welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. ukraine's military has warned that russia is regrouping its forces — we've a special report from the south of the country. periodically and the next area down the road is occupied by russian troops and the civilians have been killed in these areas. we'll also have the latest from russia where the u—5 says president putin is having military setbacks hidden from him. also in the programme. president biden gets a second covid boosterjab — and urges americans to keep their guard up in fighting the virus. two senior british judges resign from hong kong's highest court because of china's sweeping national security law.

and celebrities pay tribute to cricket legend shane warne at a star—studded memorial service in melbourne. it's six in the morning in singapore, and one in the morning in kyiv where ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has spoken to president biden seeking further military support, as russia continues its assault on his country. it comes as fighting is continuing around the capital kyiv and other northern cities, despite russia's pledge yesterday to draw back from these areas. in the south too, russian forces

have advanced further into the ruined city of mariupol — while in meekolaiv, 12 people were killed by a russian strike. in the east, russia's defence ministry has said they are focusing on the donbas region. our correspondent wyre davies reports from the front line town of ori—khiv in southern ukraine — a warning some viewers may find his report distressing. russia says it's not deliberately targeting civilians in this war. but there is no other description for what happened to natalia than deliberate. it's a miracle she's still alive, after the day russian troops occupied her town of polohy. translation: | walked i to where my mother lived. a soldier stopped me and i raised my hands. i told them i had been let through, but the soldier fired a burst of gunfire, hitting me in the legs. hitting me everywhere from the waist down.

everything is damaged. my private parts, too. he was shooting to kill. orikhiv is the next town along the southern road from where natalia was shot. still in ukrainian hands, but regularly shelled by russia. this village is the last one before the front line. shells land in these fields periodically and the next village, down the road, is occupied by russian troops and civilians have been killed in these villages. now, many younger people have left here already, but others in particular, the elderly, they remain, but they know that they are taking a big risk. lyda's modest farm is right at the edge of orikhiv, the most exposed, dangerous part of town. she takes me to see where she sleeps. not in the house, but in this cold, damp cellar. primitive cover from the russian shells. "i am hiding here in this bunker, because they're bombing us

and attacking us from each side," says lyda. "i hate them, i hate them. we used to live in peace and we were happy." speculation about russian troop withdrawals around kyiv is treated with scepticism here in the south, where heavy fighting continues. russia's assault on mariupol is intense. civilians like natasha, who was blinded by russian shelling, are still suffering. translation: my sons were in the basement. l the 19—year—old visits me, but as for the five—year—old, i don't think he should be seeing his mum like this. i miss them so much. i want to give my little boy a hug and a kiss. wyre davies, bbc news, orikhiv.

that's the picture in ukraine — meanwhile, the white house says it has intelligence that president putin feels misled by the russian military over ukraine, resulting in tensions with top generals. in russia itself, there's further signs of a clampdown on internal dissent. here's our russia editor steve rosenberg. there were peace talks this week, but there's no peace yet. the russian military released these images of it launching ballistic missiles towards ukraine. an army spokesman said russia was continuing its special military operation, and had destroyed fuel storage sites, arms depots, and ukrainian drones. continuing in russia, encouraged by the authorities, public displays of support for the offensive. these buses form the letter z, that's painted on russian military

vehicles in ukraine. you will find zs on billboards, on government buildings, even on the side of theatres. and here, this is the home of human rights activist oleg orlov. those who criticise russia's onslaught in ukraine have become targets of abuse. translation: russia is heading i towards, in fact has almost arrived at, something very similar to what we saw in germany in the 1930s. everything feels very familiar. and that's important. in russia right now, there is no room for alternative views, for public expressions that contradict the official opinion. and that is particularly true of events in ukraine. the kremlin wants the public here to believe that the russian offensive there is both necessary and just.

the russian authorities have banned the word "war", in relation to ukraine. so, when dmitry reznikov took part in an anti—war protest, he didn't use any words at all. he was still arrested, though, and fined for "discrediting the russian army". translation: i was detained within 30 seconds. _ i don't think it would have mattered what was written there. some people have been arrested just for holding up a plain piece of paper. because everyone knows what it means and what it stands for. in vladimir putin's russia, even the slightest hint of dissent is seen by those in power here as a significant threat, to be eliminated. but, in a country where opposition to the government has been crushed, where critical voices are being silenced, where the media is under almost total state control, for now, the kremlin doesn't feel

under any public pressure to make peace in ukraine. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. against the backdrop of this war, china is hosting talks on the afghanistan crisis — and russia is attending. they're taking place in china's eastern province un—hway. and sergei lavrov, russia's foreign minister, was there on wednesday. after china, he will visit india. it looks like an effort by russia to maintain relations with both countries amid global criticism of its invasion. both mr lavrov and china's foreign minister, wang yi condemned western sanctions against russia, calling them illegal and counter—productive. after the meeting, mr lavrov said moscow and beijing had a shared view. we are living through a very serious stage in the history of international relations. i am

convinced that at the end of this stage, the international situation will be much clearer and that we, together with you and or sympathisers, will move towards a democraticjust ruled order. democraticjust world order. for more on this story here's our beijing correspondent stephen mcdonell according to this readout, china hasn't criticised russia at all for the invasion in ukraine. as you mentioned, they praised russia along with others for preventing a humanitarian crisis, as he put it in ukraine. and said the issue is

complex and was the result of a cold war mentality. whenever he says that, that is a reference between the us and nato. china's way of blaming the west for the war and so, farfrom china blaming the west for the war and so, far from china delivering blaming the west for the war and so, farfrom china delivering a tough message to russia over the war, not the slightest hint of tensions in terms of china applying any pressure at all on russia to ease off and in that war. steve mcdonell there, on the meeting between russian and chinese foreign ministers. in the us, health officials have authorised a second covid boosterfor those over the age of 50 —— citing data showing waning immunity and the risks posed by omicron variants of the virus. the f—d— a says it should be given at least four months after the previous dose. president biden, who received his second booster dose on wednesday, has been speaking about the decision to offer a second booster vaccine.

we have enough supply to give booster shots to those individuals, if congress fails to act, will not have the supply we need this fall to make sure those are available and easily accessible for all americans. it is criticalfor our easily accessible for all americans. it is critical for our ability to protect against new variants. i'm joined now by our correspondent peter bowes in los angeles. if you can just talk us throughout significant this advice or guidance from the fda is in terms of the us covid—i9 recovery plans. it is from the fda is in terms of the us covid-19 recovery plans.— from the fda is in terms of the us covid-19 recovery plans. it is a new moment in — covid-19 recovery plans. it is a new moment in the _ covid-19 recovery plans. it is a new moment in the pandemic, - covid-19 recovery plans. it is a new moment in the pandemic, the - moment in the pandemic, the president says, it is the second booster but interesting it's based on data largely coming out of israel at the second booster does improve the immunity of those who have the

initial shots in the first booster. some scepticism and some criticism from those who suggest that the data is actually quite limited and there has not been any long—term studies of those who had the second booster so far. that said, the authorities here in this country believe it is indeed worthwhile for people of 50 and over, as she said, not 65 and over, which is what a lot of people have been expecting an officials explaining here that a lot of people in the united states over the age of 50 have those underlying conditions, those potentially killer diseases of old age that are beginning to start that makes them more vulnerable to a virus that covid—i9 and therefore, they believe it is important to just boost up immunity once again. but peter, this — boost up immunity once again. but peter, this still so many americans unwilling to get vaccinated as i understand. with this announcement

make much more of a difference in the us governments attempt to get more people, to get vaccinated? i think the government is going to continue to attempt to get more people vaccinated but the key question is whether those people will be persuaded, especially if they've made that decision for whatever the reasons that they did not want the initial vaccinations, they didn't want the first booster, it seems unlikely from what i've heard and many people discussing it that they will change their minds north of the second booster is available. i think what officials are hoping is that those who decide to have the second booster, that will improve their herd immunity that people were fully vaccinated will be stronger, better protected against the virus that overall, the populations and citizens around the country, people will be better able to fight covid—i9. the cause for concern is the omicron variant,

which accounts for the in most cases here in the us. in other headlines — sweeping changes to maternity services in england are expected after a report laid bare catas—trophic failures at an nhs trust, that may have led to the deaths of more than 200 babies. over 20 years, errors at shroes—bury and telford nhs trust led to babies being stillborn, dying after birth or being left severely brain damaged. michael buchanan reports. they're notjust taking people's babies away, they're taking christmases, birthdays, everything. year after year, for two decades, children that should have thrived never made it to school, entire classrooms were never filled, whole lives were never lived. i get to spend the rest of my life going "what if, what if?" at least 201 babies, including pippa, jack and kate might have survived

with better maternity care. her criticism of this hospital trust is comprehensive and it is absolutely what we have experienced and what we have been saying all along. the failings of this trust are unprecedented. they lied to families, they didn't investigate when errors occurred. they hid many of their failings from nhs regulators. this is all the more concerning when it is clear that major issues in safety were apparent in both midwifery—led unit and consultant settings. unfortunately, these cases were not isolated incidents and, through the timespan of our review, we have found repeated errors in care, which led to injury to either mothers or their babies. for these two families who instigated the review after their children died, the report is a vindication of their efforts. it is thanks to the efforts

of these two families, who each lost daughters in avoidable circumstances seven years apart, that the review was set up. i think we were absolutely right to do what we did, absolutely right. and i hope that all the other families that never had the opportunity to ask questions or didn't get the answers that they should have had when they suffered their harm, i hope that they get answers. for me, it'sjust bittersweet, that we are missing daughters that should be with us today because their avoidable deaths were exactly that, avoidable, and we were lied to all the way through. and we have been vindicated that we have spoken up, and we've spoken up on behalf of pippa and kate. this review is a devastating account of bedrooms that are empty, families bereft and loved ones taken before their time. we will act swiftly so that no families have to go through the same pain in the future. nine women who died in childbirth might also have survived with better care, but these are not historical problems. the review team have significant concerns about ongoing maternity services. the head of the trust of the past two years apologised for the failings. when you became chief executive of this trust, this was the number one issue before the trust. for there to be avoidable errors of the type that are described in this report, repeated at your trust, what does that say about your leadership?

it is clear there have been significant failings in the organisation. including on your watch. and we have made significant improvement. however, we've got a lot more to do. babies have died in these circumstances will you have been chief executive of the trust. and where there have been incidents and issues, what i can say is we are thoroughly investigating those circumstances. having had their concerns repeatedly ignored, today the families thanked the woman they felt had revealed the true scale of the trust's failings, but it was more a moment of relief and celebration. i would really like now some space to grieve and actually put down you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. a state memorial service at the melboune cricket ground to honour former test cricketer shane warne. 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 gustav eiffel — this is newsday on the bbc.

in singapore. 0ur headlines. ukraine's military has warned that russia is regrouping its forces. the outskirts of kyiv and the city of chernihiv came under attack again on wednesday, a day after russia said it would scale down military operations there. china says its ready to take its relationship with russia to a �*higher level�* as their foreign ministers meet hong kong's government has denounced a decision by two senior british judges to resign from the chinese territory's top court. it accused britain of making unfounded allegations about hong kong's legal system and the use of its national security law. the uk supreme court president, lord robert reed and his colleague lord hodge said they could not appear to endorse an administration that had departed from the values of political freedom — a position supported by the british government. i'm joined now by horace yeung, who is in the uk and is an associate professor of law

at the university of leicester, with an expertise in how the judicial system with an understanding of how thejudicial system works in hong kong. let's start by asking you, the judge said the threat to civil liberties had made her role on hong kong court of final appeal untenable. what are they referring to specifically there? i they referring to specifically there? , , ., there? i believe they are referring to the introduction _ there? i believe they are referring to the introduction of— there? i believe they are referring to the introduction of the - there? i believe they are referring to the introduction of the security| to the introduction of the security law following the protests in hong kongin law following the protests in hong kong in 2019. in law following the protests in hong kong in 20153-— law following the protests in hong kong in 2019. in terms of what this means for the _ kong in 2019. in terms of what this means for the hong _ kong in 2019. in terms of what this means for the hong kong - kong in 2019. in terms of what this means for the hong kong legal- means for the hong kong legal system, going forward, what signal do you think it sends to the international community of wider financial community as well that look to hong kong as asia's financial hotspot?— look to hong kong as asia's

financial hotspot? they think it's bad for the _ financial hotspot? they think it's bad for the image _ financial hotspot? they think it's bad for the image for _ financial hotspot? they think it's bad for the image for the - bad for the image for the international market because investors, especially international investors, especially international investors of the system investors, especially international investors of the systerr_ investors, especially international investors of the system when you say that they value _ investors of the system when you say that they value a _ investors of the system when you say that they value a robust _ investors of the system when you say that they value a robust legal - that they value a robust legal system, where does that leave hong kong's legal system now. how much of a blow wasn't from this?— a blow wasn't from this? something about the impact _ a blow wasn't from this? something about the impact of _ a blow wasn't from this? something about the impact of the _ a blow wasn't from this? something about the impact of the financial - about the impact of the financial market, i would say for ordinary commercial and the cause. i don't think he'll be a serious problem. but if you're talking about the political things, investor left concern whether or not they can still be able to pass our role in settling the dispute.—

still be able to pass our role in settling the dispute. what you think about that specifically? _ settling the dispute. what you think about that specifically? do - settling the dispute. what you think about that specifically? do you - about that specifically? do you still have confidence in the hong kong legal system, given the statements that we have heard from the judges? statements that we have heard from thejudges? i statements that we have heard from the 'udues? ., ., the judges? i would say, for example. — the judges? i would say, for example. we _ the judges? i would say, for example, we have - the judges? i would say, for example, we have a - the judges? i would say, for| example, we have a criminal the judges? i would say, for - example, we have a criminal murder case orfor some purely example, we have a criminal murder case or for some purely commercial dispute, between two companies, i would say hong kong system and however, for a case of political alimony, it might be quite difficult forjudges to completely set aside certain political considerations when they are just supposed to consider matters of law as opposed to matter—of—fact.

consider matters of law as opposed to matter-of-fact._ to matter-of-fact. thank you for 'oinin: to matter-of-fact. thank you for joining us _ to matter-of-fact. thank you for joining us a _ to matter-of-fact. thank you for joining us a new _ to matter-of-fact. thank you for joining us a new stay _ to matter-of-fact. thank you for joining us a new stay with - to matter-of-fact. thank you for joining us a new stay with your l joining us a new stay with your thoughts. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the hubble space telescope has set a new record for capturing a picture of a single, distant star. the light from the giant sun has taken twelve—point—nine billion years to reach us. while the star appears faint, it's probably more than fifty times the mass of our sun. hollywood's bruce willis will step away from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that impedes a person's ability to speak and write. the 67 year olds family released a statement cognitive ability is said to have been impaired. willis is best known for playing john mcclane in the 1988 hit, die hard. and finally — in melbourne — thousands of people have attended a memorial service — celebrating the life of shane warne — one of cricket's greatest—ever, spin bowlers. the australian star died of a suspected heart attack, earlier this month, at the age of 52. phil mercer reports.

this was a celebration of an extraordinary life. operatic singing. both on and off the cricket pitch, shane warne was an australian icon who elevated his sport and took showmanship to a new level. his family has struggled to cope with his sudden death. looking forward to a future without shane is inconceivable. but we do take comfort in knowing that shane packed more in his life of 52 years and five months and 19 days than most people would in two lifetimes. # i sit and wait # does an angel...#. there were powerful messages and musical performances, too, from famous friends. even though he played for australia and he dismantled england too many times, everybody on the planet who has seen him play and experienced, i don't know, warney being warney,

thinks he is one of us. with shane warne, scandal was never far away. he took money from illegal bookmakers, was banned for using prohibited drugs, and his private life delighted the tabloid newspapers. but, despite his flaws, he's remembered as a sporting genius. when he was in the team, australia believed they could beat anyone and he had so much gratitude for the era he played in as well. he often talked about how lucky he was to play with the legends that he did. he had so much passion for cricket and the history of cricket as well. shane warne said of himself, "i smoked, i drank, and i played a little cricket." phil mercer, bbc news, at the melbourne cricket ground. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news.

hello there. spring is on hold as we edge towards the end of march. cold air has been sweeping southwards. some of us have seen some sleet and some snow. and through thursday, the day starts off with a widespread frost and some ice. it's going to turn into a day of sunny spells and wintry showers. this cold front has been ushering in the cold air. along the line of this weather front, a band of cloud, rain, sleet and snow. behind it, speckled shower clouds in cold air. that's where we have some wintry showers feeding in from the north. so the very first part of the morning, we'll tend to clear that rain, sleet and snow away from the far south. some of those wintry showers continuing to push in the especially eastern scotland and northeast england, but there will be

one or two elsewhere. temperatures widely falling below freezing, “4 or —5 to start the day across some rural northern areas, and ice a potential difficulty across parts of eastern scotland and northeast england. through the day, it's a mix of sunny spells and wintry showers, the showers a mixture of rain, sleet, hail and snow, most accumulating snow, i think, confined to the hills. could be a few more showers just easing into southeast england at times, where it will be windy. around some of these eastern coasts, could see gusts of 40—50 miles per hour, just adding to that cold feel. temperatures for most between 5 and 8 degrees, maybe 10 in parts of south wales and southwest england. through thursday night, we will see further wintry showers streaming in from the northeast, potentially some more persistent rain, sleet and hill snow clipping the far southeast of england, and temperatures again widely below freezing. a widespread frost for friday morning. could well be some icy stretches here and there. for friday, for most, it's a similar day, a cold day, a bright day, with plenty of sunshine but some

further wintry showers. we will see some slightly more widespread rain, sleet and snow pushing into western scotland, maybe getting into parts of northern ireland as we go through the afternoon. temperatures, well, maybe just a notch higher, but still disappointing for what will be the 1st of april, 6 to 10 degrees. and those temperatures don't climb an awful lot through the weekend. they may climb a little. there's quite a lot of dry weather on the way, but there will be some showers as well. but as we head into next week, signs of a more significant change. the winds turn to westerlies, and that will bring milder air from the atlantic. with that, though, some rain at times.

this is bbc news. the headlines: ukraine says some russian forces have been withdrawing from kyiv and chernihiv, but fighting has continued in spite of russia's plan to reduce its military activity. president zelensky has again spoken tojoe biden, seeking further military support. the white house says it has intelligence that president putin feels misled by his military over ukraine. a declassified report also suggests that mr putin doesn't fully understand the impact of western sanctions on the russian economy. president putin and the german chancellor have discussed russian plans to try to get western countries to pay for its gas exports in roubles. russia has been pushing for this partly as a way of shoring up the rouble. and the hubble space telescope

has captured an image of the furthest star yet seen — 12.9 billion light—years away.