welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines — 10 million people have now fled their homes in ukraine since the start of the war, more than a quarter of the population. among them, children who escaped from besieged mariupol, but they are left with life—changing injuries. all of these are victims of russian attacks. it's notjust the physical injuries, though. many of these children have deep psychological trauma that they will perhaps never get over. in mariupol itself, russia has urged people to surrender, offering to open up humanitarian corridors. previous arrangements have been targeted by russian fire.

also on the programme, china tightens covid restrictions in the north—east — millions are ordered to stay at home as the country confronts its worst covid outbreak. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it needs day. it's 7am in the morning in singapore and 1am in the morning in ukraine, where 10 million of people have been forced out of their homes in just over three weeks of russian attacks. that's the latest figure released by the united nations, amounting to a quarter of the country's entire population. most of the displaced are still within ukraine's borders, having left places like mariupol, the southern city which has been under ferocious attack day after day. the civilians who have

made it out of there, to cities like zaporizhzhiya to the north—west, have brought with them tales of survival and the narrowest of escapes. some are children likely to carry lifelong scars from their experiences. wyre davies sent this report. this is what vladimir putin's war has done to the children of ukraine. in his hospital bed, little artem stares into emptiness. the russian shell that blasted shrapnel into his belly also wounded his parents and grandparents as they fled from mariupol. a victim of the war and not yet three years old. next to artem, 15—year—old masha. her right leg amputated after being torn apart by the blast from a russian shell last tuesday.

she and artem in some senses are lucky, they've been evacuated to the city of zaporizhzhia. other victims, adults and children, died where they fell in the streets. these are just some of the hundreds of casualties of what's been happening in mariupol and the surrounding region. all of these are victims of russian attacks. it's notjust the physical injuries, though. many of these children have deep psychological trauma that they will perhaps never get over. these doctors and the children's surviving relatives asked us to tell their stories. dryuri borzenko, head of the children's hospital, can't hide his contempt for what russia has done. translation: i hate russia. the girl who lost her leg was so traumatised she wouldn't eat or drink for days. she couldn't mentally handle it. we had to feed her intravenously.

another boy, a six—year—old with shrapnel in his skull, described without tears or emotion watching his mother burn to death in their car after it was hit. he then said, "dad, buy me a mum, i want someone to walk me to school." what is happening in mariupol is a humanitarian disaster, even perhaps a war crime. 90% of the buildings have been damaged or destroyed in blanket russian shelling. after last week's destruction of a theatre where 1000 people were said to be sheltering, reports that an art school with more than 400 people inside has also been attacked. at the hospital, vladimir wanted to tell me about his daughter natasha and his granddaughter domenica, whose picture he almost caressed on his phone. they were both killed by a russian shell inside mariupol.

translation: | ran up - to my granddaughter, and i'm screaming, "domenica, domenica. " but there she lies. i then rushed to natasha, grabbing whatever i can find, a scarf, to bandage her legs. vladimir, whose other daughter is still in a serious condition, knows he has to try and stay strong. he sobs. translation: god, why - would you bring this all upon me? my lovely girls, i failed to protect you. wyre davies, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. russia has said ukrainians in besieged mariupol should surrender within hours. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet has the latest from kyiv. the precise russian demand is that residents and troops should give up,

should leave the city by sam. and if they do not, they will face military tribunals. it is a very serious threat, but such has been the life of the people of mariupol, in the city which is 90% flattened, a city of mass graves, that an assistant to the mayor tonight told the bbc that they would carry on as normal tomorrow. this is the kind of policy we often talk about, trying to starve a city into submission. the russian order also said that if the residents and the troops protecting them leave, then suddenly the humanitarian corridors will open to go east or west, suddenly the food which the russian forces have not been allowing to enter the city will be allowed to enter. in other words, you will be able to get the kind of relief that we have denied you for the past three weeks. but militarily, the ukrainian officials in the city said yesterday

it's a question of numbers. we're fighting in the city centre now, what's left of it. they have far, far more troops than us. but if and when mariupol falls, what will be the next target? what about the capital, kyiv? on a night when we see far more explosions, we understand a shopping mall, a building, a fuel station may have been hit. there's been lots of return fire by the ukrainians, a reminder that the ukrainians are fighting back, but the russians are still attacking. the way the war has changed ukraine is being felt everywhere, although where possible people are also trying to keep hold of rituals and aspects of normal life. jeremy bowen sent this report from the capital, kyiv. the roar of ukrainian air defence missiles reverberates through kyiv�*s main cemetery. rest in peace. not here, not now.

explosions have felled trees and broken headstones. alexander, an army volunteer, was killed fighting the russians five days ago, just before what would have been his 27th birthday. almost no—one at the funeral knew alexander, not the guard of honour or the priest in army green. his commander was the only one from his unit, dressed to go back to the front—line only a few miles away. he said they all had to honour him because alexander's family is not here. his father's in the besieged city of mariupol. they can't reach him to say his son is dead. before the war, alexander was a children's entertainer and illusionist. he went to the front with no real training and was killed less than two weeks after he signed up.

close by, graves of people killed fighting russian—backed separatists since 2014. these days, the sirens feel routine. it's been quieter the last few days here in the city. the analysis — fear, perhaps — is that the russians are gathering their strength, resupplying, trying to reorganise, getting ready to do something else to push again at kyiv. relative quiet does not mean peace or ceasefire. st volodymyr�*s ukrainian 0rthodox cathedral was heavy with incense and the pain of war. the orthodox church here broke with moscow in 2018. it was a blow for president putin,

who insists that ukrainians and russians are one people in one country who should be in one russian church. jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv. we'll return to ukraine a bit later in the programme. as calls grow for vladimir putin to be tried for war crimes in ukraine, i'll be speaking to a specialist in international law about how this might work in practice. but first, while the world's attention is focused on the war in ukraine, the coronavirus pandemic has been continuing to spread. the number of infections has been on the rise in some parts of the world, including china, which is going through its worst covid outbreak since the start of the pandemic. restrictions have been further tightened in the north—east region ofjilin. everyone injilin city must stay at home next week during another round of mass testing. also shanghai disney resort has been

closed until further notice because of covid. for more on this, i am joined now by matthew fox, professor in the departments of epidemiology and global health at boston university. thank you so much forjoining us on newsday. firstly, much question has been asked about how long china can keep its zero—covid policy. what is your assessment there? keep its zero-covid policy. what is your assessment there?— keep its zero-covid policy. what is your assessment there? china has the abili to your assessment there? china has the ability to continue _ your assessment there? china has the ability to continue his _ your assessment there? china has the ability to continue his attempt - your assessment there? china has the ability to continue his attempt at - ability to continue his attempt at zero—covid for some time but i'm not sure it's the wisest strategy. they have spent an enormous amount of time and energy shutting down cities and having great impact on its citizens and its economy, but as we are seeing, there have still been outbreaks even in highly vaccinated populations. so i think china really have to reckon with whether it's going to continue a zero—covid or

near zero—covid policy or whether it's going to learn to live with the virus. , . ., , it's going to learn to live with the virus. , u, , _, ., . virus. indeed, because the economic cost is quite — virus. indeed, because the economic cost is quite high _ virus. indeed, because the economic cost is quite high and _ virus. indeed, because the economic cost is quite high and president - cost is quite high and president macro onejust last week cost is quite high and president macro one just last week so will the country will stick to a zero—covid policy, the impact on the economy should be limited. why do you think beijing is so animated about this because he talked about the high vaccination rate there? i because he talked about the high vaccination rate there?— vaccination rate there? i think there are _ vaccination rate there? i think there are a — vaccination rate there? i think there are a couple _ vaccination rate there? i think there are a couple of - vaccination rate there? i think there are a couple of reasons| vaccination rate there? i think. there are a couple of reasons and one is the fact they have had so much success to the pandemic and they have barely able to keep their economy open while much of the world has been closed. so i think that they have some confidence in their ability to contain the virus, but that was pre—omicron and omicron and its sub variants were so much more infectious but i think it's really a different situation now. the other reason i think that they may be considering this is while they are such a highly fact that a population, they vaccinated over 80 population, they vaccinated over 80 population is quite low and it's

reallyjust population is quite low and it's really just over 50% and population is quite low and it's reallyjust over 50% and even lower with a population that has actually had a boost. and therefore even though their population was highly vaccinated, the population most at risk is still fairly vulnerable. i just want to ask you about hong kong, which is also been experiencing very high numbers of covid infections was of the city's leader said that she is reviewing restrictions in hong kong after acknowledging that many financial institutions were losing patients with its policies. what could that mean? ~ , ., ., with its policies. what could that mean? ~ , . . ., with its policies. what could that mean? ., ., mean? well, they also had to make decisions around _ mean? well, they also had to make decisions around how— mean? well, they also had to make decisions around how much - mean? well, they also had to make decisions around how much they - decisions around how much they wanted to continue to keep their economy closed and to keep restrictions on their population. they are in a very different situation in that they have had much higher mortality than china have seen, but they are also coming to the tail end of their omicron way.

so that is meeting and declining cases and they can start to make decisions around whether or not they want to start bringing back those restrictions to allow for a more normal situation.— restrictions to allow for a more normal situation. professor matthew fox, thank normal situation. professor matthew fox. thank you _ normal situation. professor matthew fox, thank you so _ normal situation. professor matthew fox, thank you so much _ normal situation. professor matthew fox, thank you so much for - normal situation. professor matthew fox, thank you so much forjoining i fox, thank you so much forjoining us on newsday today. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme, the duke and duchess of cambridge begin their caribbean tour. we have a report from belize. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches

and a dimming of vision — all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. now, this was an international trophy, and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for - the christian democrats of the west. offering reunification. as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko oi in singapore. our headlines — 10 million people have now fled their homes in ukraine

since the start of the war, more than a quarter of the population. russia has ordered people in the city of mariupol to surrender within hours. us presidentjoe biden has already said he thinks vladimir putin is a war criminal. meanwhile, former british prime ministers gordon brown and john major say they back a nuremberg style tribunal for the russian president. and the international criminal court has opened an investigation into russia's possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in ukraine. but how likely is it that the russian president is held to account? i'm joined by maria varaki, lecturer in international law and co—director of the war crimes research group, king's college london. thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. understand this is a

very, get a question, but in your view, has russia broken international laws? ,., ., international laws? good evening from london- _ international laws? good evening from london. well, _ international laws? good evening from london. well, the _ international laws? good evening from london. well, the russian | from london. well, the russian invasion of ukraine is in flagrant violation of international law. of international law from the preservation of usual force to international humanitarian law as we say related to the conduct of hostilities and the methods of warfare. so as you said before, already the prosecutor of the international criminal court has offered an investigation on the territory of ukraine, investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. however, because russia is not a state to the rome statute, the founding argument of the international criminal court, the international criminal court, the court does not have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute the crime. that is what we have the parallel initiative that gordon brown that has been supported by many people and by many leading

scholars and politicians about the establishment of a special tribunal on the crime of aggression towards ukraine. , ., ., ., , ukraine. so, the investigation has now started. _ ukraine. so, the investigation has now started, but _ ukraine. so, the investigation has now started, but who _ ukraine. so, the investigation has now started, but who exactly - now started, but who exactly collects all the evidence? there are many peeple _ collects all the evidence? there are many peeple on _ collects all the evidence? there are many people on the _ collects all the evidence? there are many people on the ground - collects all the evidence? there are many people on the ground in - collects all the evidence? there are i many people on the ground in ukraine already. we have many organisations just as the oac, but also the un but also other nongovernmental organisations who collected. this is a very, very difficult and challenging process, as you can imagine, because you're talking about an ongoing conflict. so, a couple of days ago, the prosecutor of the icc visited western ukraine, so he was in contact with several persons on the ground who collected evidence. and as you explained at the beginning, this is a very difficult and complicated process, and we need to be sure that all of this evidence we properly preserved at this stage. 50.

this evidence we properly preserved at this stage-— at this stage. so, because the restrictions _ at this stage. so, because the restrictions that _ at this stage. so, because the restrictions that you _ at this stage. so, because the i restrictions that you mentioned, at this stage. so, because the - restrictions that you mentioned, can you see president putin ever being prosecuted as a war criminal? weill. prosecuted as a war criminal? well, this is a very — prosecuted as a war criminal? well, this is a very challenging _ prosecuted as a war criminal? -ii this is a very challenging question, and as i always say, unfortunately we have not reached that level of internationaljustice we have not reached that level of international justice that we would like to even in 2022. this is very likely that arrest warrants for alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity will be delivered by the international criminal court. however, the international criminal court does not have a police and depends very much on the cooperation of the relevant state. so, it is very unlikely to have president putin surrender himself, so unless he is arrested or there is something else, at this stage as we speak, it's very difficult. however, we

have seen in the past other former heads of state who have been prosecuted, who have been before the international criminal tribunal such as slope milosevic and others. so it is not an unlikely scenario, but with the circumstances we have today, i would say this is not something in the immediate future lessening changes dramatically. maria, thank you so much for sharing your insights on newsday today. thank you very much. in an address to members of the israeli parliament, ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has questioned why some countries officially appear to be indifferent to russia's invasion of his country. israel, which has ties to both ukraine and russia, has taken a somewhat neutral position during the war. let's have a listen

to some of what he said translation: listen - to what the kremlin is saying, simply listen to that. they even used to such terminology that were mentioned then, when the nazi party was marching through europe and wanted to destroy everyone and everything, to subjugate peoples and to destroy us and you completely without even a word. they were calling it the final solution for the jewish question. you remember that. and you will never forget that. but you are hearing they are speaking these words again, the final solution. and a reminder that you can keep across all the developments on the russia—ukraine war by going to our website. our live page is updated with all the latest reports from our correspondents on the ground.

that's all on the bbc news website or download the bbc news app. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has been criticised for comparing ukraine's fight against russia's invasion to people in britain voting for brexit. mrjohnson said it was the "instinct of the people of this country, like the people of ukraine, to choose freedom". a senior conservative peer said voting in a referendum was not "in any way comparable with risking your life" in a war. here in the uk, the chancellor, rishi sunak, has told the bbc that where he can "make a difference" by helping people with the rising cost of living, he will. he's due to deliver a spring statement on the economy this week. people canjudge me by my actions. over the past two years, where we've been able to make a difference, i've tried to do that. and i've always been honest with people, government can't solve every problem. i wish i could, but i can't,

especially when you're dealing with global inflationary forces that are at play. but you saw that on energy prices already — £9 billion of support. it means four out of five households in england are going to receive £150 in direct cash support in april as the energy bills go up and more support on its way in october as well. the duke and duchess of cambridge have arrived in belize for their week—long tour of the caribbean. it is their firstjoint overseas trip since the start of the pandemic, but part of the first day of their tour had to be cancelled due to a protest from villagers at a cocoa farm. our royal correspondent jonny dymond reports. a visit to a cocoa farm and a chance to spread some goodwill and learn a thing or two. but this wasn't meant to be the first stop of kate and william's tour. that had to be hurriedly cancelled

after some residents protested at the link between prince william and a charity working in the area. by midday, things were back on track. with william and kate getting a taste of garifuna culture, where african and indian arawak traditions met, and made something completely new. it certainly made the royal couple put on their dancing shoes. and, of course, where there's a tour, there's generally a tree—pla nting. the big picture, the big message from this week—long tour of the caribbean is thank you. thank you from the couple on behalf of the queen for the support she has had from the people of this region over her seven decades on the throne.

but there'll also be time for the couple to meet people more directly connected to their key interests. so, the last event of the day was a meeting with some of the country's marine conservation experts, the men and women battling to restore belize's barrier reef. this trip will celebrate the royal family's past in the caribbean, but the duke and duchess also clearly have an eye on the future. jonny dymond, bbc news, belize. let's try and in this addition of new state with some beautiful pictures from japan. the japan meteorological agency has oficially declared the start of cherry blossom season in tokyo. agency officials confirmed that at least five blossoms had opened at yasukuni shrine in central tokyo. the declaration came four days earlier than average and six days later than the last year. and from now, cherry blossoms are expected in many parts of western and eastern japan.

that's all for now. hello there. temperatures on sunday weren't quite as high as saturday's, but still not bad. in the spring sunshine, we got to 15 degrees in porthmadog, north west wales. that was the warmest spot in the country. and looking at the weather over the next few days, more of that spring sunshine is on the way. it will become warmer. mostly dry, but there's just a few isolated showers to watch out for as the week goes by. high pressure, then, still dominating the picture. that stays to the east of us. this little curl of cloud is associated with a pool of cooler air, and that has showers within it. now, what happens over the next couple of days is that area of cool air pulls northwards, taking the showers away. and at the same time, we're then going to start to see temperatures rising significantly. high teens, even low 20s over the next couple of days. now, right now, there is a risk of seeing an odd showerjust

brushing the eastern coast of england. the cloud in northern ireland could also bring an odd spot of rain, but should keep the frost at bay. clear skies for most of scotland, england and wales will allow a widespread frost to take us into the first part of monday. temperatures at the lowest down to about —6 in aberdeenshire, where it's going to be a particularly cold start to the day in scotland. but a lovely start to the day for most of you, lots of sunshine around. a bit of patchy cloud extends in from the south—west as the day goes by. there's a small chance of a shower for eastern scotland, but for most of you, it's essentially a dry day. and we're going to start to see those temperatures rising across england and wales. highs here around 14—16 degrees. the cooler air still across scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england. now, for tuesday's forecast, there's still a risk of some frost to start the day across scotland in particular. a lovely day with lots of sunshine. there could just be one or two isolated showers popping up across central areas just for a time, but still most of you will dodge those. we're looking at top temperatures into the high teens,

perhaps reaching 20 celsius in the warmest areas. and that would of course threaten the highest temperatures that we've seen so far this year. wednesday, a similar day. again, plenty of sunshine across the board, but this time, if we do see some showers, they could affect the far north of scotland. but still, those temperatures will continue to rise. 17 in newcastle, 16 for glasgow. again in parts of england and perhaps eastern wales, we could see temperatures into the high teens, perhaps 20 degrees or so. and this dry weather is going to last right the way through friday and into the weekend, although there's a tendency for it to turn a bit cloudier.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the united nations says 10 million ukrainians have now been displaced by the invading russian forces, since the war began. they have either fled abroad or moved to safer parts of the country. in the besieged southern port of mariupol, local politicians say the bombardment is constant. russia has urged people to surrender, offering to open up humanitarian corridors. previous arrangements have been targeted by russian fire. president zelensky has addressed the israeli parliament, comparing russia's actions in ukraine, to those of hitler in the 1940s. he said the kremlin was talking about the final solution to the ukrainian issue.

the deputy commander of russia's black sea fleet has