welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. the battle for donbas. we report from the frontline as russian forces close in on ukraine's eastern region. this might all simply bejust in case, a contingency plan, but if the russians do blast their way through, they're going to need it. european football's governing body announces a full independent investigation into the chaos that marred the champions league final in paris. the problem was not the liverpool fans, the problem was a completely ineffective crowd management strategy.

uefa and the parisian police have so many questions to answer. the united nations says a record 1 billion methamphetamine pills were seized in east and southeast asia last year. and as stonehenge is lit with pictures of queen elizabeth for herjubilee, we look at the image of britishness — the queen projects around the world. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's six in the morning in singapore and 1am in ukraine, where russian forces have intensified their attack on the eastern donbas region. their renewed assault comes as president biden ruled out sending advanced long—range rocket systems to ukraine to help it fight the russian invasion.

meanwhile, the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, has urged european union leaders meeting in brussels to resolve their disagreements and impose wider sanctions on russia. our correspondentjeremy bowen and cameraman fred scott have been in the donbas, where the russians are trying to encircle the city of severodonetsk. they sent this report from bakhmut, a frontline town about 60 kilometres away, that could become one of russia's next objectives in the region. life was never easy in donbas, at least it was familiar. now, the war is getting closer to their care home these women have no families to support them. and it's time to go. these women have no families to support them. one of the ukrainian volunteers

said, "the russian soldiers "are worse than animals, we can't leave these women behind." they're taking them west out of donbas, away from the russian advance. a russian strike did this close by in bakhmut. most of the residents had evacuated by the time it was hit last week. the man who lived in this flat left the day before. civilians here fear the russians will take all of donbas, including their town. roman and marina want to stay, but it's getting lonely, with the destructive power of the russian army on their doorstep. translation: so far, we made the decisionl that if it gets too bad, i don't know. we want to stay here, we want peace, we want our child to go to school here normally.

we will rebuild the city. sonia, their daughter, turned eight this month. her school closed when the russians invaded. online lessons are part of a wall of normality her parents are trying to build around her. it's looking very fragile. just down the road is a glimpse of the future they dread. the russians are around five miles away. they're hitting the town regularly, but not constantly yet. doggedly, civilians clutch at routine, as their old lives disappear. the town waits on big decisions. for the few civilians left about leaving or staying, bow to survive. leaving or staying, bow to survive, for the few civilians left about leaving or staying, how to survive, but also for the ukrainian army. some powerful american—made howitzers have just arrived, but not enough to stop the russian

advance to sievierodonetsk. ukraine's generals must decide how many more troops to sacrifice in what could be a losing battle for this part of donbas. a fighting retreat to more defensible positions looks likely if the russian offensive doesn't stall. new trench networks, well back from the existing front line, are ready. kramatorsk, one of the donbas towns that must be on the russian target list, is about 15 minutes�* drive that way. the rest of the ukraine is there. this might all simply bejust in case, a contingency plan, but if the russians do blast their way through, they're going to need it. maxsym's unit was ordered

to retreat closer to bakhmut after weeks of heavy fightling. he's one of thousands of ukrainian volunteers. back in kyiv, just after the invasion, he signed up with his friend. i'm studying economy. and i am studying biology. the two students fought in the victory in kyiv. dymitro is still there. ukrainians have to put aside the deliverance they felt then. in donbasm maxsym, 19 years old, is in an attritional struggle. in donbas, maxsym, 19 years old, is in an attritional struggle. we are defending this area's chemical factory. i think that there is no way to... ..make a deal with putin.

putin understands only the language of bullets, blood, war crimes. air—raid sirens were sounding as they prepared to bury a 21—year—old ukrainian soldier. since the invasion, this war has had terrible consequences, and notjust in ukraine. this man and thousands more ukrainians and russians are dead. the killing here has brought the big nuclear armed powers closer to confrontation than since the height of the cold war, the height of the cold war. millions of refugees — a wider war is a clear risk. more destruction, hunger, poverty and more funerals are a certainty. war is the bringer of grief and change. jeremy bowen, bbc news, donbas.

retired us army general david petraeus earlier reacted some breaking news in a story we've been covering throughout the day. the president of the eu council has said the block has agreed to ban more than two thirds of russian oil imports. he said they've also agreed a hard—hitting measure targeting russia's largest bank and three stayed on broadcasters. eu leaders have been struggling to resolve their differences. hungary posing their differences. hungary posing the biggest resistance. we'll have more on that story throughout the day. do be sure to tune in for more details. going back to our top story and how president biden has apparently ruled out the sending of weapons that could reach russia. retired us army general david petraeus earlier reacted to president biden�*s comments, and said it might come down to specific weapon types themselves.

i think it's worth clarifying that it's possible both to send multiple launch rocket system, but not send the long—range munitions that go with it. you can send the medium range or shorter range munitions which will do about doubled the range of the heavy artillery that we've sent to them recently, which those are definitely making a difference. they include more than 200,000 rounds of 155 millinery or ammunition —— millimetre. it's different from which ukraine has. those have been augmented by the same kind of system from other countries in nato. for more on this, i'm joined now byjohn spencer, retired us army major and chair of urban warfare studies at the madison policy forum. it's great to get you on the programme, mr spencer. iwant it's great to get you on the programme, mr spencer. i want to get your thoughts on the first instance on what we heard from mr patreaus.

what does president biden mean when he says that he doesn't want to send these sorts of weapons? i he says that he doesn't want to send these sorts of weapons?— these sorts of weapons? i think it's a olitical these sorts of weapons? i think it's a political statement _ these sorts of weapons? i think it's a political statement that _ these sorts of weapons? i think it's a political statement that hopefully we'll see clarification sooner. i think with president is saying we aren't taking the author table, but they are a wide variety of what goes into those systems —— off the table. he saying we're not going to give the extreme long—range missiles that can... not that that's what ukraine wants to do, they want to destroy the forces in ukraine illegally. and it isn't ukraine, but it's russia who sent missiles into schools in ukraine and hospitals, nurseries, you name it. but he's saying that

the us is not giving these long, 300 plus kilometre missiles. these multiple systems that ukrainian needs today, it's not off the table. right. it's not off the table, but what's the significant of president biden having said this? what is he trying to suggest, or imply in terms of what the us�*s plans are going forward when it comes to sending weapons to ukraine? i forward when it comes to sending weapons to ukraine?— weapons to ukraine? i think he's sa inc, weapons to ukraine? i think he's saying. because _ weapons to ukraine? i think he's saying, because it _ weapons to ukraine? i think he's saying, because it is _ weapons to ukraine? i think he's saying, because it is important l weapons to ukraine? i think he'sl saying, because it is important on what weapons and the political lines that have been drawn, he's saying we're not going to give weapons specifically designed to attack targets inside russia. i think that's a sign to russia saying, look, we're playing by all the established lines right now that we're going to give it ukraine every weapon it needs to fight the illegal invasion inside ukraine. mr spencer,

i'm interested _ invasion inside ukraine. mr spencer, i'm interested in _ invasion inside ukraine. mr spencer, i'm interested in your— invasion inside ukraine. mr spencer, i'm interested in your thoughts. - invasion inside ukraine. mr spencer, i'm interested in your thoughts. at l i'm interested in your thoughts. at what point, because it is a delicate balance, how far can the us go in terms of supplying these weapons to ukraine without inciting further military action, more drastic action? i military action, more drastic action? ~ , ., , action? ithink, personally, we should have — action? ithink, personally, we should have given _ action? ithink, personally, we should have given multiple - action? i think, personally, we i should have given multiple launch rocket systems, reapers, drones earlier this conflict. russia's going to do its political posturing. foolish nuclear rattling. but the lines are clear. as long as ukrainians fighting with those weapons, and ukrainian defending this country. all the weapons that the 40 this country. all the weapons that the a0 nations coming together with so many of them given the weapons needed, it's about fighting russians illegally in ukraine. so i think the us can get whatever weapon it wants.

indeed. great to get you on the programme. john spencer, chair of urban warfare studiesjoining programme. john spencer, chair of urban warfare studies joining us on newsday. in other headlines, football's european governing body, uefa, has commissioned an independent report an independent review into the events surrounding saturday night's football final in paris. police used tear gas and pepper spray on liverpool supporters as they tried to enter the stade de france for the match against real madrid. the french authorities blamed the chaos on fans with fake tickets attempting to get into the ground. from paris, here's lucy williamson. how close they came to disaster here is starting to sink in. for the fans, for the officials and for the police. but there's one story about what went wrong on saturday and two different stories about why.

the french government is blaming ticket fraud. translation: what we've seen is massive, _ industrial—scale organised fraud concerning fake tickets. this is estimated at nearly 70% of all tickets were fake. fans have pointed out that the hologram found on previous tickets for the champions league final was missing from the tickets this time, making them easier to fake. uefa said that tickets contained a number of security features and that the design was different for every single competition. but the problems on saturday started well before the turnstiles and fan groups say they had nothing to do with tickets. this is how security in the stadium began to unravel. liverpool fans were told to arrive at this train station because the usual transport link was affected by strike action. they were directed through an underpass to the security point outside the stadium, but the number of people arriving overwhelmed the handful of officials there who eventually allowed

everyone in the area to stream through to the turnstiles. this underpass is where stewards carried out the first set of security checks, but there's only space for a handful of checkpoints, and the crowd quickly built up to dangerous levels, meaning the czechs meaning the checks here were abandoned. a key question for organisers is why people weren't sent to the main access point for the stadium 200 metres away? fan groups here on saturday have told us it was virtually empty. once inside the perimeter, fans found some entry gates had been as kick—off approached, a few people scaled the fence. french police responded with tear gas.

eventually, about three minutes, five minutes to nine, it was just a free for all at the turnstiles and everybody stampeded through the actual gates, nobody had to show a ticket, everybodyjust ran — it was absolute chaos. and then, from there, we literally got to our seat. but there were girls crying on the floor. it was obviously really traumatic for people. the head of football supporters europe says saturday's policing was based on an outdated stigma surrounding english football fans. when you drop pepper spray and tear gas in the middle of a crowd - when people are queueing with young people, kids, elderly people, - that's dangerous. it's a miracle that nothing more serious happened. in the, end that's what _ the administrator said, no one died. no one died, great. no one should die at a football game. no one should diel

at a football game. you shoudln't measure the success of your operation against that. - france's interior minister has pointed out that half arrested at the stadium were british, but there has been praised here for how most liverpool fans behaved. one observer said the shadow of hillsborough meant that here for how most liverpool fans behaved. one observer said the shadow of hillsborough meant that faced with confusion, frustration and fear at the hands of french police, the liverpool fans policed themselves. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. taiwan says china flew 30 military aircrafts into the south—west corner of taiwan's self—declared air defence zone. it's the largest number of aircraft flown in a single day so far this year and comes about a week after president biden vowed to intervene militarily if china attacked taiwan. the authorities in nepal have located the bodies of all but one of 22 people on board a plane that crashed in the himalayas on sunday. two germans, four indians and 16 nepalis were on the flight which normally lasts just 20 minutes. an investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched. new york police are investigating the theft

of a historic tabernacle from a roman catholic church in brooklyn. the gold tabernacle, a containerfor sacred items for holy communion, was decorated with jewels and valued at $2 million. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme — the murder of a popular punjabi singer, just a day after his security cover was reduced, sparks anger in india. the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. the moment of crowning in accordance with the order of service by a signal given, the great guns of the power. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali, who's died at the age of 7a. outspoken but rarely out—fought, ali transcended the sport of boxing, of which he was

three—times world champion. he was a good fighter and he fought all the way to the end, even through his illness. yes, he did. uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe. today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles' lp sgt pepper's lonely hearts club band, a record described as the album of the century. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines. in the past few minutes the president of the eu council, charles michel, has said that the bloc has agreed to ban more than two—thirds of russian oil imports. he said they had also agreed hard—hitting measures targetting russia's largest bank and three state—owned broadcasters. ukrainian soldiers

are facing a fierce battle in the east of the country, as russian forces close in on the key city of severodonetsk. let's turn to india now. the rapper drake has led tributes to the indian singer and rapper sidhu moosewala, who's been shot dead near his home in the north indian state of punjab. moosewala had a huge global following. this report from rajini vaidyanathan contains flashing images from the start. described as one of india's most forceful music exports, sidhu moose known for his trademark punjabi vocals, mixed with rap, wala's music racked up more than 5 billion views. known for his trademark punjabi vocals, mixed with rap, hip—hop and drill beats. creative but controversial. seen here with bestselling uk rapper stefflon don. some of his songs, like this, glorify gun culture.

sidhu moose wala had been charged with indian police for sharing violent contact on social media, and it was a shooting that claimed his life on sunday. cctv shows two cars trailing his black suv. officials say at least 30 shots were fired by the gunmen. police initially said it could be gang—related, but they're still investigating. a career that was just getting started. a budding politician who'd also acted in films. he was called a legend already and he was always 28. he was able to create this mind blowing legacy that was behind the music. that is what people love about him, he was able to provoke the point.

sidhu moose wala's final release was called the last ride. the lyrics of the song were chillingly prophetic. the united nations says a record one billion methamphetamine pills were seized in east and southeast asia last year. the un's office on drugs and crime says gangs are exploiting political instability in myanmar and porous borders to ramp up drug production and trafficking. the increase has caused the street price of narcotics to fall significantly, hitting all—time lows in thailand and malaysia. the un office's regional head, jeremy douglas, described the growth in the illegal trade as staggering. there's lots of seizures being made and no impact being made on the business itself. crimejust keeps cranking out the volume, replacing seizures with more product the chemical situation is highly complex, and there's no essential chemicals being seized, theyjust continue to flow primarily through

laos. we also have huge money laundering operations at play in the region. we have no attempt fundamentally to address demands. this is seemingly growing and can continue to grow because the price point of the drug is so cheap. there has to be a huge change in approach in this region or it's just going to continue to get worse. ahead of the platinum jubilee celebrations this week in the uk, eight supersize images of queen elizabeth have been projected onto stonehenge, a prehistoric monument in the south west of england, and each image marks a decade of her reign. for many, the queen projects an enduring image of britishness around the world. in thisjubilee week, our royal correspondent, daniela relph, looks at the queen's iconic public image. one of the most photographed and painted people in the world. sometimes a vivid presence in public life. presence in public life, orjust a quiet part

of our everyday. being king or queen is an exclusive club. jordan's king abdullah is in a unique position to understand the pressures and privilege of monarchy. his father, king hussein, became king in 1952, the same year as the queen's accession. a close family bond that continues today. when you look at her majesty, you look at consistency, and i think putting the moral bar at the highest point possible. again, if you look at 70 years of british history, you've had good days and bad days. her majesty, i think, was a beacon of light, of hope, and continues to be, i believe, for your nation and for many of us around the world. good evening, mr bond. good evening, your majesty. but for most of the past 70 years, the queen's public image has been largely unchanged, and tied to a sense of national identity. i think that the queen's presence makes britain kind of larger than it is because it has such a global attention. i mean, we don't care what the royals in the netherlands

are like or are doing. we don't care what the king of spain is doing, you know, next week. we have no idea. but people are very, very involved with, invested in, focused on what the british royal family are doing at any given point of the day. official photographs are the defining images of monarchy. for the goldenjubilee, the photographer rankin took this picture. he captured the queen laughing when he dropped some camera equipment — an unusual, off—guard official photo. | when i was waiting in the throne | room, where she knights people, i was watching her walk - towards me with a footman, and they were laughing. i remember her walking - through the door, and i felt this incredible sort of wave of power. the power in the room. 70 years on the throne gives you that impact. from all angles, perhaps the most recognisable figure in public life. daniela relph, bbc news.

that's it for us on newsday. thanks for watching. hello there. the week has started with plenty of heavy showers. the big question mark is around how many of those heavy showers will remain by the end of week for the platinumjubilee. quite a chilly start to the morning, there will be some spells of sunshine, but some showers from the word go, and those will develop quite widely into the afternoon. some will be heavy and some will be thundery. parts of wales in the southwest could drive out. isa 17 degrees. —— highs of.

this band of cloud is likely to bring some rain across northern ireland through the evening. that moving across the irish sea, southwest scotland, and parts of wales as we head into wednesday morning. elsewhere, clearspells and one or two showers. wednesday again getting off to a relatively chilly start in some places. no prizes for guessing — wednesday is another sunshine and showers day, but the showers will be focused across central and eastern parts. towards the west, not as many showers, more in the way of sunshine. with more sunshine generally, temperatures will be a little bit higher, 17—18, maybe 19. we get into the start of the long weekend. for thursday, things don't look too bad. one or two rogue showers, but this area of cloud, a frontal system, those threats and to introduce rain into northern ireland. —— just

threatened. temperature between 18-21 threatened. temperature between 18—21 degrees. some headaches around the forecast for the weekend. my pressure trying to take charge, but this frontal system pushing down on the northwest brings the threat of showers. this broad low to the south could throw some showers northwards into southern england and parts of wales as we head through saturday and into sunday. the big question mark is about how many showers you will see. chance is certainly there. it should often be dry and where we see some sunshine, it will feel fairly warm.

this is bbc news, the headlines the governor of ukraine's luhansk region says russian forces are nearing the centre of the city of severo—donetsk. russia is carrying out huge artillery bombardments to try to capture the city and gain control of the entire luhansk region. the president of the eu council, charles michel, european football's governing body has commissioned an inquiry into the chaotic scenes that delayed saturday's champions league final. kick—off was delayed as police used tear gas and pepper spray against liverpool supporters outside the stadium. the un says a record one billion

meth—amphetmine pills were seized in east and southeast asia last year — with gangs