hello and welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm arunoday mukharji. let's get you the headlines: in an exclusive interview with the bbc, the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov refuses to say his country has invaded ukraine — repeating the official kremlin line that there is no war. translation: we didn't invade ukraine. we declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the west that dragging ukraine into nato as a criminal act. in dramatic testimony, the committee investigating the january 6 attack on the us capitol hears that rioters

got within a0 feet of the vice president. uk interest rates hit their highest level for 13 years, in a bid to stem the pace of soaring prices. and in central africa, the race to stop the plunder of rich peatlands and the release of damaging carbon dioxide. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in russia. one of president vladimir putin's closest advisers, the foreign minister sergei lavrov, has told the bbc that russia has not invaded ukraine and he's repeated the official line from the kremlin that there is no war, but it's a "special military operation". mr lavrov has been at the heart of power in russia for over 20 years and represented the country

on the international stage for nearly two decades. earlier today, he spoke to our russia editor steve rosenberg. it was the first time sergei lavrov had agreed to meet since moscow launched its offensive in ukraine. russia's government has created a parallel reality. invasion, what invasion? translation: we didn't invade ukraine. - we declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the west that dragging ukraine into nato was a criminal act. russia's special operation has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths in ukraine. moscow claims its protecting russian speakers and fighting nazis. i quoted a un report about a ukrainian village

where russian soldiers had forced hundreds of people, including 7a children, to spend a month in a basement with no toilet, no water. ten people had died. is that fighting nazis, i asked? translation: unfortunately, i it's a great pity, but international diplomats, including the un high commissionerfor human rights, the un secretary—general and other un representatives, are being put under pressure by the west. and very often they're being used to amplify fake news spread by the west. translation: so you're saying that russia's squeaky clean? translation: no, russia is not squeaky clean. - russia is what it is. and we are not ashamed of showing who we are. and what of the two british men sentenced to death by a russian proxy court in rebel—held

eastern ukraine? aiden aslin and shaun pinner had been fighting for ukraine. i tell mr lavrov that in the eyes of the west, russia is responsible for their fate. translation: i am not interested i in the eyes of the west at all. i i am only interested in international law. according to international law, mercenaries are not recognised as combatants. translation: but they're not mercenaries, they served in the ukrainian army. translation: this should be decided by a court. - translation: you think the court is independent there? translation: i'm convinced - there are independent courts there. do you think your courts are independent? and on uk—russian relations, no expectation of an improvement. translation: i don't think there's| any room for manoeuvre any more, because both borisjohnson and liz truss say openly that we should defeat russia,

we should force russia to its knees. go on then, do it. let's also look at what's happening in ukraine. the leaders of the three most powerful countries in the european union, italy, germany and france, visited kyiv today. french president emmanuel macron, german chancellor olaf scholz and italian prime minister mario draghi travelled by overnight train. the trio visited irpin, just outside of kyiv, where they saw evidence of the destruction caused by indiscriminate russian shelling. and they also met with president zelensky. all leaders committing to increase their support for ukraine, with more money, more humanitarian aid and, most importantly for ukraine, with more weapons. our international correspondent orla guerin hasjoined troops in the kharkiv region. orla is currently near kostiantynivka. every flag marks a new grave, a fallen soldier in ukraine's war...

..anotherfather or husband or son... ..like denis gordeyev, a former lawyer and human rights activist, mourned by his brothers in arms. under the summer sun, a bitter harvest. this farmer points skywards and warns us there's a russian drone overhead. in the trenches nearby, bordering donbas, a fighter — nicknamed old pal — watches for the enemy and sees all he has lost. "i'm looking at that field, and it's so painful," he says,

"because i used to be a farmer. "i used to cultivate that land, to reap and sow. "i haven't seen my two children or my two little grandchildren "since the war broke out." further along the trench, we find artem trapped by this war. very hard, because i don't see my family — my mother, sister, brother. very scared... ..because i must kill people. the russians are less than four miles away. here in this position, ukrainian forces have held their ground. they've blocked the russians advancing, but they say in order to push the russians back,

they need a lot more heavy weapons and they need ammunition. for now, the troops wait — for the next battle and the next burials. they face an enemy that, in places, may have 20 times as many big guns. in the trenches, many are resigned to a long war. orla guerin, bbc news, izyum. to washington now, where the third day of the january 6 committee hearings hasjust wrapped up. it's been focused on mike pence, and connecting donald trump's intense pressure campaign on his vice president not to certify the election results. the hearings also included details of the violent intentions of the mob that stormed the capitol, demanding that mike pence be dragged out of the capitol building.

on thursday, the committee heard from two of pence's white house advisers, who testified that the vice president had been pressured to unilaterally and illegally overturn the election. one witness was] michael luttig, a formerjudge and inluential figure in the conservative legal community. he said if pence had done as trump asked, it would have been "tantamount to revolution" and that this remains a continuing threat. donald trump and his allies and supporters... ..are a clear and present danger to american democracy. let's get the latest from our north america correspondent peter bowes.

thanks very much, peter, for coming up thanks very much, peter, for coming up for us. testimony is really mounting against the former president donald trump. what stood out for you enters a's hearing this? this was really powerful, it was a compelling hearing, focusing, as you have said, on the role of mike pence and i think the message that really comes through is, and we have heard the testimony or heard of the testimony of several people who were part of the trump administration, seniorfigures working part of the trump administration, senior figures working with mike pence, this chief of staff and his legal counsel, talk about how president trump knew that what he was asking that his vice president was asking that his vice president was illegal. he was essentially told that by the lawyer that came up with this plan, a lawyer who actually acknowledged that it would not pass legal scrutiny, that perhaps if it went to the supreme court, it will be knocked down, so the message seemed to be very strong, that they believe this to trump had illegal

intentions and that he knew it —— mr trump had. intentions and that he knew it -- mr trump had-— intentions and that he knew it -- mr trum had. ., ., ., , trump had. peter, how important was it also that we — trump had. peter, how important was it also that we saw _ trump had. peter, how important was it also that we saw the _ trump had. peter, how important was it also that we saw the appeal- it also that we saw the appeal coming from the chair, betty thompson, asking those on the fence to cooperate with the investigation and reach out to the committee? i think that is important, because this is still an ongoing process —— bennie. we know the next hearing is going to focus on the apparent threats made against state officials, republican state officials, republican state officials, not to certify the election results in their areas. that was usually contentious at the time. and i think that appeal by the committee chairman was essentially to folks who are indeed sitting on the fence, who perhaps have refused to give evidence before this committee, having seen what has happened over the last week or so, that they might want to change their minds and come forward with their stories to ultimately produce as big

a picture as possible. what they're doing is really teasing apart here the events that up to that attack on congress, and we are hearing about events and conversations that took place in the oval office between mr trump and mr pence, we are hearing detail that we have not heard before, and we are hearing about the anger coming from donald trump against his vice president, had made it very clear that he wasn't going to go along with the president's plan. to go along with the president's lan. �* ., , to go along with the president's ian, �* ., , ., ~' to go along with the president's ian, , ., ~' to go along with the president's plan. peter bowes, thank you very much for putting — plan. peter bowes, thank you very much for putting that _ plan. peter bowes, thank you very much for putting that into - much for putting that into perspective and giving us all the very latest. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the race to stop the plunder of rich peatlands in central africa and the release of damaging carbon dioxide. 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 theirapartment 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? 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!

welcome back to newsday on the bbc with me, arunoday mukharji, in singapore. a look at our top story once again: the cost of borrowing has gone up in britain. the bank of england has put up interest rates to 1.25% as it forecast that inflation would now exceed 11% in october. the increase of a quarter of one percentage point is the fifth rate rise since december. our economics editor faisal islam reports. on the outskirts of doncaster, a successful business, the crown hotel, grappling with energy, food prices and wages going up at the same time that household income is being squeezed, and now a relentless run of interest rate rises, that hits some borrowers such as craig, on variable rates, within hours. we've got a mortgage, you know, on the hotel and the very day the bank of england have put the rates up, we get

an e—mail — going up. i fail to see how hitting a business with higher rates of interest, which get passed on — itjust adds on to all the other costs. it's just a perfect storm. it's carnage. it's almost like they're trying to temper a consumer boom, but do you see much sign of a consumer boom? there's no consumer boom to temper. outside the bank of england, things seem bright, but inside, the bank'sjob is somewhat less sunny — to bring down rampant rises in prices, or at least stop them lasting for years rather than months. and that means making the cost of borrowing for households and businesses more expensive, slowing the economy. so, today, the base rate, which is the foundation of costs of credit cards, loans and mortgages, was lifted again to a 13—year high of i.25%. but as you can see from the chart, even at these post—financial crisis highs, it's still a rather low rate of interest by historic standards. and this is why rates are going up, because inflation, already at a ito—year high of 9%, isn'tjust heading for double digits. now the bank thinks it could hit 11%

in autumn as energy prices and sterling's fall push inflation yet higher. of course, where it is very difficult is the balance between bringing inflation down and tipping the economy into recession. i think it's quite possible that we will see a period of contracting output. so off target is the rise in inflation that governor andrew bailey has had to write a letter of explanation to the chancellor. it's notjust on this road in peterlee in county durham where people are looking for explanations, too. i would say that every single area is going to struggle. _ so, even the more... the better off areas - around the local villages, they're still going to struggle as much as everyone else is. | it's not just one - category of person. and can you see people cutting back and spending less? i think they're going to have to. the evidence from here on the ground and increasingly across the economy raises a fundamental question about how many rises from andrew bailey, or anyone at the bank of england, are now required.

the crushing effect of the cost—of—living crisis is already slowing the economy down markedly. back in doncaster, the last straw — using one instead of two in the hotel bar's cocktails is one response to very high inflation. even though the economy is now likely to be shrinking, the bank of england still on course for further rises in interest rates. a soft landing far from certain. faisal islam, bbc news. let's return to the us capitol attack hearings in washington. and is the testimony we've heard cutting through to independents and trump supporters? ron filipkowski is a veteran and former federal prosecutor who now monitors the american far right. he is with us on the broadcast. thank you very much for being with us here on newsday. in fact, i'm going to start with that point

itself. how is the far right doing these hearings? it’s itself. how is the far right doing these hearings?— these hearings? it's a good question- _ these hearings? it's a good question. their _ these hearings? it's a good question. their main - these hearings? it's a good l question. their main strategy these hearings? it's a good - question. their main strategy seems to be deflect and distract. they have used a number of different attacks, lines of attacks, in terms of trying to discredit what is happening. of course, they all claim that they are not washing the hearings, but of course they are, because they comment on it quite often, so, yeah, they've taken a number of different attacks. there is been about five or six different approaches they have taken to try and defend donald trump on these allegations. it is and defend donald trump on these alleuations. , ., ., ., allegations. it is a hearing that has garnered _ allegations. it is a hearing that has garnered a _ allegations. it is a hearing that has garnered a lot _ allegations. it is a hearing that has garnered a lot of _ allegations. it is a hearing that has garnered a lot of media . has garnered a lot of media attention, just talking about how these have been observed and perceived ability and of reactions... how is the public responded to the hearings? it’s reactions... how is the public responded to the hearings? it's a ve aood responded to the hearings? it's a very good question. _ responded to the hearings? it's a very good question. the - responded to the hearings? it�*s —. very good question. the partisans on both sides are pretty hardened, but the question we don't really know very well is how people in the middle who don't take that much

attention to the news every day or politics, who are only seeing clips of the hearing, on local news stations, so have not releasing any pulling out yet as far as what the general public, within this is had any impact on them, but this is certainly lecture for the partisans on both sides, that's for sure. —— has certainly electrified. and on both sides, that's for sure. -- has certainly electrified.- has certainly electrified. and the olitics of has certainly electrified. and the politics of it _ has certainly electrified. and the politics of it all _ has certainly electrified. and the politics of it all - _ has certainly electrified. and the politics of it all - are _ has certainly electrified. and the politics of it all - are these - politics of it all — are these public hearings and testimonies like it to make a difference, do you feel, the donald trump and his support for republicans especially going into the midterms? i don't... the midterms _ going into the midterms? i don't... the midterms is _ going into the midterms? i don't... the midterms is an _ going into the midterms? i don't... the midterms is an open _ going into the midterms? i don't... the midterms is an open question. | the midterms is an open question. what i have seen, and monitoring their traffic, what i have seen, and monitoring theirtraffic, is what i have seen, and monitoring their traffic, is a shift off of donald trump towards florida's under ron desantis as probably a better, less controversial, cleaner option for them to run for president in 2024 -- for them to run for president in 2024 —— lorde's governor. but of

course, the big problem with that, is, will donald trump allow that to happen, assuming he is not injail? that is pretty doubtful, but you do see among the more and more, as the hearing has gone on, among the rank—and—file republicans, a shift off of donald trump, onto his successor, most likely ron desantis. very briefly, this was the third public hearing. what stood out for you most? what big point? the fact that the peeple _ you most? what big point? the fact that the people closest _ you most? what big point? the fact that the people closest to _ you most? what big point? the fact that the people closest to the - that the people closest to the president knew what they were doing was illegal and knew was wrong, admitted that to each other, but then were continuing to go on television and tell the american public the opposite. that opens up criminal liability but the fact that they knew what they were doing was illegal, and that was the most interesting part of today. ran interesting part of today. ron filipkowski. _ interesting part of today. ron filipkowski, thank _ interesting part of today. ron filipkowski, thank you very much for your time and perspective on that

story that we continue to track. another story that we are continuing to track. in australia, the government is urging eight million people in the state of new south wales to turn off their lights and appliances for two hours every night, to tackle an energy crisis. it's a result of increased winter demand, ageing coal power stations that are offline for maintenance and soaring global energy prices. there are warnings that without action, the state could face unexpected blackouts. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. the united nations has denounced the murder of a brazilian indigenous affairs expert and a british journalist in brazil's amazon region. the un human rights office has called the killing of bruno pereira and dom phillips a brutal and appalling act of violence. the police have detained two people. one is said to have confessed to the killings. they happened in a remote area that's home to many isolated a uk consumer champion has begun

a $900 million legal claim against apple computers. justin gutmann has accused apple of misleading customers over a software update, which is said to have slowed down some devices and drained the batteries more quickly. apple insists it would never do anything to intentionally shorten the life of its products. in central africa, a giant slab of carbon—rich peat, discovered by a team of british and congolese scientists, is under threat from oil companies. the carbon must be kept in the ground to avoid boosting climate change. but some plots have already been sold for oil exploration, and the republic of the congo wants to develop the area for agriculture, unless richer nations deliver more financial assistance. our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. in the vast forests of central africa, a group of scientists are hacking their way towards a remarkable discovery. this formidable team has spent years tracing the outlines of something huge and hidden and precious.

just entering the coordinates of a point that's about three kilometres away. it's gruelling work in near impenetrable swamps full of snakes and crocodiles, but the scientists, using hand—held drills, have discovered a fantastically large expanse of peat. so we want as many samples as possible from as many different locations. and this rotting vegetation is important, because it traps carbon. we estimate that there's around 30 billion tonnes of carbon stored in the peatlands of the cuvette centrale in the congo basin. and that's equivalent to around 20 years of us fossil fuel emissions, so a huge amount of carbon. the scientists here have discovered something extraordinary in these swamps — a slab of peat that's two metres deep and as large as england. it's the biggest of its kind anywhere in the world, and that makes it incredibly

important when it comes to climate change. if all this carbon is released into the atmosphere, it's going to we can say accelerate the global change, climate change. and do you think that is a realistic threat? i think it's a threat, yeah. the congo peatlands have been quietly trapping and storing carbon dioxide for thousands of years, but humans could change all that — fast. these vast peatlands are already under threat. that's because all around the congo peat basin, developers, farmers, growing populations are looking for ways to make money out of this land. we found these farmers tapping palm trees for palm wine, but the process kills the trees and exposes the peat below, so how to save all this?

translation: congo's peatlands are the world's lungs. _ but rich nations, the biggest polluters, should pay for that service, should pay to protect them. why should we stay poor so you can breathe? a reasonable question, but outside help has been slow to reach these isolated forests. is it your sense that the international community has shown commitment, money, to sort this? i think not yet, not enough money. i think these ecosystems aren't yet valued as they should be at an international level. the scientists have done their work. now the race is on to prevent these precious peatlands from going up in smoke. andrew harding, bbc news, in the republic of congo.

that's all on this edition of newsday. thanks very much for watching. stay with bbc world news. hello. friday is set to bring the peak of the heat that has been building over the last couple of days, especially across england and wales. on thursday, scotland and northern ireland stayed that bit cooler, but cardiff got to 26 — to the west of london, a high of 29.5 celsius. but that's nothing compared with the temperatures we've seen in southwest europe. this 40 in southern france on thursday is a record—breaker — the earliest point in the year that france has recorded a temperature of 40 celsius. and some of that extra heat will waft northwards on friday into the southeast corner, highs of 33 — always cooler further north and west. these are the starting temperatures for friday — quite warm and muggy out there first thing. we've got outbreaks of rain pushing down across parts of scotland into northern ireland — and this is a bit of a dividing line because, behind this,

we are into cooler, fresher conditions, quite windy, as well. but ahead of our band of cloud and rain, lots of hot sunshine. some mist and murk perhaps for some western coasts, but east wales, the west country, into the midlands, a good part of eastern england, the southeast seeing temperatures into the high—20s or low—30s — likely to peak somewhere around 33 celsius. with very high uv levels in these southern parts, the sun is very, very strong at this time of year. now through friday night, this band of cloud continues to sink southwards. a weak weather front at this stage, not much rain on it — but to the north of it, we're into the cool air. to the south of it, still very warm and muggy — 18 likely to be the starting temperature in the centre of london on saturday morning. so you can see that warm air clinging on in the south, but further north and west, something cooler and fresher to the north of this weather front. now, along the line of the weather front, on saturday, we'll see some outbreaks of rain starting to develop.

some of this rain could be heavy, possibly thundery. also some showers into the northwest of scotland. generally, quite a lot of sunshine across the northern half of the uk. temperatures for most of us at this stage in the high teens, but still 27 in london, maybe 29 across parts of southern and southeastern england. but by sunday, the cooler air does win out — however, still some heavy, thundery downpours in the south and especially the southwest. elsewhere, a lot of dry weather, but largely northerly winds by this stage, so temperatures at best between 14—20 celsius.

this is bbc news. the headlines: in an exculsive interview with the bbc, russia's foreign minister refused to say his county has invaded ukraine — repeating the official kremlin line that there is no war, just a "special military operation". the leaders of germany, france, italy and romania have been visiting ukraine, in a show of support. they met president zelensky and saw damage inflicted by russia. they're backing ukraine's bid to become an eu member. an independent investigation has found that physical and emotional abuse was "systemic" within british gymnastics. the whyte review found athletes were made to train on injuries, punished for needing the toilet and had their bags searched for food. the third public hearing of a us congressional committee has been

told by a retired us federaljudge that attempts to block