welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... ukraine's defence ministry says more than two hundred and sixty 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 the front line in the donbas in eastern 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 10 people at a supermarket in buffalo, new york, planned further attacks after the mass shooting.

and in another shooting in the us — police say the suspect behind that mass shooting at a presbyterian church in california was a chinese— american man motivated by hatred of taiwanese people. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. we start with some breaking news from ukraine. it's being reported more than 200 wounded ukrainian soldiers from the besieged steelworks in mariupol 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. well i've been speaking wtih

vitaliy shevchenko from bbc monitoring who explained the significance of these evacutations. this is very significant 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 ——thus build 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. indeed, and president 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. well, 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. on those conditions, you know, how important will they be viewed in terms of the negotiations towards some sort of stalemate or cease—fire in this conflict? well, 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. do you think there a precedent for that this particular evacuation noes? 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 ——it's unusual for a fighters 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 a bit doubtful frankly, as to whether there will release these soldiers in exchanges for captured by ukraine, but as i say, we live in hope and we are keeping our fingers crossed that lives will be saved. meanwhile, ukraine says its troops have 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. russian tanks strike on us directly from this position. another attack may be imminent. so here they wait. vladimir putin has turned their days into night and taken them away from their families. 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 too. the men know it won't be long before the next attack. 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 headquartered and, to the south, most of their ukrainian comrades. their patrols and defence along this frontline keep these two mighty forces apart. loud explosions.

the shells start landing closer as the russians adjust their aim. we heading back? 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 in 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 ordinaryjobs before the war, and they are facing against russian tanks, russian heavy artillery,

in direct 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. and we liberate all ukraine and we liberate all the world of russian gangster regime. as the day grows long, it's time to pick up the pace. on open ground, there's no safe hiding place. pinned down, the route back is cut off 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, near izyum, ukraine. in other stories today — turkey's president has restated his opposition to finland and sweden joining nato. president erdogan said they need not send delegations to convince turkey, a nato member, of their bids. he's chiefly angered by what he sees as their willingness to host kurdish militant groups. translation: the swedish and finnish delegations are coming to turkey on monday, are they coming to convince us? excuse me, but they should not tire themselves. first of all, we should not say yes to those who impose sanctions should not say yes to those who impose sanctions on should not say yes to those who impose sanctions on turkey should not say yes to those who impose sanctions on turkey to join nato because that nato would cease to be a security organisation and become a place where representatives of terrorist organisations are concentrated.

in the pandemic the bastions of zero covid have fallen one by one as the greater infectivity of the omicron variant breached defences from australia to southern china. now even the closed off north korea seems to have a big problem. officially around 50 have died and one million fallen ill. with almost no vaccination and no natural immunity, the emergency is expected to escalate swiftly, and the country's leader had put himself centre stage. mark urban has more. kimjong—iland kim jong—il and has decided kimjong—il and has decided to take personal charge of the public health crisis and mobilise the army for good measure. he's been found chiding them and the pharmacist for a slow response to the crisis. it's a strategy that's full of risk for the korean dictator because there is every sign that omicron will tear through his country and result in major problems.—

through his country and result in major problems. in ma'or problems. they have a eek in major problems. they have a peek system — in major problems. they have a peek system already _ in major problems. they have a peek system already and - in major problems. they have a peek system already and they l peek system already and they don't have covid vaccines as far as we know. there is not much natural immunity. it won't take long until the numbers of infections are at a very high level, but it's not too late to make a difference. even one dose of vaccination, quite soon after that dose is administered, it can make a difference, it can save lives. so the authorities have ordered a lockdown, but the type of public health advice given to north koreans now in the face of this, what to do if you come down with the fever is basic. translation: it down with the fever is basic. translation:— down with the fever is basic. translation: , ., ., translation: it is important to take enough _ translation: it is important to take enough rest _ translation: it is important to take enough rest and _ translation: it is important to take enough rest and drink - translation: it is important to take enough rest and drink lotsl take enough rest and drink lots of water to keep hydrated. also they need to have digestible food. keep their mouth clean and rinse their mouth with saltwater often. to and rinse their mouth with saltwater often.— and rinse their mouth with saltwater often. to give some idea of the — saltwater often. to give some idea of the level _ saltwater often. to give some idea of the level of _ saltwater often. to give some idea of the level of health - idea of the level of health care, south korea has carried

out to 172 million covid tests during the pandemic, north korea just 611,000. with more than a million north koreans now suffering from fever, the south has been offering assistance, that includes supplies of covid vaccines. translation: iii supplies of covid vaccines. translation:— supplies of covid vaccines. translation: if north korea resonds translation: if north korea responds to _ translation: if north korea responds to our _ translation: if north korea responds to our every - translation: if north korea responds to our every part, . translation: if north koreal responds to our every part, we will spare no medicines including covid—19 vaccines, medical equipment and health personnel. medical equipment and health personnel-— personnel. after ma'or outbreaks in i personnel. after ma'or outbreaks in hong h personnel. after major| outbreaks in hong kong personnel. after major- outbreaks in hong kong and shanghai, it's clear that mass lockdowns can have serious economic effects. north korea with its absence of previous exposure to the virus, the risk is that its health service could quickly be overwhelmed. the danger for canada, then, could quickly be overwhelmed. the dangerfor canada, then, is that covid could bring a series of effects from public health overload two problems with harvesting crops and wider economic crisis. outside help is already an offer, but will he take it?

mark urban reporting on that story for us. internet censors in china appear to be erasing mentions of a student protest at an elite beijing university. this video — reportedly filmed at the incident — shows peking university students gathering to stop the construction of a wall that would block their access to the school canteen and food deliveries. beijing has been gradually tightening covid restrictions, leading to rising social tensions. peking university has been a politically sensitive location since nineteen eighty nine, when student protests there grew into the tiananmen square pro—democracy movement, which ended in a military crackdown. you're watching newsday on the bbc. we'll have the very latest from california, where police say the suspect behind a mass shooting at a church, was a chinese—american man motivated by hatred of taiwanese people.

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 return 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 a national referendum. it was a remarkable climax to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever get into a pop singer. it's been a peaceful funeral demonstration so far, - but police are tear gassing - the crowd, we don't know why. the prelaunch 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 bloodbath for a poor country and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it has time to celebrate.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our top story... ukraine says over 260 soldiers from the azovstal steelworks in mariupol have been evacuated. the deputy defence minister said they would eventually return to ukrainian territory under exchange agreements with moscow. us presidentjoe biden will visit buffalo, new york on tuesday to meet with families of the victims of saturday's mass shooting that killed 10 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 this year. an investigation into the incident is under way to see 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! ——we can't sugar—coat it, we can't to try to explain it away, talking about mental illness, no! this was an act of domestic terrorism. perpetrated by a young white supremacist. neda tawfik is in buffalo for us. i put it to her that the community must be devastated.

yes, they are very much grieving. this is very raw for the community here, and every single person i spoke to said that could've been me, that could have been anyone in this community. here at the top grocery store, and very much still is an active investigation, there are still police here, the area is taped off, but you have seen community groups topping up, serving food, offering counselling services to those in need. one of the presidents i spoke to said this is just trauma on top of trauma, because here in this community, they feel the systemic issues and underlying issues of racism, of being a community that has a lack of investment, properties being devalued and so this grocery store was actually key for them, a key source to be able to get fresh fruit and groceries. so, as i say, the fact that they were

targeted, the community here, because of the colour of their skin, by a white supremacist who was radicalised and drove for several hours, it's 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, notjust to vandalize, but in fighting systemic racism to really have this appeal in america to try and educate people that to fight against this. 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 — near los angeles. for more on this

i am joined now by our north america correspondent david willis. thank you forjoining us and please tell us what happened. this was not to be the work of the chinese born american citizen who was living in las vegas and travelled all the way from las vegas in order to carry out this attack. they say that he changed the doors of the church, also says that he poured glue into the locks in order to prevent those doors from being opened, to keep those who were present inside, and there were about a0 people, apparently attending a luncheon in honour of a former local pastor before opening fire. they say that it was only the intervention of one of the people present, local doctor who charged at this man as he started opening fire, managed to overpower him and that gave

the other is present at the chance to tie him up before the sheriffs deputies arrived at the scene and they say that this man came bank on a lot, causing a lot of harm, he had two guns at the man several molotov cocktails. investigators also found notes in his car written in mandarin, in his car written in mandarin, in which he poured scorn on taiwan. , ., ., , taiwan. so, is that what they are suspecting _ taiwan. so, is that what they are suspecting as _ taiwan. so, is that what they are suspecting as the - are suspecting as the motivation, what are they saying about the?- motivation, what are they saying about the? the fbi is investigating _ saying about the? the fbi is investigating this _ saying about the? the fbi is investigating this case - saying about the? the fbi is investigating this case as . saying about the? the fbi is investigating this case as a i investigating this case as a racial hate crime, and that investigation, of course, has just got under way. this man will appear in court locally near laguna woods, that's a city about 50 miles from los angeles tomorrow where he is expected to face murder charges and also possession of explosives charges the district attorney in that area says he's

considering pressing for the death penalty and that this particular case, even though california of curtis hasn't as a prisoner in more than a decade, caress my.- a prisoner in more than a decade, caress my. just talk us there the _ decade, caress my. just talk us there the doctor _ decade, caress my. just talk us there the doctor as _ decade, caress my. just talk us there the doctor as you - decade, caress my. just talk us there the doctor as you are - there the doctor as you are describing the local doctor who ended up losing his life and all of us, he is being described as a care because he felt the same so many other people in this. it’s felt the same so many other people in this.— people in this. it's not that this could've _ people in this. it's not that this could've been - people in this. it's not that this could've been a - people in this. it's not that this could've been a whole| people in this. it's not that i this could've been a whole lot worse if it wasn't for the intervention of this man, a local doctor, as you say, who charged at the gunmen leaving others the time that they needed as a local sheriff arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and took this man away. afterwards and took this man awa . ~ , ., ~' afterwards and took this man awa. , ., . away. writes, thank you so much forjoining _ away. writes, thank you so much forjoining us. — away. writes, thank you so much forjoining us, as _ away. writes, thank you so much forjoining us, as always - away. writes, thank you so much forjoining us, as always at - forjoining us, as always at the latest updates on that story, and thank you for watching newsday. do you had to

the bbc�*s website for the latest updates on all the stories you have seen on the programme, that is that from us. to stay with bbc news. ——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, maybe just 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. we'll 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, i'm stephen sackur. for the last decade, the founder of wikileaks, julian assange, hasn't known freedom. first he was holed up in the ecuadorian embassy in london. for the last three years, he's been in belmarsh prison outside london. his lawyer is making a last—ditch attempt to stop the uk government extraditing him to the us to face espionage charges.

my guest is stella moris, the lawyer who worked