welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm arunoday mukharji. the headlines — the first flight due to deport asylum—seekers from britain to rwanda has been grounded after a series of legal challenges. the government says they are disappointed but undeterred. on the same day, more than 250 asylum—seekers arrive in the uk, crossing the english channel in small boats. we'll be talking to human rights barrister about what happens next. also in the programme — the international criminal court's chief prosecutor visits kharkiv, where ukrainian troops are retaking some territory, but russia contunues it advance in eastern ukraine. # somebody to lean on...#

prince william and his wife kate mark the fifth anniversary of a catastrophic tower block fire in london in which 72 people died. in beijing, thousands of people are being locked down and millions face compulsory testing after a surge in covid—19 cases. music. and could the best be yet to come? after nine years together, the k—pop supergroup bts announce they're taking a break to focus on their solo careers. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello, and welcome to the programme.

a last—minute intervention by the european court of human rights has blocked the uk government's plan to send seven asylum—seekers to rwanda under a controversial new policy. the home secretary, priti patel, said she was disappointed, but would not be deterred and preparations for a second flight were under way. let's get the latest from our correspondent duncan kennedy at the airfierld where the flight was due to take off. what has happened really is that the flight is not leaving. that's the bottom line message in all of this. after hours and hours of uncertainty both let me take you through some of the day's events both here and in the courts. certainly here all afternoon we were seeing these asylum—seekers being brought to this base behind me in a series of police convoys. then, later on, we saw various vehicle activity by the aircraft on the runway about 200 metres behind me. there were catering trucks and police vehicles, it looked like the flight crew getting on. then mid—evening, they turned on the lights on the runway here and it looked as though it was all going ahead.

and then we started picking up these noises, these messages from the courts and london and in brussels to the effect that something might be on and not everybody was going to be on this flight. the figure was about seven asylum—seekers mid—evening. that then went down to six, and then we still thought the flight was going to take off about an hour ago our time here, and then there were more legal actions as a result of the european court of human rights and some legal activity in london. and we've just found out in the past 45 minutes the flight is not leaving, so in a sense they're back to square one to try and get this flight organised. but, of course, there are various legal arguments being put in place as to why it shouldn't be taking off, but certainly tonight, here on salisbury plain in the middle of a county called wiltshire, this flight is going nowhere. jessica simor qc is a human rights barrister, and shejoins us now from london.

thank you much for your time here on newsday. first off can you just explain a little more about the legal reasoning behind the interventions that we saw coming out of court? 50. we saw coming out of court? 50, i don't we saw coming out of court? so, i don't know— we saw coming out of court? so, i don't know if— we saw coming out of court? so, i don't know if we _ we saw coming out of court? so, i don't know if we go through what — i don't know if we go through what happened today, there was an application to the human rights — an application to the human rights court in strasbourg which _ rights court in strasbourg which has the power to ask a state — which has the power to ask a state not _ which has the power to ask a state not to make a deportation. and the court effectively had two reasons why it said _ effectively had two reasons why it said this should not take place _ it said this should not take place. first of all, it said that_ place. first of all, it said that there were... the english court — that there were... the english court itself had accepted that there — court itself had accepted that there were dangers in rwanda, and they— there were dangers in rwanda, and they were concerned about the procedures in rwanda. and because — the procedures in rwanda. and because the english court had in because the english court had ih fact— because the english court had in fact found that it was a serious _ in fact found that it was a serious triable issue whether

rwanda _ serious triable issue whether rwanda was in fact a safe place. _ rwanda was in fact a safe place. a _ rwanda was in fact a safe place, a safe destination, it was — place, a safe destination, it was sensible to stop this deportation until a full hearing could be heard in the english — hearing could be heard in the english courts as to whether it back— english courts as to whether it back to — english courts as to whether it back to the deportations as iegai — back to the deportations as le . al. ., ., legal. 0k, we heard from the government _ legal. 0k, we heard from the government soon _ legal. ok, we heard from the government soon after- legal. 0k, we heard from the government soon after this i government soon after this intervention came in. priti patel tweeting and talking about how they would not be deterred by this and they will continue to push on. can they do that legally speaking? thea;r do that legally speaking? they cannot do that. _ do that legally speaking? they cannot do that. the _ do that legally speaking? they cannot do that. the ruling from strasbourg is binding, binding as true — strasbourg is binding, binding as true in— strasbourg is binding, binding as true in international law, but — as true in international law, but it— as true in international law, but it is— as true in international law, but it is a _ as true in international law, but it is a binding ruling. and they— but it is a binding ruling. and they have _ but it is a binding ruling. and they have complied with it today _ they have complied with it today. so, there is no indication that the government intends — indication that the government intends not to comply with this ruling — intends not to comply with this ruling. the ruling effectively only— ruling. the ruling effectively only continues until there is a hearing — only continues until there is a hearing and a judgment by the english — hearing and a judgment by the english courts about whether these — english courts about whether these people and these deportations and this policy or

tawfut~ — deportations and this policy or lawful. and that is going to take — lawful. and that is going to take place sometime injuly. so, really, this isjust a holding _ so, really, this isjust a holding the ring measure. it's maintaining the status quo untit— maintaining the status quo until the legality of the whole situation has been determined by a _ situation has been determined by a court. situation has been determined by a court-— by a court. just taking that oint by a court. just taking that point forward, _ by a court. just taking that point forward, jessica, - by a court. just taking that. point forward, jessica, what else should we be watching out legally for? what next really in this? ~ , in this? well, next is the hearing. _ in this? well, next is the hearing, and _ in this? well, next is the hearing, and that - in this? well, next is the hearing, and that i - in this? well, next is the i hearing, and that i believe in this? well, next is the - hearing, and that i believe is scheduled to take place sometime injuly. so, it's not very— sometime injuly. so, it's not very tong. _ sometime injuly. so, it's not very long, and in a sense it's rather a _ very long, and in a sense it's rather a surprising idea to carry— rather a surprising idea to carry out— rather a surprising idea to carry out a deportation of 4000 mites on— carry out a deportation of 4000 miles on the basis that you might— miles on the basis that you might actually have to reverse it potentially in six weeks' time — it potentially in six weeks' time and bring the people back. so. i_ time and bring the people back. so, i think we need to wait for now— so, i think we need to wait for now is— so, i think we need to wait for now is we _ so, i think we need to wait for now is we need to wait for the main — now is we need to wait for the main hearing and the judgment in the _ main hearing and the judgment in the main hearing. and then the next — in the main hearing. and then the next stage will be undoubtedly, i would the next stage will be undoubtedly, iwould have

thought, and appeal because even — thought, and appeal because even if— thought, and appeal because even if the asylum—seekers arem — even if the asylum—seekers are... even if they win the case, _ are... even if they win the case, i_ are... even if they win the case, i would've thought it was inevitable _ case, i would've thought it was inevitable that the home secretary will appeal. what do ou secretary will appeal. what do you make _ secretary will appeal. what do you make of — secretary will appeal. what do you make of the _ secretary will appeal. what do you make of the government's argument today about have a need to send these asylum—seekers back to rwanda because it is a deterrent and it also will help stem the problem of human traffic? had the view that justification? problem of human traffic? had the view thatjustification? i the view that justification? i personally view it as a rational— personally view it as a rationaljustification in the sense _ rationaljustification in the sense that you do not punish someone _ sense that you do not punish someone for no offence with no procedure — someone for no offence with no procedure in the hope that it might— procedure in the hope that it might stop someone else from committing an offence. that seems — committing an offence. that seems to— committing an offence. that seems to me in a rational approach. there are of course reat— approach. there are of course real questions, too, about whether— real questions, too, about whether it's lawful under international asylum law. and there — international asylum law. and there are _ international asylum law. and there are real questions about

there are real questions about the status of rwanda and the safety — the status of rwanda and the safety of her which the unhcr itseif — safety of her which the unhcr itself had put to the government. and was before the court _ government. and was before the court. strangely the government have _ court. strangely the government have not— court. strangely the government have not disclosed and because the government did not disclose it, unhcr intervened in the proceedings, which is something that's— proceedings, which is something that's pretty rare for it to do — that's pretty rare for it to do so. _ that's pretty rare for it to do. so, there are three sort of stages — do. so, there are three sort of stages of— do. so, there are three sort of stages of issues for me. gk, do. so, there are three sort of stages of issues for me. 0k, we will leave _ stages of issues for me. 0k, we will leave it _ stages of issues for me. 0k, we will leave it there, _ stages of issues for me. 0k, we will leave it there, jessica, - will leave it there, jessica, thank you very much for your time here on newsday and helping us understand the legalities as they stand and what we can expect will happen in the story next. there's lots more background to this story on our website. that includes where this leaves the government's controversial policy in the first place. you'll find it it all at bbc.com/news, or you can download the bbc news app. let's take a look at some other

stories in the headlines from across the world. the jailed russian opposition leader alexei navalny has been moved from the prison where he was being held and taken to an unknown location. an opposition spokeswoman cited concern saying navalny was now alone within a system that had earlier tried to kill him. the sri lankan cabinet has approved a plan for a three—day weekend for the next three months for most state sector employees as the country faces a crippling fuel shortage. fridays will become paid holiday for staff in non—essential services. it will not apply to employees in key sectors such as health, energy, education and defence. sri lanka is struggling to import fuel, resulting in long queues outside petrol stations. ryanair has dropped a controversial test in the afrikaans language aimed at identifying passengers travelling on fake south african passports. boss michael o'leary said imposing the test "doesn't make any sense". the policy caused outrage in south africa, where many black people associate

afrikaans with the days of white—minority rule. south africa has 11 official languages, and ryanair never explained why it chose afrikaans. air pollution could be shortening the lives of people in delhi by as much as a decade, according to a study by the university of chicago. air quality across india has worsened significantly in the past two decades. in 2019, india had the highest level in the world of tiny particulates which can clog lungs and cause a host of diseases. the highest administrative court in france says it will decide in the coming days whether or not to ban the burkini, or muslim swimming costume, in public swimming pools. the court has examined an appeal from the city of grenoble challenging a ban on a new city ruling allowing burkini swimsuits in public pools.

russia has banned dozens of british journalists, defence executives and government ministers from entering the country. the list includes the bbc�*s clive myrie, orla guerin and nick beake, who have reported from ukraine, and director general tim davie. the editors—in—chief of the times, the daily telegraph, the guardian, the daily mail and the independent were also sanctioned. fierce fighting is continuing in the east of ukraine as russia pushes its advance into the country's industrial heartland. russia says it will give civilians a safe route out of the bombarded eastern city of severodonetsk for 12 hours on wednesday, although attempts to create humanitarian corridors in ukraine have often failed. the international criminal court's chief prosecutor has been in the city of kharkiv to see the devastation for himself, and he said the court would prosecute the highest ranks of

russians responsible. from there, our correspondent wyre davies reports. with this city still under daily attack... so, there was an air strike. ..karim khan's visit to kharkiv was more a statement of intent than gathering evidence. what were the ages of the children that normally you see? that will come later. the international criminal court's chief prosecutor toured several badly damaged parts of the city, including a primary school which was being used as a shelter when it was hit by russian shelling. civilians were killed here. explosions. from the start of the war, russia's been accused of indiscriminate shelling and rocket attacks. this children's hospital peppered with lethal shrapnel from internationally prohibited cluster bombs, one of many such incidents which led to calls for the international criminal court to act. this icc investigation

into alleged war crimes in ukraine has already been fast—tracked, and mr khan has said that they will look into allegations of atrocities by either side. but if the evidence points to the higher levels of the russian military or politics, that is where they will follow. khan's team has already set up base in kyiv, and 42 investigators are already on the ground. but this was his first visit to the eastern front. i will keep on trying to engage with the russian federation because i think any state that wishes to fly the flag of democracy and legality should have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. mr khan didn't have time to stop and talk as he walked past iryna's shell—damaged apartment, but she's in no doubt who his investigation should find accountable. putin! translation: putin and his cronies. - we ukrainians have

already condemned them. this is not the way to do things. we are brothers. we are supposed to respect each other. why are they attacking us? iryna will have to be patient. the war isn't over, and investigations of this magnitude take time. cooperation from moscow is also unlikely to be forthcoming. wyre davies, bbc news, kharkiv. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme, while the supergroup bts are taking a break after nine years together. 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 father to their apartment in kensington palace. germany's parliament, i the bundestag, has voted by a narrow majority to move the seat of government - from bonn to berlin. berliners celebrated into i 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? oh, 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 — the first flight due to deport

asylum—seekers from britain to rwanda has been grounded after a series of legal challenges. the government says they are disappointed, but undeterred. the international criminal court's chief prosecutor visits kharkiv, where ukrainian troops are retaking some territory, but russia contunues it advance in eastern ukraine. the duke and duchess of cambridge have laid a wreath at the foot of grenfell tower in west london as people marked the fifth anniversary of the fire which claimed 72 lives. survivors called forjustice for the bereaved and more immediate action to tackle the threat posed by flammable cladding which still affects tower blocks across britain. here's more from our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. now in their honour, we will observe a 72—second silence. the people who called grenfell home were scattered by the disaster. they returned today — alongside them, neighbours and supporters — to remember friends and relatives

lost to the flames. # i once was lost # but now i'm found...# but this event was also about the survivors. # but now i see...# eight—year—old ayeesha among them. never forget. i will never forget the fire. i will never forget the smoke. i will never forget the sirens. i will never forget how scary the fire was. - worrying the fire was. i will never forget that i survived. i we can't change our pasts, i but we can change the future. never forget. applause. the community group grenfell united said today,

"we don't want our 72 to be remembered for what happened, but for what changed. safer buildings, of course, but also justice." five years have passed, and still...still we have not heard the click of a single pair of handcuffs. but alongside an exhaustive public inquiry, there has been a massive police investigation. i've sometimes been shocked at what i've heard, but what i can say is there is nothing which is being heard at the public inquiry which we from our criminal investigation perspective, are not already aware of. only when the public inquiry produces its final report will criminal charges even be considered. many in this area believe that the tower should stay exactly as it is until people go to prison. but for many survivors, the agony of the wait has made the healing harder. i've always said that, you know, grenfell. was a tragedy in three acts, you know? - the way we were treated before,

the events of the night _ and what happened afterwards. if there had been some criminal convictions, i if people that lived in social housing were never going l to be treated the way| that we were treated, if there was no one going - to bed at night with the same cladding as grenfell on their buildings, i that would be something. but none of that has happened, and that's why it's so painful. . because, people here say, this is not over until justice is done. tom symonds, bbc news, at grenfell tower. thousands of people in beijing are being locked down in their homes and millions are facing compulsory testing after a surge of covid—i9 cases linked to a late—night bar in the chinese capital. it's raised concerns of a city—wide shutdown just as china's second—largest city shanghai slowly re—emerges from a two—month lockdown. let's cross to our china correspondent stephen mcdonell, who's quarantining in a hotel in the southern city of xiamen. he's just returned to china.

good to see you and thanks for coming out for us. give us a sense first off of what it it is really like where you are and also in beijing where we are looking at restrictions once again. are looking at restrictions once again-— are looking at restrictions once again. the rest of the world may _ once again. the rest of the world may have _ once again. the rest of the world may have moved - once again. the rest of the - world may have moved on from all these covid restrictions, but not china. it's the last remaining major economy sticking to a zero covid approach where every new outbreak is squashed or at least the attempt to squash it with very restrictive measures. so, for example, ijust got back into the country and i'm doing two weeks of quarantine. in the south of the country. but there is also quarantine internally in china. if you go from, say, beijing or shanghai to another city, you have to do a core and then people might wonder why would you go then? where would you travel? know somebody who have to start a newjob in a change into they

have no choice so the first to eight weeks of quarantine in that new city and that's within china. other measures, there are is a series being put in place to try to restrict the latest outbreak in beijing sure of a full—scale lockdown. and they include testing millions of people in the district, three days in a row this week, so every person in that district three times this week, but elsewhere if there have been cases in know somebody there whose father went to a supermarket the day before, somebody had visited that same supermarket and turned out to be infected, they have a sticker on the door saying you have to stay home for a weeks of this sort of stuff is going on right across the city. it also the same types of measures are being in shanghai. and people are wondering if and looking around the world and seeing that things have changed elsewhere and wondering how much longer they are going to have to put up with this type

of thing and for the moment the government is saying we are not giving up on this approach for the moment anyway. shrill giving up on this approach for the moment anyway. all right, steve, the moment anyway. all right, steve. we _ the moment anyway. all right, steve, we will _ the moment anyway. all right, steve, we will leave it - the moment anyway. all right, steve, we will leave it there i steve, we will leave it there and thank you very much for that. still in quarantine in the city of xiamen ever coming back into china. costa rica have claimed the final place in this yea r�*s football world cup tournament in qatar. they beat new zealand 1—0 in an intercontinental play—off in which new zealand had a goal disallowed and a player sent off. costa rica have reached their third finals in a row and go into a group with germany, spain and japan. the biggest band to emerge out of south korea's k—pop scene, in pakistan, a senior minister has urged people to help the government reduce its import bill by drinking less tea. the minister said that the government had been borrowing money to buy in the much—loved beverage, and if people reduced consumption by one or two cups

a day, it would help the economy. pakistan is the world's largest importer of tea, buying in more than $600 million worth last year. the biggest band to emerge out of south korea's k—pop scene, bts, have announced that they're taking an extended break to pursue solo projects. bts were the biggest—selling global artists of 2021 and are said to have sold around 34 million albums during their nine—year career. marcus mccoan is an artist and producer who has written songs for bts, and he explained why the band has been so succesful. this is a tough day, a heartbreaking day, but i think also at the same time, there's a lot of excitement and a lot of hope on this day. specifically, even though this announcement did come in a very heartfelt way, we saw the guys talking on a lifestream while eating together and getting emotional, tearing up during the video, talking about what was initially reported as a hiatus. their record label, hybe,

actually came out to clarify that it's not exactly a hiatus, but just that the members will be focusing on more solo projects at this time. and the guys have definitely made it clear that they plan to come together. their plans, they're still signed all with the same record label until 2026 at least, so even though it was tough news to hear today, there's definitely a lot of hope and also a lot of excitement about kind of what the future may hold for them. ok, but also, jeff, one of band members did say the group was going through a rough patch. what do we know on that front? yeah, i think definitely the covid—i9 pandemic was definitely a rough patch for a lot of people just in the world, right? but bts specifically. just before things really started becoming more dire, they had released their latest full—length album, map of the soul: 7. in february 2020,

they had announced plans for a stadium tour. they were actually planning to hit territories they had not visited in a long time or new territories like india and australia. there were a lot of really big plans with this album specifically, and of course all those plans needed to go on hold while we sort of waited for the pandemic and be able to hold in—person events again. and i think at that time, too, the guys also recognised that, you know, there is more that maybe they want to feel creatively and artistically. bts leader rm said very eloquently at one point in this livestream that the k—pop system that they come from is a little difficult to grow creatively and mature, so i think they're finally getting that chance after nine years to kind of expand a bit more maybe on their own versus always maybe working in seven.

that was jeff benjamin there. that's all for this edition of newsday, thank you very much for watching. hello. rarely do we see weather conditions across the uk uniform — and certainly this week, some big contrasts being played out, and we'll continue to see them through the rest of the week. scotland, northern ireland always more in the way of cloud here. some brighter breaks, but also some wetter weather at times. for england and wales, sunshine dominates and increasingly hot and humid — that heat peaking as we head the week out on friday, temperatures widely high—20s, low—30s, into the 90s in fahrenheit for some. and just to put that in context, we're a good 10—12 degrees higher than we'd normally be for this stage in june. so, why? well, it's all down to the fact we've got high pressure to the south and east, which will eventually tap in to building heat across france and spain. but to north and west, close to areas of low pressure will see weather fronts push in, bring in some damper weather at times — and that's exactly how we start wednesday morning across the north and west of scotland. here, though, temperatures

higher than they will be for some in england and wales — 4—5 celsius for some after clear skies through the night, but lots of sunshine to begin with. a bit of cloud building up across wales and northern england through the day, couldn't rule out a shower over the hills, most will be dry, greatest chance of some rain coming and going in the breeze across the north and west of scotland. and a bit more compared with tuesday across northern ireland, though not as windy as it has been. temperatures still lifting here at a degree or so above normal for this stage injune, but up to 27 celsius in the greater london area. pollen levels also a problem for some of you as we go through wednesday, starting to lift up across scotland and northern ireland. and we'll finish here with some outbreaks of rain or drizzle, but most places become dry through the night and into thursday. so, we have some clear skies around into thursday, i—2 spots down to single figures, but what you'll notice through the nights and the end of the week — temperatures by night lifting up, the nights getting muggier and more humid. and quite a humid day to come on thursday — most start dry, but some wetter weather developing for northern ireland, west and southwest scotland later on. to the south and east, though, it'll be a pretty hot one —

temperatures more widely into the mid—20s for england and wales. but the big surge in heat really will come into friday, but this is where the biggest contrast will be, as far as weather's concerned. scotland and northern ireland, a lot of cloud, outbreaks of rain more extensively maybe pushing into the far north of england by the end of the day. temperatures, high—teens, maybe low—20s here. but this is where we could see temperatures into the high—20s, low—30s, especially across central and eastern areas of england. and if that's too much for you, the heat breaks down this weekend, but of course, with some thunderstorms. bye for now.

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 steven sackur. russia's invasion of ukraine has raised anxiety levels across eastern europe, nowhere more so than moldova. this former outpost of the soviet empire shares a border with ukraine. it also hosts a pro—moscow breakaway territory. it is poor, beset with corruption, and it could ultimately be in vladimir putin's sights.

my guest is nicu popescu, moldova's foreign