welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: president putin cuts gas supplies and declares that russia will respond immediately to any country attempting to interfere in ukraine. translation: if they create threats for us, threats of a strategic nature, our retaliation, our counterstrike, will be instantaneous. but, despite that warning, the uk's foreign secretary liz truss says western allies must double down in their support for ukraine. we can't be complacent. the fate of ukraine hangs in the balance. a desperate appeal from those trapped inside a steel

works in the city of mariupol — a ukrainian commander warns people will die if they're not rescued. also on newsday: hundreds of people gather to remember madeleine albright — the first female us secretary of state — as herfuneral takes place in washington. and a new report warns a fifth of all reptile species face extinction, including turtles, crocodiles and a number of venomous snakes. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. president putin has warned that russia will respond immediately to any country attempting to interfere in the war in ukraine. during the day, the european union accused moscow of economic blackmail, and of escalating the war,

by cutting off russian gas supplies to poland and bulgaria. our russia editor steve rosenberg reports. the venice of the north, they call it. it was peter the great who built st petersburg, to make russia look and feel european. today, though, the gulf between russia and europe is growing ever wider. in the st petersburg palace, the president... vladimir vladimirovich putin. ..vladimir putin was addressing lawmakers. from them, a sign of loyalty, the letter z, symbol of russia's offensive in ukraine. from him, a warning to ukraine's western allies. translation: if anyone from the outside intends to interfere in what's

happening, then they should know this — if they create threats for us, threats of a strategic nature, our retaliation, our counter—strike, will be instantaneous. we have all the necessary instruments, ones that no—one else can boast of. all the decisions on this have already been taken. across town, another decision announced. state energy giant gazprom had shut off gas supplies to poland and bulgaria, an escalation condemned across europe. the european union has accused russia of using gas as an instrument of blackmail. it said that was unjustified and unacceptable. but russia is unrepentant. in fact, the speaker of parliament here said, "good, let's cut off the gas now to all countries who are hostile to russia."

talking of hostile... ..russia continued to attack ukraine. here, with cruise missiles. there are russians who oppose this operation, but public protest is dangerous. sasha skochilenko knows that. she has been charged with spreading fake news about the russian army. she is accused of replacing supermarket price tags with anti—war messages. for that, she faces up to ten years in prison. sonia, her partner, believes it's a case that says so much about russia. translation: what this tells us is that freedom of speech - in our country is being stamped out, political repression has got worse, and that people who are against the war are being persecuted and put in prison. what those in power here demand is unflinching support for the offensive in ukraine, and for russia's confrontation steve rosenberg, bbc

news, st petersburg. despite president putin's warning to the west, britain's foreign secretary, liz truss, has said western allies must "double down" in their support for ukraine. in the clearest indication yet of the uk's aims for the conflict, she said russian forces must be pushed out of the whole of ukraine. we can't be complacent. the fate of ukraine hangs in the balance. but let's be clear. if putin succeeds, there will be untold further misery across europe and terrible consequences across the globe. we would never feel safe again. so we must be prepared for the long haul. we've got to double down on our support for ukraine and we must follow through on the unity that we've shown in the crisis. british foreign secretary liz truss.

well, the us has been watching the situation with russian natural gas supplies to europe closely — it has accused moscow of using them as a weapon. here's white house spokesperson jen psaki. this is the type of step, the type of almost weaponising energy supplies that we had predicted that russia could take in this conflict. that is why we've been in touch with europe, with these countries, including over the last 2a hours, with leaders in poland and bulgaria. and we have been working, for some time now, for months, with partners around the world to diversify natural gas supply to europe, in anticipation of and also to address near—term needs and replace volumes that would otherwise have come from russia. i asked professor amy myers jaffe — an expert in global energy policy — how serious is the energy situation for european countries? i think the interesting sort of

step is that both poland and bulgaria have their contracts with russia ending this year and so they were preparing to go to zero russian gas anyway so this is less pressing i think those countries, they have alternatives, and they are prepared. but as a signal to those who thought that energy might not become part of the escalation of the conflict, i think it was a very threatening day, showing that we are on that path where escalation is going to affect energy markets increasingly over time. professor, how much worse could it get? how serious are we taking the statement from president putin in terms of other countries that could be affected? ~ . , other countries that could be affected? ~ ., , , ., other countries that could be affected? ~ ~ ., affected? well, as you know, the united — affected? well, as you know, the united states _ affected? well, as you know, the united states has - affected? well, as you know, the united states has its - affected? well, as you know, the united states has its own i the united states has its own exports of natural gas that

have been increasingly targeted to europe and the biden administration had done a sort of fact—finding tour to figure out what countries might be able to, in asia and other locations, might be able to divert cargo they were expecting back to europe so i do think there is a considerable volume of liquefied natural gas that can flow to europe butjust to give you an order of magnitude, i mean, maybe europe buys about 150 or 155 billion cubic metres per year of natural gas in some form, pipeline or liquefied natural gas, and, you know, we're about the international market dividing about a third of that —— providing about one third of that so there are a lot of other gaps that need to be filled if we went to a full band. even if europejust

decided to stop using russian gas or russia decided to cut europe off substantially, i do think the country probably most at risk or the two countries are germany and to a lesser extent slovakia but germany being the engine of economic activity for europe, faces some real uphill challenges if indeed the conflict were to extend to their energy supply. a ukrainian marine commander holed up inside the azovstal steel works in the besieged port city of mariupol has made another impassioned appeal for rescue. serhiy volina says about 600 soldiers who have been resisting russian attack are badly injured. he said many civilians are trapped with them. translation: in our group, - there are more than 600 wounded people, with different levels of severity.

they badly need medical help. here, there are no conditions, no medicine, no personnel who could help them. we have wounded civilians and we help them as much as we can. we have civilians here with us too. there are hundreds here, dozens of children, many people with disabilities and the elderly. the situation is very difficult. there are serious problems with water, food, various supplies, provision of troops, military equipment and weapons. the russian authorities have released a former us marine who was jailed in 2019 for allegedly assaulting police officers. trevor reed has been exchanged for konstantin yaroshenko, a russian pilotjailed on drug smuggling charges and is now on his way back to america. a us official saod negotiations for the swap were not related to the war in ukraine.

let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... donald trump has appealed against a ruling that held him in contempt of court, forfailing to hand over documents, demanded as part of an investigation into his business empire. on monday, a judge ordered the former president to pay a fine of $10,000 a day until he complied with the subpoena. prince andrew has been stripped of his status as an honorary freeman of the city of york. councillors voted for the decision, after he paid an undisclosed sum to settle a sexual assault case in the united states. some of them have called on the prince to relinquish his duke of york title. hundreds of trade unions in sri lanka have called for a nationwide day—long strike urging the government to resign following an unprecedented economic crisis. transport, health and banking sectors are expected to be affected due to the strike call. the government has been

struggling to pay for imports due to dwindling foreign exchange reserves. the british dj tim westwood has stepped down from presenting his capital xtra radio show until further notice following claims of sexual misconduct. the former radioi dj — who's 64 — has strenuously denied allegations of predatory sexual behaviour and touching, allegations made by seven women. 0ur entertainment correspondent chi chi izundu reports. it's westwood! tim westwood has been at capital xtra since 2013, presenting a weekly saturday night rap show. but today his employers at global, who own capital xtra, confirmed he was to step down until further notice. it's after allegations from seven black women, who've accused the dj of predatory sexual behaviour and touching, in a joint investigation between the bbc

and the guardian. nyla — it's not her real name — met the dj at a new year's day party in 2017. one of my friends and i were at the front, and he kind of shouts me out for being the pengest girl in the rave. i wasjust like, "um, 0k." but one of my other friends wants a video with him. but as she's taking this video, he essentially moves his hand down my back and puts his hand up the back of my skirt. i step back because i'm a bit shocked from it, and i didn't really expect it to happen, but ijust felt kind of, like, objectified, really. tim westwood worked at bbc radio 1 for nearly 20 years, but speaking at a conference this morning, the director—general of the corporation said he was shocked by the allegations and urged anyone with a complaint to come forward. the testimony of the women is powerful and appalling. and, by the way,

i would note the bbc... i credit the bbc and guardian teams for going after the story, by the way. i think that's absolutely what we should be doing. westwood, we know what we doing here. two nightclub appearances in birmingham and bognor regis have also been cancelled, but the 64—year—old has denied the serious allegations in their entirety and says he has not acted in the manner described. chi chi izundu, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we'll tell you why a fifth of all reptiles are now facing extinction, and which ones are on the endangered list. nothing, it seemed, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation will lead to renewed calls for government to help to build better housing.

internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they've been fighting for for so long. it was seven o'clock in the morning - on the day— when power began to pass from the minority to the majority, l when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. - this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines... president putin cuts gas supplies, and declares that russia will respond immediately to any country attempting

to interfere in ukraine. but, despite that warning, the uk's foreign secretary liz truss says western allies must "double down" in their support for ukraine. in recent weeks, north korea has caused alarm by showing off its range of powerful weapons. on monday, the country's leader kim jong—un gave a defiant speech at a military parade, vowing to ramp up the country's nuclear arsenal. at that same parade, there were banned weapons on display, and in march, north korea tested its largest—known intercontinental ballistic missile, for the first time since 2017. jay song — associate professor in korean studies at the university of melbourne — gave me her take on kim jong—un�*s speech about north korea's nuclear threat. i think it is all logical and

timely. first, it was announced after the day of the sun on the 15th of april, followed by the 19th anniversary of the military foundation on 25th of april, so kimjong—un had to send a strong message to his own people on these special days. second, also his message was a response to the latest south korean president's besic of the punitive strike against pyongyang, and last week was also to get the attention from the international community, especially the biden administration, whose eyes are all on ukraine at the moment. yeah, exactly, i mean, in terms of the fact that the west is now preoccupied with that war in ukraine, how should the international community respond to what kim jong—un is saying, and the types of weapons that are now being shown at these military parades that are being developed? military parades that are being damped?—

developed? yeah, i see two es of developed? yeah, i see two types of responses - developed? yeah, i see two types of responses to - developed? yeah, i see two types of responses to north j types of responses to north korea's latest statement. 0ne korea's latest statement. one is exacerbating north korean threat. this response is especially from those american analysts, who say the us is on the brink of nuclear attack by north korea. but for most people living on the korean peninsular, the war is ongoing, and remember the korean war never ended with a peace treaty, it ended with a ceasefire in 1953, and it was announced as between north korea and china on one side and the un and basically the us on the un and basically the us on the other. since then, the two careers are divided and technically at war. —— the two double. north korea wants us to be reminded of that. north korea cannot start a nuclear war and they won't do it, so they are just blocking those talks, that is the second type of reaction from the chinese and south korea, the current administration.— and south korea, the current

administration. professor, this intercontinental _ administration. professor, this intercontinental ballistic - intercontinental ballistic missile that north korea displayed, or tested rather, missile that north korea displayed, ortested rather, in march, for the first time since 2017. just briefly take us through the capabilities of this missile.— this missile. the weapons analysts _ this missile. the weapons analysts are _ this missile. the weapons analysts are divided, - this missile. the weapons analysts are divided, but| this missile. the weapons| analysts are divided, but it this missile. the weapons i analysts are divided, but it is the right time to make this kind of posturing after the special day. the country is in humanitarian crisis and its people are starving, but in terms of the weapons capability, i don't think kim jong—un is confident to do another test. jong—un is confident to do anothertest. it jong—un is confident to do another test. it doesn't seem to be ready now. and the white house has just announced that president biden is travelling to south korea and japan next month, with the aim of deepening relationships between the countries. america's political elite have been paying tribute to former secretary of state madeleine albright, at herfuneral service in washington. ms albright died last month,

aged 84, having become the first woman ever to hold that office. among those in attendance at the national cathedral, bill and hillary clinton, and president biden. for her name is still synonymous with america as a force for good in the world. madeline never minced words or wasted time when she saw something needed fixing, or someone who needed helping. she just got to work. also among those paying tribute, hillary clinton, the third woman to serve as us secretary of state. she talked about their friendship. she didn'tjust she didn't just help she didn'tjust help other women _ she didn'tjust help other women. she spent her entire life counselling and cajoling, inspiring and lifting up so

many— inspiring and lifting up so many of— inspiring and lifting up so many of us who are here today. so, many of us who are here today. so. the — many of us who are here today. so, the angels better be wearing their best pins, and putting _ wearing their best pins, and putting on their dancing shoes, because — putting on their dancing shoes, because if, as madeleine believed, there is a special place — believed, there is a special place in _ believed, there is a special place in hell for women who don't — place in hell for women who don't support other women, they havent— don't support other women, they haven't seen anyone like her yet — haven't seen anyone like her et. �* �* ,, that was hillary clinton, speaking there about the legacy that the former secretary of state madeleine albright, who was at her funeral service in washington. we can hear now from our correspondent there, who gave us this analysis about that service.— that service. yes, you got the personality — that service. yes, you got the personality behind _ that service. yes, you got the personality behind the - personality behind the politician, i guess. personality behind the politician, iguess. i personality behind the politician, i guess. ithink this was an opportunity for them, for president biden to maybe remind people that madeleine albright was someone

that, yes, curd, i'm going to quote him, could go toe to toe with the toughest dictators but also teach people how to do the macarena. and the point he made was she understood people, she cared about people. what struck me about his comments was he talked about how she was a firm believer, like him, about democracy standing up to autocracies, and this is all very relevant, even today. you know, i think you can draw parallels, can't you come up with her life and what is happening right now. he talked about how her story is america's story. she was a refugee, she came from eastern europe, at a time, she was born and raised, at a time when it was in crisis, and in herfinal days she saw that crisis return. so i think that was probably very much on his mind when he was giving that eulogy. we're also expecting former president barack 0bama to make comments as well, also

congolese arise. she is another woman, a republican, who fulfilled a position of the secretary of state. madeleine albright lived to see i guess her legacy play out, in that way. her legacy play out, in that wa . . her legacy play out, in that wa , ., ., , her legacy play out, in that wa. . ., ._ her legacy play out, in that wa. . ., ., way. that was normally a cabal aaivin us way. that was normally a cabal giving us her — way. that was normally a cabal giving us her take _ way. that was normally a cabal giving us her take on _ way. that was normally a cabal giving us her take on those - giving us her take on those tributes have been paid to the former secretary of state, madeleine albright, at her funeral service in washington. much more on our website, if you are keen to find out about that story. a study, published in the science journal, nature, today, says 21% — over a fifth — of all reptile species face extinction. hundreds of scientists from all over the world have spent the past 15 years cataloguing reptiles, according to the criteria for the international red list of endangered species. the species under threat include crocodiles, which are often killed for their meat, and to remove them from areas where humans have settled.

also at risk are turtles, which are targeted by the pet trade, and used for traditional medicine. nearing extinction is the the fearsome king cobra, the world's largest venomous snake. that's due to loss of forest habitat across a huge area from india to southeast asia. here's zoologist bruce young, one of the report's authors. we found that over 1,800 species of reptiles are at risk. you can find threatened reptiles around the world. reptiles include snakes, lizards, legless lizards, turtles, crocodiles. all of those make up the group of reptiles. so in the world, there's over 10,000 species. we assessed every single one, and unfortunately found out that such a large number of species are threatened. we knew that reptiles

were probably threatened. we didn't know exactly how much. the main thing that came out that was of great interest to us is that the same kinds of things that threaten reptiles also threaten other species — birds, mammals, amphibians — so you don't need rocket science to figure out how to protect reptiles. it's the same things we know we can do. we have those solutions. we just have to go about and actually implement them. bruce young there, on reptiles at risk. that brings us to the end of the programme but let's end the show on these live pictures from the international space station. elon musk�*s rocket company space x launched four more astronauts on a flight to the international space station for nasa on wednesday, including a medical doctor turned space walker, and the

geologist specialising in marsh landslides. you can see those pictures on your screens now. what an exciting moment indeed for everybody involved and all of us watching. you have been watching newsday. thanks for being with us. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello again. many parts of scotland, northern ireland, western england and wales had some decent spells of sunshine, but across central and eastern england, we had some of this cloud yesterday. this is called stratocumulus. now, through the afternoon, in hastings, that cloud began to break up. and because it's a thin cloud, it's only 200—300 metres thick, above that, you've got clear blue sunny skies, and once it starts to go, it can go very, very quickly, so it was a lovely end to the day here. now, i'm telling you about that because that's what this type of cloud is, running in off the north sea, affecting parts of eastern england and the midlands at the moment. now, that is going to be prone to thinning and breaking up a bit more, i think, as we go through thursday.

but with clearer skies out towards the west, it's cold at the moment. we've got some frost to watch out for, heading into the first part of the morning. now, across southern england, a better chance of seeing some sunshine. should have some sunshine, as well, across much of the northwest of the uk, and i suspect this cloud will tend to get eroded, so the areas that are most likely to keep it into the afternoon, well, probably east midlands, lincolnshire, norfolk and suffolk, but otherwise, i think most of you will see some sunshine. dry for many, an odd shower for northern scotland, an odd shower in southwest england, but in the best of the sunshine, we're looking at highs up to 16 degrees. it's a similar kind of day, really, on friday. again, we start off with some of that patchy cloud coming in off the north sea, but for many of us, it's a dry day, again with some spells of sunshine, and starting to turn just a little bit warmer as well — 17 the top temperature in cardiff and glasgow as well. after this lengthy spell of dry weather, caused by this high pressure, we're actually going to see some changes into the weekend. it starts to weaken, to allow this weather front to move in from the north and west. so, saturday, although england

and wales is looking at another fine day, with some further spells of sunshine, much thicker cloud than we've seen all week will be heading into scotland and northern ireland, with outbreaks of rain, especially through the afternoon, the rain turning heavier and steadier for a time. temperatures, though, out of the rain, still around 15 or 16 celsius, which will feel pleasant given the light winds. through saturday night and into sunday, the rain moves southwards across england and wales, but as it does so, it will weaken, so it will turn lighter and patchier. temperatures on sunday should reach a high of around 1a or 15 celsius, with the best of the drier and brighter weather in scotland and northern ireland.

this is bbc news. the headlines and all the means new stories for you at the top of the hours straight up to this programme.

hello, and welcome to the media show. 0ur guest today is the star signing of rupert murdoch's new talktv network. it's piers morgan, of course. and he won'tjust have a show in the uk, it will also be streamed on fox nation in the us, it will be broadcast on sky news australia. as well as that, there is a column in the sun, in the new york post, and there is a book deal with harpercollins, too. all of which is owned by rupert murdoch, all of which is a significant bet on one man grabbing the world's attention. let's hear why he thinks that bet is worth making. piers morgan, thank you for coming on the show. how does that happen, how does a deal get thrashed out? it was fortuitous, really. the whole good morning britain

blow—up with the meghan markle thing, and the free speech debate, it was all raging