welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines... on patrol with the afghan vice and virtue inspectors — as they enforce the taleban�*s strict rules on how women should appear in public. a 21—year—old russian sergeant pleads guilty to shooting dead an unarmed ukrainian civilian — in the first war crimes trial of the conflict. i'm karishma vaswani live from sydney — australia — where voters will head to the polls on saturday to decide who'll be the country's next prime minister. it's a contest between the incumbent scott morrison — and his rival — anthony albanese — who is hoping to form the first labor government in 9 years. as india and pakistan face

blistering temperatures of fifty—degrees celsius, experts warn such heatwaves are now a hundred times more likely because of climate change. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 7am in singapore, and 3:30am in afghanistan — where the number of restrictions imposed on women — under taliban rule — is growing. the ministry for preventing vice and promoting virtue — has been behind a raft of new, hard—line laws, and among them — ordering afghan women to wear the islamic face veil. our correspondent — secunder kermani — has been given exclusive access

to a team of "inspectors" — from the ministry and begins our programme. how h ow ofte n how often do you do this in a week or two— how often do you do this in a week or two every day. we are followin: week or two every day. we are following one _ week or two every day. we are following one team _ week or two every day. we are following one team in the - following one team in the centre of kabul. first stop shopping centre. bystanders and shopkeepers are given a lecture on the importance of saying your prayers and growing a beard, though it's all framed as brotherly advice. you haven't been talking about women, what they should wear? that's what your ministry is most known for at the moment. translation: we have already given advice to the owner -

of the shopping centre, and put up some posters, but we can't stop a woman and ask her, "why are you not wearing the correct hijab?" if a woman is completely crossing the limits my my manor in religion does not allow me to do that. so my manor in religion does not allow me to do that.— allow me to do that. so if you see a woman _ allow me to do that. so if you see a woman here _ allow me to do that. so if you see a woman here who - allow me to do that. so if you see a woman here who has or allow me to do that. so if you - see a woman here who has or had covered but not her face covered, you will not say anything to her? we covered, you will not say anything to her?- anything to her? we can distinguish _ anything to her? we can distinguish what - anything to her? we can distinguish what the - anything to her? we can . distinguish what the woman with a head job and with out. if a woman is —— if a woman is completely crossing the limits without any modesty, we will try to find her male guardian. in sucha in such a conservative country, it's not clear which women he means. many already cover their faces. this is how the taliban say women should be dressing now. what right does your ministry have to tell them how they should practice their religion, how they should dress? translation: it is not. the decree of the ministry, it is the decree of god.

the real cause of moral corruption is the face. if the face is not covered, then what is the point of hijab? the inspectors are on the move. next up, a bus stop. their ministry has a fearsome reputation with their role in the taliban's pgm date next previous regime. where people were regularly beaten. certainly in front of us, these vice and virtue inspectors are behaving politely, gently with the public. is that always the case when cameras are not around, for teams all across the country? many worry that the taliban are growing increasingly

repressive. leila is an activist who was on board a bus stopped by vice and virtue inspectors. translation: some women had their faces covered, - others, like me, were wearing black gowns and facemasks. i said to the inspector, "there is no one without hijab here." he became very angry but wouldn't even look at me. he said, "you are very shameless, woman. "you cannot do whatever you want any more." the taliban initially appeared more flexible than many expected, but they are becoming increasingly hardline. despite an economic crisis, tightening social restrictions seems their priority. secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. —— the path had for the country

looks deeply uncertain. a russian soldier has pled guilty in the first war crimes trial in ukraine since the russian invasion started. appearing in court in kyiv — the 21 year—old admitted shooting dead a ukrainian man — as he pushed a bicycle on the road. our correspondent sarah rainsford sent this report. this was a major moment for ukraine, the first russian soldier accused of a war crime already up in court. vadim shishimarin is a russian tank commander. he's on trial for shooting and killing a civilian. all the time, the widow of the man killed was just the other side of the glass. the soldier seemed nervous and said little, until the words that mattered... asked whether he admitted his guilt, vadim shishimarin told the judge, "yes, completely. " it was the very start of this

war, as russian tanks rolled south through sumy. vadim shishimarin�*s unit came under attack then and were forced into retreat. in the chaos, he and four others ended up fleeing in a stolen car. kateryna described seeing the russians through her gate, but her husband was out in the street. she later found his body lying here. the soldiers had seen him on his phone and vadim shishimarin had killed him. alexander was 62. he was shot four times in the head. this was the first time his widow had seen the man responsible, so i asked how she coped. "i feel very sorry for him," kateryna told me, "but this crime, i can't forgive." ukraine knows most of those it accuses of war crimes may never be prosecuted, the suspects

sheltered by russia. but this soldier surrendered, his only defence that he was following orders. those in moscow who sent him to this war have not even made contact with his lawyer. the prosecutor is asking for a life sentence, so i asked him how fair this trial could be. translation: we follow - all the laws and all the norms. the trial is open. if there was any violation by us, shishimarin could have said so. he has all the rights accorded to him by ukrainian and international law. this trial is taking place extremely quickly and, of course, it's happening in the middle of a war, but everyone here knows that they're under scrutiny, they know they have to be transparent. and what ukraine says is that it's not looking for scapegoats. this is not a show trial. they want justice. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines.... where russia says almost 700 ukrainian fighters at the azovstal steelworks in mariupol — have surrendered

in the past 2a hours. russia says the total number of fighters brought out since monday is almost 1,000. in the uk, the increase in the cost of living is accelerating, with official figures showing prices are now rising at their fastest rate for a0 years. inflationjumped to 9% in april — mostly driven by soaring energy costs. sri lanka's energy minister says the country has run out of petrol — as protests over the deepening economic crisis continue. he's urged residents not to queue for the next two days. the government says a ship with petrol is docked at colombo port but the government does not have enough money to pay for its cargo. spain's former king will return to his country for the first time this week, after leaving amid scandal two years ago. juan carlos abdicated in 2014 and left to the uae in 2020 — but now says he'll visit spain frequently after proescutors

dropped investigations into alleged fraud. us media is reporting that the china eastern airlines plane that came down in march may have been crashed intentionally. according to the wall street journal, us investigators say that flight data suggests the boeing 737 was deliberately put into a near vertical descent, a nosedive. micah maidenberg is from the wall streetjournal. he told me more about their reporting into the crash. 0ur reporting indicates that people who are familiar with how us officials are at least initially assessing what led to the accident believe that there were inputs into the controls of the plane that resulted in this nosedive. that's. .. the chinese authorities who are leading the investigation

of the crash, they haven't commented about anything as far as the cause of it, this is sort of an initial view that we reported on. i saw a state owned global times somewhat responding to it, but has there been any official response from the chinese authorities given this new information? of course, we reached out to, you know, a flight safety regulator and investigators in china, excuse me, the flight safety agency of china, that is, leading the investigation. they didn't comment on our story, an ongoing investigation into the accident under international aviation rules. didn't weigh—in for our peace. didn't weigh—in for our piece. again, you know, our story is sort of based on the understanding that people have some of our officials are at these

primarily assessing what led to the crash. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... australians head to the polls on saturday in an election that could see the ruling conservative coalition under i live in sydney for you while we look at how much of an issue climate changes for voters election season. 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- yet 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 bloody birth 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 mariko 0i, in singapore. 0ur headlines... the taliban's vice and virtue patrols step up the enforcement of the new rules in afghanistan. a 21—year old russian sergeant pleads guilty to shooting dead

an unarmed ukrainian civilian — in the first war crimes trial of the conflict. lets turn to australia, which is two days out from a national election to decide who will be the next prime minister — karishma is there. what is the mood had at this big election?— big election? yeah, election fever is certainly _ big election? yeah, election fever is certainly in - big election? yeah, election fever is certainly in the - big election? yeah, election fever is certainly in the air. fever is certainly in the air out here in australia. i'm coming to you from a rather windy surprisingly cold but still gorgeous sydney morning for you. still gorgeous sydney morning foryou. 0ne still gorgeous sydney morning for you. one of the things that has dominated the minds of voters has been the issue of climate change, surprisingly it's not really made it to the front of the political debate here. still, for a lot of people this country is no stranger to the effects of a warming planet from those devastating bushfires as well as the deadly floods australia

has enough of the last few years, but any discussion every day saying emissions can be politically toxic in some parts of the country, as my colleague has found. australians have been through so much since the last federal election. 0ne natural disaster after another, dozens of lives lost in fires and floods. climate scientists warn australia will see much more of this unless the country plays its part to cut carbon emissions and help limit global warming. with so much at stake, you would think climate action would be central to this election, but here in central queensland, an area with deep economic ties to fossil fuels, this is what campaigning looks like. this is the real stuff, this is what is paying for education, our health. is a lot of rubbish out there that the labour party there's a lot of rubbish out there that the labour party don't support the mining sector, and what i can tell you... despite the government's commitment to net zero

emissions by 2050, both major parties here are throwing their weight behind a lucrative but heavily polluting industry. the coal shipped from the port here in gladstone have helped make australia the second biggest exporter on the planet. it's contributed massively to global carbon emissions, but also to the national economy, creating jobs and providing many families with a good standard of living. australia depends on call for producing most of their electricity, so why they say they want them to be strong on climate action, phasing out fossil fields is a complex issue that if you want to take on. despite the political posturing, a transition away from fossil feels is already under way. gladstone's aluminium factory has pledged to move away from coal as renewables get cheaper. for workers here, the realfear is getting left behind.

the challenge is inevitable. if an industry comes here, we need to make sure that we're going to get our workforce that are here now trained to actually fit these roles, because if this is going to replace something, it's got to replace pay packets. just outside gladstone, a factory is being built to make equipment for producing hydrogen from renewables. but those working with local government and industry on the energy from the future say politicians continuing to support coal isn't helpful. i'm really worried that if we can't send clearer signals to each other, but to the rest of the world, around having serious targets around decarbonisation, that we are going to miss out on a whole lot of international investment that is poised at the moment. it's a different picture in bigger cities.

some independent candidates are making climate change a defining campaign issue. and that's making them a real threat to previously safe government seats in sydney and melbourne. a change in the balance of power in this election could mean a change in the country's climate policy and its attitude towards fossil fuels. for more now, here with me is blanche verlie. thank you forjoining us. i went to start by picking up on some of the points in that report. climate change is a fairly big issue for a lot of australian voters. are they getting what they want from the political parties on offer? yeah, thank you, it is ranking as one of the highest concerns

among voters in the lead up to elections, so numerous polls have found that you know, people think that is their number one concern more than any other issue. however, unfortunately, both our major parties in australia don't have adequate climate policies that would keep us under 1.5 degrees of warming. the labour party thatis of warming. the labour party that is current d in opposition, their policies would see as hit 2 degrees of global warming and the liberal party would be taking a step three degrees are more. so, no, not from the major parties. haw not from the ma'or parties. how much of a _ not from the major parties. how much of a challenge _ not from the major parties. how much of a challenge do - not from the major parties. how much of a challenge do you think it is when these major parties are coming up with these sorts of policies, but at these sorts of policies, but at the same time, australia is so heavily dependent on fossil fuels. . . heavily dependent on fossil fuels. ., ., ., , heavily dependent on fossil fuels. ., ., ., fuels. yeah, that has so far been one — fuels. yeah, that has so far been one of— fuels. yeah, that has so far been one of our— fuels. yeah, that has so far been one of our challenges| fuels. yeah, that has so far- been one of our challenges and climate politics is getting past the economic dependence on call. however, that is really changing and we no longer need to be dependent on call, but there obviously paid vested interest with lots of money in

that industry that make it a really tough challenge for the rest of australia to get on with the carbon icing. what about the _ with the carbon icing. what about the independent - about the independent candidates? are they offering something different?- candidates? are they offering something different? yeah, so this election _ something different? yeah, so this election we _ something different? yeah, so this election we are _ something different? yeah, so this election we are seeing - something different? yeah, so this election we are seeing a l this election we are seeing a range of what is being called the tl independence, so they are sort of sitting somewhere between the liberal party whose campaign colour is blue and the greens. so they are sort of moderate liberals, often. so, sorry, there are moderate liberals and the independent campaigns, candidates are coming ina campaigns, candidates are coming in a lot of the seats where the moderate liberals are being told by their constituents that they are not up constituents that they are not up to what the community is after. the tl independence are campaigning for stronger climate action, not as particularly strong as what the greens are advocating for, but more than the labour party. just briefly, we are running out of time, are there policies

realistic? and they actually do what they are meant to do, while at the same time keep australia's economy running? absolutely. i think there's no reason that we can't transition away from fossil fuels, and to be a threat to our economy is if we don't take up the opportunities that renewables offers. ~ , offers. with the sydney environment _ offers. with the sydney environment institute, | offers. with the sydney - environment institute, thank you so much forjoining us on the programme today. well, for now, from sydney australia, thatis now, from sydney australia, that is certainly the main election issue that we have been discussing at this hour for you, the issue of climate change, but more coming up, as you know, from here in australia. before we let you 90, australia. before we let you go, ijust want australia. before we let you go, i just want to ask you about prime minister scott morrison, he is waking up to some unwanted headlines this morning. yeah, absolutely. i don't know whether you have seen these pictures, but we can show them to you now, i don't know whether you want this to be your eight—year—old boy, but some quite sure i wouldn't, it was a bit of a gap for the prime minister, certainly commend what is turning out to

be a bit of a memorable moment in this campaign, controversial campaign, where he sensationally wiped out a small child while playing soccer in tasmania, now, of course, he's apologised for this, and i am happy to tell you, he was absolutely fine. what a champ he was, that young lad. that's it from us in sydney australia. lutz murphy in the coming hours. . ~ lutz murphy in the coming hours. ., ~ , ., lutz murphy in the coming hours. ., ~ i. hours. indeed, thank you so much for — hours. indeed, thank you so much for that. _ hours. indeed, thank you so much for that. and - hours. indeed, thank you so much for that. and asked i hours. indeed, thank you so - much for that. and asked reshma mentioned, climate change is one of the big topics in australia, but we also in australia, but we also in australia isn't alone in feeling the effects of climate change. according to a new british study, record—breaking heatwaves in northwest india and pakistan are a hundred times more likely — because of climate change. the two countries have suffered extremely high temperatures recently — as our south asia correspondent yogita limaye reports. 0utdoors in northern india is like the inside of an oven.

this work is never easy, but during a heatwave it can be life—threatening. dozens have died of heat stroke across india, but millions of workers cannot afford to stop. this man has travelled 800 miles from home for this job. "we face a lot of problems. "the skin all over our body burns and sometimes we feel "like we might faint," he says. "but we have no choice, we have to work to earn." heatwaves are not uncommon in south asia, but this year they started earlier than usual and have been more harsh and frequent. in pakistan, temperatures are touching 50 degrees in some parts. this area of punjab province

is facing a severe drought, putting lives and livelihoods at risk. this man has moved away from his village to find food and water for his cattle. translation: i had 35 to 40 cows, about 15 of them died i because there was no water. i suffered huge losses so i have now moved to another village, but it's parched here as well. climate change could cause such extreme weather once every three years instead of 300, experts have warned. barely any part of the region has been spared from these changes in weather patterns. here in the west of india, not only are we seeing higher temperatures during the summer, but during the rainy season for the past few years we have seen cyclones hitting this coast, which is extremely unusual, and many climate experts say that is because surface temperatures of the sea are rising.

hundreds of miles from the coast, this is the indian state of assam. heavy rains arrived early, and with more ferocity than normal. people used to seeing floods each year found themselves unprepared. river waters are expected to rise further. this country has a lot of experience saving people from natural disasters, but it now finds itself battling on too many fronts. yogita limaye, bbc news, india. before we go, some sport news for you. before we go, some sport news foryou. some before we go, some sport news for you. some very excited fans of frankfurt, the 2022 europa league champions. look at them, how excited those german fans are reacting to their victory in frankfurt, their team beat the rangers 5—4 on penalties. a

huge congratulations to them. that's it for this edition of newsday. thank you so much for watching. hello, again. there's a few big thunderstorms to watch out for over the next few hours — particularly of concern is across parts of central, southern england, southeast england, and into areas of east anglia, as well. but on into thursday's forecast, they'll all be out of the way and we're looking at some warm spells of sunshine. so take a look at those storms — when they first developed across the channel islands, and in the first hour that they existed, there had already been over 10,000 lightning strikes, these storms here. now, what'll happen over the next several hours is they'll work in probably around hampshire, sussex, surrey, greater london, moving into east anglia. they could bring some localised flash flooding — 25 millimetres of rain in some of them falling injust one hour. some large hail is a

possibility, as well as some very strong gusts of wind locally. eventually it will become drier and quieter — and temperatures, as we start thursday morning, around 10—14 celsius, so it is going to be mild. now, there could be an odd shower left over across the far southeast of england, but otherwise, largely fine morning with spells of sunshine. there'll be a bit of high cloud in the sky, that'll make the sunshine a little hazy at times. and through the afternoon, could see a few passing showers for northern ireland and northwest scotland, but even here, not many. most of you feeling warm in the sunshine — 19 celsius in aberdeen, 23 towards london and southeast england. it won't be quite so warm, though, on friday — the wind'll pick up, and we've got this band of rain that'll be pushing its way eastwards off the atlantic. now, there could be another batch of thunderstorms coming in from europe that gets very close to southeast england, so we'll have to keep a close eye on that. but otherwise, there'll be a gap between the showers and the more general rain across the north and the west, so could be some areas that just about stay dry. but whether you stay dry or not, temperatures will be a little bit

lower, 15—18 celsius. now the weekend starts off with some sunshine, showers mostly confined to the northwest, and after that sunny starts, things tend to turn a little bit cloudier through the afternoon, but still with some sunny spells coming through from time to time. temperatures on saturday in any sunshine should reach the low 20s, but across the north and west, not much sunshine — a bit of rain, 111—15 celsius here. sunday and monday, again, there could be 1—2 showers, mostly across the northwest of the uk, but otherwise some pleasant spells of sunshine. that's the latest weather, bye—bye.

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 with me, zeinab badawi. what can be done to help the children of ukraine? two thirds of them have been forced to flee from their homes. many have reportedly been subjected to physical abuse. some unaccompanied minors are being sent abroad by desperate parents, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers. my guest is the ceo of the charity save the children international, inger ashing.

what is her organisation doing?