determine exactly how strong the winds get. now, i think through the irish sea coasts, it's here where we'll see the strongest gusts of wind, could get gusts of wind around 70 or even 80 mph, potentially damaging and certainly disruptive gusts of wind. inland, yes, you could see 50, 60—odd mile an hour gusts across parts of south—west england, across wales, across northern england and northern ireland. but it's the coast and the hills where we could see those much stronger gusts of wind, reaching 70 or even 80 mph. now, it will stay quite windy into thursday. agnes, or what's left of it, will be heading out into the norwegian sea. we'll be left with lots of

showers across western areas, with more general rain pushing back into northern ireland. it will stay quite blustery, temperatures around 14—21 degrees celsius. now, beyond that, i think friday and saturday looking 0k. there'll be a few showers across the northwest, but a fair amount of dry weather. however, rain looks set to return from sunday and into the early part of next week as well. that's it for now.

live from london, this is bbc news. joe biden is set to join car industry workers at the picket lines in michigan. we look into what's at stake for the us president. power struggle in spain as its parliament grapples with who will lead following the inconclusive election injuly. spotify�*s chief talks to the bbc about why the audio—streaming giant has no plans to ban content created by artificial intelligence. and this week is migraine awareness week — we look into the economic fall—out from a condition that is responsible for over three million sick days in the uk alone.