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 is im ossible translation: i understand it is impossible to — translation: i understand it is impossible to force _ translation: i understand it is impossible to force russia - impossible to force russia completely from ukrainian territory. it will lead to a third world war. i understand it and that is why i'm talking about a compromise. as the bombardment of ukrainian cities contines, 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 its 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. in los angeles, the oscars are getting under way. there are some changes to the ceremony and it is uptight raise for best picture. the red carpet has just closed, the stars have arrived, excitement is growing, stay with us for full coverage of the 94th academy awards. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news — it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. the president of ukraine, volodymyr zelensky, has accused

moscow of wiping russian—speaking cities in his country "off the face of the earth" since it invaded a month ago. he was speaking in a landmark interview with four independent russian media outlets. the exchange has angered russia's media regulator, which is warning local media not to carry it. mr zelensky did sound notes of compromise, saying ukraine could consider adopting neutral status subject to a referendum. translation: guarantors will not sin translation: guarantors will not sign anything _ translation: guarantors will not sign anything if _ translation: guarantors will not sign anything if the - not sign anything if the russian troops not sign anything if the russian troops are not sign anything if the russian troops are in not sign anything if the russian troops are in ukraine. what you think that this can be finished quickly and the only person that prolongs it is putin for some british prime minister borisjohnson, us minister boris johnson, us presidentjoe minister borisjohnson, us presidentjoe biden will the president of turkey will sit down for talks if the troops are here? nobody. i

understand it is impossible to force russia completely from ukrainian territory, it would lead to a third world war. i understand it and that is why i am talking about a compromise. go back to where it all began an event we will try to solve the donbass 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 re—locating 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 on fire. after leaving the shelter, we walked for about six kilometres under 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, that is 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 of people are trapped in mariupol, without the basics to survive, and nowhere near enough aid being allowed in. there is absolutely a humanitarian crisis there. there has 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 the 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. meanwhile, within the past few hours, president biden has told reporters that he wasn't calling for regime change in russia, when he said in a speech in poland that president putin "cannot remain in power." his comments on saturday led to the us secretary of state, anthony blinken, denying that it was white house policy to seek regime change in moscow. the french president, emmanuel macron, said such comments could

escalate the conflict. away from the battlefields, there's another humanitarian disaster in the making, with nearly two million ukrainian children fleeing russian bombardment to neighbouring countries, according to the united nations. humanitarian organisations including unicef are warning that these children, along with their mothers and otherfemale refugees, face a high risk of exploitation and falling prey to traffickers. 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 far from 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 margarita from kyiv hopes to stop fellow refugees falling into the wrong hands. we caught three persons 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 who drive as much as they can to the border. this woman has started the women behind the wheel initiative. we decided to create this bubble of safety in order 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 is 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 needs make refugees vulnerable. here in poland, and elsewhere, 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, told us she wants to sound the alarm. translation: fake ngo workers approached me. | they looked at us sleazily. they told us to get in a van with other women and said they would take us to switzerland. 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. i've been speaking to our correspondent, laura bicker, in seoul.

when it comes to this prison, when you walk in through the cell door, at what they managed to find out is that it is only about a metre high so detainees have to go in on their hands and feet. you have to crawl in. they are then put in a cell with at least nine people, but we have spoken to someone who has said there were at least 15 people in her cell. the have to sit cross—legged with their arms on their knees for at least 12 hours a day. they get a break to sleep and they get a break to eat but they are not given much to eat. what korea future has done is create an incredibly detailed database of more than 5000 human rights violations and they have even identified up to 600 alleged perpetrators of these crimes. what they hope to do with it then is that, they have done it with the help of international experts in the hope that some of those responsible can be brought to justice and that is why they are making this database freely

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 and, as you have described, just some devastating details of conditions inside the prison. what is likely to be the reaction, if any, from the north koreans about these findings? well, when it comes to those conditions, we are talking about widespread use of torture, starvation, forced abortions, sexual abuse. we have also heard of executions of new born babies. these are the kind of allegations that are made in this database. now, we have tried to contact the representative from north korea to respond to this report but have received no reply. north korea has said on a number of occasions that they deny any allegations of human rights violations but i think, when it comes to it,

over the last few weeks especially, we have heard about kimjong—un, more about his missile programme and that is usually what international attention, that is a kind of attention north korea receives but i think what this database highlights is that 25 million people are within this border and that is the kind of threat that they live with. for doing the kind of things that we could do every day, watch the television, watch any south korean drama, have a mobile phone, cross the border and the two detainees that i spoke to, who have been in the best detention centre, are hoping that this database will one day bring them closer to seeing justice. when you describe the ambitions or the hopes, i suppose is a better way of putting it, of those two detainees that you have spoken to, getting some justice, is that at all likely? i think it is going to be very difficult. i think it might take some time but what this database is done is identified alleged perpetrators and again highlighting the kind of human

rights violations that are happening within the border within north korea and when it comes to many non—profit organisations, that is what they are hoping to do, just raise awareness. i do know they hope to raise awareness with the united nations in the next few weeks. laura bicker. if you wanyt to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma iam i am looking forward to hearing from you. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we'll be live in los angeles ahead of the academy awards, where coda and the netflix western, the power of the dog, are among those vying for best picture. 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. in other news, 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 28 march and five 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 injust 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. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. reports from north korea have quoted kim jong—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. emergency services in israel say at least two people have been killed and several injured in a shooting attack in the coastal town of hadera. two gunmen, who were arab israeli citizens, and were shot dead by undercover officers. the islamic state has claimed responsibility for the attack. 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 2a 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 six million afghans used to watch the bbc�*s tv news programmes in local languages. the bbc has described the development as worrying. stars are arriving on the red carpet for hollywood's biggest night, the oscars which is underway in los angeles. the gothic western the power of the dog, the science fiction epic dune, and the family drama coda are all competing for the top awards. our north america correspondent, peter bowes and hejoin me now. i understand there is already a big performance under way with beyonce taking to the stage? yes, beyonce started the show and they have promised us that this would be a more performance heavy oscars. they have given out some of the awards already, i will tell you about that in a second but it

is leaving more space for the performances, the theory being that that's what audiences want to see, the artists in this case performing the nominated songs, but as a mention we have already had some of the winners announced, at least backstage and we will see that acceptance speeches later and i can tell you dune, you mentioned dune the science fiction epic has already won in four separate categories the best town, best original score, the composer hans is winning his second oscar 30 years after his first which is for the lion king, also winning in best production design and clearly building up to be a very good night for dune. let me bring in tom brooke, the presenter of talking movies. we always knew that dune would do quite well, these are the technical categories, though? that is absolutely _ categories, though? that is absolutely right, _ categories, though? that is absolutely right, think - categories, though? that is absolutely right, think that l absolutely right, think that dune — absolutely right, think that dune will emerge from this oscar— dune will emerge from this oscar ceremony coming away with

more _ oscar ceremony coming away with more trophies than any other film — more trophies than any other film but _ more trophies than any other film but they aren't the high—profile categories, doesn't have any actors in the game, — doesn't have any actors in the game, so _ doesn't have any actors in the game, so all credit to it, the film — game, so all credit to it, the film has _ game, so all credit to it, the film has done better at the box office _ film has done better at the box office than any other of the best— office than any other of the best picture nominees, it is a masterful_ best picture nominees, it is a masterful work, best picture nominees, it is a masterfulwork, but best picture nominees, it is a masterful work, but it is not a film _ masterful work, but it is not a film that— masterful work, but it is not a film that is— masterful work, but it is not a film that is creating sort of ceremony and excitement in terms — ceremony and excitement in terms of— ceremony and excitement in terms of star power being associated with that, i think. the — associated with that, i think. the show— associated with that, i think. the show is under way, does have a bit of a different feel to it, we have three female presenters, for example which is unusual, after going for several years without a presenter at all.- several years without a presenter at all. they seem very likeable, _ presenter at all. they seem very likeable, very - presenter at all. they seem | very likeable, very animated but you _ very likeable, very animated but you know, they i think got three — but you know, they i think got three presenters because they were _ three presenters because they were thinking what can we do to lift the — were thinking what can we do to lift the programme. i don't lift the programme. idon't know— lift the programme. i don't know whether or not it will really _ know whether or not it will really do _ know whether or not it will really do the trick because i think— really do the trick because i think the _ really do the trick because i think the fundamental problem is that— think the fundamental problem is that they have nominated films— is that they have nominated films yet once more that hardly anybody — films yet once more that hardly anybody has seen. last year, nomadland won for best picture, hardly— nomadland won for best picture, hardly anyone had, not hardly anyone, — hardly anyone had, not hardly anyone, but very few people had

seen _ anyone, but very few people had seen nomadland and this year, it will— seen nomadland and this year, it will go— seen nomadland and this year, it will go with conventional wisdom, _ it will go with conventional wisdom, the power of the dog, not many— wisdom, the power of the dog, not many people have seen that film either, i think that is the — film either, i think that is the main _ film either, i think that is the main problem, that is why they— the main problem, that is why they have _ the main problem, that is why they have got three presenters. the other— they have got three presenters. the other thing was thinking, maybe — the other thing was thinking, maybe i'm a bit too down on this— maybe i'm a bit too down on this oscars, the presentation of the — this oscars, the presentation of the oscars has not changed really — of the oscars has not changed really since 1953 when it of the oscars has not changed really since1953 when it was first — really since1953 when it was first televised. they want to reach — first televised. they want to reach people younger than me, the tiktok— reach people younger than me, the tiktok generation. is this going — the tiktok generation. is this going to _ the tiktok generation. is this going to do it? having three interesting female presenters? i interesting female presenters? idoh't — interesting female presenters? i don't think so. it interesting female presenters? i don't think so.— i don't think so. it still has the feel. _ i don't think so. it still has the feel, at _ i don't think so. it still has the feel, at least - i don't think so. it still has the feel, at least to - i don't think so. it still has the feel, at least to me, i i don't think so. it still has | the feel, at least to me, as i don't think so. it still has i the feel, at least to me, as a variety show and variety shows remind me of childhood, the 70s and 80s and it's that kind of format still, isn't it?- and 80s and it's that kind of format still, isn't it? you are absolutely — format still, isn't it? you are absolutely right, _ format still, isn't it? you are absolutely right, it _ format still, isn't it? you are absolutely right, it feels - absolutely right, it feels nostalgic. a few minutes ago we were _ nostalgic. a few minutes ago we were watching this monitor here and were watching this monitor here ahd they— were watching this monitor here and they were having the presentation of all the stars on the — presentation of all the stars on the oscars show but none of them _ on the oscars show but none of them were _ on the oscars show but none of them were like huge old—time mert —

them were like huge old—time mert ney idols who would really .et mert ney idols who would really get you — mert ney idols who would really get you very excited, it all seemed _ get you very excited, it all seemed very routine in a way and _ seemed very routine in a way and i— seemed very routine in a way and i think— seemed very routine in a way and i think that is one of the problems. and i think that is one of the problems-— and i think that is one of the roblems. , ., ., ., problems. just had one of the big categories, _ problems. just had one of the big categories, best - problems. just had one of the i big categories, best supporting actress. arianna devoe's. a lot of people had expected that from west side story and this is of course steven spielberg's remake, dancing with the stars was a breakthrough on american television but now she has a top ranking actress. —— ariana debose. top ranking actress. -- ariana debose. , ., , ., top ranking actress. -- ariana debose. , ., ., debose. this was one of the oscar race — debose. this was one of the oscar race is _ debose. this was one of the oscar race is that _ debose. this was one of the oscar race is that everybody j oscar race is that everybody said — oscar race is that everybody said she _ oscar race is that everybody said she would win because any or all— said she would win because any or all the — said she would win because any or all the pre— oscar awards she — or all the pre— oscar awards she has— or all the pre— oscar awards she has won, so it is a big victory— she has won, so it is a big victory to— she has won, so it is a big victory to her, it speaks to her— victory to her, it speaks to her talent. victory to her, it speaks to hertalent. is victory to her, it speaks to her talent. is also being seen as a — her talent. is also being seen as a important moment in oscars history. _ as a important moment in oscars history. for— as a important moment in oscars history, for queer people because she identifies as being queer — because she identifies as being queer. she is a very

interesting woman, she is a latiha. _ interesting woman, she is a latina, she is very open about a lot— latina, she is very open about a lot of— latina, she is very open about a lot of different aspects of her life _ a lot of different aspects of her life and as i say, she is an unbelievable talent and she really— an unbelievable talent and she really did make this westside story— really did make this westside story come alive and i was really— story come alive and i was really bowled over by her. fmalty— really bowled over by her. finally in the few seconds that we have left, let's have a look, a couple of hours, that is when we will get to know best actor and it is probably a tight race between coda and the power of the dog. yes tight race between coda and the power of the dog.— power of the dog. yes and i think coda _ power of the dog. yes and i think coda is _ power of the dog. yes and i think coda is going - power of the dog. yes and i think coda is going to - power of the dog. yes and i think coda is going to win. i j think coda is going to win. i think— think coda is going to win. i think the _ think coda is going to win. i think the power of the dog is a better— think the power of the dog is a better film coda is something that is— better film coda is something that is the most emotionally satisfying film in the theatre's oscars race. time, we shau theatre's oscars race. time, we shall see- _ theatre's oscars race. time, we shall see. that _ theatre's oscars race. time, we shall see. that is _ theatre's oscars race. time, we shall see. that is all _ theatre's oscars race. time, we shall see. that is all to - theatre's oscars race. time, we shall see. that is all to come i shall see. that is all to come in the next couple of hours not be the oscars well and truly under way. thank you for keeping us up—to—date with all the glitz and glamour at the oscars. that's it from us here at newsday. to stay with bbc news

for the latest on that and all the rest of the global headlines. we will be keeping you right up—to—date right here on the channel. thanks for watching. hello there. we've had quite a prolonged run of dry and sunny weather. it's also been very warm for the time of year, with temperatures last week reaching as high as 21 degrees. this week, it's set to get a lot colder, cold enough for some of you to even see a little bit of snow later on in the week, would you believe it. right now, we've got quite a bit of cloud across the west midlands, parts of wales, northwest england, working into the irish sea, across the isle of man and into eastern counties of northern ireland. so, a bit of mist with that, could even find an odd patch of drizzle. where we keep the clearer skies, it's cold with some patches of frost. now, for monday, much of this cloud will tend to break up again. could be a few showers

across central regions of the uk, perhaps one or two across the pennines, into the southern uplands, but for the vast majority, it's dry again and the temperatures on the warm side — 17 for glasgow, 18 degrees in london. that's the last of the really warm days because, on tuesday, we'll start to see colder air seeping in across the far north of the uk behind this cold front. generally on tuesday, there'll be a more cloud around and some showers. those showers merge together to give a slightly longer spell of rain across the south coast of england. but even so, there will be some areas that stay entirely dry with still some sunny spells. however, 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. now, for wednesday, a lot of cloud around, cold outbreaks of rain, probably some snow in the hills, scotland and northern england. across the south, we're holding onto that relatively mild air with temperatures still 11 or 12, but across more northern areas, four or 5 degrees for newcastle and aberdeen. factor in the wind, it is going to feel cold.

now, wednesday night time, that mix of rain and snow pushes southwards. now, most of it will be up over the higher ground, so areas like wales could see some of that. however, if this system slows down and we get an area of low pressure deepening a little bit, we could see an area of snow come down to low elevations for a time. there's a lot of uncertainty about that, but were that to happen, we could have some disruptive weatherfor a short time. either way, it's going to be cold on thursday.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. hello. this week, i'm in los angeles for the 94th academy awards, which take place on sunday. and one film in particular is attracting a lot of oscars attention. the power of the dog, directed byjane campion and starring benedict cumberbatch, is a slow—burning western based in 1920s montana. it is up for 12 nominations, including best picture, and one man who will be watching sunday's proceedings with trepidation is scott stuber, who is head of global films at netflix. if the film does win that category, it'll be the first time a netflix—made movie has triumphed, after roma and the irishman fell short in recent years.

scott is my guest on today's media show.