welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: singapore says it will end its ban on sex between men, but take steps to defend marriage between a man and a woman. the government will repeal section 3007 a, and de—criminalise sex between men. i believe this is the right thing to do and something that most singaporeans will now accept. russia investigates a blast which killed the daughter of an idealogical ally of president putin, saying the attack was pre—meditated. growing concern over a wave of killings,

targeting hindus, in india administered kashmir. amid a mounting military threat from north korea, the bbc gains rare access to the american and south korean joint operations centre designed to fend off any attack. welcome to the programme. it's ”pm in london and 6am here in singapore, where the country's prime minister has said singapore will end its ban on sex between men, but will take steps to defend the institution of marriage as a union between a man and a woman. prime minister lee hsein loong said singaporean society was becoming more accepting of gay people,

and the british colonial—era law was out of date. the legal ban on sex between men, while not enforced, has long been criticised by lgbt activists — although many more conservative citizens still support it. the government will repeal the section and decriminalise sex between men. i believe this is the right thing to do, and something that most singaporeans will now accept. well, to discuss this further, i'm nowjoined by bryan choong from 0ogachaga, a singaporean lgbtq community organisation. he has been involved in the campaign to change singapore's legislation on gay rights for 17 years. i have to say, 17 years, it is a long time coming. you have been involved in this campaign, how does this moment feel for you? it is

involved in this campaign, how does this moment feel for you?— this moment feel for you? it is a moment of— this moment feel for you? it is a moment of relief. _ this moment feel for you? it is a moment of relief. it _ this moment feel for you? it is a moment of relief. it is _ this moment feel for you? it is a moment of relief. it is the - this moment feel for you? it is a moment of relief. it is the rightl moment of relief. it is the right thing to do, when we hear how the prime minister has said it, it is a long overdue decision.— prime minister has said it, it is a long overdue decision. perhaps not all of our viewers _ long overdue decision. perhaps not all of our viewers are _ long overdue decision. perhaps not all of our viewers are familiar - long overdue decision. perhaps not all of our viewers are familiar with l all of our viewers are familiar with how this law came about in singapore, and why country out here in asia is effectively having to deal with a colonial legacy legislation. can you talk us through the history of this? it legislation. can you talk us through the history of this?— the history of this? it was introduced _ the history of this? it was introduced by _ the history of this? it was introduced by the - the history of this? it was introduced by the british l the history of this? it was - introduced by the british when singapore was part of the british empire, and this was in the 1930s, so it has been a long time. nearly 90 years. since then, since we got independent, we have been looking at ways of how to address this issue ourselves, and some of the viewers may be familiar that our first edition in 2007, we carried out their parliamentary provisions, and so the second round in 2019,

which i was part of, unfortunately three attempts were unsuccessful, so we have been a long way from there. of course, since the rulings of the of course, since the rulings of the court of appeal in march this year, things have shifted very quickly, and the ministries have been engaging for a long time with different stakeholders, including the lgbt community, and the organisation which i am part of it is also part of the conversation. it leads up to what has been announced today by the prime minister. essen today by the prime minister. even thou:h today by the prime minister. even thou . h the today by the prime minister. even though the announcement has been heralded by lots of people in the community is a really important step forward, it has been criticised at the same time, because the prime minister effectively drew a red line when it came to gay marriage. i

think the details are not out yet, we do not know exactly what will be the details, but it is very much in line with what we will hear from the government and the minister, so again we are still waiting for the details, we hope that the government will not be going further to enshrine the definition of marriage and the constitution itself, but we look forward to a very robust debate in the coming months.— in the coming months. thank you so much forjoining _ in the coming months. thank you so much forjoining us. _ the daughter of a prominent russian ultra—nationalist has been killed by a car bomb on the outskirts of moscow. darya dugina was a journalist and vocal supporter of the invasion of ukraine. there is speculation the target may have been her father,

aleksandr dugin, whose calls for a new russian empire, challenging the west, are said to have influenced president putin. will vernon reports from moscow. a fireball on the streets of moscow. darya dugina, a political commentator, was killed when a bomb exploded in the car she was driving. at the scene, her father, aleksandr dugin, an ultra nationalist philosopher. russian media said mr dugin was meant to travel in the car with his daughter, but changed his mind at the last minute, and there is speculation he was the intended target. darya dugina, like herfather, was a vocal supporter of russia's invasion of ukraine. she was a regular guest on russian television, calling the war a clash of civilisations. both she and her father have been sanctioned by the west. some analysts say president putin is close to aleksandr dugin, although the nature of their relationship is unclear.

but mr dugin�*s radical nationalism has helped shape the kremlin�*s foreign policy, including on ukraine. his political movement, eurasianism, sees russia as the centre of a new empire that will challenge the west. back in 2016, mr dugin spoke to the bbc�*s gabriel gatehouse about his views. so we have our special russian truth that you need to accept as something that maybe is not your truth. even if it's not true? but if the truth is relative, that doesn't mean that truth doesn't exist. the authorities have not yet said who was behind the attack. but russia's foreign ministry said if a link to ukraine were found, the attack would be state terror by the kyiv regime. an adviser to the ukrainian president denied his country was involved. car bombs and assassinations are rare in moscow.

but as the war in ukraine grinds on, instability at home will be a cause for concern in the kremlin. will vernon, bbc news, moscow. and you can find out more about darya dugina, herfather and who might be behind her killing on our website, bbc.co.uk/news i want to turn to india now, where there's growing concern over a wave of killings targeting hindus in indian administered kashmir. police say the attacks, in the muslim majority region, are being carried out by anti—india militant groups. it comes against the backdrop of a long running conflict there, and growing anger against the indian government. the bbc�*s yogita limaye reports. a school in trauma. earlier this year, as these students in kashmir gathered for morning prayers,

their teacher was killed, metres away. they heard the gunshot and found her on the ground, bleeding from her head. the spot has been marked with stones. rajni bala was killed by anti—india militants, police say. a mother and wife, a much loved history teacher. "we're devastated. she was a wonderful person, adored notjust in the school but in our village," her colleague told us. it's believed rajni was targeted because she was a hindu, a minority in the country's only muslim—majority region. teachers told us she feared for her life after a wave of killings of people from her community. translation: there had been a targeted killing of a hindu, . just two kilometres away. she was scared and had applied for a transfer.

kashmir�*s long—running and complex conflict started with the killings of hundreds of hindus, 30 years ago. but this minority has rarely been targeted since 2003. now it's facing a resurgent threat that's left hindu families terrified. these men work in governmentjobs and are demanding they be moved out of kashmir. sanjay kaul is a teacher at a public school. translation: if someone next to me takes their hands - out of their pockets, i feel they are going to pull out a gun to shoot me. we have stopped sending our children to school. and we hardly go out of our compound. insurgent groups say they're attacking minorities because the government is trying to change the religious make—up of kashmir.

the accusation stems from india's actions here three years ago. federal rule was imposed. 0utsiders, allowed to buy land. leading to fears that india's hindu nationalist government wanted to alter the religious demographic of muslim—majority kashmir. distrust against the state soared. since 2019 things have gotten a lot worse. there is no elected government here and large sections of the police and bureaucracy are now officers from outside of the region. which means amongst local people here, there is a strong feeling that their voice is being suppressed and they don't have any say in the decisions that are being made to govern them. there are also allegations of killings of muslim civilians by indian security forces. we travelled to shopian in southern kashmir. this is where 20—year—old shoaib muhammad ganai is buried.

a university student who love playing cricket, he was killed in the middle of the day in the local market. his parents and eyewitnesses say he was shot dead, point—blank, by a paramilitary soldier. "we wantjustice for this cruelty that's been inflicted on us. a piece of our hearts has been taken from us," his father, ghulam muhammad, told us. the police and paramilitaries say their son was killed in crossfire. translation: we are being ruled by ruthless people, _ despite what eyewitnesses say, they insist he was shot in crossfire. the indian government denies that there's an atmosphere of fear in kashmir. it says its policies are bringing peace and development. the growing violence contradicts the claims.

yogita limaye, bbc news, kashmir. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk... almost 2000 workers at britain's largest container port — felixstowe — have gone on strike for the first time in more than 30 years. they're calling for a 10% pay rise to match inflation. but bosses insist their current offer is fair. the strike is due to last eight days. scotland's first minister has said the uk should consider renationalising energy suppliers to tackle the rising cost of living. nicola sturgeon said the option should be "on the table" — as she called for the westminster government to step up its financial support for households struggling to pay energy bills. for the first time in four years, the us and south korea will revive their live—action military drills, sharpening their preparedness as the north korean nuclear threat worsens and china steps up its presence around taiwan.

the 11—dayjoint drills start monday in south korea. but there is concern that north korea could use the drills as a chance to retaliate. 0ur seoul correspondent jean mackenzie was given rare access to the countries' joint operation centre from where the war games are run. deep underground, an american and a south korean colonel watch north korea. i'm learning but it's difficult to get it right. in this classified bunker outside seoul, the two militaries work together to defend against north korean attacks. this is the only place in korea where us forces and south korean forces sit side by side, and using all this information, they can detect almost immediately if north korea launches a weapon. between his great english and my terrible korean we can usually muddle through a lot of different things and get to a decision quickly. the threat from north korea is increasing. its missiles are becoming more

dangerous, its rhetoric more fiery. so these war games from five years ago are back as the us and south korea practice how to fight their common enemy using aircraft, warships and tanks. i can't do it in a classroom, i can't do it on a chalkboard, i have to give them the most intense environment that we can create and this is that environment. fighter pilot captain abby walters will train from the sky. it's really important for us to train together with the south koreans. the communication flow is much better in the air if you've practised it multiple times, so it can go quicker which helps us to get more effects down and just be more efficient and deadly in ourjob. north korea sees these drills as a rehearsalfor an invasion. there is concern it could retaliate. in this recent speech, kim jong—un warned it could end in war.

they might have the appearance of war but the us and south korea insist these drills are defensive. in part a show of strength to convince north korea never to use its weapons, especially as it works to develop ones that can evade missile defences. lieutenant general scott plius is the deputy head of the us forces korea. i have absolutely no worries whatsoever that north korean missiles have a way of defeating our capabilities here on the peninsula. but they are making progress. and so are we. intelligence suggests north korea is on the cusp of testing its first nuclear weapon in five years. south korea says it shouldn't be blamed if these drills provide its ammunition. since north korea know that this one is a defensive one and they wanted to utilise this joint military drill

for their own political purpose, i think that the joint military drill is one excuse for north korea to do the kind of military provocation. these war games may well provoke north korea but faced with an increasingly formidable enemy, these forces believe they have no choice but to prepare. jean mackenzie, bbc news, seoul. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. we'll speak to a guest about the korean war games a little later on in the programme. washington, the world's most political city, is today assessing the political health of the world's most powerful man. indeed, i did have a relationship with ms lewinsky that

was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. in south africa, 97 people have been killed today in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. over the last 10 days, 500 have died. crowd chants: czechoslovakia must be free! man: czechoslovakia must be free! crowd chants: czechoslovakia must be free! russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 submariners who died on board the kursk. we are all with them now within our hearts. the pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than 2.5 million people in his hometown of krakow. "stay with us, stay with us," chanted this ocean of humanity. "well, well," joked the pope. "so, you want me to desert rome? this is newsday on the bbc in singapore. 0ur headlines... singapore says it will end its ban

on sex between men — but will not allow same sex marriage. russia investigates a blast which killed the daughter of an idealogical ally of president putin — saying the attack was pre—meditated. to the uk again now — where the boxer, tyson fury, has called on the british government to introduce tougher punishments for knife crime, after his cousin was stabbed to death in manchester last night. rico burton, who was 31, was attacked outside a bar in the city. a second man was taken to hospital with serious injuries. alison freeman reports. the scene of a murder investigation, after a night out ended in much after a night out ended in what the police have called a senseless attack. greater manchester police say a 31—year—old man died after being stabbed outside a bar here in altrincham in the early hours of this morning. that man, officers confirmed this evening, was tyson fury�*s cousin, rico burton.

a 17—year—old was also seriously injured. this was a senseless attack. everything suggests at this stage that he was out enjoying an evening with friends and that this has taken place, spontaneously, and unplanned. it's a very, very tragic ending to what i should have been a good night out with friends. today, fury took to social media to express his hurt, shock and anger. in a furious post he called on the government to introduce stronger punishments for knife crime, comparing it to a pandemic and saying only cowards carry weapons. police said this area would have been very busy but the 31—year—old police said this area would have been very busy when the 31—year—old was stabbed at around 3am this morning and they're calling on anyone who may have been in the area and taking photos and videos to get in touch. a 20—year—old man was arrested at the scene and another man aged

21 was arrested later. both are still being questioned by police. alison freeman, bbc news, altrincham. well, as we have been reporting, for the first time in four years, the us and south korea will revive their live—action military drills starting this monday, sharpening their preparedness as the north korean nuclear threat worsens and china steps up its presence around taiwan. i'm joined now by dr balbina hwang who is a visiting professor at georgetown university and a former us state department official. great to get you on the programme. i do think it is worth pointing out that these military exercises were an annual event held for decades, but why is there so much attention being placed on them right now? i think it is certainly because of the global conditions and the world's attention on the recent us china tensions, especially over taiwan.

these are issues that everybody is concerned about. we already have a very tense region, and on top of that we have the war with russia and ukraine. everybody is on a heightened sensitivity about military action. having said that, we also have not seen these very annual regular defensive exercises take place for four years. annual regular defensive exercises take place forfour years. in annual regular defensive exercises take place for four years. in a manner we have been inured to having these regular exercises taking place. these regular exercises taking lace. . ~' ,, these regular exercises taking lace. ., ~' y., ., these regular exercises taking lace. . ~ ., ., place. thank you for pointing that out, as place. thank you for pointing that out. as well- _ place. thank you for pointing that out, as well. the _ place. thank you for pointing that out, as well. the us _ place. thank you for pointing that out, as well. the us and - place. thank you for pointing that out, as well. the us and south i place. thank you for pointing that. out, as well. the us and south korea are saying these are defensive exercises, but north korea does not see it that way. how do you see the north koreans reacting?— see it that way. how do you see the north koreans reacting? north korea has been complaining _ north koreans reacting? north korea has been complaining about - north koreans reacting? north korea has been complaining about these i has been complaining about these exercises every single year since they have been held. it is no

wonder, in fact, these exercises have been used as a diplomatic weapon and a negotiating tool. they have been temporarily suspended or postponed on occasion in an effort to draw north korea to the table to negotiate over its nuclear weapons capabilities. we ought to remember that it capabilities. we ought to remember thatitis capabilities. we ought to remember that it is north korea that violated the npt, the non—proliferation treaty, it is north korea that has taken actions that have gone against the world community in its actions. if we canjust the world community in its actions. if we can just take a step back and look at what these drills mean for the right wider region, how do you see beijing responding to this? china has complained about these exercises for a very long time.

china has benefited from north korea being the front man, upfront and complaining very loudly. but, china has certainly been very concerned, and in many ways that is what china, north korea and russia, which during the cold war was a formal ally of north korea and the soviet union, and now once again it looks like those three powers, essentially communist powers of china and certainly the north koreans, are allied, and they will gang up on this kind of topic and that, seeing the us as a threat. the former pakistani prime minister, imran khan

is being investigated under the anti—terrorism act. the authorities say he has threatened police and justice officials. it follows a speech by mr khan during a rally, accusing the police of torturing a party colleague while in custody. the media regulator then banned live speeches by the cricketer—turned politician on all satellite television channels because of what it called his hate speech against state institutions. just before we go... for many, spider—man is an entertaining fantasy, but forsome, climbing buildings in cities is a serious business. young parisian alexis landot has scaled skyscrapers in la defense and mounted the montparnasse tower, but he reckons this 122—metre tower in the suburbs of paris was his toughest challenge yet. he's one of the only climbers in the world to go "free solo", meaning he foregoes ropes and security. alex prepared for this climb for six months. i'm very glad to say he made it safely to the top!

that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. hello, there. for many this weekend, it shaped up to be a tale of two halves. the north of england on saturday was cloudy, grey, and wet with a couple of inches of rain falling but on sunday, just take a look at leeds, just shy of 13 hours of sunshine here. i suspect there is going to be more rain in the forecast, however, today, with this area of low pressure and the front pushing in from the west. now, some of that rain is going to push its way steadily eastwards so some heavy rain clearing to showers, the best of the dry weather through monday is likely to be across scotland. so we start off then with heavy rain moving out of northern ireland through the irish sea into the north west of england and parts of wales, but you can see central and southern england is quite showery in nature so not everywhere will see wetter weather. there will be heavier bursts,

the best of the dry, sunny weather looks likely, potentially, to be in scotland. not quite as warm here, though, 1a degrees, 20 degrees high, we mightjust see 25 degrees ahead of that rain before it arrives in parts of lincolnshire and east anglia. now, as we move into tuesday, this area of low pressure will continue to enhance showers in the far north—west and down to the south—west we've got this little weather front which will bring some showery outbreaks of rain across south—west england and wales, just how far north that is going to be, well, we will need to keep an eye on that but we start to tap into some pretty warm, humid air with that south—westerly flow, the temperatures in east anglia and the south—east likely to be 27 celsius, that is 80 fahrenheit. it stays warm and humid in the south and east but at the same time, close to the low pressure will see some more wetter weather, sharper showers developing out to the west, so first thing on wednesday morning, a very humid feel, 18 degrees, and so despite it being quite cloudy to begin with, it will be largely fine and dry and with a south—westerly flow,

as the rain eases away, temperatures are likely to peak at highs of 27 celsius by the middle of wednesday afternoon. moving out of wednesday into thursday, that weather front is going to continue to sink south and east. there will be no significant rain on it, unfortunately, and so that does mean that thursday, on the whole, will be largely fine and dry. the potential for some thundery rain first thing in the south—east and then into the weekend, drier but noticeably fresher.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are the political reporter at the times, geri scott and journalist and author, shyama perera. tomorrow's front pages, starting with... the metro leads with tyson fury�*s call for the government to introduce harsher punishments for those who commit knife crime offences. the telegraph says figures released by the nhs111 service show the average call to answer time

for those asking for help is six and a half minutes, that's 20 times limes longer