welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. "a declaration of war on global food security." the united nations�* world food programme says russia's blockade of ukrainian ports could push millions into severe food shortages. we are already facing the worst food crisis since world war ii. ukraine's first war crimes trial ends with a life sentence for a russian soldier. this comes as a russian diplomat resigns, saying the war�*s made him ashamed of his country. new calls for british prime minister borisjohnson to resign, as more images of lockdown gatherings at downing street come to light. president biden is to meet his counterparts in australia, india and japan for a summit of the quad group,

aimed at countering china's growing influence in the region. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome. the united nations�* world food programme has described russia's blockade of ukrainian ports as a �*declaration of war on global food security�* that could push tens of millions of people into severe food shortages. it echoes concerns raised by the ukrainian government, and wider accusations that the kremlin is deliberately targeting food supplies. our economics editor, faisal islam, reports. across the world, food and energy crisis are hitting

households, increasing social instability and hunger and leading to whole country is going bust. sri lanka at first, but more are feared to be heading in the same direction. with russia's war in ukraine making the supply shocks much worse, the economic stakes are very high here and across part of the problem is that the natural response that should bring down energy orfood prices producing more isn't working because, for example, russia is blockading ukraine's

food exports. if we don't open ports, you're talking about a declaration of war on food security. it'll have extraordinary consequences. we are already facing the worst food crisis since world war ii. when you take 400 million people that offered by the food that comes out of ukraine and you shut that off, you add on top of that fertiliser problems, droughts, food cost, fuel costs, we're looking at a hellstorm on earth. the world's biggest important of wheat the egyptians told us they can cope for now. the government is putting in place and utilising toolsi on the most vulnerable. we do have a high degree of resilience in terms - of our stocks of basic . commodities and we will continue to explore and to. cooperate with our partners in alternative sources. this forum is normally about a combination of high finance and high politics.

so far, it's been about the most basic of commodities — food and the soaring prices affecting everywhere, including britain. and the fear of many here is that this is not an accident. it's a conscious strategy, the weaponisation of famine by the kremlin. a standing ovation for president zelensky�*s video video address. his deputy prime minister says the us needs to get ukraine's food exports past russia's ships. we need the assistance of our partners, international partners to secure our exports through the seaports, so i mean from the defence point of view, to find a way or another solution, how to give the opportunity to ukrainian vessels. some sort of safe passage? yes. events in ukraine have already proven how horrific how events in ukraine have already proven how horrific, but mountains of its grain blocked from reaching the world's hungry could yet make that worse. faisal islam, bbc news

in davos, switzerland. more on ukraine now, and we can turn into a court with us and took the russian tank commander took the russian tank commander to life in prison. vadim shishimarin was the first person to stand trial for war crimes since russia's invasion three months ago. he had admitted shooting the 62—year—old civilian, but said he'd been acting on orders and he will appeal against his sentence. our correspondentjames waterhouse was in court. this wasn'tjust a trial, it was ukraine's day in court, with all eyes — and cameras — on 21—year—old vadim shishimarin. by legal standards, his journey to this dock has been quick. more than two weeks ago, the russian soldier was questioned over an alleged war crime. translation: we started moving. on the way, we saw a civilian talking on the phone. i was ordered to shoot and fired one round at him. he fell down. we moved on. today, the court heard how shishimarin shot a 62—year—old

man, oleksandr shelipov, three to four times in the head. he was one of five russian soldiers who'd stolen a car and drove into a village in the northeastern sumy region. he claimed he was ordered to kill mr shelipov over worries he'd give away their position. this clearly isn't an ordinary trial. vadim shishimarin�*s country, russia, denies deliberately targeting civilians in this war, but it's the 21—year—old alone who's facing a ukrainian courtroom. his case, though, won't be the last. after a0 minutes, shishimarin learned his fate — a guilty verdict and a life sentence. translation: i am not satisfied by the verdict, | with the classification of this crime and the punishment. if a person is found guilty and sentenced, i believe a life sentence is too much. translation: the court had to study all the evidence - meticulously and make - an absolutely legal decision, because the whole world

is watching this case. - the kremlin has voiced its disappointment, but its response is already in motion. plans are being drawn up to try some captured ukrainian fighters as war criminals. james waterhouse, bbc news, in kyiv. meanwhile, a russian diplomat has quit over his country's invasion of ukraine, calling it bloody, witless and absolutely needless. boris bondarev, a counsellor at russia's mission to the united nations in geneva, said he's never been more ashamed of russia as when it sent its troops across the border. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, spoke to mr bondarev on the phone in an exclusive interview. he not only resigned, but basically stormed out. he launched a scathing assault on the kremlin, saying on social media he's never been so ashamed of his country, of the aggressive war unleashed by putin against ukraine,

and against the entire western world. he said it was not only a crime against the ukrainian people, but also the people of russia. i managed to get through to mr bondarev on the telephone and he told me more about why he decided to resign from the russian foreign ministry. i strongly disagree and disapprove of what my government is doing since february, and i don't want to be associated with it any longer. how difficult a decision was it? you know, it wasn't a decision like to do or not to do, it was just to do and when. so, i don't see any alternative. are you worried about your safety after taking such a decision? well, i think i may say so. how shocked where you buy what has happened after february the 24th by this

offensive in ukraine? oh, i was shocked. any normal person would have been. the first news i got on the morning of february 21, russian air force bombed kyiv and kharkiv, and last time they were bombed, it was during the second world war by germans. now it was by us. any russian must be very shocked, i think so. how widespread in the russian foreign ministry do you think is this feeling of shock and opposition to what is happening in ukraine? frankly speaking, i don't think it is widespread. it is not. and why is that? i think most people, majority of them are following the propaganda

and what their superiors tell them. you know, when you work in the ministry, you work in the hierarchy, so you must obey what your superiors tell you. and for many years, it's been erased from and for many years, and political approach has been erased from the ministry, mostly. so, most people just take anything they're told for granted without any consideration by themselves. we must keep in mind that boris bondarev is not the most senior official of the russian mission. he's not the ambassador or the deputy representative or the first counsellor. he's a counsellor, but still, he's on the diplomatic staff there. so, this is an embarrassment for the kremlin, but i thought his last answer was quite interesting because he admits he is in the minority,

he admits that most officials in the foreign ministry support to the government on the special military operation, so i don't think the russian authorities will be too bothered by this resignation. our russian editor, steve rosenberg. let's take a look at the other main stories this hour. rescue workers in iran say that dozens of people are still trapped in the rubble of a ten—storey building that collapsed in the city of abadan. at least six people have been killed, and more than 25 people injured. the reason for the collapse is under investigation, while the tower block's owner and contractor have been arrested. the united nations has described the russian the world health organization does not believe the outbreak of monkeypox requires mass imagination. a senior official said the primary and were contact tracing, isolation and

safe sexual behaviour —— requires mass isolation. sri lanka's inflation has hit a record high for the seventh month in a row. it rose 336%. sri lankans of rubble to afford basic supplies —— struggle to afford —— 33.6%. their international... there is yet another twist in the party controversy. as new photographs have emerged of borisjohnson drinking at a gathering in downing street during a coronavirus lockdown. the images, obtained by itv news, have sparked further accusations that the prime minister has been lying over his version of events, as our political editor, chris mason, reports. it's the 13th of november 2020, the country is in lockdown, and this is what is happening in downing street. look at these pictures, obtained by itv news.

the prime minister raising a glass, holding forth, bottles littering a table as a senior colleague is given a sendoff. and the rules at the time — no person may leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse. we now know there were two gatherings in number ten that night. borisjohnson was asked about one of them in the commons six months ago. will the prime minister tell the house whether there . was a party in downing street on the 13th of november? - prime minister. mr speaker, no, but i'm sure that whatever happened, the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times. we now know at least one person at the drinks do was fined, but the prime minister was not. this is clearly not a work meeting, this is clearly a gathering, a social gathering, that was clearly against the rules at the time. now, borisjohnson knows this and he knew this all along,

and he'sjust tried to lie to the british public, and it seems like he's laughing at them now. i think it's appalling. people will be disgusted by it, i'm pretty certain of that. remember, angela rayner and labour's leader, keir starmer, are themselves subject to a police investigation over an alleged covid rules breach. before the pictures of the downing street do were published this afternoon, the prime minister was on a school visit in orpington, in south—east london, this morning. 0h! come on, come to our party, love from... that's so nice of you, thank you. have you invited him to a party? thank you very much. that's wonderful, thank you. after this invite from a pupil, he was asked by a journalist about the imminent report into lockdown parties by the senior civil servant sue gray. i'm, with great respect, not going to comment or give any running commentary on her report until we get it. and i think that, to be frank, the moment is not very far off. it can't be long now before i'll be able to say something.

in bristol, there's anger as people see the photos. it's just really annoying. i'd like to think that while he was saying what he was saying, l it was genuine and we were all doing what he was asking us to do. . and, quite clearly, he's not- doing what he said at the time. i don't think it's surprising. kind of the pictures i think everyone expected to come out off the back of what everyone had heard. he made the rules and he broke the rules. and he says he didn't, so he lies. tonight, the liberal democrats are asking how the prime minister avoided another fixed penalty notice. i think millions of people will be sitting at home tonight thinking that if it was them or anybody else pictured in that party, they would have received a fine. so, unless the met police can provide an urgent clarification as to why boris johnson wasn't fined, then the police watchdog needs to step in and restore some transparency and public trust in this process. in response to these pictures, downing street say the police and the civil service investigations into what went

on had access to all the information they needed — including photographs. chris mason, bbc news, at westminster. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme... coping on the programme... with china's growing influence. coping with china's growing influence. leaders of australia, india and japan meet for a summit. in the biggest international sporting spectacle ever seen, up to 30 million people have taken part in sponsored athletics events to aid famine relief in africa. the first of what the makers of star wars hope will be thousands of queues started forming at 7am. taunting which led to scuffles, scuffles to fighting, fighting to full—scale riot, as the liverpool fans broke out of their area and into the juventus enclosure. the belgian police had lost control. the whole world will mourn the j

tragic death of mr nehru today. he was the father of. the indian people from the day of independence. the oprah winfrey show comes to an end after 25 years and more than four and a half thousand episodes. the chat show has made her one of the richest people on the planet. geri halliwell, otherwise known as ginger spice, has announced she's left the spice girls. argh, i don't believe it! she's the one with the balance, the go, the girl power. not geri, why? this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... the united nations world food m programme says this could leave millions facing severe shortages. a2i—year—old russian soldier is

given a life for the murder of a 62—year—old russian underarm cities and —— in a few hours' time, president biden will be meeting with his counterparts of australia, india and japan for a summit of the quad group — seen largely as aiming to counter china's growing influence in the indo pacific region. but some of the comments the us leader has made on this trip have already raised concerns about whether they could incite further hostilities between the us and china. speaking after arriving injapan on the second leg of his asian tour, mr biden said the united states would intervene militarily to defend taiwan if china were to invade the island. he said that the us remained committed to the one china policy, but stressed that the idea that taiwan could be taken by force would dislocate the entire region. well, ahead of that quad meeting later today, our correspondents in sydney and mumbai outline the priorities for australia and india. it's been a very busy time for

australia's new leader. in the last couple of days, anthony albanese won the federal election, got sworn injust before his trip to tokyo. he's been speaking about how important the quad meeting is for his country. he described it as an absolute priority for australia, a chance to send a message to the world that there will be a new government and there will be new policies, especially on things like climate action. but this also comes at a very crucial time — globally, of course, because of the war in ukraine, but also because of the increasing chinese influence in the region and the very tense relationship australia has with china. it's been getting worse in the last few years. the recent chinese security pact in the solomon islands is really worrying for australia. it is seen as a threat to australia's status as a strategic partner to the pacific countries. so, no doubt, he will be asking

for support from his partners, but he has to choose his words very carefully because in addition to wanting to manage the chinese influence in the region, he also has to figure out how his government is going to heal a very fractured relationship with australia's key trading partner. in the fields of transport infrastructure, promoting startups and furthering cooperation in the field of vaccine alliance that is announced last year. but the subjects that are expected to loom large at this meeting is india's closeness with russia and its calculated neutrality on the invasion of russia. india has been an outlier in the quad, continuing to trade with russia amidst international sanctions. with joe biden already calling

india's stance somewhat shaky, the us may force india to take a tougher stance. bilateral trade talks with the united states are also on the cards. however, india has yet not followed up its position onjoe biden's proposed new inter—pacific economic framework. i'm joined now by satu limaye, vice president of the east—west centre, an education and research organisation focusing on asia, the pacific, and the united states. he joins us from jakarta. great to get you on the programme. i don't know whether you can hear what our correspondents have been telling us about what australia and india are looking to from this meeting, but all of this coming at a time when we've heard from president biden and those comments about china and taiwan. how do you see those comments viewed by asian partners?— comments viewed by asian artners? ., ., partners? good morning from jakarta and —

partners? good morning from jakarta and thank _ partners? good morning from jakarta and thank you - partners? good morning from jakarta and thank you for- jakarta and thank you for having me. i'm delighted to be here. this is a really important meeting for several reasons. it's the first trip by president biden since he became president to the region. he started off in korea, and now injapan. with our two key allies, along with australia, which will be at the quad coming up. his comments have attracted a lot of attention on china. this is the third statement which has raised the question of whether the united states official policy is moving from strategic ambiguity on the taiwan question two strategic clarity. the administration have made a statement that it is not changing its policy, but i think we can at least come to the conclusion that the us position to support taiwan is much more clearly stated and is an attempt to draw a line under any potential chinese designs on taiwan. and the regional

partners... on taiwan. and the regional partners- - -_ partners... tested “ump in there, this * partners... tested “ump in there, this is h partners... tested “ump in there, this is very _ partners... tested jump in | there, this is very worrying for asian leaders sitting in capitals i'm on the regions because they trade with both these countries. what they want is for the two countries to get along as much as they can, and hearing this, it makes it very difficult. ~ ., �* ., difficult. well, i don't want to mix issues. _ difficult. well, i don't want to mix issues. clearly, - difficult. well, i don't want to mix issues. clearly, nol difficult. well, i don't want. to mix issues. clearly, no one wants a conflict in this dive —— the taiwan straits. the president is on record as saying that he does not see such a conflict, but feels the need to issue a clear indication of where the us obligations for helping taiwan defend itself lie. all countries in the region want multiple partners, as i've said before, they see polygamist martial relations with the eu, with japan, with the republic of korea, obviously with china and certainly with the united states. the big complaint on

the region has been the us has been heavily engaged with the security side, meaning a addressing china's rise, but it has been... the new framework was announced also with 13 partners, including india, it's a start in that direction. batu a start in that direction. satu lima e, a start in that direction. satu limaye, thank _ a start in that direction. satu limaye, thank you _ a start in that direction. satu limaye, thank you so - a start in that direction. satu limaye, thank you so much i a start in that direction. satu limaye, thank you so much for joining us with your thoughts. denys karachevtsev has played his cello in some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world. but as the invasion of ukraine took hold, he played in the ruins of his home town, kharkiv. since the start of the war, he has been volunteering in kharkiv, but this weekend, he was in lithuania and he sent this message to the young musicians graduating from boston's new england

conservatory. i want you to know that everyone of us has the power every one of us has the power to change this world. you have the voice to speak for human souls. you have the courage to bring something spiritual and beautiful into this world. even in good time, even in difficult time, even at war, you have this power. the art is the ability to creation, and creation is a divine property. i'm really happy to congratulate you today from ukraine. let's stand together and work for peace and freedom. beautiful words there. it's world turtle day. take cambodia, where conservationists released more than 500 endangered baby giant

hurdles into the mequon river. you can see the turtles there being... that's it from us, thanks for watching. hello. after a wet night across parts of england and wales, keep the umbrellas handy wherever you are during tuesday. there will be some sunny spells. it won't be wet all the time, but you may never be too far away from a shower that could be heavy, possibly thundery. now, low pressure is beginning to edge away. we have a flow of air coming in from the west—northwest to the uk. it is unstable, so along with those sunny spells, there will be some big clouds building at times with those showers breaking out. away from central, southeast and eastern england, where it could still be quite wet first thing, quite a bit of dry weather early on, probably chillest across western scotland, a few spots in low single figures. just wait for the showers to break out. after the rain's cleared away from the eastern side of england, hints of brightness, and then the showers break out here as well, so you can see them coming through. they will be accompanied by gusty winds.

as mentioned earlier, it doesn't mean it's going to be raining all the time, we mayjust have a brief shower and then a lengthy dry and bright spell afterwards. temperatures 12 celsius in stornoway, 18 celsius in london. most around 14—17 celsius, not too far from average for the time of year, perhaps a little bit below. a lot of dry weather to end the day as the showers fade away, but then overnight and into wednesday, from west then pushing eastwards, there will be some cloud and outbreaks of rain, which means as wednesday begins, the lower temperatures mid single figures in a few spots where you have the clearer skies across the eastern side of england. so, this latest batch of wet weather will push on through, mainly during wednesday morning, not much rain, though, into the early afternoon into east anglia and southeast england, whereas elsewhere, it brightens up again, and it will be another afternoon of sunshine and scattered showers. temperatures pretty similar. wednesday is going to be a windier day, some gusts in excess of a0 mph, parts of scotland, northern england, perhaps the south coast of england as well. now, high pressure trying to build in for thursday, not having much success, as another weather front snakes

its way in from the atlantic. it does mean there will be quite a bit of cloud around on thursday, some outbreaks of rain pushing in, some heavy showers in northern scotland. ahead of the system towards the southeast, although expected to cloud over, we mayjust see a few sunny spells, enough to lift temperatures back in a few spots into the low 20s, whereas elsewhere, it's as you were. now, high pressure does move in friday, and at least into the start of the weekend, settling things down. although it is high pressure, though, that will not translate into warmth.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the many news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. vladimir putin's ukraine invasion has presented nato with its greatest challenge in a generation. at nato hq, they claim support for ukraine has unified and reinvigorated the alliance to the point where sweden and finland urgently want to join. in kyiv, the message is different.

nato, they say, has done little or nothing to help.