welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm arunoiday mukharji. the headlines... harrowing testimony at the us gun control hearings — but will it move politicians to action? renewed bombardment of ukraine's second city, kharkiv, as severodonetsk in the donbas region also comes under heavy fire. the united nations warns of unprecendented global hunger and destitution if russia continues to block grain exports from ukraine. and the story of this startling image — a 16—year—old

girl in her prom dress, in the ruins of her school in kharkiv. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to the programme. it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london, and 7pm in washington — where lawmakers have been hearing searing testimony from the victims and families of those caught up in several recent mass shootings. among them was an 11—year—old girl, mia cerrillo. a student at the robb elementary school in texas, she described how she smeared herself in blood and played dead to avoid being killed along with 19 other children and two teachers. the shooting, carried out by an 18—year—old gunman, has provoked a nation—wide debate about the sale of firearms. our north america editor sarah smith has more

from washington — we should warn you, her report contains some graphic testimony which some may find distressing. this is the last photograph of lexi rubio, getting a school prize just hours before she was shot dead, the last time her parents saw her. we don't want you to think of lexi as just a number. she was intelligent, compassionate and athletic. she was quiet, shy, unless she had a point to make. when she knew was right, as she so often was, she stood her ground. kimberly rubio is demanding lawmakers take action on gun control to ban assault weapons like the one used in uvalde, texas. so today, we stand for lexi, and as her voice we demand action. we seek a ban on assault rifles and high—capacity magazines. we understand that, for some reason, to some people — to people with money, to people who fund political

campaigns — that guns are more important than children. so at this moment we ask for progress. miah cerrillo was in the classroom when the gunman burst in. in this video recorded for the committee, she told them what happened. as the shooting continued, she smeared herself in the blood of a classmate to pretend she was dead. dr roy guerrero described the horror of seeing the first young casualties arrive at the hospital. but what i did find was something no prayer will ever relieve. two children whose bodies had

been pulverised by bullets fired at them, decapitated, whose flesh had been ripped apart, that the only clue of their identities was their blood splattered cartoon clothes still clinging to them. clinging for life and finding none. the tragedy in uvalde has provoked a nationwide conversation about gun control. there are cross—party talks going on about new laws, but any legislation they can agree on will fall far short of what is being demanded. there will not be a ban on assault weapons. they can't even agree on raising the legal minimum age to buy one from 18 to 21. president biden is powerless to do anything about gun control without the support of at least some republicans. so, despite an epidemic of mass shootings across america, nearly 250 already this year, any significant reform remains highly unlikely. sarah smith, bbc news, washington. dr shannon frattaroli is a professor at the johns hopkins centre for gun violence solutions. she says the testimony

was difficult to hear. it's heart—wrenching to listen to that testimony. and it's even more difficult to accept the fact that this is the reality of life in the united states today. but it doesn't have to be. right, and how important is it for these families to see their testimonies not go unheard, and actually end up ushering some sort of tighter gun control laws? well, certainly nothing can bring back the children, the teachers who were killed that day, countless people who are killed in gun violence around this country every day. but having some sort of response from elected officials i imagine would be helpful, and give them some assurance that this is not the pattern we will continue to live with. if we talk about some of the specific proposals now — you know, one of them are the red flag laws.

how do you reckon these are likely to work? thank you for focusing on these laws. so extreme risk protection order laws, or red flag laws, allow for people who are witnessing loved ones or people in their community in crisis to go before the court and say, "you know what, this person is behaving dangerously, they are doing things them at high risk for committing gun violence either towards others or towards themselves, and it'sjust not a good idea right now for them to have ready access to firearms." so let's put a pause on that, let's temporarily prohibit people from purchasing and possessing guns when they are in the midst of a crisis and expressing ideas about violence. only a handful of the 50 republican senators appear to be open to some sort of new gun legislation —

do you find any scope for common ground? because ultimately, that's what it will all boil down to. you're absolutely right, and i'm glad that you're focusing on these extremist protection order laws, because that's where we see time and time again at the state level that there is agreement across party lines. we've also done polling over several years now and see consistently that when we talk about extreme risk laws, or red flag laws, there is a majority of people who in this country support those proposals. and when we look at the different variations and demographics — be they men, women, democrats, republicans, gun owners — it doesn't matter, regardless of what the demographic profile, we consistently see high levels of support for these laws. so that gives me great hope and i think it's something republicans and democrats alike in congress should be

paying attention to. we'll keep a close watch, but now we switch focus to the other headlines. ukraine's second city of kharkiv has come under renewed attack with a number of russian missile strikes over the past 2a hours. although russia's main focus remains the donbas region further south, kharkiv is just 20 miles from the border, and the strikes have raised concerns that it could again become a target for intensive russian artillery fire. wyre davies has this report from the city. after a relatively benign few weeks, kharkiv has again become the focus of russian attacks. a late—night missile strike on this shopping centre in the eastern suburbs caused considerable damage but no casualties. elsewhere in the city, a man was reportedly killed and several others injured in another bombing.

munitions explode right at the start of this war, as russian troops invaded, there was intense fighting around kharkiv, a key russian objective. ukraine's second largest city, an important industrial complex and just 20 miles from the russian border. but ukrainian troops prevailed... man shouts ..forcing the russians back, but not far. and that's the problem. from just across the border, kharkiv and its 1.4 million residents are still well within range of russian artillery and missiles. translation: we are worried because people started - coming back to the city with their children and families, yet it's all starting again, really bad things, the bombardments

are even more intense. much of the focus of recent russian attacks has been down in the donbas region, but recent intelligence reports do suggest that the russians might be regrouping and refocusing, attacking again places like kharkiv further to the north. it's a monumental effort defending the donbas cities of severodonetsk and lysychansk, where civilians struggle to survive under relentless russian fire. if russia was to amplify the northern and eastern fronts, it would undoubtedly stretch limited ukrainian resources. president zelensky has appealed for more military help. longer range rocket launchers have been promised by the uk and others. but time is of the essence. munitions explode wyre davies, bbc news, kharkiv. the united nations is warning that the war in ukraine is threatening to "unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution". the comment from

secretary—general antonio guterres comes as russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov, has denied the conflict is causing a global food crisis — despite soaring prices driven by the collapse of ukrainian exports. our global trade correspondent dharshini david has more. ukraine's crops can usually feed 400 million mouths, but russia stands accused of turning that breadbasket into a stealth missile. 90% of grain typically leaves by ship, but most are stuck in fields or silos as blockades at ports slow exports to a trickle. my friend, how are you? the russian foreign minister was in turkey to discuss how grain corridors, a safe passage for ships, could be created, but was making no commitments nor accepting any responsibility. translation: to solve this - problem, the only thing needed is for the ukrainians to let vessels out of their ports, either by clearing mines or by marking out safe corridors.

nothing more is required. ukraine is one of the world's largest exporters of cereal crops and oils. before the war, 12% of global wheat exports came from ukraine, almost half of sunflower oil, and it provided around 18% of maize exports. but with most of these being transported by sea, the amount being exported has slumped. and that means some countries, chiefly in africa and the middle east, will be hit hard. egypt has been receiving a quarter of its wheat from ukraine, libya almost half, and lebanon more than 60%. and taking a chunk out of the world's supply means prices have soared since the invasion, affecting every corner of the globe. can a deal to get exports moving be struck? the world trade organization is one of those trying to solve this crisis.

having 20—25 million tonnes of grain sitting both in ukrainian ports and in granaries�* warehouses, it's really sad when we see prices rising so high. at the moment there is no progress. what if there is no agreement? what are your concerns? if we are not able to evacuate the grains in ukraine now and then they have a harvest coming up injuly, with a similar quantity that will go to waste, then you can see that this will work its way through for the next year or two and that that will be really, really disastrous. the clock is ticking. 49 million people are already on the brink of famine. a more prolonged humanitarian crisis could be looming. dharshini david, bbc news. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: america's most decorated gymnast, simone biles, among dozens of female athletes suing the fbi for failing to stop the convicted sex abuser, larry nassar.

the day the british liberated the falklands. and by tonight, british troops have begun the task of disarming the enemy. in the heart of the west german capital, this was gorbymania at its height. the crowd packed to see the man who, for them, has raised great hopes for an end to the division of europe. it happened as the queen moved toward horse guards parade for the start of tropping the colour. the queen looks worried, but recovers quickly. as long as they'll pay to go see me, i'll gol out there and take him down the hills. -

what does it feel like to be the first man to go across the channel by your own power? it feels pretty neat. it feels marvellous, really. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm arunoday mukharji in singapore. our headlines... politicians in washington hear the harrowing testimony of an 11—year—old girl who survived the uvalde shooting by covering herself in the blood of a friend. america's most decorated gymnast, simone biles, is among dozens of women who've filed a lawsuit against the fbi for failing to stop the convicted sex abuser larry nassar — despite knowing of complaints against him. they�*re seeking $1 billion in collective damages. nassar was jailed for life in 2018 for sexually assaulting athletes in his role as a sports doctor at usa gymnastics and michigan state university.

lawyers say the bureau heard allegations of his misconduct in 2015, but declined to interview victims who were willing to talk about it — allowing nassar to continue the abuse. earlier, i spoke to marisa kwiatkowski — an investigative reporter at usa today who helped expose the scandal in 2016. she explained when she realised the scale of nassar�*s abuse. we knew pretty early that this was not an isolated situation. prior to publishing ourfirst article about larry nassar, we already had three survivors come forward and share very similar stories of abuse that he had perpetuated against them. and after we published our first article in 2016, we heard from many others who shared similar stories with us. by the end of it, there were more than 500 people who had come forward with allegations against him. you know, the survivors have said that they feel betrayed

by every institution that was supposed to stand by them, i mean, they spoken out against the us olympic committee, the usa gymnastics, to the fbi, to even the department ofjustice. after being filled by so many institutions, how hopeful are they of being able to affix accountability in this case? obviously i don't speak for the survivors, but what i can tell you is that they are incredibly frustrated by the lack of action that they've seen taken in terms of holding people accountable for what happened with larry nassar. after the fbi had received allegations and not properly handled them relating to larry nassar, there were many more women and girls who suffered abuse. and they have shared multiple times in testimony and in interviews their frustration that nobody�*s been criminally charged as it relates to the fbi's failures, and nobody it seems has been truly held accountable for that.

according to investigations so far, in your reports, why did the fbi fail to act in time? i don't think we understand still fully the full scope of what happened back then — but we know from not only our reporting that we did, but also information confirmed in the inspector general�*s report published last year that they did not properly handle the allegations, hand them off to a different jurisdiction or take them seriously in terms of doing proper interviews, and that when they were asked about it by investigators, they made false statements and lied about what happened in an effort to minimise what happened. what's been the fbi's justification, if any? there has not been a lot of conversation about the fbi's

perspective, although they did testify that it was a failure of the fbi during congressional hearings on this matter. marissa was one of the journalist that helped expose that scandal a few years ago. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... donald trump and two of his adult children, donaldjr and ivanka, are due to testify in a new york state probe into the former us president's business practices starting on 15july. the court last month refused trump's appeal to overturn a ruling enforcing subpoenas for the former president. the case centres on claims that trump misstated the values of his assets in financial statements. a man has been charged with attempted murder, after allegedly making threats against the us supreme court judge brett kavanaugh. 26—year—old nicholas roske reportedly told police he was angry about a leaked draught opinion, which indicates the court could be set to overturn federal abortion rights.

he was also upset about an imminent ruling on gun control. dozens of human rights groups are putting pressure on the un human rights chief to resign immediately, arguing that she whitewashed the situation in china during her visit there last month. they say michelle bachelet had squandered a rare chance to push for accountability over what they allege is beijing's systematic human rights violations against muslim uyghurs and others in the xinjiang region. election campaigning is under way in papua new guinea — and it's hoped this time women candidates standing will get their chance to enter png's current men—only parliament. papua new guinea is the world's third—largest island country and sits in the southwestern pacific — there have been just seven women elected to the png parliament in its nearly 50 years of independence.

so, why is it so hard forfemale candidates in png, and what barriers do they have to overcome? let's speak with theresa meki, from the department of pacific affairs at the australian national university. thanks very much for your time here on newsday. straight up, what are the barriers and reasons that we've not seen more women enter the parliament?— more women enter the arliament? ~ , y parliament? well, first off, thank you _ parliament? well, first off, thank you for _ parliament? well, first off, thank you for having - parliament? well, first off, thank you for having me. . parliament? well, first off, i thank you for having me. papa new guinea's independence in 1975 before that, the political spaceis 1975 before that, the political space is always been dominated by men. and there's this general perception that in the political public space that is reserved for men, this view is fuelled by our traditional society which is mostly patriarchal, and to introduce institutions of page wrecker that came about through colonisation and mission as a nation. so there's this deeply ingrained a gender belief system that politics... so the first hurdle that women candidates have is to establish

their credibility as leaders. and once they do that, they have this political culture where, as it's been dominated by men, it's been shaped to suit their game. so there's been a lot of activities that take place during the campaign that women cannot afford to take part in, such as money politics, which entails out buying, political gifting, giving things out during the election period. on top of that, the technicalities of campaigning in papa new guinea is expensive because most of the hooters are in one location and it's very expensive to get there, and there teams have to hire four wheel drives and even helicopters to get to some very remote locations —— most of the voters. competing on par with their male candidates and counterparts.— their male candidates and counterparts. their male candidates and counterarts. . ., ., , counterparts. the election goes on for a while, _

counterparts. the election goes on for a while, what _ counterparts. the election goes on for a while, what are - counterparts. the election goes on for a while, what are you - on for a while, what are you seeing this time around, are you seeing more women faces? well, this time — in 2017, we had 179 women candidates, and this time we have 142. that is out of at least 3500 candidates altogether. that's 37 less, but i've seen the candidate list of that came out last week and there's a lot of strong women candidates this time around. we've had women who've been campaigning since 2012, those who were under wraps in the last election in 2017 who finished in second and third place and are now contesting again test runner ups. this time we've also had a lot of women being endorsed by political parties, which has never happened before at the scale. so i think partly due to the embarrassment of not having any women candidates in the last five years, it's really brought this topic to the fore. so it's encouraging to see the calibre of women contesting and we will see by the end ofjuly

how they do. we will see by the end ofjuly how they tie-— we will see by the end ofjuly how they do. teresa, thank you very much _ how they do. teresa, thank you very much for— how they do. teresa, thank you very much for your _ how they do. teresa, thank you very much for your time - how they do. teresa, thank you very much for your time and - very much for your time and inputs on that story. let's return to ukraine — and an image that has gone around the world. it's of 16—year—old valaray in her prom dress, outside her bombed—out school in kharkiv. the students in her class were determined to go ahead with their graduation despite the war — despite everything they've been living through. valaray talked to my colleague matthew amroliwala. translation: i wanted the whole world to pay l attention to our country and to my hometown, and what's going on. and now, the buildings where civilians live are destroyed. so many 16—year—olds around the world will be getting ready

as for me, it was unexpected because i have never thought my photo would be seen by the whole world. it was not about me, it was more about bringing attention to the situation in my hometown, and my country. i wanted to add, we are proud of our heroes and armed forces of ukraine. we believe we will win because kindness will always win over evil. especially, i'm grateful to the military unit kraken, who defended my school. the anglo—portuguese painter paula rego has sir david attenborough has been officially appointed a knight grand cross of the order of st michael and st george. he was given the honour by the prince of wales at windsor castle for services to broadcasting and conservation. that's all for now —

stay with bbc news. good morning. wednesday was certainly a day of contrasting conditions. if you managed to keep the sunshine, you also had some warmth. it was very pleasant out there. in fact, we saw a high of 23.5 celsius in london through wednesday afternoon. but there were some showers, and if you got caught in one or two of them, you would certainly know about it. they were heavy with hail and thunder at times. in fact, if we take a look back at wednesday, we had some fairly persistent rain throughout the day moving through central and northern scotland and a cluster of showers piling in behind. some of those, as i say, heavy and thundery. those showers tending to fade away as we speak, and we keep some clear skies over the next few hours across central and southern england, a little bit of nuisance cloud further north with an odd isolated shower. but it will be a relatively mild start to thursday morning,

temperatures holding up, 10—12 celsius. the best of the sunshine certainly across central and southern parts of england first thing in the morning. we'll see cloud and light, patchy rain gathering in from the west. that's going to drift its way steadily eastwards, so eventually the sunshine being nibbled away with cloud as it moves its way steadily eastwards. we'll keep some light rain and some misty, murky conditions along west—facing coasts, the highest temperatures where we see the best of the sunshine — 22 degrees, 72 fahrenheit. and it's certainly worth bearing in mind if you are a hay fever sufferer that where we've got that sunshine, grass pollen is now reaching its peak, so very high levels of pollen expected through the course of the afternoon. so, if we move out of thursday into friday, we've got this area of low pressure. it is the ex—tropical storm alex, the remnants of that storm bringing some windy conditions to the far north and west but also some warmth, as it's a south—westerly wind to go with it. so we keep a cluster of showers and winds perhaps gusting in excess of 40—50 mph

in exposed coasts. but across much of england and wales, with some sunshine coming through, a breezy afternoon but warm with it. we could see highs of 23 degrees. that low pressure just drifts to the north of scotland, so we still keep the squeeze in the isobars, the strongest of the winds here, but high pressure is starting to build in from the southwest, calming things down quite nicely. so, yes, some showers to the north and west and still a fresh breeze to contend with, but an improving picture as we go through the weekend.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. when vladimir putin ordered his invasion force into ukraine in late february, is this the scenario he imagined for earlyjune? a brutal war of attrition in the donbas, a defiant ukrainian government deploying more heavy weapons from western allies, russian losses mounting, a punishing sanctions regime on moscow and more nato expansion in the offing?

well, my guest, in an exclusive interview, is russia's