welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: in eastern ukraine, the governor of the luhansk province says most of the key city of severodonetsk is now in russian hands. the prosecutor of the international criminal court has described ukraine as a crime scene, where they will be carrying out the biggest ever investigation. one week after the horrific school shooting in texas, our correspondent hears from parents who lost their daughter. cheering after more than two months of full lockdown, shanghai eases its covid restrictions. and bts — the wildly popular south korean k—pop group —

visits the white house to speak about the growth in anti—asian hate crimes in america. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 7am in the morning here in singapore and 2am in ukraine, where it's reported that a russian air strike has hit a chemical plant in the embattled city of severodonetsk, releasing a cloud of dangerous gas. residents have been told to stay in bomb shelters to avoid the fumes. the ukrainians say russian forces now control most of severodonetsk, the main focus of the russian offensive in the donbas region. the local governor said the city wasn't surrounded, but continuous shelling was making it impossible to bring in supplies or evacuate the remaining civilians. and russian troops are pushing deeper into the region. this is the city of slovyansk,

where three people have been killed in a russian missile strike. meanwhile, ukraine keeps calling for more weapons from the west. this is the former defence minister speaking to the bbc. we will always be looking at counteroffensives, because as soon as we can get more weapons, particularly these artillery weapons which are being shipped right now from the west, we can go to counteroffensives, because russians... as i said, they are applying everything they can in order to get there and they're bringing their artillery systems, they're bringing old tanks, they're bringing old equipment and so on, so currently, the maximum of their capacity, maximum of their capability. and ukraine is still gaining capabilities from the allied countries, so we do believe that the counteroffensive is in the future. our correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse, explains the importance of western weapons

in this fight. well, the ukrainians have long been calling for more weapons, frankly. they are outgunned and outnumbered by the russians in the eastern donbas region. as a result, the russians are more easily able to deploy familiar tactics as they try to surround more cities. severodonetsk, we're told by authorities there that there is now fighting inside the city, a place where 15,000 people are thought to be trapped. i think the taking of severodonetsk for the russians will be more symbolic than strategic. estimations from the west is that it would simply allow the russians to claim a few more miles of territory, but crucially for vladimir putin, he can turn back to his people and say, "this is the first significant achievement in this "so—called special military operation." the other half of the donbas region, the donetsk region, is still in his sights. and this is all part of a sizeable land corridor now occupied by the russians,

making up a fifth of ukraine. in another development, the prosecutor of the international criminal court has described ukraine as a crime scene and said the tribunal was carrying out its largest ever investigation there, with plans to open an office in kyiv. 0ur correspondent anna holligan at the hague has more details. the joint investigation team is working together to gather, preserve and share evidence of alleged atrocities. and they're looking at everything at the moment from cases of rape, to the deliberate killing of civilians, to the forcible transfer of children. the ukrainian prosecutor who's here in the hague pointed out they didn't have access to some of these alleged crime scenes, which are currently under russian occupation, but they do have access to people — victims, witnesses — and to areas that have been liberated by the ukrainian forces. the icc prosecutor karim khan talked about the importance

of sharing notjust evidence but also the investigative skills, forensic techniques among the member states. he also talked about the importance of the icc�*s presence in the region, which is why they are working on setting up an office in the capital kyiv. beyond this, thousands of atrocities are now under investigation. 600 suspects have been identified, including within the military and political circles, according to the ukrainian prosecutor. the icc prosecutor pointed out this case wasn'tjust about protecting europeans or european values but, he said, basic human standards in the 21st century. that was anna holligan reporting on that story for us. in other news, i want to tell you about taiwan now — which says it has deployed fighterjets to ward off 30 warplanes sent by china into its air defence zone, the biggest incursion

by beijing since january. monday's incident came shortly after the us presidentjoe biden warned china against invading taiwan, and on the same day that the us senator tammy duckworth visited the island to discuss security. beijing claims the self—ruled island of taiwan as its own. the first funerals for the 19 children and two adults killed in a school shooting in uvalde, texas have taken place, one week on from the shooting. president biden vowed action on gun reform on sunday. will grant has been speaking to one of the families now facing a future of unimaginable grief. there is grief and then there is the grief of losing a child. come on, ok. further still the grief of losing a child in these most awful of circumstances. she was just loved. alithia ramirez was one of the 19 children killed by a gunman inside her classroom as an ordinary school day at uvalde

descended into horror. a week on, her parents, jess and ryan, are still struggling to comprehend their loss. i haven't able to, like, eat or sleep or drink and it'sjust affecting me really, really bad. like, she was my best friend and she looked a lot like me. i would always tell her like, she is my twin and she would always smile. and it'sjust been really hard on me. how can you move on from that? how can you get over that moment? this is a parent's nightmare. this is the worst of the worst. a talented artist, alithia's bedroom is full of her awards, especially for drawing. compounding her parents�* grief is their anger over how the police let the gunman spend more than an hour in the school before they shot him. i don't understand how...

you know, police officers, they're sworn to protect and they're outside the room and just hearing gunshots, kids screaming. you know, go in there, save those kids. on sunday, president biden came to uvalde to pay his respects and meet the victims�* families. ryan told him alithia was an artist and mr biden asked if he could have one of her pictures to hang in the white house. he did say that, "whenever we hang it up, we're "going to send you a picture where it's hanging and you're "free to see it any time." there's something special that she put her heart into it and it's there hanging in the white house. after the darkest week in its history, uvalde must now bury its victims, a community heartbroken over

the senseless murder of alithia, 18 of her class—mates and her two teachers. will grant, bbc news, uvalde. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. borisjohnson�*s independent standards adviser says there's a "legitimate question" over whether the british pm broke the ministerial code by receiving a fine for attending a lockdown party in downing street. it comes as more conservative mps add their voices to the criticism directed at the pm. a new study suggests there are stark differences in the number of qualified gps between different areas in england. research by the nuffield trust shows areas such as wirral and liverpool have around twice as many doctors per head as portsmouth and hull. the nightmare continues for many travellers caught in massive queues and delays at airports across the uk and ireland as many try to get away for the long weekend break. staff shortages are thought to be responsible

for the disruptions. still to come a bit later in the programme: a record 70 years of service on the throne and no fewer than 14 prime ministers — a special report on queen elizabeth's jubilee celebrations. but first, let's go to shanghai now, where there are scenes of celebrations on the streets of china's biggest city after a significant lifting of covid restrictions. after more than two months of full lockdown, most people can now move more freely around the city. public transport and many offices are reopening, though life will remain restricted in many ways, and leaving shanghai is still difficult for many residents. 0ur china correspondent robin brant has been one of the millions of residents locked down for the past two months. like everyone, he's been looking forward to this day. for the last 65 days, i've been coming up to this gate on the edge of the compound where i live. i've been filming myself

and explaining what it's like to live under the restrictions this city has faced, what it's like to be confined to your home. and here i am again, by the gate, but it's different now. we're outside. let me just step over the barrier. we've been allowed some freedom for the last 48 hours, which has been a huge relief. still, though, it's very, very quiet. this road will not be like this... ..this time tomorrow, when the bulk of the restrictions are being lifted. people are going to be able to walk around in and out of where they live, go to shops that are going to be opening but not to full capacity. there will be a basic service on public transport, the buses and the metro cars will be allowed to drive around. it is a significant easing of the restrictions, which obviously is hugely welcoming, because the city has been crippled, frankly — there's no two ways about it — by that full lockdown. but it is not a full

lifting of the lockdown. over half a million people remain confined to their homes because they are still in areas classified as sealed. they can't come in or go out. also, people like me and the other 25 million or so people that live here are going to need three things to go about your daily business now. you're going to need a green code on your smartphone to show you haven't been anywhere suspicious. you're going to need a certificate to show that you've had a pcr test, valid for, at the maximum, the last 72 hours. and you'll also need a mask if you want to get on a bus or a metro or, frankly, get close to anyone here. so it's not normal, in the sense of what was required before, but the other thing that remains — the crucial thing that remains — as we see the significant easing of restrictions is china's commitments to its zero covid policy. that is absolutely rock—solid. so the prospect, the threat, if you put it like that, of central quarantine for anyone who gets covid—i9 here, that remains.

that was robin brant reporting on that story for us. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: bts — the popular south korean k—pop group — addresses anti—asian hate crime at a white house press briefing. 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. 0utspoken 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. 0ur headlines: the governor of the luhansk province says russian forces now control most of the key city of severodonetsk. the prosecutor of the international criminal court describes ukraine as a crime scene, where his tribunal is carrying out its biggest ever investigation.

to the us now, where a meeting between k—pop powerhouse bts and president biden saw the korean boy band saying they're "devastated" by the recent surge of hate crimes — including against the asian american community. the south korean group met with president biden at the white house today to discuss the issue of anti—asian hate. the k—pop phenomenon are well known for using their music and enormous fan base to speak out on important social issues. they met with the us president privately, after making brief statements to media in the white house press briefing room. lastly, we thank president biden and the white house for giving this important opportunity to speak about the important causes, to remind ourselves of what we can do as artists. i spoke earlier to hope king, who has been covering the issue of anti—asian hate for axios. she reflected on why the us president would be meeting with the k—pop group.

they are a global hit, and if they do anything, if they say anything online, it will reach hundreds of millions of people, and i think that is why the white house invited them today to talk about this issue. one of their tweets last year, following the shooting death of six asian women in the atlanta area spa shootings, that was the most retweeted tweet of 2021, so i think that is why it was important for the white house. hope, is my understanding right that, anecdotally, we definitely did see hate crimes against the asian community rise during covid or post—covid? can you talk us through why that happened? really starting in 2020, we saw a surge in these hate crimes. and there have been different ways to measure the number

of those hate crimes. there are official federal reports, based on what the cities are reporting back up to the federal level, and there are academic studies as well. and so one of the most recent reports has shown that, last year, there was an increase of about 3a0% in hate crimes directed towards asian people. that is on top of the record we already saw in 2020, and part of the reason is because of the former president criticising china and talking about where the virus may or may not have come from — inaccurately, of course — and so people were conflating the region, the country of china, people who look like me, maybe from that region, here in america with that kind of rhetoric. and i think why we see the numbers continue

to climb, because we are entering the midterm election season here in the us, there have been politicians who have been using china again as part of their campaign, to drum up support for their base, whether it is about competitiveness... things unrelated to covid. you are seeing that play out as well. is itjust about covid, briefly, if you don't mind, or is it more widespread? it has been a systemic issue, but covid has certainly brought it back to the forefront the last couple of years. really, since the founding of this country, there has been specific laws passed to prevent, let's say, chinese people from coming in, from getting citizenship, and then during the civil rights movement and even a couple decades after, there have been protests and violent beatings and killings of asian—americans because of the systemic belief that asians have created some kind of economic unfairness. hope king, a journalist with

axios, speaking to me a little earlier. another meeting for us presidentjoe biden — he's told new zealand prime ministerjacinda ardern that he wants her advice on tackling growing gun violence. the pair met at the white house to discuss a range of issues, including climate change and the pacific. biden noted new zealand's response to the 2019 christchurch shooting — a ban on military style rifles — and called for their guidance. the us president also promised he would meet with congress on the gun control issue. if you want to get in touch with me on ended the stories we have seen so far on twitter, you can reach me at @bbckarishma i'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. i'm looking forward to hearing yourthoughts. —— i'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. —— any of the stories you have seen so far. bradford has been named as the uk's city of culture from 2025. it takes over from coventry in the west midlands, which has already benefited from hundreds of millions of pounds worth of investment in the light of its award. 0ur correspondent danny savage is in bradford with more on the city's win. in bradford this evening, they got the news they wanted to hear.

the uk city of culture 2025 is...bradford! this west yorkshire conurbation is to be the uk's city of culture in 2025. i've been here all my life, so this is one of the biggest most positive things that's happened for this city. bradford is not herel to define its identity, its identity is already solid. it'sjust here to show- the world just how awesome it is and that's what's coming. bradford is a city ofjoy... bradford campaigned hard for the honour. a promotional video captured the diversity of the arts and culture scene. and they got the gig. when i say 20, you say 25! 20! 25! it is our place and it is our time, we are bradford, baby, till we die! the main thing is, young people, they're

seeing what they're like, because they're having opportunities to experience it and ijust think that it has been such a long time coming and it is so important for our development as individuals and as a city. host cities hold the culture title for a calendar year. bradford now has two and a half years to get everything ready. danny savage, bbc news, bradford. they look very excited about that win, don't they? what remarkable victory for them. and finally, in a record 70 years on the throne, britain's queen elizabeth has dealt with no fewer than 1a prime ministers, starting with winston churchill, right through to margaret thatcher, tony blair, and now boris johnson. one of the mainstays of the royal and political calendars is the weekly audience between monarch and prime minister, just one aspect of the queen's work on affairs of state, as our deputy political editor vicki young reports.

the queen and her prime ministers. this was a reunion organised in the 1990s. head of state and head of government appear side by side for dozens of public events, but the relationship is forged behind closed doors — weekly meetings at the palace... nice to see you again. lovely to see you again. ..that we only get a glimpse of. the queen's views are kept private, political neutrality carefully adhered to, her words written by her prime ministers. i pray that the blessing of almighty god may rest upon your counsels. her first was winston churchill. he was protective of this new young sovereign who had so much to learn. archive: now, upon the - shoulders of sir anthony falls the role of the queen's first minister. - after churchill came anthony eden, whose decision to send troops to suez in 1956 brought national humiliation. in 1964, harold wilson became the queen's first labour prime minister. she does our homework, i hadn't done mine. i hadn't read a particular cabinet committee, which i didn't chair, and i was leaving for the weekend. she knew i hadn't done my homework, she was very nice about it.

the queen's constitutional right is to be kept informed of government policy — she offers encouragement and advice. every prime minister, - i would guess, from talking with other prime ministers. and from my own experience, has the greatest _ friendliness from the queen. on rare occasions, the queen has very subtly aired her views, like this speech where mr callaghan�*s government was considering devolution. i cannot forget that i was crowned queen of the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland. good evening, your majesty. you've had a very long day... when margaret thatcher became britain's first female prime minister, there were reports that the queen privately disapproved of the government's social agenda. but the iron lady played down suggestions of a serious rift. even if she did say it, all right, she may have felt something, but there was never any difficulty in saying anything to me. any difficulty at all. every year, there's a royal invitation to balmoral — matters of state discussed

over a cup of tea. in the years that i came - to know her as prime minister, prime ministers had private i meetings with the queen each week, she invariably looks forward. - tony blair certainly appreciated the queen's advice after his landslide victory for labour. even though i was the politician and she was the monarch, ifound her not just useful, but sometimes deeply insightful. it's very good to welcome you here... when you have to explain what you're trying to achieve, it's a very good form of therapy. imagine doing that to the world's greatest public servant who's seen it all and heard it all. there's really no better way of getting your head straight about what you're trying to do. 1a prime ministers — 1a very different politicians with their own visions, worries and agendas. for seven decades, the queen has worked with all of them, a monarch at the heart of a democratic constitution — advising, encouraging and warning, providing continuity as each new

political tide swept in. vicki young, bbc news. i'd like to direct you to the bbc news website, where we have more coverage on this story, including this page which shows pictures of queen elizabeth's life through pictures. just log on to bbcnews.com/news. we have just enough time to tell you about ancient egypt. the latest trove of ancient artefacts unearthed near the great pyramids by cairo have been put on show, including statuettes of egyptian gods and goddesses and more than 250 wooden sarcophagi with mummies inside them. now these treasures will be moved to the grand egyptian museum, which authorities hope to open near cairo's giza pyramids later this year. that's all the time that we have for you on newsday at this

hour. thanks so much for joining me. do stay with bbc news for the latest global headlines. hello. a new month starts with very similar weather. after tuesday's big cloud, showers and thunderstorms, umbrellas at the ready for wednesday. the showers probably not as widespread, but there will still be some heavy ones around, with warmer sunny spells in between. low pressure's still close by. high pressure's trying to build in, and although that may be in time for the platinum jubilee weekend, there are some complications, as we'll see in a moment. this is how we start off wednesday morning, low single figures in the chilliest, clearest spots. an area of rain pulling out of wales, into the midlands, and then just turning into another batch of showers as it bears down on southeastern areas. now, many other places will start the day dry with sunny spells. cloud's going to build, scattered and at times

heavy showers break out through central, southern parts of scotland, northern, central and eastern areas of england in particular, maybe with a rumble of thunder. not many showers at all for northern ireland, northern scotland and for wales and the southwest, becoming mainly dry at the end of the afternoon, and a day where temperatures are a little bit higher than they've been. and in fact, a lot of fine weather to end the day. 0vernight and into thursday, increasing cloud towards northern ireland here. there's a weather system from the atlantic trying to feed in. ahead of that, clear spells with some patchy fog around and another rather chilly start to the day for thursday, the first, of course, of this long holiday weekend. and outbreaks of rain look as if they're going to push in very gradually towards northern ireland on thursday. ahead of that, a few showers breaking out across scotland and northern england, whereas the further south you are in england and through wales, stays largely dry. temperatures are a bit higher than they've been — we're talking high teens and low 20s. in the sunshine, it will feel warmer. what's moved into northern ireland by friday will be a batch of showers across mainly central areas, but some breaking out towards wales and southwest england as well.

and away from these, still some pleasantly warm sunny spells to be had. keeping things a bit cooler along north sea coasts with an onshore breeze. it will get stronger over the weekend, as we look to the south, to an area of low pressure throwing in some heavy and thundery showers through parts of england and wales saturday into sunday, whereas closer to high pressure, northern ireland and scotland stay mainly dry with the sunniest and the warmest weather for saturday and sunday. so from thursday onwards, yes, warmer, sunny spells, but if you've got outdoor plans — and, of course, there are street parties to be had — factor in, there will be some occasional downpours here and there.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. right now, russia's war on ukraine is being waged from house to house, town to town in the eastern donbas. the strategy is simple — destroy and then occupy the ruins. but the annihilation strategy isn't restricted

to the battlefield. the kremlin is seeking to erase ukraine's history,