welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... ukraine's defence ministry says more than 200 and 50 fighters have left the azovstal steel plant in mariupol and been taken to areas held by russian—backed rebels. we have a special report from an area in the donbas in ukraine — which has seen the heaviest fighting of the last few weeks. they simply cannot let the russians through here. if they do, more ukrainian troops to the south in the donbas will be under threat. so they're hanging on for dear life here. police in the us say a gunman who killed ten people at a supermarket in buffalo, new york, planned further attacks after the mass shooting.

the british prime minister — on a visit to northern ireland — accepts that the political deadlock there is a result of his brexit deal. and a huge dust storm has covered parts of the middle east, resulting in the deaths of at least three people. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 6am in singapore, and 1am in ukraine — where it's being reported more than 200 wounded ukrainian soldiers from the besieged steelworks in mariupol are reported to have been evacuated. these are the latest pictures from a reuters journalist who watched as the buses reached novoazovsk, a russian—controlled town in eastern ukraine. ukraine says 260 people have been moved — more than 50 are reported to have been taken

to a local hospital. more on that story as the information comes in. it is a developing story so we will be sure to bring you the latest right here on bbc news. meanwhile, ukraine says it has regained control of territory on the russian border near kharkiv. it's the country's second—largest city which has been under constant fire since moscow's invasion began. but that doesn't mean the fighting is over — far from it. russian forces have been focusing on the donbas region further south of the country. the bbc�*s quentin sommerville and cameraman darren conway have been near the eastern city of izyum, known as the gateway to donbas, where they have been on patrol with volunteer fighters of the territorial defence force. war descended suddenly on ukraine. along the eastern front its men may be in bunkers, but they do not cower here.

three times in the last month the russians have attacked this base, with infantry and tanks, and three times they have been repelled. another attack may be imminent. so here, they wait. vladimir putin has turned their days into night, and taken them away from theirfamilies. but for the men of this territorial defence unit, this is now home. above their heads hangs a constant threat. the town they have dug under is all but abandoned, its people gone. orphaned pets have sought shelter here to. the men know it won't be long before the next attack. explosions. above, a russian barrage is the signal. it's time to get to work. outside these walls,

everything is in the line of fire, and these men face it daily. explosions. they need little reminder that to the north the majority of russia's forces are head quartered. and to the south, most of their ukrainian comrades. their patrols and defence along this front line keep these two mighty forces apart. loud explosions. the shells start landing closer, as the russians adjust their aim. we heading back? no. so you get a sense of what russia's artillery and tanks can

do to ukrainian homes. this is relentless. the reason that these men are holding on so tight here in these defensive positions is because they simply cannot let the russians through here. if they do, more ukrainian troops to the south and the donbas will be under threat. so they are hanging on for dear life here. at the front, there's no bunker, but they are armed to the teeth. yuri, this is a volunteer battalion, these men were doing ordinary jobs before the war, and they are facing against russian tanks, russian heavy artillery, indirect fire, how are they managing to hold the russians off? our men, they are going — they fight. every day by this fire, you can watch it, because we believe that all the democratic countries, all the world, will help us,

and when we will take, we give modern weapon, these brave men, they can destroy completely the russian army. as the day grows long, it is time to pick up the pace. on open ground there's no safe hiding place. pinned down, the route back is cut off by by artillery fire, so through gardens and back yards they search for an escape. a soldier calls out "leave this place as soon as possible," and it is here we find natasha, stubbornly hanging on. "do you need help leaving?" yuri asks her. translation: i don't have anyone here. - but she is defiant.

this war wasn't her choice. it's as if she refuses to acknowledge it, even as russian shells soar overhead. let us go to her house, she invites us. we can't go forward, can we? loud explosion. very close to us. very close to us, on our way. yuri tries to convince her to come with us. to stay risks death. translation: idon't- want to betray my husband, he's buried in the cemetery here. i won't leave him. we try, one last time. natasha, why don't you leave here? translation: because it's my home and i have nowhere to go. _

yuri implores her, "natasha, go to a nearby town, "they will help you there." translation: why? i got used to it now. | he says, "we can help you, are you ready to be evacuated?" translation: ifi go there, what willl do next? - off you go, guys, thank you. we have to leave, but natasha is told to pack her bags. they will come back for her when the shelling stops. despite the onslaught, the men pushed forward. loud explosions. this is what stalemate sounds like on the eastern front. and this is what it takes to keep the gateway to the donbas firmly shut. quentin somerville, bbc news, ukraine. we can bring you more now and that breaking news we were speaking about

at the beginning of the programme, the fact that ukraine says over 260 soldiers from the steelworks and mary opal had been evacuated, more than 80 days after the russian siege has begun. vitaliy shevchenko from bbc monitoring joins me now. great to get you on the programme. just to start by asking, how significant is this? explained the importance of what has just happened. importance of what has 'ust happened.i importance of what has 'ust hauened. , , , , happened. this is very significant both to russia _ happened. this is very significant both to russia and _ happened. this is very significant both to russia and ukraine - happened. this is very significant l both to russia and ukraine coming into russia the completion of its huge project to seize the northern shore or the sea of as of, and thus failed a land route from russia to crimea and also a symbolic victory. for ukraine, it means that the lives of the defenders of mariupol, at least some of them, have been saved, and these people are genuinely seen as heroes and ukraine, so at this

point, the public and ukraine believes that they have made their stand, they have shown what they are made of, now it is all about saving their lives, so expectations are running high. their lives, so expectations are running high-— their lives, so expectations are runnina hiuh. . , running high. indeed, and president zelensky apparently _ running high. indeed, and president zelensky apparently said _ running high. indeed, and president zelensky apparently said in - running high. indeed, and president zelensky apparently said in his - zelensky apparently said in his nightly address that an operation to save the defenders of mariupol, he called them heroes and said that ukraine needed its heroes alive, what do we know about the condition that they are in right now? as they are emerging out of this area. weill. are emerging out of this area. well, we have seen _ are emerging out of this area. well, we have seen pictures _ are emerging out of this area. -ii we have seen pictures emerging from both mariupol and the places where they've been taken. they show us some of these people that appear to be badly wounded, but president zelensky said that some of them are wounded suggesting that some are not. it's also important where they are being taken, they are being taken to locations controlled by

russia or russia backed separatist forces. so, too many and ukraine, this will look like surrender, but within the past hour, we've also had, we've also seen a video address made by the deputy defence minister of ukraine and she said that these evacuated ukrainian fighters will be exchanged for russian shoulders captured by ukraine, so what we're hearing from kyiv is that this appears to be part of a prison exchange. fin appears to be part of a prison exchange-— appears to be part of a prison exchanae. _, ., , i. exchange. on those conditions, you know, how important _ exchange. on those conditions, you know, how important will they - exchange. on those conditions, you know, how important will they be i know, how important will they be viewed in terms of the negotiations towards some sort of stalemate or cease—fire in this conflict? towards some sort of stalemate or cease-fire in this conflict?- cease-fire in this conflict? well, we have to _ cease-fire in this conflict? well, we have to remember _ cease-fire in this conflict? well, we have to remember that - cease-fire in this conflict? well, j we have to remember that many

previous plans involving russia and ukraine have collapsed, mostly cease—fire plans, so this planned prison exchange, i believe it when i see it, frankly, in terms of significance, of course, the very fact that ukraine and russia have agreed something like this, apparently, it marks the resumption of contacts between ukrainian and russian negotiators since the atrocities and areas surrounding kyiv came to light weeks ago there's been a stalemate and talks between russia and ukraine and now we are seeing this and hopefully these contacts will result in more lives being saved stop i do think there a

precedent for that now depending on how this particular evacuation goes? well, this particular arrangement, i have to say, it's unusual for a fight areas for one side in the conflict to be evacuated to territory controlled by another side and then involved in a prison exchange. so being hopeful, where at the same time i'm a bit doubtful as to whether there its soldiers captured by ukraine, but as i say, we live in hope and we are keeping our fingers crossed that lives will be saved. ., ~ , ., our fingers crossed that lives will be saved. ., ~ i. ., ., us on us on the programme and what you have been watching right now, the latest pictures from that arrangement that we were being kept

up—to—date on, we will be sure to bring you more on this tray as we get it right here i need stand on bbc news, so do stay tuned to that. meanwhile, i want to tell you about how the us president biden will visit buffalo, new york tomorrow to meet with families of the victims of saturday's mass shooting that killed ten people. mr biden said facts were still being established about the incident but that america "must work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of the nation." saturday's attack is thought to be the worst mass shooting so far in the us in 2022. an investigation into the incident is looking at whether authorities missed telltale signs left by the suspected shooter. us civil rights attorney benjamin crump has condemned those who radicalize white supremacists. surrounded by ruth whitfield's family, one of the victims of saturday's shooting, he said those who "curate this hate" must be held accountable — as well as the shooter. what happened on saturday was an act

of domestic terrorism. and we have to define it as such. we can't sugar—coat it, we can to try to explain it away, talking about mental illness, no! this was an act of domestic terrorism. perpetrated by a young white supremacist. for more on this, i am joined now by nada tawfik, who is in buffalo for us and has been speaking to people there in the aftermath of this horrific attack. i cannot imagine what it must be like speaking to people in this community who have to deal with this awful attack. what are they telling you? awful attack. what are they telling ou? ., , awful attack. what are they telling ou? . , ., awful attack. what are they telling ou? . , . , awful attack. what are they telling ou? . , ., , . you? yeah, they are very much grieving- _ you? yeah, they are very much grieving- this _ you? yeah, they are very much grieving. this is _ you? yeah, they are very much grieving. this is very _ you? yeah, they are very much grieving. this is very raw - you? yeah, they are very much grieving. this is very raw for i you? yeah, they are very much | grieving. this is very raw for the community share, and every single

person i spoke to said that could been me, that could have been anyone in this community, here at the tops grocery store, very much is an active investigation, there are still police to come the areas taped off, but you have seen community groups popping up, serving food, offering counselling services to those in need, one of the presidents i've spoken to of the buffalo urban league talked about how this is just trauma on top of trauma because here in this community, of course, they feel the systemic issues and underlying issues of racism, of being in a community that has a lack of investment, properties being to validate —— devalued, so this is key for that a key source to be able to get fresh fruit and groceries, so as i say, a sense here that the fact that they were targeted, the community here, because of the colour of their skin by a white

supremacist who was radicalised on line and drove for several hours, it is a lot to take in for the community, but you also see that their anger is manifesting in a way that they want to see real change, not just to that they want to see real change, notjust to gun lies, but in fighting systemic racism, to really have this appeal to america, to really try to educate people to fight against us. i really try to educate people to fight against us.— really try to educate people to fiuht auainst us. .,, ., ,, fight against us. i was reading your iece on fight against us. i was reading your piece on the _ fight against us. i was reading your piece on the bbc _ fight against us. i was reading your piece on the bbc website - fight against us. i was reading your piece on the bbc website before i piece on the bbc website before coming to the programme to talk to you and one of the things they know a lot of people have been saying to you is the fact that were red flags missed in the run—up to this attack? is that how they are feeling? yeah, absolutely, look, you can look at several things, the fact that this shooter came to this community several times before the shooting, as authorities described it as reconnaissance. the fact that while he was not known to authorities, he did make threatening comments in high school that led to a mental

evaluation of this 18—year—old at this time, and yet he was never put on any kind of red flag live at new york has to stop him from getting a firearm. he was able to get a firearm, so, again, we have politicians, you have members of the community asking, you know, if there were opportunities here missed, if maybe at each point, you know, the vice principal who raised concerns about the student that not more steps are taken to make sure that he wasn't able to get a firearm, that this tragedy could have perhaps been prevented. i think there is a lot of soul—searching going on, but again, i think there is so much anger here that this is a pattern we're seeing again and again in this country without any change.— again and again in this country without any change. indeed. that re ort, without any change. indeed. that report. and _ without any change. indeed. that report. and be — without any change. indeed. that report, and be sure _ without any change. indeed. that report, and be sure to _ without any change. indeed. that report, and be sure to beat- without any change. indeed. that report, and be sure to beat her. report, and be sure to beat her piece on the bbc website if you do get a chance. thank you so much for joining us on the programme. an update for you now on another shooting in the us — police there say the suspect behind a mass shooting at a church

in california on sunday was a chinese—american man motivated by hatred of taiwanese people. the fbi is investigating the attack as a hate crime. one person died and five others were wounded when the gunman opened fire on the taiwanese congregation in laguna woods. let's turn to the uk where the british prime minister borisjohnson has accepted that the political deadlock in northern ireland is a result of the brexit deal that he approved and signed. after talks in belfast today, mrjohnson told the bbc that the northern ireland protocol needed to be "fixed". the protocol keeps northern ireland aligned with the eu single market, for trade in goods. our political editor chris mason has the latest. lowden guitars in county down make instruments for ed sheeran, among plenty of others. they import some of the things they to make them from the rest of the uk, and sell plenty back over the irish sea. the boss says the deal the prime minister did to deliver brexit has made business harder. we have had some of our most valued partners in england say,

"look, these guitars, this administration, it's just too much work." so we have seen sales impacted there. but it is daunting, to have to fill out import documentation for something you never even had to think about before. and this is why businesses are having to adapt. when the uk left the european union, it was agreed that goods arriving in northern ireland from scotland, england and wales would be monitored to make sure they met eu standards. that's because northern ireland shares a land border with the republic of ireland, which is in the eu, and brussels doesn't want unchecked products ending up in what it calls its single market. but an open border on the island of ireland is seen as an essential part of the peace process. prime minister, do you accept that the reality of what you're with here in northern ireland today is a direct consequence of the deal you signed? yes, absolutely. and i want to be clear that i think that the protocol has

a lot to be said for it, and it's very important in the sense that it does guarantee that north—south trade. that's why we want to protect the protocol. but what we can't have is an arrangement that is unbalanced. help me out, then, here. you signed this deal. presumably you knew what was in it. what has changed since? i think it's very important to recognise that the protocol is a classic piece of brussels negotiation. which you signed up to. yes, and i signed up to it in good faith, imagining that it would not be interpreted in too draconian a way... are they acting in bad faith now? i think what they are doing is being overzealous in the way that it's being applied. earlier, the democratic unionist party, who hate the protocol, had seen the prime minister and told him as much. clearly, we want a fully functioning executive. we want that to happen as soon as possible, and therefore we are looking now to the government. we've had the words. we now need to see the action. there are, though, plenty here

who are relaxed about the protocol, and some are happy with it. sinn fein, who'd like a united ireland, won more seats than any other party in the elections the week before last. we had what we would describe as a fairly tough meeting - with the prime minister. we have put it to him very directly that the absolute priority- is about getting government working here in the north. _ people are facing incredible difficulties in the midst - of a cost of living crisis, - and it's simply not acceptable, |it's not good enough, for anybody, | the dup or the british government, to hold society here to ransom. you promised to get brexit done. isn't your trip here today proof that you haven't? we've got an ongoing and dynamic relationship with our friends in the eu. you've not got brexit done. no, i disagree with that very much. but, chris, where you're right is that we have a residual issue. it's causing...

in northern ireland, it's causing stresses and strains. back in county down, another guitar is finished, but the soundtrack and consequences of brexit can still be clearly heard. a huge dust storm has covered a massive area of the middle east, resulting in the deaths of at least three people, including a child. skies have turned red across nothern syria, much of iraq and a neighbouring region in saudi arabia. flights once again had to be postponed at baghdad airport. in north—eastern syria, the choking cloud of dust has resulted in three deaths and hundreds suffering breathing difficulties. our reporter azadeh moshiri joins me now from the bbc newsroom. this isn't the first dust storm the region has faced recently, gray tabby on the programme. this isn't the first dust storm the region has faced recently, but what impact is this latest one having?

—— great to have you on the programme. -- great to have you on the programme-— -- great to have you on the programme. -- great to have you on the rouramme. ., �* �*, ., programme. you're right, it's not the first, and _ programme. you're right, it's not the first, and has _ programme. you're right, it's not the first, and has resulted - programme. you're right, it's not the first, and has resulted in - programme. you're right, it's not the first, and has resulted in the | the first, and has resulted in the steps that you just mentioned and it's particularly difficult in a country like iraq, for example, where they have faced eight of these dust storms since mid april, and this last one, like the others, has sent thousands to the hospital. the health ministry, in said that this round has spent —— sent 4000 people with breathing problems. it's caused major disruptions across the country, things like ports and airports were forced to shut. some schools and public offices were closed across the country, and day—to—day life simply becomes quite difficult, imagine going to the road and your car is covered in this orange dust, or you go home and you see a wreath is covered, sometimes seeping into your own home. so while it's been common across the region, it's been common across the region, it is certainly becoming aggravated to the point that thousands are going to these hospitals with these

chronic problems.— chronic problems. indeed. just lookinu chronic problems. indeed. just looking at _ chronic problems. indeed. just looking at those _ chronic problems. indeed. just looking at those pictures, - chronic problems. indeed. just looking at those pictures, you| chronic problems. indeed. just - looking at those pictures, you know, it is quite a frightening image out there, isn't it? are some people blaming climate change for this? 50. blaming climate change for this? so, the dust blaming climate change for this? s57, the dust storms themselves blaming climate change for this? s513, the dust storms themselves are quite common in the region, especially in iraq, they get to many of them during the summer when the strong winds are exacerbating the issue, but there is a concern that climate change could be making the more common. in fact, change could be making the more common. infact, the change could be making the more common. in fact, the environment ministry said that iraq could face what it called 272 days of dust a year in the coming decades. now, thatis year in the coming decades. now, that is because of worsening weather conditions, things like drought, rainfall, in fact, conditions, things like drought, rainfall, infact, in iraq's committee water reserves that are less than 50% compared to last year. in general, these climate impacts are exacerbating the ongoing issues that make them more common and more significant within the region. i’m significant within the region. i'm so sorry to _ significant within the region. i'm so sorry tojump in there, we are so sorry to jump in there, we are running out of time, fascinating

stuff, thank you so much forjoining us on the programme and thank you for watching newsday. do stay with bbc news. hello. the weather's been all over the place in the last few days. yes, we've had some sunshine, some warmth, too, but also big thundery downpours, particularly in northwestern england and in northern ireland recently. now, on the satellite picture, you can see the motion of the cloud — it's mostly coming in out of the south and the southwest. so that's where the warm weather is coming from, too. and here are the thunderstorms we've recently had — now most of them have died away, we still have a little bit of rain here and there, but i think through the early hours of tuesday morning, it is a mostly dry picture out there with clear spells, a bit of residual cloud, that's pretty much it. oh, and mistand murk forming

in the countryside, too. now, the temperatures early on tuesday will range from around eight celsius in aberdeen to 12 in norwich, london, and along the south coast of england. now there is rain in the forecast for tuesday, but it'll be mostly affecting western areas of the uk. so, here it is, this weather front — in the morning, maybejust about fringing cornwall into western parts of wales, and spreading northwards. but notice how this area of rain expands during the course of the day, progressively getting wetter around these western areas. but further towards the east, the weather will be dry, hazy sunshine at the very least, and sunny closer to the north sea, and look at the temperatures — 26 in london, and easily into the low—to—mid—20s in yorkshire, as well. and then, tuesday evening, that rain will reach wales, the northwest of england, and move further north into scotland, as well, and there could be some thunderstorms returning to southern parts of the uk, as well, tuesday evening. here's a look at wednesday's weather map — still dominated by an area of low pressure and these southwesterly winds pushing in very volatile weather systems, difficult to predict, really.

but the thinking is that on wednesday, we'll see a return of thundery showers quite probably to southwestern parts of the uk, whereas further east and north, it should be sunnier. but look at that, northern ireland closer to the weather front — so there's likely to be some rain, too. and here's the outlook from tuesday onwards, just about into the weekend — it will be changeable, staying on the warm side with sunny spells, but always a risk of showers with thunderstorms.

this is bbc news, the headlines... ukraine says over 260 soldiers from the azovstal steelworks in mariupol have been evacuated. the deputy defence minister said all of them would eventually return to ukrainian territory under exchange agreements with moscow. vladimir putin says, he does not see the decision by finland and sweden to join nato as a threat. but he warned that any new deployment of military infrastructure there would provoke a response. us presidentjoe biden will visit buffalo, new york to meet with families of the victims of saturday's mass shooting that killed ten people. saturday's attack is thought to be the worst mass shooting so far in the us in 2022. a huge dust storm has covered a massive area of the middle east, resulting in the deaths

of at least three people. skies have turned red across nothern syria,