welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: reports the russian billionaire roman abramovich suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning during russian—ukrainian peace talks earlier this month. it does appear that there are organophosphates, aka nerve agents, involved, and we really need to see the medical records. russia continues to hit targets across the country. the next round of face—to—face negotiations are expected to take place on tuesday in turkey. the academy launches a review and condemns will smith for slapping the comedian chris rock — after he made a joke about his wife.

and lockdown in shanghai, china. a city of 25 million people races to test for covid—19, as authorities try to stamp out a worsening covid outbreak. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. russian billionaire roman abramovich reportedly suffered symptoms of poisoning at peace talks on the ukraine—belarus border earlier this month. the chelsea football club owner, who has now recovered, suffered sore eyes and peeling skin, according to the reports. two ukrainian peace negotiators were also said to have been affected.

here's our security correspondent, frank gardner: here's our security correspondent, frank gardner. recent pictures of roman abramovich at tel aviv�*s ben gurion airport. but 11 days earlier, on march 3, something happened to him and two others following peace talks on ukraine's border with belarus. hours after these russian and ukrainian delegates met, three of them, including mr abramovich, suffered searing pain in the eyes, dimness of vision and inflamed, reddened skin. later that night, in the ukraine capital kyiv, according to the investigative website bellingcat, all three were suffering symptoms of intentional poisoning with a chemical agent. it is potentially very serious, and hopefully the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons will be called in to investigate. both ukraine and russia are signatories to the chemical weapons convention, so that would be within the remit of both, particularly ukraine, to bring in. there was no immediate comment from moscow and no proof that russia was behind this.

but back in 2020, the russian opposition activist alexei navalny was hospitalised and nearly died inside siberia after being poisoned with the nerve agent novichok. he recovered, but bellingcat�*s investigators were able to prove it was the work of russia's federal security service, the fsb. two years before that, the same nerve agent, novichok, was used in an attempt to murder the former kgb agent sergei skripal in the town of salisbury. he was saved by an antidote — atropine. roman abramovich's associates say he's fine now and he intends to continue trying to broker a peace between his native russia and ukraine. it's thought that whoever poisoned him and the other delegates was looking to sabotage those peace talks by sending a sinister warning. frank gardner, bbc news. well, peace talks are expected to resume on tuesday in turkey, and just ahead of them, ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky has

made an offer to russia. he said his country could adopt the status of neutrality if that would help end the war, though it would have to be agreed in a referendum. on the battlefield, russian advances have stalled recently. this map shows the areas of ukraine currently under russian control. russian troops still haven't been able to encircle the capital kyiv — the closest they are is about 15 miles away. elsewhere, ukraine has set up humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians, but some of those corridors haven't opened yet because of fears russian forces might attack people who are fleeing. our next report is from jeremy bowen. i want to warn you that his report from kyiv contains some distressing images. the russians attacked an oil storage depot in western ukraine. the war is settling into a deadly daily grind. medics live and sleep

at the hospitals. there is no time to get home. in one in kyiv, the patients include a ukrainian diplomat. victoria said it was ironic that she was wounded in her own home when she came back from belarus, russia's ally. "but i won't lie," she said, "i'm very scared." gennady�*s home was also hit. "the russians thought they'd be greeted with hugs," he says, "but if we don't get weapons to take the offensive, "missiles and planes, the war is going to "drag "missiles and planes, the war is going to "drag on for a long time." president zelensky hinted at compromise to russian journalists on ukrainian neutrality and territory. translation: i understand it's impossible to force - russia completely from the ukrainian territory. it would lead to the third world war. i understand it, and that is why i'm talking about a compromise.

in kyiv, a few cafes are open, and it is less tense than a month ago. slava and katarina were intrigued by what the president had said. translation: nobody's saying we should - give up the territories, but there should be some compromise or concession. translation: we hope that putin is a sane person. - but it's a very small hope. but at the end of the lonely roads out to the front line towns, the war feels much closer. people risk a trip to the market here. but the mayor shows off his ukrainian—made assault rifle and says that nato's only choice is to give them the planes and the tanks they need to beat the russians. i think if putin wins this war, they don't stop.

next will be poland, maybe romania, bulgaria and other countries in the european union. i think. biden and some of the other leaders have said that if they intervened in the war, if there was a no—fly zone, it could be world war iii. maybe, maybe, but if they don't close the sky, they will be next. ukraine's president was right to talk about compromise. but it may never happen. ceasefire agreements that work generally require either two sides fighting each other to exhaustion, or the weaker side making concessions because it fears defeat, or an outside intervention. none of those conditions applies in ukraine at the moment. so the most likely option is a continuation of a war of attrition. jeremy bowen, bbc news, kyiv.

and a reminder of our live page on bbc news online, which has updates as they happen on events in ukraine. the top headline is that possible poisoning, but you can get all the latest from inside the country from our correspondents on the ground. that's on the bbc news website, or simply download the bbc news a- -. away from ukraine, i want to tell you about this story. the bbc understands that the first fines for breaches of covid—i9 rules, which are part of a police investigation into the uk government lockdown parties, will be issued soon. the metropolitan police investigation into 12 events held across government was launched in late january. our correspondent david wallace lockhart has more. so, to set some of the context, before the war in ukraine, politics in the uk, all the talk at westminster was really dominated

by what came to be known as partygate, and those were the parties held at downing street and in whitehall, around government buildings, while the uk was under strict covid restrictions. and it all looks likely to be thrust into the limelight once again, because westminster sources are telling the bbc that the first fixed penalty notices — essentially, fines for breaching rules — are expected to be announced tomorrow, at least 15 of those expected. there was an internal report by a civil servant called sue gray, and she looked at 16 events that it taken place between may 2020 and april 2021, while covid rules were in place, and she concluded that rules had been broken. she was very critical of the culture taking place in government at the time, and we then know that the metropolitan police went on to look at 12 of those events. at least three of them

were attended by the prime minister borisjohnson, though he denies breaking the rules at any point. over 100 questionnaires sent out to people who were thought to be involved to try and ascertain what had happened, what rules may have been broken. boris johnson always previously said he believed he was following the rules, but he did apologise injanuary for attending what was known as a bring your own booze party at the downing street gardens, when the first covid lockdown was in place, and he apologised for that. downing street has always said that they will be open and they will announce if the prime minister himself receives a fine, but it is important to stress we don't know who is going to be part of these fixed penalty notices announced tomorrow, we don't know what events they will relate to. now, the pressure on this issue had perhaps eased in recent

weeks, with the war in ukraine taking a lot of political oxygen, some of borisjohnson�*s own mps easing off their calls for him to go. this is likely to bring it back into the limelight somewhat. now is david wallace lockhart reporting on that story for us. if you want to get in touch with me, i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma i'm looking forward to hearing from you. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: millions of people in china are sealed into their homes and waiting to be tested — after a surge in covid cases. 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 has l been marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustav eiffel. - this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore.

our headlines: the russian billionaire roman abramovich is reported to have suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning during russian—ukrainian peace talks earlier this month. russia continues to hit targets in all parts of the country. the next round of face—to—face negotiations take place on tuesday in turkey. millions of people in eastern shanghai have spent monday as the authorities try to stamp out a worsening covid outbreak. in the western half of the city, people cleared shops and markets of supplies ahead of a lockdown there. shanghai is a key financial and manufacturing hub — and lockdown is being imposed in two halves as authorities carry out covid—19 testing. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports. panic buying led to fights, as shanghai's 25 million residents prepared to go into lockdown. from today, the east

side of the financial capital is a ghost town. the west side will follow on friday. across china, the daily covid tests are mostly orderly, but at times chaotic. in the third year of this crisis, the government's complete elimination strategy is under huge strain, with signs of pandemic exhaustion. those who break the rules are being taken away by the police. some are forced to make public confessions. here, a woman pleads to be allowed to leave home so her husband can receive urgent cancer treatment. from the north—east to the south, tens of millions of people are now confined to their homes. beijing, as a city, is not under lockdown, but if you live in this compound right now, you can't leave. that's because there has been a case here. now, these are the deliveries of food and other provisions. you can see they are marked up according to the flat number, and the staff here will take

these provisions and deliver them to people, and that way, everybody can stay inside for the next two weeks. in hong kong, 6,000 mostly elderly and non—vaccinated people died in two months. yet, it is thought that nearly half the population was infected, boosting herd immunity. china, by, you know, learning from the mistakes that hong kong have made, they will be upscaling the vaccination, especially among the elderly. on the mainland, officials say the vaccine booster rate for those over 80 is at only 19.7%. one 85—year—old tells us she and her husband have only just been vaccinated. translation: i'm not worried. we just need to be careful. translation: chinese people do what they are told. - they listen to the government. yet it's hard for the party to shift when it's making political mileage attacking other countries for sacrificing lives by opening up. translation: if we chose to lay

down now, our efforts _ will have come to nothing. we unswervingly insist on zero covid. blue fences mark communities under strict isolation. the world's covid emergency started here. it looks like this will be the last country to emerge from it. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. anita shum is a lifestyle blogger and shejoins me now via zoom from shanghai. it is great you are on the programme. in the first instance, my understanding is you're currently lockdown in shanghai. what can you do? what can't you do? , ., ., ., , what can you do? what can't you do? ., , ., do? good morning. yes, i am currently _ do? good morning. yes, i am currently living _ do? good morning. yes, i am currently living in _

do? good morning. yes, i am currently living in the - do? good morning. yes, i am currently living in the first - currently living in the first lot being locked down. currently, our compound is gated in, meaning that nobody can go out. luckily, our area, we have a little park, so people can still go out and have a little walk, but we won't be able to, as it says, god for any means —— go out for any means a. god for any means -- go out for any means a-— god for any means -- go out for any means a— any means a. anita, what does that mean. _ any means a. anita, what does that mean, then, _ any means a. anita, what does that mean, then, in _ any means a. anita, what does that mean, then, in terms - any means a. anita, what does that mean, then, in terms of l that mean, then, in terms of getting access to food or supplies? what if you were summoning yourfamily — i hope this doesn't happen — it's unwell —— somebody in your family? unwell -- somebody in your famil ? . unwell -- somebody in your famil ? , . , unwell -- somebody in your famil? ., ., family? hospital is open, and oane family? hospital is open, and online access... _ family? hospital is open, and online access... if _ family? hospital is open, and online access... if someone l family? hospital is open, and| online access... if someone is unwell at home, we can always access the doctor online, or the emergency rooms are open for other means, so, and then

we have each compound have a court nadir, so we can contact the core nature if someone is unwell by other means —— has a coordinator. did unwell by other means -- has a coordinator.— coordinator. did this lockdown come as a _ coordinator. did this lockdown come as a bit _ coordinator. did this lockdown come as a bit of— coordinator. did this lockdown come as a bit of a _ coordinator. did this lockdown come as a bit of a surprise, i come as a bit of a surprise, because some of the reporting about how china has managed the covid situation has been that, for the large part, since that massive lockdown a couple of years ago, life has continued as per normal?— years ago, life has continued as per normal? yes, it actually cau~ht as per normal? yes, it actually caught us _ as per normal? yes, it actually caught us by — as per normal? yes, it actually caught us by a _ as per normal? yes, it actually caught us by a bit _ as per normal? yes, it actually caught us by a bit of— as per normal? yes, it actually caught us by a bit of a - caught us by a bit of a surprise. it was announced early evening of sunday, and so this is the first want to take turn. we started yesterday until april the 1st. turn. we started yesterday untilaprilthe1st. so until april the 1st. so everybody got untilaprilthe1st. so everybody got one night to prepare for what's coming on the five days ahead. and the government immediately announced that all supermarkets must open until midnight, so

everybody pretty much went out immediately and got as much as they can. for the rest of the five days, there is a bunch of online supermarkets, and each of them have a different opening for delivery, so housewives like us or rivers stays at home need to set like six alarms a day to fight themselves for the delivery slots! ~ ., themselves for the delivery slots! �* . �* slots! indeed. anita, i'm afraid we're _ slots! indeed. anita, i'm afraid we're going - slots! indeed. anita, i'm afraid we're going to - slots! indeed. anita, i'ml afraid we're going to have slots! indeed. anita, i'm - afraid we're going to have to leave it there. wish you the best of luck as you and your family go through this lockdown, and i do hope it ends very soon. thank you for joining us on the programme. thank you. the academy of motion pictures, arts & sciences has condemned will smith's behaviour at the oscars on sunday night and launched a review into the incident. the actor slapped comedian chris rock for making a joke about his wife's hair. will smith has apologised to the academy but not

to chris rock. from los angeles, our culture editor katie razzall reports. will smith was always going to make news at the oscars, but he dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons. and now the academy has condemned what happened and announced a formal review. while presenting an award at the ceremony, comedian chris rock had made a joke about will smith's wife's lack of hair. jada, i love you. gijane 2, can't wait to see it. all right? watch jada pinkett smith's reaction. it clearly got to her husband, who strode onto the stage and delivered this. oh, wow! at first, it wasn't clear if it was an elaborate joke, but those involved weren't laughing. the tv broadcast muted the sound, but inside the dolby theater, shocked guests watched as will smith continued to abuse rock. keep my wife's name out your...mouth! i'm going to. now, at this point, i can only laugh. i you all know i've been struggling. with alopecia, and...

jade pinkett smith has previously opened up on social media about her hair loss, so the joke wasn't in the best taste. but there's clearly history here, too. when he hosted the oscars in 2016, chris rock mocked the couple after she'd announced she was boycotting the awards for their lack of diversity. isn't she on a tv show? jada's going to boycott the oscars. jada boycotting the oscars is like me boycotting rihanna's panties! i wasn't invited! last night, long before the slap, one of the hosts, actress regina hall, said this. will smith, um, you're married, but you know what? you're on the list, and it looks like jada approved you, so you get on up here! will smith laughing off thatjoke about the couple's reportedly open relationship. he wasn't laughing later, to the upset of those there. it was kind of hard to watch, i guess, because it's probably the best night of his life, in a way, and then also might have some repercussions. and the oscar goes to...

and when that more predictable event of the night happened... will smith! ..his best actor win making him only the fifth black man in history to do so, the only question was whether he would apologise. now, i know to do what we do, you've got to be able to take abuse. you've got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. in this business, you've got to be able to have people disrespecting you, and you've got to smile and you've got to pretend like that's ok. i want to apologise to the academy, i want to apologise to all my fellow nominees. love will make you do crazy things. it overshadowed what had the makings of a glorious night, with a film about deaf culture making history. troy kotsur was named best supporting actor — the first deaf man ever to win an oscar.

this is dedicated to the deaf community, the coda community and the disabled community. this is our moment. coda, the movie in which he stars, also snatched best picture. jane campion became only the third woman ever to win best director, for the power of the dog. for the brits, sir kenneth branagh finally won an oscar after seven unsuccessful attempts — original screenplay for belfast — and riz ahmed was rewarded for his short film the long goodbye. will smith appeared defiant after the ceremony, posting this video, saying he and his wife got "dressed up to choose chaos". he apparently partied into the night, but may now have to face up to the consequences of what he's done. katie razzall, bbc news, los angeles. and just to say, i was struck

by some of the comments in will smith's acceptance speech, or he quoted fellow actor denzel washington, that at your highest moments, be careful — that's when the devil comes. worse to contemplate, as he goes through what must be a difficult experience for him. —— words to contemplate. and finally, i want to bring you this story about the winner of the bbc indian sportswoman of the year. it's just been announced at an awards ceremony in the indian capital, delhi. the winner, olympian mirabai chanu, is india's first silver medallist in weightlifting. she's from rural north—east india, from the state of manipur, where she would carry firewood and water on her shoulders from hills to her home. herjourney to become a weightlifting champion is quite remarkable — take a look. i'm afraid that we are having some difficulties there, to bring you that particular report. it is about the winner of the bbc indian sports woman

of the bbc indian sports woman of the bbc indian sports woman of the year, mirabai chanu, but before that, i want to want to tell you about the fact that the bbc sports website on the 3pp the bbc sports website on the app has far more on the awards, andindeed app has far more on the awards, and indeed the weightlifter herself. you check that out, to find out more about mirabai... we have got the piece for you. that report, we can show it to you. here it is.

that's all the time that we have for you on newsday. thanks for watching. hello. there is a change on the way, and for some, it will come as a shock to the system, especially in those parts of the uk where temperatures on monday afternoon got up to 18 degrees, especially across some western areas. up to the north, in shetland, just 6 degrees, and that colder air will be sweeping southwards over the next few days. it will turn cold enough for some of us to see some snow. now, tuesday morning starting off with a lot of cloud, some mist and fog in places, rain for a time across southern counties of england. in fact, some showery rain will continue here through the day. rain with some sleet and snow mixing in in northern scotland. elsewhere, some brighter skies developing, a scattering of showers, although eastern counties are likely to stay quite cloudy. for most, temperatures will be between nine and 1a degrees, but in northern scotland,

just four to 7 degrees, the colder air starting to make a little more progress southwards. the cold air tucking behind this band of cloud, rain, sleet and snow, which will continue to journey southwards as we go through tuesday night and into wednesday. behind that, the temperatures really dropping away, with a frost into wednesday morning. ahead of our weather front, still relatively mild to start the day. our weather front will be making some more progress southwards during wednesday, some rain along it, yes, but also some sleet and some snow. now, much of the snow along the weather front will initially be falling over the hills, but we could see some getting down to low levels, say, across parts of northern england. and behind that, a mix of sunny spells and wintry showers following on behind — in fact, mainly snow showers across northern scotland. temperatures across the north of the uk just five to 8 degrees. and that weather front ushering in the colder air continues to journey southwards during wednesday night into thursday. there could be a covering of snow, even down towards the south, especially over the hills, but possibly

at low levels. we'll have to keep an eye on that. sunny spells and wintry showers into thursday, a brisk north or northeasterly wind, so it is going to feel cold. temperatures, at best, between five and ten degrees. so, the days rather chilly as we head through the rest of the week. there will be some showers of rain, sleet and snow, some sunny spells as well. but i mentioned the chilly days. there will be some cold nights as well, with a widespread frost developing in many areas from midweek onwards. bye for now.