welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm arunoday mukharji. the headlines: explosion fierce fighting in the battle for severodonetsk, as ukraine's grip on the strategic eastern city seems to weaken. we have a special report. this is a deliberate pack, bomb, shell, burn, and leave nothing but scorched earth —— deliberate tactic. the uk government publishes plans to override part of the brexit agreement involving trade rules for northern ireland and insists it's not breaking international law. donald trump's former attorney general testifies that his boss became detached from reality as he made false

claims of voterfraud. scientists plan to sequence the genomes of all forms of life in britain, which could transform our understanding of the natural world. and a buzz lightyear animated film, featuring a same sex kiss, is banned in m middle eastern and asian countries. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news — it's newsday. welcome to the programme. russian forces are tightening their grip on the region of the donbas. president zelensky has called again for western allies to provide advanced missile defence systems for the ukrainian army to stop the steady russian advance. the russians now control almost all of the strategic city of severodonetsk. the final bridge to the city

has been destroyed, trapping ukrainian troops and thousands of civilians. the russians are also bombarding the neighbouring city of lysychansk, where civilians are still trying to flee. our international correspondent orla guerin sent this report from the donbas. radio bleeps max speed. we're told to drive at maximum speed on the exposed road to lysychansk. a dark horizon greets us. munitions explode residents praying for salvation, as russia lays waste. man whistles and shouts ukrainian troops call for help... ..to take away one more victim of russian shelling. nearby, the rush to evacuate civilians...

..who have to duck for cover. a panicked departure in an armoured truck. people are taking this chance to get out while they can, but they know this could be a one—wayjourney. if the russians take this territory, and they're getting closer all the time, these people may never be able to come back to their city and their homes. "the situation is critical," a rescue worker says. "can't you hear the shelling?" so, another city empties out here in eastern ukraine. a few more wait anxiously for their turn, hoping to outrun moving frontlines. volodymyr is among them. he's sick and headed to hospital. he tells me that life here was calm until the war broke

everything apart. and it has left its terrible mark. this was the palace of culture. now standing as a grim testament to moscow's superior firepower. ukraine's president says lysychansk is already dead... ..along with neighbouring severodonetsk. ghost cities now. well, this is an example of the kind of devastation that russia has brought. it's notjust destroying apartment buildings and flats and homes, it's destroying history and the fabric of cities. and this is a deliberate tactic — bomb, shell, burn, and leave nothing but scorched earth.

munitions explode those who remain make brief escapes from their basements to cook outdoors. the city has no power or running water. butjelena still clings to her home, despite the growing threat. do you think the russians will take the city soon? it seems like they're getting close. "i don't know," she says. "we're hoping it'll be ok." but the city is running out of time. this is now an artillery war. ukraine doesn't have enough big guns or ammunition. at the 11th hour, another plea for help. my message, and the message of the ukrainian people, i think we need victory, we need peace, and we cannot

get peace and victory without help from our partners, because without equipment for our artillery, i think we cannot get a victory in this terrible war. as we spoke, the war came closer. missile whizzes munitions explode that was a russian shell whistling over our heads. just a short distance away, neighbouring severodonetsk is burning and may soon fall. machine-gun fires inside the city, the last pockets of resistance. guns fire ukrainian troops fight building to building and street to street. but all bridges to the city have now been destroyed.

ukraine is facing an enemy that has learned lessons and is imposing crushing losses in battle. troops fight on, but the handful of advanced weapons systems promised by britain and the us may be too little, too late. here in the donbas region right now... missile whizzes and explodes ..it looks like a losing battle. orla guerin, bbc news, eastern ukraine. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the uk court of appeal in london has rejected a call to block the british government's plans to begin removing asylum seekers to rwanda. the uk government says the policy is designed to deter people trafficking, but it's facing heavy criticism by opposition parties and refugee support services.

american actor kevin spacey will appear in court in the uk on thursday, charged with sexual offences against three men, including four counts of sexual assault. prosecutors authorised charges against him last month, but the actor could only be charged once he arrived in the uk. kevin spacey said he will voluntarily appear in this country and is confident of proving his innocence. global stocks have tumbled on monday amid fears rising inflation could cause an economic downturn. in the us, the s&p 500 share index fell 3.8%, entering what is known as a bear market. this comes after the us on friday reported higher inflation than expected. in may the annual rate rose to 8.6%, a more than ao—year high. britain's government has published controversial plans to cancel parts of the brexit deal it had agreed to with the eu. borisjohnson wants to change what's called the northern ireland protocol

to make it easierfor some goods to move between mainland britain and northern ireland. the european union says the plan is unacceptable, as it breaks international law. meanwhile, the white house calls on the uk and the eu to get back to the negotiating table. our political editor, chris mason, reports. brexit is about borders, about different rules either side of them, but borders usually separate one country from another. and yet here in belfast, there is a border, checks, when goods arrive here from the rest of the uk. those checks happen because of a deal the government signed up to. but now it doesn't like what this means for northern ireland. people can't access the goods they need to access, we're not able to implement the same tax benefits in northern ireland as we are for the people of great britain, so this is a very serious issue that we need to fix.

we have sought a negotiated settlement for the last 18 months, but as yet, the eu have been unwilling to change the terms of the protocol. and they've not changed their mind today, either. no workable alternative solution has been found to this delicate, long—negotiated balance. any renegotiations would simply bring further legal uncertainty for the people and businesses in northern ireland. for these reasons, the european union will not renegotiate the protocol. so, what impact does the protocol have on people in northern ireland? beth runs a garden centre in ballynahinch in county down. a lot of the growers don't want to get involved with the paperwork. i think it's made things harder. you're trying to get stock from different sources. but others, like the meat and dairy industries, who sell goods to the eu, say it's made trading easier. we would see the protocol as something to build on.

we would be concerned about anything that damages trade, particularly into... obviously, the risk here is trade into europe. it's worth remembering how we got here. the prime minister was on a farm in hayle in cornwall this morning and was asked... have you driven any other tractors? i've driven a lot of tractors in my... yeah, i have. indeed, he has — this an election stunt not burdened with subtlety back in 2019. he won the election and did deliver brexit, but with the protocol attached, it's had profound political consequences in northern ireland. sinn fein regard overriding elements of it irresponsible. the democratic unionists won't go back into devolved government unless it changes. i believe that finally we are now seeing the kind of action that is required to begin the process of removing the barriers to trade within the united kingdom.

it does nothing to serve the interests of the people here. it flies in the face of an international agreement which he himself negotiated. it is in clear breach of international law. and, you know, the reality is here that the protocol is working. to be prime minister is to be a diplomat. are you breaking international law, prime minister? borisjohnson met his portuguese counterpart this afternoon. shaking hands on a solution to his northern ireland brexit conundrum won't happen so easily. the bbc�*s political editor chris mason on that raking story. —— breaking story. the us congressional committee investigating the attack last year on the capitol has been told that donald trump repeatedly ignored pleas from his own team to stop making unfounded claims of voter fraud. mr trump's former campaign manager was meant to be the key witness on the second day of public hearing, but he wasn't able to

attend because his wife went into labour. in a pre—recorded interview, bill stepien said he tried to convince mr trump not to declare victory prematurely. my belief, my recommendation was to say that votes were still being counted, it's too early to tell, too early to call the race, but, you know, we're proud of the race we ran and we, you know, think we're in a good position and we will have more to say about this, you know, the next day or the next day, whenever we had something to say. and did anybody who was a part of that conversation disagree with your message? yes. who was that? the president disagreed with that. i don't recall the particular words. he thought i was wrong.

he told me so, and, you know, that they were going to, you know... he was going to go in a different direction. more testimonies against the former president coming in. the former attorney general bill barr told the committee that president trump was "detached from reality" when it came to his baseless claims of election fraud. i did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which i told the president was bleep. and, you know, i didn't want to be a part of it. our north america correspondent david willis says the hearing has presented more evidence of donald trump's efforts to remain in power. the committee's gold with this hearing was to persuade those watching that donald trump knew that he had failed to achieve victory in the election but continued nonetheless to

subvert democracy and remain in power and the committee heard today from a variety of former aides, including campaign managers, members of the us justice department, family members and from the former attorney general, bill barr, all of whom at one point or another try to persuade donald trump into believing he had actually lost the election but he continued to persist these stories to the contrary nonetheless. we had a little bit from bill barr and in that testimony talked about having to fend off all sorts of wild conspiracy theories and said donald trump at one stage was detached from reality, as mr barr, putted, that — put it, pursuing nonsense and crazy stuff rather than reality. bill barr said there was zero basis

that certain voting machines were rigged against him. much more is expected out of those congressional hearings and we will be tracking those developments. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: why a buzz lightyear animated origin film has been banned in 14 middle eastern and asian countries. there was a bomb in the city centre. a code word known to be one used by the ira was given. army bomb experts were examining a suspect van when there was a huge explosion. the south african parliament has destroyed the foundation of apartheid by abolishing the population registration act which, for 40 years, forcibly classified each citizen according to race. just a day old and the royal baby is tonight

sleeping in his cot at home. | early this evening, the new prince was taken by his mother and fatherl to their apartments . in kensington palace. germany's parliament, the bundestag, has voted by a narrow majority to move the seat of government from bonn to berlin. berliners celebrated into the night, but the decision was greeted with shock in bonn. the real focus of attention today was valentina tereshkova, the world's first woman cosmonaut. what do you think of - the russian woman in space? i think it's a wonderful achievement and i think we might be able to persuade the wife it would be a good idea, if i could, to get her to go up there for a little while. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm arunoday mukharji, in singapore. our headlines: there's fierce fighting in the battle for sevedonetsk, as ukraine's grip on the strategic eastern city seems to weaken. the uk government publishes plans to override part of the brexit agreement involving trade rules

for northern ireland, and insists its not breaking international law. this is a story developing over the last 2a hours. an australian newspaper's taken down an article about the actress rebel wilson, after an outcry on social media. the sydney morning herald's accused of putting pressure on her to reveal she was dating a woman. columnist andrew hornery apologised for the article. for more on this story, i'm joined by nicky bath, who's chief executive officer of lgbtiq & health australia. thank you very much for your time here on newsday. i would like to begin about the outrage we have seen. coming out is always deeply personaljourney. we are disappointed by how the episode was handled?— we are disappointed by how the episode was handled? indeed, as ou 'ust episode was handled? indeed, as you just said. _

episode was handled? indeed, as you just said, coming out - episode was handled? indeed, as you just said, coming out is - episode was handled? indeed, as you just said, coming out is an i you just said, coming out is an incredibly personaljourney you just said, coming out is an incredibly personal journey and one that should never be forced into anyone. it was disappointing than in 2022, when we understand the importance of supporting lgbtq+ people, to see this kind of journalism happening in australia.— journalism happening in australia. ., , ., australia. what should the newspaper_ australia. what should the newspaper have _ australia. what should the newspaper have ideally - australia. what should the l newspaper have ideally done australia. what should the - newspaper have ideally done in a situation like this? i a situation like this? i understand the australian press have guidelines on reporting this issue. a person sexual orientation, gender identity and sexual characteristic should be relevant to the story and in the public interest and advises on the need for consent for that disclosure which in this case with rebel wilson, in regards to her sexual orientation, when that is part of the storytelling in any media article. it is important i think for a journalist to follow those really important guidelines.

follow those really important guideline— guidelines. having said that, what do you _ guidelines. having said that, what do you make _ guidelines. having said that, what do you make of - guidelines. having said that, what do you make of the - what do you make of the cognizant reaction rebel wilson did claiming she had spoiled the story by putting it on instagram. thejournalist pulling it underwhelming? figs instagram. thejournalist pulling it underwhelming? fissi pulling it underwhelming? as i said, and pulling it underwhelming? as i said. and as — pulling it underwhelming? as i said, and as you _ pulling it underwhelming? is i said, and as you did in the opening of this segment, it is important and incredibly important and incredibly important that coming out is a personal journey and important that coming out is a personaljourney and is one that should never be forced upon anyone. it is really important that people take stock of what is happening for them, weighing up the pros and cons and people being ready to come out at the time when it is ready for them. i can absently understand why rebel wilson would have wanted to have taken control of that narrative and taken control of her story as it is very much her life.- it is very much her life. how would you — it is very much her life. how would you read _ it is very much her life. how would you read reporting . it is very much her life. how would you read reporting on theseissues

would you read reporting on these issues in general? is there a need for a lot more training? i there a need for a lot more training?— training? i think training is an important _ training? i think training is an important issue - training? i think training is an important issue to - training? i think training isj an important issue to have conversations around, particularly in relation to the australian press guidelines. we have seen reporting recently with regards to trans women in the spot and the care of transgender young people in australia and a lot of that reporting was also questionable. —— sport. training and publicising these guidelines excess. there was quite a process that council took in the development of those guidelines. i think there is a need for us to be able to get them out to journalists and for us to be having more conversation with journalist about the impact of reporting. nicky bath thank you very much for your

views and perspective on that story. views and perspective on that sto . . ~' , ., views and perspective on that sto . ., ~ ., ., in what is probably the most ambitious project ever undertaken in the field of biology, a team of scientists is planning to sequence the genomes of all forms of life in the british isles — estimated to be 70,000 species. the project could transform how we understand the natural world and there may be benefits for humans in search of medicines and materials inspired by nature. 0ur science editor, rebecca morelle has more. a close—up look at our weird and wonderful natural world. from a delicate sea creature called a brittle star, to a hermit crab carrying a sea anemone on its back, and these bizarre animals known as mud owls. all of these creatures were scooped up just off the coast of plymouth. so, you've got two worms here. this one, it's almost made these overlapping scales of kind of sandy shell. they're being collected for an ambitious new project,

to sequence the genomes of all life in the british isles. today, scientists are focusing on marine worms, known as polychaetes. it's a big task, with hundreds and hundreds of species. and we've got over 100 now, i think 120 odd species of polycha etes collected. it seems like a lot, but, really, it'sjust the beginning. the plan is to sequence the dna of every plant, animaland fungi in britain and ireland. that's about 70,000 species. and some are surprising. there is a type of microalgae has 200 billion letters of dna. that's more than 60 times bigger than the human genome. and the scientists plan to do this all by 2030. the dna extraction is being carried out at the wellcome sanger institute. the human genome was sequenced here two decades ago. that took years. but now a species can be completed in a few days. when the human genome

was sequenced, it changed the way we do human biology forever. it really transformed how we see ourselves, and how we work with our health and illness. 0ne genome that is now complete belongs to the badger. in 0xfordshire, as dusk falls, a family emerges from their sett. scientists say having their detailed genetic information is vital. back onshore in plymouth, the rock pools are full of surprises. but their genetic code could also help us to find nature inspired medicines or materials. this immense endeavour could change our understanding of the diversity of life. rebecca morelle, bbc news, plymouth. disney and pixar�*s latest animated movie, lightyear, has been banned from cinemas in the united arab emirates. the film contains a same—sex kiss, but the uae's media regulators did not give a specific reason for its decision. the scene had been cut from the us version but was reinstated after

complaints by pixar employees. lightyear�*s problems in the middle east are the latest in a string of difficulties faced by films containing lgbtq+ content in the region. some of the stars were in london on monday for the uk premier of lightyear. we're hoping for a time when we don't even have to have this conversation, we can watch a movie and we don't even have to bat an eyelid. we don't even have to think, "oh, wow, weird!" you know? it's not weird, it's normal, and it should be normalised, and so whenever these small steps that studios are making... sometimes it may feel small, but also they are steps. and it's steps towards normalising humanity and love, and i really feel sorry for countries who don't want this film. because of a tiny, weird little thing like that? if you want to keep up with all the stories we are covering, head to out website or you can always download the bbc news

app as well. that's all for now. thank you for watching and stay on with bbc news. hello there. we're expecting a short spell of rather hot weather across much of the uk, but not all of it, over the next few days or so. the heat and the humidity will be gradually building northwards. and that's because there's a heat wave across the iberian peninsula at the moment — temperatures in parts of spain have surpassed a0 celsius. that heat will be pushing northwards into france, and eventually into southern areas of the uk, so england and wales, by the time we get to friday when that heat is likely to peak. and that means that temperatures in london and in birmingham could get over 30 celsius on friday. but further north and west, across much of northern ireland and scotland, they'll stick in the low 20s in celsius. at the moment, we do still have this area of low pressure giving us swathes of cloud, some outbreaks of rain — most of it quite light and patchy — across much of western

scotland, northern ireland. this will help to keep the temperatures mild here, overnight tonight, but underneath the clear skies, temperatures will drop back into single figures, mid—single figures locally, perhaps, across england and wales. so a locally chilly start to the day here. but here, of course, we'll see lots of sunshine throughout the day on tuesday, some fair weather cloud building through the afternoon. further north and west, with still all of this cloud around, some outbreaks of rain for western areas of scotland. eastern areas of scotland, though, should see some sunny spells emerge at times. temperatures peaking in the southeast of england at around 25 celsius. the pollen levels, of course, in all of that sunshine, will be very high, a lot lower underneath the cloud and the rain towards the northwest, and that's where the cloud and the outbreaks of rain will tend to stay as we head through tuesday night. we'll start to see some warmer nights as we head through the rest of the week. temperatures across the board into wednesday morning should stay in double figures for the most part. still got some outbreaks of rain up towards the northern isles as we head through the day on wednesday, lots of cloud here. again, cloudier towards the northwest.

across england and wales, temperatures will start to rise into the high 20s in celsius, so 26—27 celsius for much of london. cooler the further north you go. and let's take a look at what happens for the rest of the week — so our high pressurejust gradually moves eastwards and the cold front will sink southwards, introducing that cooler—feeling air. but if we take a look at the temperatures, you can see that across northern ireland, 19—20 celsius, whereas across cambridge, 31 celsius by friday.

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. let us take a look at what is on the show. the global economy is facing multiple crises, from supply chain chaos, war in europe, and potentialfamine. can this so—called poly crisis be taken on by the wto, world trade organization, as global trade ministers meet face to face for the first time since the pandemic? and the war in ukraine.

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