welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines.. the bbc sees more evidence of apparent war crimes committed against ukrainian civilians by russian forces. more than one thousand bodies are discovered in the bucha region. i still don't have a full picture. but from the evidence that we have found underground, it's clear they were executed. as nato foreign ministers meet in berlin — finland and sweden — neutral for decades — say they plan to join the alliance —— a decision hailed by nato's secretary general this could be a historic moment. their membership in nato would increase our shared

security. president biden says america must do all it can to end hate—filled domestic terrorism — following saturday's mass shooting in buffalo that left 10 dead. and north korea announces a further eight deaths as it battles a covid outbreak. welcome to the progamme. finland and sweden have announced their intention tojoin nato — in response to russia's invasion of ukraine. to russia's invasion we'll get to that in just a moment — but first i want to tell you about this exclusive report: a bbc team have uncovered further evidence of potential war crimes committed by russian forces in ukraine. since russian forces

were pushed back from kyiv at the end of march, the bodies of more than one thousand civilians have been discovered in the bucha region, just outside the capital. now the bbc has learned more than half of the dead were shot, in what has been described as executions. in this special report, the bbc�*s sarah rainsford has been investigating one case. i want to warn you — her report contains some distressing details. this is a place where dark acts were committed. civilians tortured and killed. by russian soldiers fighting a war in which they break all the rules. like they do not know them or even care. we were shown underground to where five men were held captive and then shot in the head. in the gloom, we saw the chilling evidence. the men's bodies were found kneeling here, beaten, their hands tied

behind their backs. it is cold, it's damp and it is dark down here. where the five men must�*ve spent the most terrifying moments of their lives. we still do not have a full picture of exactly what happened but from the evidence we found underground here, it is clear they were executed. we counted more than a dozen bulletholes. translation: the soldiers were based upstairs, - the headquarters were in a medical centre. this was a torture room where they tortured and killed civilians. it was all happening at a children's camp. its name means radiance, place of sunshine. when the town of bucha was occupied, russian

troops set up base here. she showed me pictures of her brother in happy times. but vladimir was one of the men found in that basement. his death has shattered her. when they last spoke, he told her that he loved her. but she heard a voice full of fear. translation: it's so hard. i hate them with every cell of my body. i know it's wrong to say about people but they are not human. how could they torture those men? there wasn't a patch on their bodies that was not beaten. when russian troops retreated from bucha, they left streets filled with death. moscow claims all of this was staged. and yet, weeks on, the hard

evidence is piled up here. the cars of civilians covered in bulletholes. it is overwhelming and shocking, even for the police officer in charge. translation: more than half the people killed in the bucha| region were shot, not killed by mines or shrapnel- are found under the ruins, but shot with guns, - more than 650. that shows the russian cruelty of their crimes i against humanity. it feels like every house, every yard in bucha was witness to that cruelty. just opposite of the children's camp, we heard of another man who was held prisoner there. viktor is in western ukraine now, but he told me he had been thrown in a cellar at the camp, his legs soaked in water so he would freeze and

a gun held to his head. translation: they kept saying, where are the fascists, _ where the nazis, where is president zelensky. you have until tomorrow to remember what you have seen or you will be shot. viktor escaped because there was shelling his captors scattered. but vladimir is not buried in the grave with no date for his death. his family do not know when he was shot but this town does know that civilians are not only caught up in this war, they are being targeted. meanwhile — british military intelligence believes russia has lost a third of the ground forces it used to invade ukraine and claims moscow's offensive has lost momentum. the assessment is in stark contrast to briefings coming from the kremlin, which have consistently painted the invasion as making steady progress. still — ukraine's president

zelensky has warned the situation in the east of the country remains difficult. our correspondentjames waterhouse is in kyiv for us with the latest. i think, we once again have a difference in opinion between nato members and ukraine itself. the uk ministry of defence has described russia's campaign as being behind schedule, having lost momentum and having lost a third of its invasion force from the 24th of february. that includes injured and killed soldiers as well as damaged or captured equipment. but, the pentagon offered a similar conclusion at the start of this month and you could argue that this has been the case for some time. these are the very reasons why vladimir putin has shifted his focus to the east. and you look at the president zelensky has said, describing the situation in the donbas region as being difficult. the russians have made a number of advances today,

still in that area and we just have to look at mariupol, president zelensky says he doesn't have the military capability to free that city and you will be sure that vladimir putin will continue to try to carve out something that resembles a victory. now, let's get back to the story i mentioned at the beginning of the programme, finland and sweden have abandoned their military non—alignment and announced their intention tojoin nato — in response to russia's invasion of ukraine. the alliance's secretary general yens stoltenberg has described the move as historic — while president putin, talking about finland, described the plan as "a mistake". let's just remind ourselves of what nato is — the north atlantic treaty organization — a military alliance which was formed in 1949 by 12 countries — including the us, the uk, canada and france. after the soviet union's collapse in 1991, many former eastern bloc countries joined nato. now finland — which has a border of more than 1,300 kilometres with russia — and sweden want to join. our europe correspondent,

nick beake, reports. they claim vladimir putin's war has brought them closer together and made them stronger. now the nato family is set to get bigger. america's top diplomat, back in europe, said the support for ukraine is for the long term. every member of the alliance wants to bring this war to an end as soon as possible. but we're equally determined to maintain our security assistance to ukraine, to continue our sanctions, export controls and diplomatic pressure on russia for as long as is necessary. the united states and our allies and partners on focused on giving ukraine as a strong a hand as possible. over in stockholm this evening, an historic moment. sweden's stayed neutral for decades, like neighbour finland. not any more — both now want to join nato. we're now facing a fundamentally change security

environment in europe, and when we navigate in this new environment, the fundamental question for us is, how do we best protect sweden? and the kremlin has shown that they are prepared to use violence to achieve their political objectives. sweden and finland joining the western military alliance is not just about the symbolism of two more flags being planted here. it would double the length of the land borders between russia and nato countries. it's the sort of expansion that vladimir putin was desperate to avoid. but russia is keeping up its assault on ukraine — from air, land and sea, focusing on the donbas region, although moscow accused the west of waging a total war on the russian people and has promised there will be consequences if nato expands. the head of the organisation told the bbc the alliance was prepared.

president putin doesn't understand that what we speak about is not nato aggressively moving east. this is about free, independent decisions by free, independent democratic nations — the baltic countries, poland, but also now most likely finland and sweden. and we respect those free, independent decisions. finland and sweden's nato membership is not a done deal. all existing 30 members need to agree to it, and turkey could yet hold up the process. but many allies are now promising to fast—track these applications in the face of ongoing russian aggression. nick beake, bbc news, berlin. you can keep up to date with the war in ukraine twenty four hours a day, by visiting our website at bbcnews.com/news. you can find the latest analysis from our correspondents there.

in the last hour, the white house has announced that president biden will visit the city of buffalo on tuesday, after a gunman killed ten people in a case of suspected racially motivated domestic terrorism. it happened at a supermarket in the city in new york state, on saturday. an eighteen—year—old white man has been charged with first degree murder. most of the victims were black. our correspondent will grant reports. once again, one man's deep—seated racism and easy access to semiautomatic weapons have combined to deadly effect in america. 18—year—old peyton gendron drove for miles to reach this supermarket in a predominantly black neighbourhood of buffalo. heavily armed and dressed in tactical gear, he livestreamed his entire horrific attack. a security guard, a retired buffalo policeman, tried to stop him but was among those

killed. most of the victims were black. before the attack, the gunman posted a kind of manifesto online — a hate—filled screed laying bare his extremist views. outside the supermarket, gendron was disarmed, taken into custody and charged with first—degree murder. in court, his lawyer entered a not guilty plea. after threatening such filings last year, the gunman was held by the authorities for mental health evaluation and released. a third upload to this type technic tight—knit community.

there's been another shooting incident — this time at a church in california. the church is in laguna woods in orange county. the sheriff's department has said that one person has been killed and four others are critically wounded. one man has been detained. deputies have also recovered a weapon that may have been used. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. the controversial us preacher who's accused of being politically extreme draws thousands of people — and also protesters at the start of a uk tour this morning an indian air force plane carrying mr gandhi's body landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final trip from the political battlefield. ireland has voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. in doing so, it's become the first country in the world to approve the change in the national

referendum. it was a remarkable climax to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it's been a peaceful funeral demonstration so far but police are tear. gassing the crowd and. we don't yet know why. the pre—launch ritual is well established here. helen was said to be in good spirits butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become the world's newest nation. it was a bloody birth for a poor country and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate. this is newsday on the bbc. in singapore. our headlines.

the bbc sees more evidence of apparent war crimes committed against ukrainian civilians by russian forces. more than one thousand bodies are discovered in the bucha region. nato is confident that finland and sweden will rapidly become the alliance's latest members — despite the misgivings of turkey. let's turn to north korea now — state media have reported eight new deaths from fever—like symptoms as it deals with a covid outbreak. nearly 400,000 more cases of people with similar symptoms were also reported. the country's state news agency said kim—jong—un has ordered the military to help stabilise the supply of medicines in pyongyang. i've been speaking to mason richey who's an associate professor of international politics at the hankuk university of foreign studies. i asked him about the �*mysterious fever�* that has been reported in north korea. north korea does not have extensive testing capabilities which is part reason why kim jong—il on regime and party referring to this as a mysterious fever and they did carry out some tests that

showed several cases of covid—19 including the omicron variant and of course, illogical conjecture was the vast majority of these cases which now sends april, number at least 820,000 in total cases and as many as 42 debt reported and as many as 42 debt reported and as many as 42 debt reported and a bit more almost certainly given the rapidity of the spread and pyongyang in surrounding provinces. what is the signal _ surrounding provinces. what is the signal that _ surrounding provinces. what is the signal that the _ surrounding provinces. what is the signal that the state - surrounding provinces. what is the signal that the state newsl the signal that the state news agency is making reports about this or telling people about this or telling people about this at the time given that it will be for a very long time, they have covid—19 under control? i they have covid-19 under control?— they have covid-19 under control? ~ ., ., i, , control? i think most analysts a . ree control? i think most analysts agree that _ control? i think most analysts agree that this _ control? i think most analysts agree that this will _ control? i think most analysts agree that this will primarily l agree that this will primarily mean that there is no longer hiding the facts that there were covid—19 cases. for a lot

of reasons about the regime operating and the difficulty of travelling between provinces and in between cities already. north korea is also very quick border closure that happened in january 2020, north korea did apparently succeed in keeping the number of cases very low for a very long time and were almost certain that they had cases but there either were not detected or very low because the way the country operates internally. but this outbreak and in population that has almost no vaccines no artificially induced antibodies has clearly exploded in going out of control mystically and internationally there's no hiding it any more and at some point, the north korean government decided come out and admit this and possibly simply because it is no way to deny it but also preps his way to start smoothing the pathway towards getting perhaps anti—viral drugs or vaccines or both coming into the country.

if you want to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma the british government has denied "playing politics" by seeking to change trading arrangements in northern ireland — insisting that the brexit treaty had to be reassessed. ministers are considering introducing legislation which would allow them to override parts of the deal to try to restore power sharing at stormont. ireland's foreign minister — simon cove—ny — warned that course of action would be deeply harmful. the uk's prime minister boris johnson will visit belfast on monday to hold talks with northern ireland's main parties. from belfast, sara girvin reports:

let's get more from belfast with sarah given. tomorrow borisjohnson will hold private meetings with political leaders in an attempt to break the dormant stalemate. on friday the dup blocked the election of a new assembly speaker in protest at the northern ireland protocol, meaning this place can't function. there is increasing speculation that the uk government is poised to introduce legislation to strip away parts of the protocol, but the irish foreign minister says that isn't the right approach. what i see at the moment is a british government making statements, briefing against the eu and creating a lot of tension in my country, your closest neighbour, and also potentially being on the verge of making a decision that can fundamentally undermine the function of the institutions of the peace process in northern ireland. simon coveney also said there would be a consequence if the uk's action created uncertainty on the island of ireland, so if there is a plan to ditch parts of the protocol, could there be a trade war between the eu and the uk? we think it would be completely self—defeating if they went into a trade war but that is up to them.

what i'm concerned about is a british minister is the political stability of northern ireland and that's what i'm working with colleagues in cabinet to preserve and if we feel, as we are inclined to, that the protocol is undermining political stability in northern ireland it is absolutely our duty to look at it again and see what we can do to change it. in a statement this afternoon the leader of the dup sirjeffrey donaldson said his party wants action and not words on the protocol, but yesterday sinn fein said the protocol is here to stay. so with our political parties so far apart, can a visit from the prime minister end the stalemate at stormont? sara girvin, bbc newsline, stormont. let's get some analysis on this now. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. lebanese officials say voter turnout was just a1% in the country's parliamentary election. it is the first vote since an explosion of a container ship in beirut�*s port which killed over 200 people in 2020 and a devastating economic collapse which has led to the currency losing 90% of its value.

a former president of somalia, hassan sheikh mohamud, has been re—elected to office after three rounds of voting by parliamentarians. he defeated the incumbent, mohamed abdullahi farmajo, who he also faced in the final round of the last election in 2017. supporters greeted the result by cheering and firing guns in the air around the capital mogadishu. voting was conducted in a heavily—guarded aircraft hangar at the international airport. the controversial american preacher franklin graham has held an event attended by thousands of people in liverpool at the start of a uk tour. before the pandemic, british venues cancelled his appearances when rights groups protested he was politically extreme, islamophobic and homophobic. our religion editor aleem maqbool reports. for one night, the us evangelical mega—church

experience came to liverpool. thousands wanted to see one of the most famous, some would say notorious, american preachers, franklin graham. he's the son of the late billy graham, who toured the uk for decades and filled stadia like anfield. have you ever thought to yourself, i'd like to start it all over again? but unlike his father, franklin graham's been overtly political. and no man comes to the father but by me. in particular, his comments condemning homosexuality led to british venues cancelling his appearances. but he agreed to keep his rhetoric in check and his tour�*s back on, to the dismay of some. at a counter event close by, the rector of liverpool and the mayor raised the pride flag at liverpool parish church. those gathered here said it was important to oppose what they saw as a message of hate from franklin graham, saying his views fuelled hostility towards people on the grounds

of their sexuality. at no point have we argued that franklin graham has no right to speak. we would argue that he doesn't have a right to make people feel unsafe. he doesn't have a right to make people feel unwelcome — and that's what we need to fight against. the man himself is being very careful about what he says, though he disagrees with calls to be more inclusive. you can't be inclusive as it relates to sin. we have to repent. the bible requires us to repent, and that's to turn from our sins. and you're talking about things like homosexuality. i'm talking about all of us, our sins. the bible says we've all sinned. among those going forward to pray with franklin graham were many who appear to believe in his rigid interpretation of the bible. others had come in spite of aspects they were uncomfortable with. he's got his views, which for me are quite evangelicaland i'm more middle of the road. but i think, you know,

his heart's in the right place. but it didn't put you off coming to see him? no. the fact that he's said in the past, homosexuality�*s evil? no. that wasn't enough to put you off? no, no, cos i don't think it is evil. chanting. protesters outside the venue thought no—one should be going to see franklin graham. but over the coming weeks in the uk, thousands plan to do just that. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in liverpool. and finally a pair of rare pangolins have made their debut at prague zoo. a male called guo bao and a female called run hou tang were unveiled to the public after a month in quarantine following their arrival from taiwan. pangolins are the only mammals with scales entirely covering their bodies. the animals' arrival is emblematic of a u—turn in czech foreign policy in recent years. the government had been making overtures to china with the expectation of a couple of pandas for prague zoo, but has since become more pro—taiwan. that's all for now —

stay with bbc world news. a lot of cloud across the uk, not ideal viewing weather for the total lunar eclipse in the western sky before dawn and indeed monday is going to bring a lot of cloud but also sunny spells and one or two downpours, some of them thundery. let's have a look at the picture on the satellite image and you can see a lot of cloud towards the southeast, showers and thunderstorms have been drifting out of france, approaching the uk. i think through the early hours the greatest risk of lightning across the south but clearly you can see some heavy rain across northern england, scotland, parts of northern ireland too. to the south it's a mild start, 1a, 15 degrees maybe in some

spots in the north of scotland where we will have had some clear skies, perhaps as low as eight. so the broad message for monday is, northern half of the uk often cloudy, outbreaks of rain possible almost at any time but through the morning and the afternoon. southern half of the uk, from around about yorkshire southwards i think there will be lengthy spells of sunshine cloud, showers will brew during the daytime and some of them thundery. monday night into tuesday, the big low—pressure sell—out in the atlantic and around it weather fronts. this weather front is going to brush western parts of the uk during the course of tuesday so there will be a west, east split. at the west you'll have the outbreaks of rain in cooler weather. out towards the east it will be much warmer, in fact turning quite hot in london, 26 celsius, it will be the warmest day of the week. the forecast for mid week still shows a large area of low pressure in the atlantic, around it weather fronts

basically brushing the uk. large gaps in the weather for sure, they'll be lots of sunshine around but it's good to be very difficult to pinpoint where these areas of cloud and rain again to sweep in. we think on wednesday reaching southwestern parts of england and wales but many northern and eastern parts should have a mostly sunny day and it stays relatively warm as well. so let's have a look at the outlook for the week ahead and it is a mixed picture. staying on the warm side, particularly across southern parts of the uk and relatively warm in the north too but you can see every weather icon and you can possibly think of. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk from capitol hill, washington with me, stephen sackur. the united states is supporting ukraine in its war against vladimir putin with weapons, with money and with sweeping sanctions on moscow. in that, president biden has the support of the us congress. but the ukraine war is stirring divisions within us politics,