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. in afghanistan, more than a million children are facing malnutrition, as the country struggles with an economic crisis. we hear from the families

desperately trying to get enough to eat. 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. new us aid for ukraine, worth $1 billion, has been announced by president biden in washington. it includes additional artillery and coastal defence weapons, as well as ammunition for artillery and advanced rocket systems. new pledges came from nato members who met in brussels, the us defence secretary said he will move heaven and earth to ensure ukraine receives the weapons it needs to combat

russia's invasion. here's a little what lloyd 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. president zelensky thanked president biden and said he was also grateful to the us for mobilising its partners to help. translation: the united states announced the _ translation: the united states announced the strengthening - translation: the united states announced the strengthening of. announced the strengthening of our defences, an extra £1 billion support package. it is coastal defences, artillery and modern rocket systems. we are waiting. i am gratefulfor the

support which is particularly important for our defences in the donbas. i'm joined now retired army lieutenant colonel and former director of european affairs for the united states national security council, alexander vindman. hejoins us from he joins us from virginia. thank you very much for your time. how significant is this and is this going to be enough? i would not overstate the significance, it is not negligible. $1 billion worth of additional resources with regards to artillery, ammunition, the coastal defence systems in particular will be critical to warn of russia from conduct in an operation against odesa, for instance but it is nowhere near enough. i think this is an inflated number but i think ukrainians are asking for 1000 pieces of artillery. so for the west has provided a few hundred. 108 from the us so

far, another 18 in this package. artillery is coming through really quickly and they are expending ammunition, they need much bigger numbers, drones, more of these rocket systems that both the us and the uk are now providing. there is clearly a _ the uk are now providing. there is clearly a requirement - the uk are now providing. there is clearly a requirement for- is clearly a requirement for more. what do you think of other nato countries and their contributions so far? how much more really needs to be done? so what i would described thus far is more of a trickle. still a trickle stopping the rhetoric is about providing ukraine all the support it needs to defend itself. right now i would say thatis, itself. right now i would say that is, i wouldn't say it is empty rhetoric but we are nowhere near realising that kind of goal and aim. and if there is a divergence between or within nato, the us and uk are doing wrinkly right a bit. countries like france and germany are not doing nearly

enough. 0nly germany are not doing nearly enough. only now does it look like germany is finally going to start to transfer some heavy weapon systems that they promised ukraine for this war has been going on forfour months, for half of that time germany has been promising heavy weapons, they haven't delivered. a lot of that is because the german military really, frankly, isn't prepared to defend another country let alone itself, or another country so they have to kind of build up but there is nowhere near enough being done stopping the biggest things that can make a difference right now are these long—range rocket systems that can start to close the gap with ukrainians and drones. very briefly, what are the practicalities of getting these weapons to the frontline? so there weapons to the frontline? sr there are various different hurdles. there are logistics choke points getting into europe. i would say that those

are overcome a bull. you just need the right people with the right focus. then you have the more narrow logistics pipes going into ukraine stopping there are less kind of roads and they are now vulnerable to the occasional russian attack and it has to go all the way to the east, that becomes a much more difficult problem because equipment gets picked off along the way and that is an eternal problem to ukraine to fix. right. lieutenant colonel alexander vindman, thank you very much for your time and inputs on the problem. 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 take a look at some other stories in the 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 suspected white supremacist, is the first person in new york state to face charges of domestic terrorism motivated by hate. the uk government says its disappointed the european union is launching legal action in response to its plans to change the post—brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland. the european commission said the measures announced

on monday were illegal and there was no justification for them. a second ethics adviser to the british prime minister has tendered his resignation, in a move that has taken downing street by surprise. christopher geidt said he felt it was the right thing to do. he has previously said he thought there were legitimate questions over whether borisjohnson had broken the ministerial code. 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. the government of el salvador has dismissed ongoing worries about its public finances after economists raised further concern about its adoption of bitcoin. a crash in cryptocurrencies has affected investors worldwide, with tokens such as bitcoin losing billions of dollars' worth in value.

a civil law suit 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. 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. humanitarian aid is being delivered, but wider development funding is missing, and there are warnings that much more help is needed. 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 make over $6 per day, but now i barely earn $1. i've been working since this morning, and all i can afford to buy is 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 feel just being able to bring this home for them? translation: | feel ashamed in front - of my family that i'm so poor, i cannot afford to provide 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 bring you some breaking news, police in brazil searching for the bodies of two men, a britishjournalist don phillips and a brazilian expert on indigenous people, bruno pereira, have found some human remains. we understand forensic analysis is yet to take place. police in the city of manus, in the amazon, are holding a news conference. we can show you pictures of that news conference 110w. police said a suspect has confessed to killing the two men, and he apparently led detectives through thick forest to the place where the bodies were found. again, forensic analysis is yet to take place. police say they can't say the motive, even though they think they know, but it's under confidential investigation.

0ur correspondent is at the conference, and we will bring you more information here on bbc world news. 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 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. 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. let's stay with that main story. 0ur defence correspondent jonathan beale has been given rare access to the us military base in germany

where they're co—ordinating 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 co—ordinating 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 co—ordination 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 co—ordinating 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. in the uk, 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 aren't 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 it. 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. now to a story that has sparked controversy in some parts of the world. walt disney's latest animated film, lightyear, which is a spin—off 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 sayl 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 lg bt 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 beasts: 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 that the film is seen to the widest possible audience. and finally, if you're looking for an excuse to buy a dog for the family, this mightjust be it. a new study has found that spending time with a dog can lead to significantly lower stress levels in children researchers tracked the level of the stress hormone in children aged between eight and nine. children who spent 20 minutes with a trained dog and handler had lower stress levels over the course of the school term. you have been watching newsday. a reminder of our main story: the us is to provide a billion dollars' worth of new military aid to ukraine to combat russian forces. new pledges have also come from nato members. the us defence secretary told

them "he would move heaven and earth" to ensure ukraine received the weapons it needed. that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. well, we're certainly turning up the heat over the next couple of days. for southern parts of the uk, this is going to 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 will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme.

yeah, yeah, yeah. right, i'm ready to go. are you keen to answer it as well? oh, yes, yes. you can stop to think about an answer, you don't have to do it all in one go — it'sjust a conversation with me and i'll take you — i'll take you through the experiences. absolutely, yeah. um, yeah, 0k. clapper bangs. you're literally lying face down, pressed yourface into this frozen earth, thinking, "i don't want to die here. "i don't want to die here. "why?" yeah. you know, that, i think — well, it was, for all of us, it was hugely traumatic. there's corpses of your enemy, corpses of your friends, you know, just lying there. it had a massive effect on me and i know it had a massive effect on a lot of my friends, too. that scene of horror will never, never leave my mind. not a single day in the last 40

years have gone by when i'vel not thought about it.