welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: the un calls russia's blockade of ukraine "a declaration of war on global food security" that could push tens of millions into severe hunger. it will have extraordinary consequences. 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. that's 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. and president biden is to meet leaders of australia, india, and japan for a summit

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 to the programme. 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. from southeast asia to the middle east, and it's also affecting the uk, too. with russia's war in ukraine making the supply shocks much worse, the economic stakes are very high here and across the world, according to one of britain's top bankers. many of the conversations here have been what percentage likelihood you attach to a recession? i would say 50—50. right now, racked up debts and many perhaps dozens will go bust. is that how you see it? hopefully not dozens, but when you have political instability, cost of living crisis, also importing energy, it's going to be tough. 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 global 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 are fed by the food that comes out of ukraine and you shut that off, and then 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 importers of wheat, the egyptians, told us they can cope for now. though prices are surging. the government is putting in place and utilising tools to limit that price increase, especially 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 address. his deputy prime minister says the us needs to get ukraine's food exports past russia's ships. so, 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. safe passage. events in ukraine have already proven how horrific, but mountains of its grain blocked from reaching the world's most hungry could yet make that worse. faisal islam, bbc news

in davos, switzerland. you heard there the impact the war in ukraine is having on globalfood supplies. i war in ukraine is having on global food supplies. i will took about another story there. where a court has sentenced a russian tank commander to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian. 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 he basically stormed out. he launched a scathing assault on the kremlin,

he issued a statement 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. now, later 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 might 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. because, you know what, the first news i got on the morning of february 21, russian air force bombed kyiv and kharkiv, and last time those cities 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. that was our russian editor steve rosenberg speaking to boris bondarev in an exclusive interview. lets 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 world health organization does not believe the outbreak of monkeypox outside of africa requires mass vaccinations. in an interview with reuters news agency, a senior official said the primary measures to control the outbreak were contract tracing, isolation, and safe sexual behaviour. sri lanka's inflation has hit a record high for the seventh month in a row. the consumer price index rose 22.8% in the year to april, as sri lankans struggle to afford basic supplies like food, fuel, and medicine. the country has run out of foreign exchange reserves and has asked for emergency assistance from the international monetary fund. in the uk, there's yet another twist in the so—called pa rtygate controversy, as new photographs have emerged of borisjohnson apparently

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. our political editor chris mason reports. it's the 13th of november 2020, the country is in lockdown, and this is what was 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 send—off. 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 10 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 i 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's just 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 0rpington, 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, 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 borisjohnson 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. 0ur political editor there chris mason with that story for us. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: coping with china's growing influence. president biden is to meet leaders of australia, india, and japan for a summit in the region.

in the biggest international sporting spectacle ever seen, up to 30 million people have taken part in sponsored athletic 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 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 4,500 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 bounce, the go, girl power. not geri.

why? this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. 0ur headlines: the united nations world food programme says russia's blockade of ukrainian ports could leave millions facing severe food shortages. a 21—year—old russian soldier is given a life sentence for the murder of a 62—year—old unarmed civilian in a landmark ruling as part of ukraine's first war crimes trial. in around an 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. here he is, replying to a question posed at a news conference.

are you willing to get involved militarily to defend taiwan if it comes to that? yes. you are? it's a commitment we made. we are not... look, here's the situation. we agree with the one china policy, we signed onto it and all the attendant agreements made from there but the idea that it could be taken by force, just taken by force is just not appropriate. it will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in ukraine. well, ahead of that meeting later today of us, australia, india and japan, the so—called quad countries, our correspondents in sydney and mumbai outline some of the priorities.

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 in just 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 is 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, anthony albanese 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. for india, the quad partnership is crucial to maintaining stability in the region. prime minister modi's government is looking 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. withjoe biden already calling india's stance on ukraine 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. talking there about the various priorities for australia and india and as i said we will be watching the beginnings of that meeting between those countries a little later on today on bbc news so to be sure to tune into the latest developments on that. let's turn to tonga now and researchers studying january's volcanic eruption say they've been surprised by a number of their findings. chief among them is that despite the scale of the eruption — just north of tonga's main

island — hunga tonga—hunga ha'apai, is surprisingly still intact. kevin mackay was voyage leader of the mapping project — he explained more of theirfindings. this volcanoes 1.5 kilometres above the seabed so it's a very tall volcano and you have to understand that this is we think the largest recorded eruption in humanity and the largest plume of volcanic ash that rose, 38 kilometres so this is a truly massive volcano, almost on the scale of krakatoa and based on our other experience volcanoes that erupt, we would expect the volcano would blow its top, be obliterated and much to our surprise when we started mapping this, the sides are intact and it's very hard to see any evidence of the eruption whatsoever on the sea floor. and it was our first

surprise. floor. and it was our first surprise-— floor. and it was our first surprise. floor. and it was our first surrise. �* , , , surprise. but the surprise then came... remarkable, - surprise. but the surprise then came... remarkable, kevin. . surprise. but the surprise then . came... remarkable, kevin. what is the signal to you in terms of what happened. as you point out, massive seismic eruption, but the structure of this being intact, so what does that tell you about what happened? the first obvious _ you about what happened? tue: first obvious thing you about what happened? tte: first obvious thing is that all the energy went completely vertical and that is unusual for explain —— volcanoes, most volcanoes explode up and out but this was straight vertical, like a shot by —— shotgun client —— shotgun blast up to the sky and it's hard to find examples of exploding where this has happened before. kevin, what happened to the sea life in the area. did you find anything when your research team was looking through what had happened to the volcano? - again, this volcano was full of surprises. not only was it intact we expected the seafloor

to be devastated and all life obliterated just by the sheer volume of material that swept down the sides of the volcano into the seafloor that we are surprised that on small seamounts within a few tens of kilometres away, we actually found life not only still alive but in some cases flourishing and that is completely unexpected and the mechanisms for wildlife can survive so close to such a massive eruption, we are not terribly sure we understand those reasons. the queen has visited this year's chelsea flower show , using a buggy to view the array of gardens. the event, which has returned this year to its traditional spring slot, has floral tributes to honour her majesty's platinum jubilee. 0ur correspondent helena wilkinson reports. driven by a member of the royal household, the queen visited some of the tributes celebrating her platinum jubilee year. she's missed several events recently, but this

is one of her favourites. on her tour, she'll take in the main display in her honour, a four—metre—high floral portrait. we've got one tonne of steel as a frame, in the lovely platinum purple, and then it supports 70 terracotta pots — one for each year of her reign. within the centre, we have a silhouette, again, of her majesty, using gorgeous rosemary for remembrance and an assortment of british trees. the show has finally returned would slate me slot. thousands of --eole would slate me slot. thousands of peeple are — would slate me slot. thousands of people are expected - would slate me slot. thousands of people are expected to - of people are expected to return to these gardens, with its story to tell. every garden he has been planned to perfection. this one has been made for children who have been treated that liverpool's alder

hey hospital. it will be transferred there once the show is finished. transferred there once the show is finished-— is finished. smell it. can you smell the — is finished. smell it. can you smell the mint? _ is finished. smell it. can you smell the mint? betty, - is finished. smell it. can you smell the mint? betty, who| is finished. smell it. can you | smell the mint? betty, who is four, smell the mint? betty, who is four. spent — smell the mint? betty, who is four, spent months _ smell the mint? betty, who is four, spent months in - smell the mint? betty, who is. four, spent months in intensive care after she was born prematurely. t care after she was born prematurely.— care after she was born prematurely. i think is that opportunity _ prematurely. i think is that opportunity to _ prematurely. i think is that opportunity to explore - prematurely. i think is that opportunity to explore and| prematurely. i think is that - opportunity to explore and have those connections in the world that you don't get when you are stuck in hospital.— stuck in hospital. before the carden stuck in hospital. before the garden is — stuck in hospital. before the garden is open _ stuck in hospital. before the garden is open to _ stuck in hospital. before the garden is open to the - stuck in hospital. before the garden is open to the public| garden is open to the public tomorrow, some well—known faces have been enjoying the displays. have been en'oying the displays._ have been en'oying the disla s. �* , ., , displays. it's got everything actuall . lemons on my lemon trees dropping off, which i pick every night for a gin and tonic. i planted a himalayan silver birch. it's absolutely beautiful. over the next week, thousands of visitors will be able to enjoy the gardens in all their spring glory. helena wilkinson, bbc news, at the chelsea flower show. just gorgeous, aren't they? i

love the hours full thank you for watching. love the hours full thank you forwatching. do love the hours full thank you for watching. do stay with bbc news for the latest global headlines. 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 40 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 main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. hello, everybody. a very warm welcome to talking business weekly with me, aaron heslehurst. let's go take a look at what's on the show. soaring prices for food and energy, rising interest rates and a war in europe mean our living standards are under immense pressure.

as the world's business leaders and politicians gather in the swiss mountain resort of davos, what can they do to keep the global economy on track? the man behind one of the biggest events in their calendar tells me restoring trust is a top priority. in many parts of the world, wages are rising as companies struggle to find enough staff. but with growing warnings of a recession, how long will workers continue to win? i'm going to be speaking to the boss of one of the world's biggest recruitment firms. plus, with the war in ukraine pushing up prices for everything from wheat to energy and metals, the head of the imf, the international monetary fund, will tell me how governments around the world can keep a lid on inflation without derailing economic growth.