welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... ukraine's president zelensky says his country could become neutral as part of a peace deal to end russia's invasion. translation: i understand it's impossible to force - russia completely from ukrainian territory. it would lead to a third world war. i understand it, and that's why i'm talking about a compromise. as the bombardment of ukrainian cities continues, refugees fleeing from the southern port of mariupol say they're being forced to go to russia. in other news this hour, we find out what it's like inside north korea's prisons for defectors who try to leave the country. the entire population

of shanghai is sent into isolation for the next nine days in the biggest city—wide lockdown in china since the covid outbreak began. here in los angeles, the oscars are under way. the red carpet is back with a k or money itself is facing some big changes. —— but the ceremony. life from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, says he's prepared to discuss a formal neutral status for his country as part of talks to end the war with russia. but he insisted the ukrainian people would have to approve such a move in a referendum, and third parties would need to guarantee it.

in a video call with russian journalists, which moscow warned local media outlets not to report, mr zelensky said the kremlin�*s demand for ukrainian disarmament was out of the question. but he accepted there were areas of potential compromise. translation: guarantors will not signed anything at the russian troops are in ukraine. why do i think this warcan be are in ukraine. why do i think this war can be finished quickly wins on the only person —— the only person who prolongs it is putin. borisjohnson, joe biden, who will sit down for talks? who will sit? with the russian troops here. who will sign anything? nobody. i understand impossible to force russia completely from ukraine and it would lead to a third world war. if i understand it and that's why i'm talking about a compromise. go back to where it all began. we will try

to solve the donbas issue. well, more than a month into the fighting, analysts believe russia is trying to encircle and cut off ukrainian troops in the east. one key russian target is the strategic port city of mariupol, which has been devastated by shelling. ukraine accuses russian troops there of forcibly relocating thousands of civilians from the city — something moscow denies. but the bbc has spoken to one resident of mariupol who says she was given "no option" but to leave, and was taken to the russian separatist held area of donestk and then onto russia itself. our correspondent wyre davies reports. thousands of refugees have been able to leave mariupol, travelling in packed, bomb—damaged vehicles to the relative safety of ukrainian—held towns. but ukraine has now accused the russian military of forcibly removing thousands of residents to russia. irina, now staying with

relatives near moscow, told the bbc about herjourney out. translation: one day, | the russian military came by and said that we needed to vacate our shelter immediately because the building got fire. after leaving the shelter, we walked for about six kilometres and the shelling and made it to the city limits. those people who had families in russia could go there at their own expense. those who did not have anyone there, they were allocated to a place in russia. they were put on evacuation trains to those destinations. this is important, would you say that you and others were forcibly made to leave mariupol and go to russia? translation: i will put it this way - from there, - everyone was taken to the dpr, thatis russian—occupied ukraine. once there, you have to decide

whether you were going to stay in the dpr or go to russia. the choice was between the dpr and russia. the city irina left behind is in ruins, barely a building left unscathed by the russian bombardment. tens of thousands are still trapped in mariupol, without the basics to survive, and nowhere near enough aid being allowed in. there is absolutely a humanitarian crisis there. there's been a humanitarian crisis for well over two weeks. you have people who haven't had access to water or food for weeks now, people who are... ..dead bodies on the street and people burying the bodies of their neighbours. just the trauma and psychological burden this is going to have on a population. under such conditions, staying in mariupol or having to go to russia was irina's almost impossible choice. do you worry that if this war doesn't end in agreement or that parts of ukraine remain

occupied, that you won't be allowed to go back to ukraine itself? translation: we hope that there will be such an opportunity. - we are already imagining ways that we can get back to our homeland. wyre davies, bbc news, dnipro, ukraine. that's the picture in ukraine. meanwhile, within the past couple of hours, president biden has told reporters that he wasn't calling for regime change in russia when he said in a speech on saturday in poland that president vladimir putin "cannot remain in power." his comments led to the us secretary of state, antony blinken, denying that it was white house policy of seeking regime charge in moscow. and french president emmanuel macron said such comments could escalate conflict. away from the battlefields, there's another humanitarian disaster in the making, with nearly 2 million ukrainian

children fleeing russian bombardment to neighbouring countries, according to the united nations. humanitarian organisations have warned these children along with their mothers and other female ukrainian refugees are at a heightened risk of trafficking and exploitation. our europe editor, katya adler, reports from the polish—ukrainian border. they grabbed what mattered most and fled for their lives. ukrainian children and women, now farfrom home, are forced to put their trust in strangers. the chaos of war now behind them, the truth is they're not always safe here either. the refugees come in. they have no idea what's going on. they can believe everybody. volunteer margherita hopes to stop fellow refugees falling into the wrong hands. we caught a person who search

for beautiful women to sell them for sex work. it's horrible. so horrible, many poles feel driven to take action. we have 605 amazing women drive as much as they can to the border. ella has started the women behind the wheel initiative. we decided to keep this bubble of safety for these women to simply rest. this family is one of the lucky ones. ella has their best interest at heart, but five weeks into europe's biggest refugee crisis since world war ii, there's still no efficient process to screen all those claiming to help ukrainians. over the next days and weeks, people need somewhere to sleep, to eat. many tell us they are looking

for a job, and these make refugees vulnerable. here in poland, people have opened their homes to ukrainians, but sadly, not everyone with the best of intentions. we hear many stories of abuse, but most victims are too scared to speak on camera. but this woman, now safely in denmark, said she wants to sound the alarm. translation: fake ngo workers approached me and my children i they got angry when i asked for their ids, so i grabbed . my children and ran. human rights groups warn sex and organ traffickers are already active here. this is a region where there are well—established trafficking networks in place. at a time of growing numbers

of women and children arriving, the risks are certainly on the rise. organised crime isn't the only menace. some refugees are forced to work for free, others to have sex in exchange for lodgings. the displaced and the vulnerable need our protection. katya adler, bbc news, on the polish—ukrainian border. away from ukraine, i want to tell you about this story. a group of investigators have put together a 3—d computer model of what a north korean detention centre looks like — giving us, for the first time, an idea of life inside one of the world's most notorious prison systems. the bbc�*s laura bicker, in seoul, has been given exclusive access to this 3—d model. laura, describe to us what the prison looks like.

well, when it comes to this prison, when you walk in through the cell door, what they've managed to find out is only about a metre high. detainees have to go in on their hands and feet. you have to crawl in. they are put in a cell with at least nine people, but we have spoken to someone who said they were at least 15 people in her cell. they have to sit crosslegged with her arms on their needs to at least 12 hours a day. they are not given much to eat. this is created an incredibly detailed database of more than 5000 human rights violations and up to 600 alleged perpetrators of these crimes. what they hope to do with it is, they've done it with the help of experts in the hope that some of those responsible can be brought to justice. that's why they make this database available to all.

we've just been looking at some of the pictures of that 3d model of what life inside that prison must be like. as you've described, just devastating details of conditions inside the prison. what's likely to be the prison. what's likely to be the reaction if any from the north koreans about these findings? north koreans about these findinus? ~ north koreans about these findings?— north koreans about these findinus? ~ .., , findings? well, when it comes to those conditions, _ findings? well, when it comes to those conditions, we're - to those conditions, we're talking about widespread use of torture, starvation, forced abortions, sexual abuse and we've also heard of executions and the killing of newborn babies. these are the kinds of elevations that are made in this database. we try to contact a representative from north korea, but received no response. with korea has set on a number of occasions that they deny any allegations of human rights violations. over the last few weeks, especially,

we've heard more about kim jong—un and his missile programme, and that's usually what international attention receives. but i think what this highlights is that 25 million people within this quarter, that's the kind of threat they live with for doing things that we can do every day — watch tv, watch a south korean drama, have a mobile phone, cross the border. the two detainees that i spoke to who have been in this detention centre are hoping that this database will one day bring them closer to seeing justice.— seeing justice. when you describe _ seeing justice. when you describe that, _ seeing justice. when you describe that, the - seeing justice. when you describe that, the hopes| seeing justice. when you i describe that, the hopes of thoseit describe that, the hopes of those it detainees that you spoken to, getting some justice, is that at all likely? i think it's going to be very difficult. ithink it i think it's going to be very difficult. i think it might take some time. what this has done is identified alleged perpetrators and highlighting the kind of human rights

violations. i think when it comes to many nonprofit organisations, that's what they hope to do. i do know that they hope to do. i do know that they hope to do. i do know that they hope to raise awareness with the united nations in the next few weeks. the united nations in the next few weeks— few weeks. laura dicker, 'ust before we fl few weeks. laura dicker, 'ust before we let i few weeks. laura dicker, 'ust before we let you i few weeks. laura dicker, 'ust before we let you go, i few weeks. laura dicker, 'ust before we let you go, for“ few weeks. laura dicker, just before we let you go, for all. before we let you go, for all of our audiences, —— before we let you go, for all of ouraudiences, —— laura bicker, this is her last week from seoul. very sad for us. i know whatever else you will do, it will be fantastic. thank you so much for all the amazing reporting that you've given us from south korea, and i'm sure there's lots more to follow. thanks forjoining us on newsday. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come in the programme. we will be live in los angeles

like ahead of the academy awards. the accident that happened here was of the sort that can, at worst, produce a meltdown. in this case, the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become - a symbol of paris.

100 years ago, many parisians| wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is- being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel — this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... president zelensky says he's prepared to discuss ukraine becoming a neutral country — as part of a peace deal, to end the fighting. refugees fleeing from the southern port of mariupol say they've been forced to go to russia. some other news for you now , away from ukraine — china has announced its biggest city—wide lockdown since the covid outbreak began more than two years ago.

the entire population of shanghai will be restricted to their homes over the next nine days. residents will be locked down in two groups between the 28th of march and the 5th april and a mass testing programme will be put in place. all public transport will be suspended for the duration and factories will close. only public services and food supply operations will be allowed to continue. shanghai reported over 2,500 asymptomatic covid cases on sunday — a new daily record. our china correspondent, robin brant, says the order has triggered panic—buying by residents. the city has been on its knees for two weeks, but tonight, all of a sudden, areas that were reduced to being like a ghost town are full of panicked shoppers. i've been out and seen queues stretching out of shops as people are trying to stock up on supplies before the lockdown kicks in in the early hours of monday morning. now, 25 million people are going to be affected. public transport is going to be shut. everyone will be subject to

a mass citywide covid testing. they are breaking it down into two halves. the next four days will be the eastern side of the city that's in lockdown — that's where i am at the moment. then, after that, the western side will follow. shanghai is china's commercial capital, but at the moment, it is one of the worst—hit areas as china is seeing a resurgence in covid cases. the numbers are relatively small, compared to international numbers, numbering in just a few thousand in terms of confirmed cases, but by china's standards, that is significant. what we're seeing here is yet again the use of this most harshest of measures to try to contain the virus and try to maintain covid and china's zero—covid strategy. the next big question is how long will this lockdown last? other cities have had similar measures, but it's been longer than the nine days planned here.

robin brant reporting. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. reports from north korea have quoted kimjong—un as saying that his country will continuing developing "formidable striking capabilities". it comes as the united states has called for tougher sanctions after the north korean leader oversaw the test of the country's largest ever ballistic missile last week. washington accused pyongyang of increasingly dangerous provocations. kim was speaking on a visit to thank people who contributed to thursday's missile launch. police in israel say that two suspected arab gunmen have opened fire and wounded two police officers in the city of hadera. police say the two suspects were then shot dead. last week, four israelis were killed and two wounded in an attack in the city of beersheba by an arab—israeli man, who had once beenjailed for links to the islamic state group. the parliament of el salvador

has approved a state of emergency after a spate of gang—related murders on saturday. the new law restricts the right to assembly, allows arrests without a warrant and the monitoring of communications. police said there had been 62 murders in the latest 24—hour period. the bbc�*s persian, pashto and uzbek language service tv programmes have been taken off air in afghanistan, after the taliban ordered local channels not to broadcast content produced by international partners. more than 6 million afghans used to watch the bbc�*s tv news programmes in local languages according to the organisation. the bbc described the development as worrying and called on the taliban to reverse their decision. the 2022 award season reaches its peak in the next hour, with the oscars taking place in los angeles. the top contenders for best

picture include coda, the power of the dog and belfast. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, and tom brooke from talking movies are at the oscars in los angeles and theyjoin me now. we can see peter right now looking very glamourous. this looking very glamourous. this look really suits you. what's the mood like today.- look really suits you. what's the mood like today. thank you very much- _ the mood like today. thank you very much. the _ the mood like today. thank you very much. the mood _ the mood like today. thank you very much. the mood is - the mood like today. thank you very much. the mood is one . the mood like today. thank you very much. the mood is one of| very much. the mood is one of excitement. we are on a very windy sunset boulevard on hollywood boulevard, where the ceremony is taking place. the oscars are back. we had very difficult years, but the red carpet is back. the ceremony itself, there will be some changes. they're trying to produce a much tighter ceremony, meaning some of the awards will be re—recorded. that's happening right now. we

seem to have a three horse race between the power of the dog, the western that was made in new zealand and set in the united states. that has the most nominations. there is coda, a much smallerfilm about a deaf family with one hearing member of the family, who is working hard to help herfamily members live their lives while she lives her life as well. then there's belfast, the kenneth branagh directed film. tom brook is with me. i know you seen all of these movies, and it is a three horse race. we don't really know. but it could be one of the three. i could be one of the three. i think you're absolutely right. it's a — think you're absolutely right. it's a three horse race. i think_ it's a three horse race. i think coda is going to win, and it's interesting. i think the power_ it's interesting. i think the power of— it's interesting. i think the power of the dog is better cinema _ power of the dog is better cinema. it's really unbelievable what the director

has done. given what's going on in the _ has done. given what's going on in the world, i think people like — in the world, i think people like coda. it makes people cry. i think_ like coda. it makes people cry. i think that's what's needed in a wax — i think that's what's needed in a wax the _ i think that's what's needed in a way. the power of the dog is brilliant to _ a way. the power of the dog is brilliant to look at, but it's quite — brilliant to look at, but it's quite a _ brilliant to look at, but it's quite a hard watch. i have to admit — quite a hard watch. i have to admit that i got a little bored at times _ admit that i got a little bored at times. but i think it will go to— at times. but i think it will go to coda. if you asked me a few days — go to coda. if you asked me a few days ago, i would've said belfast, _ few days ago, i would've said belfast, but it seems to be pointing _ belfast, but it seems to be pointing in the direction of coda _ pointing in the direction of coda. , , ., pointing in the direction of coda. , , coda. did you spot the twist in the power— coda. did you spot the twist in the power of— coda. did you spot the twist in the power of the _ coda. did you spot the twist in the power of the dog? - coda. did you spot the twist in the power of the dog? you - coda. did you spot the twist in l the power of the dog? you have to watch a very closely. watch it closely because there is something happening that explains how it ends. absolutely, and that speaks to the power and wonder of that film — the power and wonder of that film it— the power and wonder of that film it is— the power and wonder of that film. it is not... you have to pay— film. it is not... you have to pay attention and really be alert — pay attention and really be alert because a lot of people have — alert because a lot of people have difficulty with the ending. ithought have difficulty with the ending. i thought everything about— ending. i thought everything about the film was really good. i about the film was really good. i loved — about the film was really good. i loved benedict cumberbatch, kiersleh— i loved benedict cumberbatch, kiersten dunst, and the acting

was good. and the cinematography, which was interestingly done by a woman. shall— interestingly done by a woman. shall become the first female cinematographer to win an oscar _ cinematographer to win an oscar. ~ �* , ., oscar. we'll be here for the next few — oscar. we'll be here for the next few hours. _ oscar. we'll be here for the next few hours. one - oscar. we'll be here for the next few hours. one thing l oscar. we'll be here for the i next few hours. one thing that is different this year happening right now is the pre—recording of some of those categories. hairand makeup, categories. hair and makeup, sound, categories. hairand makeup, sound, editing, those kinds of things. the idea being just to allow the show to be a little tighter and give more time for some performances.— tighter and give more time for some performances. well, it's very controversial. _ some performances. well, it's very controversial. the - very controversial. the dropping of these categories or some _ dropping of these categories or some of— dropping of these categories or some of them, i think eight of them, — some of them, i think eight of them, from the new main telecast _ them, from the new main telecast. it really is desperation on the part of the academy. they want the telecast to gel _ academy. they want the telecast to get good ratings. i know it was — to get good ratings. i know it was exceptional last year, but it got— was exceptional last year, but it got less than 10 million peorrle. _ it got less than 10 million people, and they want to have a

tv ceremony that people will lune — tv ceremony that people will tune into. they're thinking they'll— tune into. they're thinking they'll get rid of these categories without big names, but i _ categories without big names, but i think personally, it's a mistake. _ but i think personally, it's a mistake, and it's a slight to the people who work in these categories. but it is a reflection of the problems that the academy is actually having. it's the academy is actually having. it's going — the academy is actually having. it's going to be fascinating to see how that pans out during the night. we'll be watching the night. we'll be watching the ceremony very closely. thank you so much. it is going to be an interesting night. we haven't had an inheritance to talk about this should be the first year when a cleaning service went back to sure —— streaming service wins picture. looking glamourous in los angeles. stars are a arriving for that big night, and a reminder if you want to keep up with the events of the oscars, go to our website. we continually update with the

latest developments. that's it, thanks for watching. do stay with bbc news. hello there. it's also been very warm for the time of year with temperatures reaching as high as 21 degrees. it's set to get a lot colder, cold enough for some of you to get snow later on. we've got quite a bit of cloud across the west midlands, parts of wales and england, working into the irish sea. into eastern counties of northern ireland, a bit of mist with that. marie keep the clear skies, it's cold with some patches of frost. —— we may keep. could be a few showers, perhaps one or two across the pennines into the

southern uplands, but it's a dry for the vast majority. temperature 70 for glasgow, 18 in london. that's the last of the really warm days because we'll start to see colder air -- 17 we'll start to see colder air —— 17 for glasgow. tuesday will have a lot more cloud around and some showers. showers merging together to give a slightly longer risk as well of rain. but even so, there will be areas that stay entirely dry with sunny spells. temperatures will start to come down, and that process will continue as we go through wednesday and thursday. this cold front pushing southwards. we may see an area of low pressure develop and deepen as it transits the uk. forwednesday, a and deepen as it transits the uk. for wednesday, a lot of cloud around. cold outbreaks of rain, probably some snow in the hills. across the south, holding onto that relatively mild air with temperatures still 11 or 12. northern areas,

4 or 5 degrees, factoring in the wind. it will feel cold. wednesday night time, that mix of rain and snow pushes outwards. most of it will be over the high ground, however, if this system slows down and we get an area of low pressure deepening, we could see an area of snow come down to lower elevations for a time. there's a lot of uncertainty, but where that's happened, we could have some disruptive weather for a short time. it's going to be cold on thursday.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm gabriel gatehouse. my guest today is a former member of the russian parliament who's fighting in ukraine against russia. a man who's long said he wants to bring down vladimir putin but who was once on the russian government payroll. ilya ponomaryov has had his feet in many camps —

among the russian elite, inside the popular opposition,