welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm arunoday mukharji. the headlines — the us announces another $1 billion in military aid for kyiv and urges allies to provide more weapons to help ukraine battle russian forces. the us central bank raises interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point to combat soaring inflation, the biggest hike in nearly 30 years. we have both the tools we need and the resolve that it will take to restore price stability on behalf of american families and businesses. uk prime minister borisjohnson�*s ethics adviser has resigned. lord geidt gave no details other than to say that he felt it was the right thing to do. and the england and wales

cricket board brings charges against yorkshire and several individuals over allegations of racism. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to the programme. it's 7am in the morning in singapore and 1am in brussels, where the us defense secretary has said he will move heaven and earth to ensure ukraine receives the weapons it needs to combat russia's invasion. lloyd austin was speaking at a nato meeting and called on allied countries to urgently increase deliveries of arms during a pivotal moment in the war. here's a glimpse of what secretary austin had to say. we can't afford to let up, and we can't lose steam. the stakes are too high.

ukraine is facing a pivotal moment on the battlefield. and we're seeing what president zelensky warned us about. after failing to take kyiv and reassessing its combat aims, russia has shifted its focus to the donbas. and we can't underestimate the challenge that ukraine faces. a little earlier, president biden announced that the united states will give an extra $1 billion in security assistance to help ukraine fight the russian invasion. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has been given rare access to the us military base in germany where they're coordinating supplies of military aid. western weapons have been arriving in ukraine and are being used to deadly effect. more recently, they've been sending more heavy equipment...

..artillery guns like this, but ukraine says it's still not enough. and they're vastly outgunned by russia. but from this us military base in stuttgart, germany, western nations are working hard to keep the weapons flowing. and the us commander of this highly sensitive operation insists ukraine is getting what it needs. we are giving the ukrainians what they need. we're coordinating with them daily. we have a liaison officer here, it's a three—star general, that sets their priorities, shares it with us and our allies in our daily coordination sessions. and we're able to adjust very rapidly in the donations that are provided across the allies. so, you don't think ukraine's going to run out of weapons and ammunition? we're going to make sure they don't run out of weapons and ammunition. from this austere building,

they're working round—the—clock to prevent russia from winning this war. the attic of this barracks behind me has now become the nerve centre, the hub for coordinating western weapons supplies to ukraine. we've been told we can't film inside for security reasons, but inside, there are military personnel from 26 countries trying to ensure ukraine gets the ammunition and the weapons it needs. this has become a lifeline for ukraine. these are the first photos from inside cleared by the us military. so far, dozens of soldiers from dozens of countries have already helped deliver 66,000 tonnes of military equipment to ukraine worth nearly $8 billion. and they believe it's just the start. here, they're preparing for a very long war. it's not going to be months. well, how long is it going to be? i think we'll be here for a number of years.

they're already preparing to send in american and british multiple rocket launchers. they say once they arrive at secret locations in eastern europe, weapons can get to the front line within 48 hours. ukraine still says it's not enough, but the message from stuttgart is that it's keeping them in the fight. jonathan beale, bbc news, patch barracks, stuttgart. we spoke to retired colonel brendan p kearney, who is now a military affairs analyst after spending 31 years in the us marines. he told us how important it was for ukrainians to receive help from nato. the ukrainians have been forthright and public in asking for help. the us and its european friends and allies, nato, have been providing help here now since the start of these hostilities. the question is can we get enough of it, this additional help, and some of the help just

hasn't been delivered yet that was promised months ago, get in the hands of the ukrainian soldiers so they can defend their homeland. colonel kearney, do you feel that the us and other countries are still falling short and need to do much more than what they're doing right now? you know, that's a great question. and, you know, my knowledge base is that what is publicly being shared, and i believe we're getting an awful lot of the material that the ukrainians have requested across the border into ukraine. and then, of course, it becomes a ukrainian logistics problem to get it to their front—line forces. however, i have to be honest, i'm a little bit sceptical that what we're doing is providing the ukrainians enough of these items to go ahead and adequately defend themselves. and quite honestly, as a military man, i think we have to eventually come to the conclusion that if we want these hostilities

to end, we have to provide them enough equipment and ammunition so that they can win, they can achieve victory. and if we do that, the hostilities stop. at this moment, seeing the kind of support that's been extended, do you see ukraine being able to achieve that? i see ukraine being able to adequately defend itself, but, you know, we essentially have in the donbas region, we essentially have world war i attrition warfare going on. it's... i mean the veterans of world war i would probably feel very comfortable in the trenches of the donbas, but we have to go ahead and look to somebody winning. and, of course, none of us want to see the russians win, and i think ukraine can prevent that. so, that's a case we have to go ahead and look to aiding the ukrainians to the extent that they can win, they can eject the russian forces, the invaders from ukraine. and then i think once that

occurs, and that is not going to be easy, it's going to be months if not out to a year—plus for them to achieve this, but that's what we should be supporting them in their efforts toward. let's turn to the united states, where the central bank has announced that interest rates will rise by three quarters of a percentage point. it's the biggest rate rise in nearly 30 years and part of the federal reserve�*s efforts to combat rising prices. last month, inflation in the us rose to its highest level in four decades. here's the chair of the federal reserve jerome powell. we at the fed understand the hardship that high inflation is causing. we're strongly committed to bringing inflation back down, and we're moving expeditiously to do so. we have both the tools we need and the resolve that it will take to restore price stability on behalf of american families and businesses. the economy and the country have been through a lot over the past 2.5 years and have proved resilient. it is essential that we bring

inflation down if we are to have a sustained period of strong labour market conditions that benefit all. let's turn to the uk, where the ethics adviser for prime minister borisjohnson, lord geidt, has announced his resignation, saying there was a "legitimate question" about the prime minister's conduct in relation to lockdown gatherings in downing street and whether he'd broken the ministerial code. lord geidt, who took up the role in april last year, said he was leaving "with regret". 0ur political editor chris mason reports. i do try, you know, to make things work as well as i can. you can hear the exasperation in lord geidt�*s voice. this was him in front of a committee of mps yesterday. and tonight, this statement of few words and even less detail. lord geidt used to be

the queen's most senior adviser before taking on the job he's just left. his task as independent adviser overseeing and investigating ethics and behaviour in government at a time dominated by rows about the prime minister's own conduct. the ministerial code is very clear in that the sole jurisdiction over it is commanded by the prime minister himself, and that's why, that's how we ensure there's good administration, good governance. and, of course, we are always going to be guided by the rules and the principles in that code, and that's what we always bear in mind as ministers. this very arrangement was clearly awkward for lord geidt. just last month, he said it was a legitimate question to ask if borisjohnson had breached the ministerial code by breaking covid laws, but the code�*s author and guardian, as he put it, were mrjohnson. the prime minister denied such a breach. given that, he was asked yesterday...

..whether you've - contemplated resignation? there are few instruments are available to an independent adviser, and, erm. .. i'm going to take that answer as at least - it was on the agenda. we've mentioned before in evidence that it's always on the agenda as an available remedy to a particular problem and one that my predecessor indeed exercised. that was a reference to the resignation of this man, sir alex allan, who gave up the samejob in november 2020 after finding the home secretary, priti patel, had broken the ministerial code, but borisjohnson wouldn't sack her. tonight, a government spokesman said... the person who should've left downing street tonight is the prime minister himself, and the whole country will be wondering just how long do they have to wait for those tory mps to do the right thing. it's this long—standing public

servant who's walked, leaving plenty of questions behind him. staying with the uk, where the yorkshire cricket club and a number of individuals have been charged by the england and wales cricket board with a breach of its code of conduct. this follows an investigation into racism at the club. the charges relate to bringing the game into disrepute and breaking the anti—discrimination code. the charges surfaced after claims were made last year by the former yorkshire player azeem rafiq. he has welcomed the charges and said the process had been gruelling, but necessary. 0ur sports editor dan roan reports from headingley. english cricket was on a high —

yesterday's stunning victory over new zealand in the second test one of the greatest wins in the team's history. butjust 2a hours later came the latest development in the saga that's cast a shadow over the sport. yorkshire and a number of unnamed individuals charged by the ecb over allegations of racism at the county following a six—month investigation into its handling of claims made by former player azeem rafiq. in a statement, the governing body said... last year, rafiq gave harrowing testimony to mps about the racist abuse he said he'd suffered by some of his former colleagues at yorkshire. there just seems to be an acceptance in the institution from the leaders, and no—one ever stamped it out. the whistle—blower claimed former team—mate gary ballance was among those to have used racist language toward him. ballance said he deeply regretted doing so. former yorkshire and england captain michael vaughan revealed he'd been accused of making racist comments to rafiq and other players, but has repeatedly denied the claims. today, in a statement, rafiq said he welcomed the charges, but that...

last year, yorkshire, who today lost in the county championship, sparked outrage by not disciplining anyone despite rafiq being found to have suffered racial harassment. a damning parliamentary report then concluded discrimination was endemic in the sport. the absolute key thing is what actually happens to the game more generally. can we be certain there are no other yorkshires out there? and we need to be sure that the ecb has a game under its control which is inclusive, which means that everyone from every background can feel safe and can feel welcomed in. having regained the lucrative international hosting rights that it lost in the wake of the scandal after governance reforms and an overhaul in leadership, yorkshire are now preparing to host a buoyant england next week here in the third test. but for both this county and the game at large, moving on from this crisis is proving no easy task. dan roan, bbc news, headingley.

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme, why walt disney's latest animated film is seen as controversial in some markets across asia and the middle east. 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 a0 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. 0ur headlines — the us announces another $1 billion in security assistance for kyiv and urges allies to increase the delivery of weapons to help ukraine battle russian forces. the uk prime minister borisjohnson�*s ethics adviser has resigned. lord geidt gave no details other than to say that he felt it was the right thing to do. getting you news from afghanistan now, where more

breaking news now coming in that brazilian police searching for two missing men that british man dom phillips and brazilian guide bruno pereira, they have found human remains. they have not had a forensic investigation and they will have a news conference in the next hour or so in our correspondent is there we will keep you up—to—date with any updates to come out of that news conference here on bbc world news. getting you news from afghanistan now, where more than a million children are facing severe levels of malnutrition as the country struggles with an economic crisis that's already seen average incomes cut by a third. 0ur afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani reports from kabul. we're in one of afghanistan's busiest markets. there's plenty for sale, but for most families, money is tighter than ever.

this stall tells you how much some are struggling. these sacks are full of stale, leftover bread, normally fed to cattle. now more people than ever are eating it themselves. translation: the better quality | bread is on the top of the bag. i when poor people come to buy, they pick these better ones. look, this one cannot be eaten. before, five people used to buy this bread in a day. now it's more than 20 people. what does it feel like, doing this job and seeing so many people having to buy this bread? translation: i pray to god to get rid of this misery - and poverty from my country. the life of afghan people right now is like a bird which has been locked in a cage with no food or water. bread is the staple food here in afghanistan. but there's a deep economic crisis. international development funding the country relied on has largely been cut off

and central bank reserves frozen by the west over concerns about the taliban's hard—line treatment of women. but its poor families like hashmadullah's who are now struggling with rising food prices. before, did you ever used to have to buy bread from here? translation: in the past, - i used to earn over $6 per day, but now i barely earn $1. i've been working since the morning and can only afford to buy this bread. leftover bread is handed over by bakeries, restaurants and homes to scrap collectors like 14—year—old mohammed. but with around half the country going hungry, there's less bread, less of everything. "there's not enough work and myjob is very hard," mohammed says.

hashmadullah is making his way home after another disappointing day at the market. he's doing his best to keep his three young sons in school rather than sending them out to work. but it means surviving mainly on stale bread, softened with tomatoes and onions. you work hard for your family. how does it feeljust being able to bring this home for them? translation: i feel ashamed in front of my family that i'm l so poor, i can't afford to provide them good food. there is nothing i can do. even if i try to borrow money, no one will lend it to me. my sons are really thin because they're not eating well. i cannot afford meat, even once a month. 0utside kabul�*s bakeries, women wait for loaves of fresh bread to be donated. even when billions were pouring into this country, corruption, the war, meant that life here was a struggle. now the war might be over, but for many, the struggle is getting even harder.

secunder kermani, bbc news, kabul. let's take a look at some other stories making headlines. the man accused of shooting dead ten people last month in the us city of buffalo has been charged with multiple hate crimes. payton gendron, a white teenager, is the first person in new york state to face charges of domestic terrorism motivated by hate. germany has accused the russian state—controlled gas giant gazprom of attempting to push up energy prices further by sharply reducing supplies. gazprom says it's limiting the daily amount of gas it sends through the nord stream pipeline by more than half. a civil lawsuit brought by brigitte macron, the wife of the french president, has begun in which she accuses two people of spreading rumours that she is a transgender woman. the fake news story was spread on social media last year. brigitte macron has said that as a victim of cyber—harassment, she wanted to speak out

and set an example. now to a story that has sparked controversy in some parts of the world. walt disney's latest animated film lightyear, which is a spinoff of the toy story franchise, has been banned in a number of markets across asia and the middle east, mainly in muslim—majority countries. in singapore, children below the age of 16 will not be able to watch it in cinemas. so, why is the film facing a backlash? it's all because of a scene in the movie which shows a female space ranger kissing another woman. we took to the streets of singapore to find out more about what people think about the restrictions. i feel like it's not something that we should prevent our kids from watching. i feel like it's something we should start normalising and start to reflect kids seeing this in media and stuff like that. i have a son, so i mean i wouldn't mind to bring him to watch the movie in the cinemas. i wouldn't mind, yeah. yeah, too bad because of that, we cannot watch. i

maybe next year. i don't want to wait for another year. . laughter. yeah, yeah, but let's sayi if we do watch, i will have to explain to him same thing, that you cannot _ glorify same—sex, . you cannot glorify it. but you have to accept it, i some people are like that. earlier, i spoke with film journalist siobhan synnot for more on this kind of censorship. interesting, isn't it, that disney themselves were inclined to remove the scene and only reinstated that montage which includes the same—sex kiss after a protest by some of their own lgbtq employees. now, it seems from then on disney has put a line in the sand, and what they're saying is, "we're putting this back in, but also we're not going to remove it for other territories that request it." so, as you say, 1a countries you wouldn't be able to see lightyear at all. singapore has opted for this

nc16, which means it's the first children's animated film to be given that rating over lgbt content. is it problematic? it's going to be problematic for china. we're still waiting to hear what china's final decision is, but we hear from the producers of lightyear that they have been asked to make cuts. they haven't specified which cuts, but i think we can guess which ones they are, and they have declined to do that. now china, of course, has banned on—screen depiction of same—sex relationships in the past, like call me by your name and brokeback mountain, but it's also important because it is the world's largest movie market. in 2021, for the second year in a row, it had moviegoers spending 7.3 billion. now compare and contrast with north america, where they spent 11.5 billion in the same year. how difficult does it become for movie—makers to keep such

diverse global sentiments in mind while making these films? well, i mean, this is something that is going to be watched very keenly by other film—makers and other studios. disney has decided to take a stand, but not so long ago warner bros bowed to chinese pressure to remove a six—second dialogue clip from a film called fantastic beastsl the secrets of dumbledore. that sequence showed that its two central male characters were in a romantic relationship. so, disney decided to make a stand. warner have decided that it's better to make sure the film is seen by the widest possible audience. mixed reactions here on the streets of singapore but we will look ahead to see what in china this kind of impact this film has or how it is received there. you can find much more

on our website. but is it that on our website. but is it that on this edition of newsday and thank you for watching and do stay on bbc world news. well, we're certainly turning up the heat over the next couple of days. for southern parts of the uk, this will be a short—lived heat wave. and this is the peak — by friday, london and the southeast up to around 33—34 celsius. look at the average — so we're significantly higher compared to what we would normally see this time of the year. not unprecedented — the record is actually a little above 35 celsius. so we're not beating any records, but it's not that far away, if you think about it. now, this is what's happening on the satellite picture. here's the heat coming in from the south. we've got cooler air in the north atlantic — that cooler air will eventually win, i think by the time we get to saturday into sunday, things will start cooling off and storms will come our way as well, but not in the short term. this is what it looks like thursday morning — clear skies across england

and wales, a bit more cloud in the northwest here with these atlantic weather systems just brushing the northwest of the british isles, and bits and pieces of rain. some of the showers could turn a little heavy in the western isles, perhaps the north of northern ireland through the day. there's another weather front heading our way, but that's to come thursday night. but look at the temperatures — 28 in london, widely mid—20s into yorkshire, for example. we could actually hit 30 celsius on thursday. now, here's a reminder of the pollen levels — if you've been struggling with your nose and itchy eyes, the pollen levels are very high. and also, its worth mentioning the uv levels — we are approaching the longest day of the year, the sun's high in the sky. you know, make sure you're very careful if you're out for any lengthy period of time in that sunshine. so, here's a look at the weather for friday. this will actually be the peak of the heat — so these south—southwesterly winds draw up that hot air from the south, 33—34 celsius, all the hot air coming in from france.

the northwest of the country, much fresher here — this is that cooler atlantic air already starting to spread in. 17 celsius in glasgow. and this is what happens during the course of saturday — so that cooler atlantic air wrapping around this low pressure spreads across the country, here's the cold front. the heat is pushed to the south, back into france, and we get into this area of storminess. so come the weekend, whether you like it or not, after a hot and sunny friday, it's all going to go "bang".

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 minister and deputy pm.