welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines: ukraine's abandoned children, displaced by the war, a bbc investigation finds some of the most vulnerable have been left behind. because of their disabilities they are not treated as human beings, they are only kept alive here. and is not a problem of the institution, is a problem of the system. in the besieged port of mariupol, officials say russia has launched a major assault on the remaining ukrainian forces there. hungary says it will veto a proposed eu—wide ban on imports of russian oil put forward by the european commission.

we'll have the latest reaction from brussels. also in the programme: no escape from covid. we meet some of hong kong's poorest, living in such crowded conditions, that self—isolation is almost impossible. amber heard takes the stand in the defamation trial brought by former husband johnny depp. she alleges domestic abuse. he slapped me again. like, it was clear it wasn't a joke anymore. and record—breaking rain in the spanish city of valencia triggers floods and causes chaos in the city's transport system. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news — it's newsday.

hello and welcome to the programme. we start with the plight of thousands of disabled children in ukraine, victims of the russian invasion who've been abandoned without proper care. the human rights organisation disability rights international says its investigation found children with severe disabilities tied to beds in children's homes that don't have the facilities to cope. the bbc has visited one institution in the west of ukraine where disabled children from the east of the country have been left by carers fleeing the conflict. this report by our correspondent danjohnson includes some distressing images. here's a sound of the war you haven't heard yet. anna's teeth—grinding anxiety hints at the hidden trauma of ukraine's disabled children, this conflict�*s most vulnerable and least visible victims.

they are nervous, disorientated and distressed. they're not treated as human beings. they're only kept alive here. and they've been dumped in a place that can barely cope. are you certain you can give these children the care they need? ni. the director couldn't believe how their carers fled and left these children behind. translation: they were so selfish that they ran out of here as fast as they could. i thought they would come in here and tell us who had epilepsy, who was incontinent, and so on. but then they sat here till lunchtime and left. i don't like criticising my colleagues, but this is not the way it's done. victoria's one of 22 children moved here from an orphanage in donetsk, and left behind when the less severely disabled children were taken to germany. she has frequent seizures, and we're told she's put in restraints at night. victoria is 14 years old.

in fact, these are all teenage girls. the nurse tells me she's not used to dealing with this level of disability and she believes the children aren't able to understand their situation. she asks, "what intellect can you see here?" my heart breaks, actually, as a mother of two children. disability rights experts are documenting the conditions. even though they're in a safe place, their state will deteriorate with time because they are not getting any stimulation, any kind of rehabilitation. and, to me, this is further disabling them. these were confined lives of institutionalised dependence long before the war. there's no future for these children beyond these walls. these homes are relics of an outdated system. the boss insists a resident sings for us. staff shortages mean older residents help care for some children, and those in from the east have much greater needs than this place can handle. and disability rights

investigators filmed at three more nearby institutions struggling with fragile young arrivals. they barely had time to give them any individual attention before the war. now they are left lying in cribs, lying in beds, tied down. total neglect. it's very dangerous. these children with disabilities are paying the price for the war. this flies in the face of any sort of international good practice in terms of the care these girls should be receiving. but then, on the other hand, this is people trying to do their best in the toughest of circumstances. we were told oksana couldn't speak because of severe learning difficulties, but helena makes a connection. she says, in a full sentence, that her toe hurts. and then oksana spots our microphone. there's a flicker of the potential that could be unlocked. are you taking myjob, oksana? da!

there is a call for these children to get more international support or the love and care of a family. but when so many ukrainians are running from war, it looks like thousands will still face lives of loss and waste, unseen and unheard. danjohnson, bbc news, in south—western ukraine. moscow has intensified its assault on the azovstal steelworks in the southern port of mariupol, where at least 200 ukrainian civilians are still believed to be trapped. the city's mayor says the russian forces are going all out to defeat the remaining ukrainian forces holed up in the plant. so far, the united nations has evacuated 300 civilians from mariupol and other nearby areas. hungary says it will veto a proposed eu—wide ban on imports of russian oil put forward by the european commission. the plan was announced by the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, but requires unanimous support to be adopted.

the hungarian foreign minister said the ban in its current form would destroy his country's economy. here's our europe editor katya adler in brussels. for any sanctions package to be passed by the eu, it needs to be unanimously approved amongst member states. be unanimously approved amongst memberstates. but be unanimously approved amongst member states. but is hungry saying no, or is hungry saying not this way? well, brussels thinks is the latter, it thinks it can have these oil sanctions approved, properly by the weekend, but there will be quite a lot of living and horse trading in between. you see, we are on sanctions back six by now for the eu and some member states, like hungry, are affected more than others. so was notjust hungry, it's like a comedy czech republic, gary who are beginning to see other member states, who are beginning to see other memberstates, look, who are beginning to see other member states, look, you have got to help us out here, you have got to reassure our voters. it was not straightforward for the eu on one hand and on the other you

have to say even when these oil sanctions are passed how effective are they going to be? how much are they going to change what latimer putin is doing on the ground in ukraine? the answer has got to be not very much in the short—term, because these are phased out oil sanctions and lasting until the end of the year. and that means there are critics inside the eu as well as outside he was saying eu, you should act much faster on your energy sanctions. that was katya adler in brussels. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the us central bank has raised interest rates by half a percentage point, the most aggressive such increase in more than 20 years. the move is intended to tackle rapidly rising prices, fuelled by the war in ukraine. with us inflation at a ao—year high, further hikes are expected. us secretary of state antony blinken has tested positive for covid—i9. mr blinken had hosted both the mexican and swedish foreign ministers in washington over recent days. joe biden�*s foreign policy chief had been set to make a landmark speech regarding us policy towards china

on thursday, but that has been postponed. local elections are taking place across the uk on thursday. seats in all local councils are being contested in scotland and wales. voters in northern ireland will elect members of the assembly at stormont. in england, 4,500 councillors are fighting for re—election. polling stations open at 7:00am. for months, hong kong managed to control the spread of covid—i9. but the 0micron variant overwhelmed the healthcare system. the city recorded the highest death rate in the world. many of those affected are the city's most vulnerable, the underprivileged and elderly. danny vincent reports from sham shui po district. for mr fong, home is a three metre square cage.

the city's extreme poor live in subdivided apartments. hong kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, until recently, six people lived in this room. but when 0micron hit, he lost two room—mates in the space of a week. translation: one person died on thatj bed, the other person also died. he slept over on that bed. we called the ambulance, it got through but no one picked up. for the poor, living with covid means living in tiny apartments where the virus can easily spread, self—isolating is almost impossible. translation: it was too late, he died at about 8:00pm - night, he suffered a lot, he kept saying he was unwell, he had asthma and underlying illnesses. hong kong is coming out of the fifth wave of covid—i9.

this city is stuck between two seemingly opposing policies and its most vulnerable in the society that have suffered. nine families live inside this narrow dwelling. we're taken to another subdivided apartment. since the latest outbreak, they've been living in isolation, supported by social workers. he has been living in his cramped apartment for 12 years, he's barely left his room for three months, he's unvaccinated. translation: many of| the elderly in hong kong are reluctant to get the jab.

whether or not to consider getting vaccinated, this is a key question, it depends on whether your health can handle it and is suitable or not. the right decision is in your hands. now the government enforces people to get vaccinated, now it is calling for the fourth jab, it feels like it's never ending. the elderly lives alone without neighbours, if they die no—one will know. china is determined to eradicate covid. in hong kong, the fifth wave led to the highest death rate in the world, here, the impacts will last long into 2022. danny vincent's, bbc news, hong kong. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: amber heard gives evidence for the first time in the defamation trial brought by her ex—husband johnny depp. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela,

do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. but the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and i islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit - symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in underfour minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm mariko 0i in singapore. 0ur headlines: a bbc investigation finds some of ukraine's most vulnerable children have been left behind in insitutions, after being displaced by the war. ukrainian officials say russia has launched a major assault on the besieged azovstal steel works in mariupol, the last part of the city held by ukrainian forces. north korea is testing its weapons with renewed urgency. earlier in the week, it fired its 14th known round of missiles so far this year. it comes days before south korea's new president takes office, who is promising to take a hard—line on north korea. —— hard line. the outgoing president, moonjae—in, staked his legacy on achieving a breakthrough with the north using

diplomacy, but his attempts failed. jean mackenzie sent this report from seoul. forjust a moment, peace looked possible. but north korea is back to testing its biggest, most powerful weapons. a disappointing end for south korea's outgoing president, who staked his legacy on building peace. remarkably, he convinced the us president to meet north korea's leaderfor the first time in history. excitement built at these leaders announced to an audience of north koreans their plans to end the war that's divided their country for decades. 150,000 north korean citizens

were applauding his speech. it was really a moving moment for me. a special adviser to the president, professor moon attended all the summits, even sharing even sharing shoju with kim jong—un�*s sister. but when talks between these unlikely friends broke down, so did talks between the koreas. is it fair to look back now and say that you failed? was there war on the korean peninsula? the moon government has shown very clearly what kinds of incidents can bring north korea to the negotiation table. but, for years, kimjong—un has continued building more sophisticated weapons while president moon has been accused of appeasing a brutal regime. you saw those images of their arms around in each other, laughing,

and i remember seeing that and it just sent shivers down my back. like, this is...this is a dictator. now south korea has elected a tough—talking president who's promising to do things differently. "north korea is the enemy," he said. and he'll strike if necessary. last week, north korea paraded its missiles with this warning. these south korean students, about to start their compulsory military service, would be on the front line of a conflict. what do you think about your president's policy of taking a more hard line on north korea?

the world might be looking elsewhere, but north korea is getting harder to ignore. jean mackenzie, bbc news. amber heard has taken the stand in the defamation trial brought by her former husband johnny depp. he originally sued for $50 million over an article in the washington post where she claimed she was a victim of abuse. he denies the allegations. amber heard then counter—sued depp for $100 million. a warning there's some strong language in this report by david sillito. thank you, your honour. will you please state your name? it is amber laura heard.

amber heard. over the last three and a half weeks she has sat in court each day and listened as a series of witnesses and her ex—husband have described her as a violent, emotionally unstable and a liar. this was finally her chance to give her side of the story. why are you here? i am here because my ex—husband is suing me for an 0p ed i wrote. and how do you feel about that? i struggle to have the words. i struggle to find the words to describe how painful this is. this is horrible. this has been one of...this is the most painful and difficult thing i've gone through. this, the beginning of her story of a marriage she said left her injured and

traumatised and sitting just feet away in front of her, the man she says assaulted and abused her, johnny depp. do you remember the first time he physically hit you? yes. please tell the jury about it. she said johnny depp had been taking cocaine and it was a comment about one of his tattoos that led to abusive language and violence. he slapped me across the face, and i laughed. i laughed, because i... i didn't know what else to do. i thought, "this must be a joke." he said, "you think it's so funny, you think you're a funny (bleep)." and he slapped me again. it was, she says, just the beginning of years of abuse. but he was the love of my life.

and he was, he was. but he was also this other thing. he was also this other thing. and that other thing was awful. throughout it all, johnny depp sat head down with his notes and jelly beans. all of it, he says, is untrue, but his ex—wife has a much more to say. david sillito, bbc news. earlier i spoke to emily d baker, legal analyst and host of the emily show podcast who has been following the case. amber heard took the stand today really starting to tell about her childhood and i thought we would see much more testimony on that but they moved very quickly to her meeting johnny depp on the rum diaries and then into her allegations of abuse, rings we hadn't heard before, but as we have not yet seen before in court and there were moments of her testimony that rank is very authentic. there were some

moments of a testimony that were very dramatic and i'm not sure how those will play to the jewellery. she was looking right at them for most of her testimony, very different testimony, very different testimony than what we saw johnny depp give. i testimony than what we saw johnny depp give-— testimony than what we saw johnny depp give. i think it's fair to say — johnny depp give. i think it's fair to say that _ johnny depp give. i think it's fair to say that it's _ johnny depp give. i think it's fair to say that it's one - johnny depp give. i think it's fair to say that it's one of. fair to say that it's one of the biggest he shed she said trials were seen in a while and i was looking at social media and opinion seems to be really split about who was the who was the abuser while some say both are in the wrong. ——he said, she said. are in the wrong. --he said, she said-— are in the wrong. --he said, she said. ~ , . , she said. absolutely and i gets very reasonable _ she said. absolutely and i gets very reasonable that _ she said. absolutely and i gets very reasonable that the - she said. absolutely and i gets very reasonable that the jury i very reasonable that the jury could find both are in the wrong. they are trying to determine who defamed who, who lied and this is really not about determining what happened but is someone lying about what happened injewellery but is someone lying about what happened in jewellery since both of them might be wrong or in the wrong, then they might find that no—one defamed the other over her statements in that op—ed to the washington post. ——jewellery. it is that op—ed to the washington post. —— jewellery. it is a very real possibility here but johnny depp said his side in our december herd's turned to

say no, this is what happened in east stories but she has to overcome weeks and weeks of his evidence that the jury is checking her story against on everything she says. but checking her story against on everything she says.- checking her story against on everything she says. but at the same time. — everything she says. but at the same time, the _ everything she says. but at the same time, the reputational i same time, the reputational damage to both of them could be quite huge. damage to both of them could be quite huge-— quite huge. absolutely, but i do know if— quite huge. absolutely, but i do know if the _ quite huge. absolutely, but i do know if the ruling - quite huge. absolutely, but i do know if the ruling for- do know if the ruling for either of them will fix that reputational damage with how much is coming out in court. i wonder if after all this plays out so publicly, the damage will already be done and might not be repairable. this will already be done and might not be repairable.— will already be done and might not be repairable. as you said, this is a jury — not be repairable. as you said, this is a jury trial. _ not be repairable. as you said, this is a jury trial. can - not be repairable. as you said, this is a jury trial. can you - this is a jury trial. can you some —— can you remember something as explosive as this? i don't remember a civiljury trial that would seem like this. normally in the states we see trials like this that are televised in the criminal space and even though these are allegations of physical and sexual abuse, this is not a criminal case, this is a civil defamation case and i truly can't remember anything quite like it in this context. johnny

depp fought very hard to have cameras on the courtroom, amber heard and her team fought against it and here we are playing out a day over day for everyone to see now in four weeks with everyone in rapt attention to see what's going to happen in court the next day. i'm still allowed —— i'm still surprised the judges allowing jellybeans in the courtroom, i've never seen that either. a massive clean—up operation is underway in valencia after 232 litres of rainwater per square metre fell in 2a hours. dozens of cars were swallowed up as floodwater cascaded through neighbourhoods of the city, leaving homes and businesses completely waterlogged. it's the worst rainfall in may in valencia since records began. this used to be a road, now it's a river. dozens of cars were swallowed up as floodwaters surged through the city's neighbourhoods living homes and businesses completely saturated. a lot of what fell last night, says this man. just look at the state of the place. "last night all the neighbours

in the building were bailing out waterforfour in the building were bailing out water for four hours," says another. firefighters face an uphill struggle as they try to rescue drivers who were stranded in their cars. the horrendous weather forced the authorities to shut down several roads in valencia in the metro system also ground to a halt as torrential rain battered the city for 2h hours non—stop. weatherwise it's supposed to be dry and sunny for the next few days which will give people a chance to clean up the mess that the floods have left behind but they are unlikely to be able to salvage much because everything is completely waterlogged. wendy urquhart, bbc news. don't forget, if you want to keep up with all the stories we are covering, add to our website, you will find all the latest on the wall in ukraine and you will find it at bbc.com/news or you can download the bbc news app you can download the bbc news app as well. that's all we have

time for bought this edition of newsday. we'll be back tomorrow with karishma in manila. hello. of england had more rain on wednesday than they've had in four weeks. it is a different weather set—up, though, for the day ahead. high pressure building in will most of england and wales dry. closer to weather fronts in scotland and northern ireland, there is a chance of seeing a little rain. in fact, a cloudy and damp start for many places here. and as for temperatures, well, it will be a cooler start. the chilliest parts of england and wales perhaps down to mid—single figures, a little bit lower in some areas. so, a lot of cloud across scotland and northern ireland. the chance of seeing a little light rain. it's more especially in western and mainly north—west scotland.

this will be most persistent. eastern and southern scotland may see some sunny spells, and into the afternoon, a few breaking through in northern ireland. for wales and england, there is a slight chance of catching a shower. the vast majority will stay dry. and though there'll be a lot of cloud around, it'll be a warmer feeling day with some occasional sunny spells, up to 22 in the warm spots so, here, a lot of dry weather will continue as we get on into thursday night, but the rain really gathering into scotland and northern ireland going into friday morning. so, it'll become more widespread and heavier, and it'll be a milder start to the day across the board. so, some rain in scotland and northern ireland, gradually clearing southwards during friday. sunny spells and a few showers following on behind. the rain moves into northern england, heaviest to the west of the pennines, into wales, parts of the midlands, perhaps south—west england getting on into friday evening. whereas ahead of that, there ll still be some sunny spells for a time before it clouds over. and this is where we'll see the day's highest temperatures, just into the low 20s. now, it looks as if those parts of eastern england that have been so dry will see some more rain as we get on into friday night

before clearing early on saturday morning and another area of high pressure moves in. could be a lot of cloud for a time in scotland, northern ireland and northern england. one or two light showers or some patchy light rain and drizzle, and a cooler feeling day towards these north—eastern coasts. whereas elsewhere on saturday, if we do break out into some sunny spells, it'll feel quite pleasant. and then for part two of the weekend on sunday, well, most will stay dry, again with some occasional and pleasantly warm sunny spells. another weather system moving close to northern ireland and especially into scotland, with a chance of seeing a little more rain here. that's your latest forecast. bye— bye.