hello, and welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm arunoday mukharji. lets get you the headlines... a powerful earthquake kills more than a thousand people in afghanistan. the taliban appeal for international help. the scale of this disaster is hard to the scale of this disaster is hard t. . ., , ~ the scale of this disaster is hard to comprehend. all villages have been flattened. _ to comprehend. all villages have been flattened. this _ to comprehend. all villages have been flattened. this is _ to comprehend. all villages have been flattened. this isjust - to comprehend. all villages have been flattened. this isjust the i been flattened. this is just the start of this crisis. as russian forces advance on the remaining ukrainian held towns in the donbas, we join a group of volunteers trying to evacuate civilians from the area. anotherfamily another family has just been loaded into the trap. another family saying goodbye to their home and to their

lives. —— loaded into the truck. and glastonbury is back after the pandemic. the crowds are heading to the iconic music festival in england, hoping for sunshine. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to the programme. it's 6am in singapore, and 2.30am in afghanistan — where humanitarian agencies are scrambling to organise emergency shelter and food aid, following an earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people. un staff say medical teams and supplies have been despatched to the worst—hit province, paktika. hundreds of houses there were destroyed by the magnitude 6.1 event, and hundreds of homeless families are facing a powerful storm and very heavy rain. 0ur correspondent secunder kermani is in sharana, the capital

of paktika province, where casualties from the earthquake are being cared for. a desperate search for survivors. hundreds of homes, entire communities, wiped out in a single dreadful moment in the middle of the night. "everything here has been destroyed," says the man filming this video. the villages worst affected by this earthquake are in remote south—eastern afghanistan. with no paved roads, helicopters were used to transport some of the injured to hospital. "there was a rumbling, and my bed began to shake," shabir tells us. "the ceiling fell down. i was trapped, but i could see the sky. my shoulder was dislocated and my head was hurt, but i got out. i'm sure seven or nine people

from my family who were in the same room as me are dead." at the hospital in the city of sharana, patients are treated for their wounds. there's a fight to save lives, but thoughts are already turning to what happens next. shelter is now a crucial need, because all the houses have been collapsed. food, medicine, you know? i mean, human things that are really, really essential. the scale of this disaster is hard to comprehend. all these people have gathered to donate blood in case it is needed, but whole villages have been flattened. this is just the start of this crisis. this one—year—old was struck on the head by a piece of debris. "three of our relatives were trapped under the rubble," says shamira, his grandmother. "there's nothing left of our house. if someone buys us a tent, we'll find a place to

put it and live there. we have no choice." taliban officials have called for aid agencies to help provide support. many are rushing towards the epicentre, though bad weather could hamper their efforts. this was a country already struggling with a humanitarian crisis, with millions going hungry. now, the misery is intensifying. secunder kermani, bbc news, paktika province. now, to the war in ukraine — russian forces are closing in on the beleaguered city of lysychansk, in the donbas region, where russia has been focusing much of its firepower. artillery attacks on the city have intensified in recent days, and military sources have told the bbc the russians are less than three kilometres away. they've already captured almost all the neighbouring city of severodonetsk,

where fierce fighting is continuing. local officials say about 7—8,000 civilians are still there in lysychansk, compared to the pre—war population of 100,000. 0ur international correspondent 0rla guerin, and video journalist colm 0'molloy, joined volunteers who are busy evacuating civilians from the city while there is still time. 0n the road to war. ukrainian tanks heading towards lysychansk laden with troops. we follow a team of volunteers risking their lives to get others out. along the way, they stop for a daily ritual, praying to god to keep them safe. inside the city, the hallmark of russia's invasion — destruction,

which comes without warning. this shell exploded in front of our convoy. without the pause for prayer, we would have been right in its path. and, yeah, something just landed very close, so we're going to go here and check out what the situation is in town. but it's been landing the whole day very close to the police, so that whole area is very dangerous. 10—15 minutes... at the first stop, katya grabs a few documents from the cherished home where she raised her son. they are leaving with next to nothing. one more ukrainian family uprooted.

"we realise there'll be no happy ending here," katya says. "after the shell landed outside our yard yesterday, we lost all hope of saving ourselves without help." and help comes from anton yaremchuk. he co—founded the aid group base ua with friends. for two months, they've been doing rescue missions on the front lines. they bring out sasha, a suspected stroke victim, who has had no medical help for five days. "sasha, don't be scared," says a relative. "everything is going to be fine." but sasha can no longer speak. are you worried that a lot of people

will be left behind? that it willjust be too late to reach them? i know for sure, i know for sure that they will be left behind. i know that street fights will happen here for weeks or maybe months, and obviously these people shouldn't stay behind, but they will, and many of them will die orjust stay under horrible circumstances for ages. and those who remain are witnessing the death of their city. this was a community arts centre. lysychansk is being hollowed out by loss. and by anguish. a father robbed of his son when the russians hit a field with a cluster bomb. some still have time to grab their belongings and flee with their children. like nina, a mother of four,

clutching her toddler katya. she and her family have just emerged from months in a basement. her 12—year—old is old enough to help with bags and understand adult worries. it's all too much. nina says she tries to calm the younger ones by telling them it will all be ok. well, another family has just been loaded into the truck, another family saying goodbye to their home and their lives. the light is fading here now. there isn't much time to evacuate more people tonight, and the sound of explosions is getting louder and closer. they were driven away to relative safety at sunset.

the russians are closing in. lysychansk is running out of time. 0rla guerin, bbc news, eastern ukraine. staying with events in ukraine — russia says it's drawing up plans to retaliate against lithuania, which has stopped goods under eu sanctions moving to the russian territory of an crowd kaliningrad. kaliningrad doesn't have a land border with russia and is surrounded by countries of the european union, so russia relies heavily on goods moving by rail through lithuania. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg reports from the region. it is a piece of russia in the heart of europe. kaliningrad is 300 miles from mainland russia. russia's outpost and fortress. this is the home of the baltic fleet. for supplies, it has relied on rail links through lithuania,

but because of eu sanctions, the transit of key russian goods is now banned. and that's a problem for igor pleshkov�*s concrete plant. it's barely operating as it is. and with russian cement now on the sanctions list, that's another blow to his business. translation: the sanctions | won't only affect our business, they will affect everyone. our factory is at a standstill. we aren't making anything, so the builders can't build anything. there is a chain reaction. lithuania insists it has not blockaded kaliningrad. russian passengers can transit freely through lithuania to get here, and so can russian goods that are not on the eu sanctions list. that hasn't silenced the chorus of criticism from russian officials, or the sabre—rattling. this week, the hawkish head of russia's security council flew to kaliningrad.

nikolai patrushev attacked the west and denounced the transit ban as a hostile act. he warned of serious negative consequences for the lithuanian people. today, his boss, president putin, marked the anniversary of the nazi invasion of the soviet union. the kremlin leader has yet to announce his response to the ban. the message from america — don't even think of involving the russian army. our commitment to nato, and specifically our commitment to nato's article 5, the premise that an attack on one would constitute an attack on all, that commitment on the part of the united states is ironclad. and what does fisherman sergei think? well, like many of the people i spoke to in kaliningrad, he doesn't blame lithuania or the west. "we need to re—establish relations,

make them better," sergei says. "i want peace and friendship with all countries." cooperation instead of confrontation — that is not the kremlin line. steve rosenberg, bbc news, kaliningrad. let's take a look at some of the stories making headlines in the uk... health officials are urging people to make sure they're fully immunised against polio because the virus has been found in multiple sewage samples in london. the uk health security agency says the discoveries were made during the past four months. prices in the uk have continued to rise at their fastest rate in a0 years, with food costs — particularly for bread, cereal and meat — going up. inflation was up to 9.1% in the 12 months to may, up from 9% in april. workers and unions are pushing for pay rises to cope with the increased cost of living. a statue in tribute to the families

who migrated from the caribbean to the uk has been unveiled at waterloo railway station in london. the national monument recognises the thousands of people known as the "windrush generation" who arrived between 19118 and 1971. in a written message, the queen paid tribute to the "profound contribution" of the windrush "pioneers". you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: as extreme weather events become more common, we hear about the impact from our correspondents around the globe. members of the neo—nazi resistance movement stormed the world trade center armed with pistols and shotguns. we believe that, according to international law, that we have a right to claim certain parts of this country as our land. i take pride in the words

"ich bin ein berliner." cheering as the uk woke up to the news that it is to exit the european union, leave campaigners began celebrating. in total, 17.4 million people voted for the uk to leave the eu. the medical research council has now advised the government that the great increase in lung cancer is due mainly to smoking tobacco. which, for 29 years, has stood on the border as a mark it was closing time for checkpoint charlie, which, for 29 years, has stood on the border as a mark of allied determination to defend the city. welcome back to newsday on the bbc with me, arunoday mukharji, in singapore. a check of our top story once again... aid agencies say they're scrambling to get emergency assistance to afghanistan, to help survivors of a powerful

earthquake which has killed at least 1,000 people. around the world, extreme weather is becoming more and more common. exacerbated by climate change, these events are growing more severe and affecting the lives of billions of people. let's hearfrom bbc correspondents around the world — from the impact of drought in east africa, to the record heat in spain, and extreme rainfall in china. we begin with flooding in south africa and our correspondent pumza fihlani, injohannesburg. weather experts described the floods that devastated kwazulu natal in april as the worst seen in that region in 16 years. in a matter of two days of rainfall, thousands of homes were flattened, roads were destroyed, and thousands worth of infrastructure brought to nought. it's been two months since then and people have barely begun to rebuild. officials say lessons need to be

learned on how to better prepare for extreme weather conditions. it's a harsh lesson that has been learnt by the people of this country — one that's left them questioning how to better prepare for the future. here in the fujian province, it's the rainy season, and there've been floods here throughout history. however, chinese scientists are worried that climate change is making the frequency and the seriousness of these floods so much worse. it's not only rainfall, but melting glaciers in the himalayas are pushing large volumes of water down into china's rivers. across the south of this country this week, some parts of the country have seen the most rain they've had in decades. it's driving muggy water through suburban areas, there've been landslides, and hundreds of thousands of people have been moved to safety. in the north of the country, there've been heat waves. so from the north to the south of

china, emergency teams, including rescue workers, have been going from town to town to deal with these extreme weather events. this summer has barely started, _ extreme weather events. this summer has barely started, and _ extreme weather events. this summer has barely started, and yet _ extreme weather events. this summer has barely started, and yet here - extreme weather events. this summer has barely started, and yet here in - has barely started, and yet here in spain. _ has barely started, and yet here in spain. the — has barely started, and yet here in spain, the country has already had two episodes of unusually high temperatures so far in recent weeks - first _ temperatures so far in recent weeks - first of— temperatures so far in recent weeks - first of all— temperatures so far in recent weeks — first of all in may, and more recently— — first of all in may, and more recently in _ — first of all in may, and more recently in mid june when some areas of the _ recently in mid june when some areas of the country receiving temperatures of up to 43 celsius — that's— temperatures of up to 43 celsius — that's "0 — temperatures of up to 43 celsius — that's 110 fahrenheit. temperatures of up to 43 celsius — that's110 fahrenheit. dosimeters are not— that's110 fahrenheit. dosimeters are not unheard of — in mid july or august. _ are not unheard of — in mid july or august. for— are not unheard of — in mid july or august, for example, but they are extremely— august, for example, but they are extremely unusual in may orjune —— those temperatures. and one of the consequences of of those hot, dry conditions — consequences of of those hot, dry conditions has been a series of witdfires— conditions has been a series of wildfires around the country, most recently _ wildfires around the country, most recently in — wildfires around the country, most recently in the central province of samara where many areas of rural land samara where many areas of rural tend were — samara where many areas of rural land were absolutely devastated and what has _ land were absolutely devastated and what has been the worst fire there for several— what has been the worst fire there for several decades.— for several decades. here in east africa, large _

for several decades. here in east africa, large parts— for several decades. here in east africa, large parts of— for several decades. here in east africa, large parts of the region i africa, large parts of the region have _ africa, large parts of the region have experienced _ africa, large parts of the region have experienced for— africa, large parts of the region. have experienced for consecutive feitow _ have experienced for consecutive feitow terrains _ have experienced for consecutive fellow terrains. know _ have experienced for consecutive fellow terrains. know what - have experienced for consecutive fellow terrains. know what that l fellow terrains. know what that means — fellow terrains. know what that means is — fellow terrains. know what that means is that _ fellow terrains. know what that means is that families - fellow terrains. know what that means is that families have - fellow terrains. know what thatj means is that families have not fellow terrains. know what that - means is that families have not been able to— means is that families have not been able to grow— means is that families have not been able to grow food _ means is that families have not been able to grow food to _ means is that families have not been able to grow food to feed _ means is that families have not been| able to grow food to feed themselves or sate _ able to grow food to feed themselves or sale democrat _ able to grow food to feed themselves or sale democrat cell... _ able to grow food to feed themselves or sale democrat cell... died - able to grow food to feed themselves or sale democrat cell... died to- or sale democrat cell... died to lack_ or sale democrat cell... died to tack of— or sale democrat cell... died to tack of water _ or sale democrat cell... died to lack of water and _ or sale democrat cell... died to lack of water and pasture - or sale democrat cell... died to lack of water and pasture —— . or sale democrat cell... died to. lack of water and pasture —— failed rains _ lack of water and pasture —— failed rains looking _ lack of water and pasture —— failed rains. looking at _ lack of water and pasture —— failed rains. looking at the _ lack of water and pasture —— failed rains. looking at the bigger- rains. looking at the bigger picture. _ rains. looking at the bigger picture, there _ rains. looking at the bigger picture, there are - rains. looking at the bigger| picture, there are questions rains. looking at the bigger. picture, there are questions as rains. looking at the bigger- picture, there are questions as to whether— picture, there are questions as to whether climate _ picture, there are questions as to whether climate change - picture, there are questions as to whether climate change is- picture, there are questions as to whether climate change is to - picture, there are questions as to . whether climate change is to blame for this— whether climate change is to blame for this drought, _ whether climate change is to blame for this drought, but _ whether climate change is to blame for this drought, but scientists - for this drought, but scientists have _ for this drought, but scientists have not— for this drought, but scientists have not made _ for this drought, but scientists have not made that _ for this drought, but scientists have not made that call - for this drought, but scientists have not made that call yet. . to the raging debate that has dominated headlines for a few days — the decision by swimming's world governing body fina to ban transgender athletes from competing in elite events has sparked a conversation over fairness and inclusion in the world of sport. reactions have been mixed, with australian olympic swimmer cate campbell in favour of the ruling saying it "upholds the cornerstone of fairness in elite women's competition." but others, including campbell's team mate maddie groves, claim the new policy is discriminatory towards trans athletes.

save women's sports australasia is a campaign group opposed to transgender women competing in women's sports. joining me live from cambridge, in new zealand is their co—founder and spokeswoman, ro edge. thanks very much for your time here on newsday on the bbc. there's been so much talk about the science behind this debate — why do you think this is the right decision? look, i think the reaction in new zealand and australia has been overwhelmingly positive. there is relief finally that sports have had the courage to prioritise science over feelings because we play sport with our bodies, not with our identities. so biology has to trump identity. at the same time, there are concerns for our transgender communities who quite frankly should never have been put through this, and only have been because of the ioc's and only have been because of the ioc�*s flood policy that they developed in 2015. unfortunately that flawed policy flowed down to international federations, that flawed policy flowed down to internationalfederations, to national federations who all ignored

science, public opinion and common sense, and in doing so have really undermined the female category. but don't you think this decision may also further ostracise trans athletes who may already be feeling marginalised? i athletes who may already be feeling marginalised?— marginalised? i mean, it's a real risk of doing _ marginalised? i mean, it's a real risk of doing that. _ marginalised? i mean, it's a real risk of doing that. however, - marginalised? i mean, it's a real risk of doing that. however, i . marginalised? i mean, it's a real risk of doing that. however, i do j risk of doing that. however, i do think there is overwhelming scientific evidence that males have insurmountable performance evidence over comparative females. so it is our hope all other sports follow suit. however, we also need to find a way to include and make sure that our transgender community feel welcome and support too, due to the massive physical and mental advantages that it gives people. i think exploring an open category is a start, but our transgender community is really diverse, as well. boxing new zealand found out when they went to our rainbow community here and asked about how they could be included. the required 12 different categories and over the

13 different categories that boxing already has, i think they've got four different age divisions — they worked out to be 872 divisions they would need an boxing to accommodate. so maybe a secret division like we have with the paralympics, a trans 0lympics —— separate division, so they have categories that represent they have categories that represent the diversity they have within their own community. 50 the diversity they have within their own community.— the diversity they have within their own community. the diversity they have within their own communi . ., ., own community. so those are some of the wa s in own community. so those are some of the ways in which _ own community. so those are some of the ways in which they _ own community. so those are some of the ways in which they could _ own community. so those are some of the ways in which they could find - the ways in which they could find solutions around this, as you mentioned, but you think this could also trigger similar decisions and other sports, also trigger similar decisions and othersports, perhaps also trigger similar decisions and other sports, perhaps something in the olympics, as well casilla i think the olympics is a really copped out of this. the decision makin: copped out of this. the decision making with _ copped out of this. the decision making with this _ copped out of this. the decision making with this has _ copped out of this. the decision making with this has been - making with this has been really poon making with this has been really poor. they said they've done two years of consultation in order to create the guidelines they last released, but we only know of one group advocating for fairness in female sport who were spoken to for really a very short time. so that's

actually botched — there's 11 groups from all over the world that have come together now and have formed the international consortium of sport so we can advocate with a stronger voice and be around the table. but in terms of other federations, world rugby already did this a few years ago, fina now have the international rugby league announced earlier this week, and now possibly world athletics will come to the table by the end of the year. we will leave it there, thank you very much for your time and perspective on newsday. britain's famous glastonbury festival has opened its gates again, after a gap of three years, because of the coronavirus pandemic. around 200,000 people are expected to descend on the site in somerset, in anticipation of the first performances, which begin on friday. colin paterson reports. we're open! after a three—year wait,

the very moment glastonbury finally reopened its doors. woohoo! and the festival's founder michael eavis was there to greet people. i like the top hat. look at that. perfect. greatest party on earth. thank you. thanks for coming. it was clear how much it meant to be back. incredible, isn't it, the feeling of everybody getting here? honestly, it's quite emotional. it's all so exciting. you'd never believe it, you know? have an amazing time. festivalgoers had queued all night to make sure they got in early. it means everything, and to get back here after what's happened is just absolutely fantastic. it's my first time. i've had my ticket for three years. so i can't wait. a bit tired after the | rave tent last night. and for nanny pat, it's been a very special day. in 2020, it was her 80th birthday — and all she wanted was a glastonbury ticket. you've made it, you're in. i'm ini finally, she's getting to use it. i hear you get quite near to the front of the stage.

just describe your tactic. sneak round the side! you can get near the front. i can't get in the middle, i'd be slaughtered. nanny pat says she will definitely be on the front row for paul mccartney, and taking no prisoners. colin paterson, bbc news, glastonbury. the worlds largest container ship has been — the worlds largest container ship has been handed _ the worlds largest container ship has been handed to _ the worlds largest container ship has been handed to its _ the worlds largest container ship has been handed to its owner- the worlds largest container ship i has been handed to its owner after its instruction— has been handed to its owner after its instruction in— has been handed to its owner after its instruction in shanghai. - has been handed to its owner after its instruction in shanghai. the - its instruction in shanghai. the vessel built _ its instruction in shanghai. the vessel built for _ its instruction in shanghai. vessel built for the taiwanese its instruction in shanghai.- vessel built for the taiwanese firm evergreen can carry 24,000 shipping containers, just take a look at that. it is 400 metres long, has a boom time for shipping companies. the pandemic is led to the disruption in the supply chains, leading to a delay in shipments and a dramatic increase in shipping costs. the rising cost of delivering goods and had a similar effect on

inflation as increases in oil and food prices. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello there. over the past few days, we've seen temperatures rising, and on wednesday, temperatures reached 28 celsius in london — and here in aboyne aberdeenshire, 26 celsius was the warmest day of the year so far in scotland. the next few days are going to turn tooler, temperatures will be dropping, it's turning more unsettled. we've got more rain in the forecast, as well. now, we still have some cloud in the north and northwest of scotland, but it's the cloud in france that we need to keep a close eye on — that's been producing some thundery downpours, and that will trigger some more showers as we head through thursday. especially early on through the channel islands, in the english channel, and then we'll see those showers developing and moving further north into england and wales. some of them will be heavy and thundery. there'll still be some warm sunshine around, as well.

and scotland and northern ireland may well have a dry day, with some sunny spells and a lighter wind. not quite as warm as it was on wednesday in eastern scotland. a very warm day across england and wales. despite those showers, probably the highest temperatures ahead of those showers across north midlands and northern england. the weather's changing because pressure is falling, and that means we're likely to find more cloud and we'll find some more rain, as well, particularly on that weather front approaching the southwest head. there will be some sunshine around, but we're going to find more showers breaking out and those turning heavy and thundery in the afternoon, especially across northern england, heading into scotland. this band of rain arrives in parts of wales and the southwest of england, and with more cloud around, temperatures will be lower, typically 20—22 celsius. the last of the warm weather probably stuck across east anglia heading into the weekend. and rather than high pressure dominating the weather, it'll be low pressure swirling around to the west of the uk. so looking at the details for saturday, and we're looking at most of the wet weather across the western side of the uk

with more showers breaking out through the day. there will still be some sunshine, but we may see the cloud thickening, threatening some rain across the south east of england and east anglia. temperatures are looking like this, round about 19—21 celsius. cooler i think in northern ireland, could be quite wet here close to that area of low pressure. and again, it'll be northern and western areas that see most of the rain, could be heavy and thundery in places. further east through the midlands and across eastern england, it may well be dry on sunday. that's where we're going to find the highest temperatures. it will be cooler in the wetter weather in the west.

this is bbc news with me, ben brown. the latest headlines. more than 1000 people have been killed in an earthquake in afghanistan. rescue teams are searching through rubble for survivors. relief efforts are under way, and the taliban has appealed to the international community for help. president biden has called on congress to take action on america's rising fuel prices. he wants a three—month suspension on federal taxes on petrol and diesel, with filling stations passing the reduction on to consumers. uk prices are continuing to rise at their fastest rate for 40 years, with a variety of foods costing more. inflation edged up to 9.1% in the 12 months to may, from 9% in april. health officials in the uk are urging people to make sure they're fully immunised against polio because the virus