welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: the us orders all citizens to leave ukraine as the capital kyiv braces for heightened attacks from russia on independence day. a nine—year—old girl is shot dead in liverpool. police are appealing for the gunman to hand himself in. twitter�*s former head of security claims the platform put its users�* personal data at risk, along with us national security. twitter�*s denied the allegations. and the hollywood star ming—na wen tells us about growing up as an asian—american and the enduring appeal of her role in the disney movie mulan. mulan has all the attributes not only to inspire women

but also to inspire men, to inspire the boys. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 6am in the morning in singapore and 1am in kyiv in ukraine, where, across the country, embassies will be closed, public events have been banned and the threat level for an increased russian attack has been raised. it's not the way the people of ukraine had planned to celebrate their indepedence day, but this year, the 24th of august, to celebrate their independence day, but this year, the 24th of august also marks the six—month anniversary of when russian troops crossed their border to start a war that had been predicted for a number of months. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has himself reported from the front line in ukraine. he reminds us now of how russia's

invasion has progressed over the past six months. it started in the early hours of february the 24th. this map is a reminder of what ukraine looked like before the invasion. russia already occupied crimea and separatists controlled parts of the east. russian forces then attacked from multiple directions — from the north, the east and the south. western intelligence said russia expected to surround the capital kyiv within a matter of days. but its advance soon stalled with fierce ukrainian resistance. and by april, russia was retreating from the north to refocus its offensive in the east. but even here, it's been slow progress. it wasn't until earlyjuly that russia managed to capture

the entire luhansk region, ukraine's still holding on to parts of neighbouring donetsk. in the south, russia has captured the cities of kherson and mariupol. but ukraine's been preparing for a counter offensive. six months on, this is the limit of russia's advances. that was jonathan beale that wasjonathan beale reporting on that for us. speaking on the eve of the six—month anniversary of the russian invasion, our correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse, reflected on the mood of the people of ukraine ahead of this important date. well, inside ukraine and inside kyiv, it's very much a constant. it's actually reminding me of the build up to the invasion, where you had warnings from the west, from the us state department, around concerns of a russian escalation. but of course, six months on, things couldn't be more different. this is a country still under a full—scale invasion, but authorities are wary. they are banning public gatherings. this time last year, there was a huge military procession, in a show of strength. this time around, the main street through kyiv has destroyed or captured russian tanks on display. they've really been quite popular with people,

as they walk through, take a bit of interest, pose for pictures. and it's another marker, as ukraine marks 31 years of independence tomorrow. it's also a reminder ofjust how under threat their sovereignty is. so we may well see some high—profile visits tomorrow. we're told friends of ukraine have been invited. how wise that is, given the heightened security risk, isn't clear. the us embassy has urged citizens to leave. that's quite an escalation, in terms of a precaution, to the irritance of president zelensky. so it will be low—key tomorrow. the city does feel quieter. and it's notjust about tomorrow. i think it's the next three days that there are concerns around russia increasing its long—range missile strikes, certainly not just in kyiv but across the whole of ukraine. that was james waterhouse reporting on that story for us.

there's lots more on the bbc website for you on our special coverage of ukraine, including the latest accusations being traded between russia and ukraine. that's on bbc.com/news or simply download the bbc news app. that is, of course, if you haven't done so already. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. police in liverpool have named the nine—year—old girl who was shot dead in her house on monday night. olivia pratt—korbel�*s death has sent shock waves through her community and beyond, after she was shot in the chest by a gunman who was targeting a man who'd run into herfamily home. police are appealing for any information that could help them capture the gunman. the killing of a nine—year—old child is an absolute tragedy and crosses every single boundary, and i would urge them to do the right thing so we can put this person behind bars. a student nurse, owami davie, has been found safe and well seven weeks after going missing.

she was located in hampshire in the south of england after a member of the public came forward following a police appeal. scotland yard and essex police are to review their investigation into her disappearance. the number of migrants crossing the english channel in small boats in a single day has reached a new record high. the uk's ministry of defence says 1,295 people arrived in the uk in this way on monday — the highest daily total since records began four years ago. the totalfor the year is now more than 22,500. i want to tell you about twitter now. a former senior executive at the social media firm has presented detailed allegations to us regulators claiming that the online platform misled them about security problems. peiter zatko was twitter�*s head of security before being sacked.

he said the social media site was susceptible to foreign interference, spying and hacking. twitter has denied the accusations. for more on this, i am joined now by vivian schiller, former head of global news at twitter. great to get you on the programme. i suppose, in the first instance, you've worked at twitter as the chair of global news at the time, as i understand it. review surprised by these allegations? i i understand it. review surprised by these allegations?— these allegations? i suppose the best way for— these allegations? i suppose the best way for me _ these allegations? i suppose the best way for me to _ these allegations? i suppose the best way for me to phrase - these allegations? i suppose the best way for me to phrase it - these allegations? i suppose the best way for me to phrase it is l these allegations? i suppose the best way for me to phrase it is i | best way for me to phrase it is i was shocked but not surprised. of course these revelations were shocking and incredible disturbing, but i am not terribly, terribly surprised. this is a big organisation with a lot of priorities and it appears that maybe this level of security was not among them. . , , them. yeah, i suppose it is important _ them. yeah, i suppose it is important to _ them. yeah, i suppose it is important to point - them. yeah, i suppose it is important to point out - them. yeah, i suppose it is| important to point out here, them. yeah, i suppose it is- important to point out here, of course, that twitter has said that the allegations contained inaccuracies and inconsistencies. they point to the fact that mr zatko

was sacked for ineffective leadership and poor performance, i think they called it, but they have not come out and directly address the allegations had on themselves, the allegations had on themselves, theissue the allegations had on themselves, the issue ofjust how many spam accounts there are. is that even possible for them to do? first of all, i am possible for them to do? first of all. i am kind — possible for them to do? first of all, i am kind of— possible for them to do? first of all, i am kind of surprised - possible for them to do? first of| all, i am kind of surprised they're going after him, who is widely considered for many decades one of the best and most ethical and most centred security experts in the world. his credentials are unimpeachable, both personally and professionally, so i am not sure that's the best way for them to go about it. i do not know what would be in it for him to make these allegations if they were not true. you mention the number of false accounts or bots. that's really only one the allegations. frankly, i'm not even chert is the most disturbing, but certainly it is relevant in light of the legal procedures that are going on between

twitter and elon musk. his complaint about trying to get out of the deal is he feels that he has been misled by twitter management about the number of pots on the platform, and certainly today's revelations has given that a lot of ammunition. yeah, on that, where do you see that going from here but in terms of how this case or these allegations may play in to elon musk�*s current case with twitter? play in to elon musk's current case with twitter?— play in to elon musk's current case with twitter?_ play in to elon musk's current case with twitter? ., ~ ., , ., ., with twitter? elon musk was handed a hue aift with twitter? elon musk was handed a huge gift today- _ with twitter? elon musk was handed a huge gift today. his _ with twitter? elon musk was handed a huge gift today. his lawyers _ with twitter? elon musk was handed a huge gift today. his lawyers have - huge gift today. his lawyers have said they have already subpoenaed mudge for this kind of information, and if what he is saying and again there is no reason for him to make this up, and considering his current ability, it would be surprising, he has alleged the way twitter

management has been describing the number of bots on the platform has been misleading —— his credibility. i want to be careful. it is not untruthful, it isjust i want to be careful. it is not untruthful, it is just the way they've positioned the percent of account they are looking at, that less than 5% of the accounts are bots, is frankly, if you read the entire document, quite misleading and really plays into elon musk's hands. so it'll be quite an interesting set of hearings in september. interesting set of hearings in september-— interesting set of hearings in se tember. ., september. vivian schiller there, former head _ september. vivian schiller there, former head of _ september. vivian schiller there, former head of global— september. vivian schiller there, former head of global news - september. vivian schiller there, former head of global news at i former head of global news at twitter, really appreciate the precision with which you answer our questions. thank you for coming on the programme.

to malaysia now, where najib razak — the former malaysian prime minister convicted of money laundering linked to the i—mdb embezzlement scandal — has lost a final bid to overturn his 12—year prison sentence and has been sent to jail. the massive embezzlement of billions of dollars from the imdb state fund was one of the world's biggest financial scandals and reverberated from malaysia and singapore to wall street and beyond. our south east asia correspondent jonathan head has more. he was once the most powerful man in the country — untouchable, even. but najib razak arrived for the final stage of his appeal knowing that the odds were now against him. every attempt to overturn or even delay the 12—year prison sentence he'd been given thwarted by a judiciary which stood firm behind the original verdict. translation: iwill not get a judgment based i on the principles of fair trial. i did not get it. the son of a former prime minister, he was groomed for power and held office for nine years in a country where the ruling party had never lost an election. stories of spectacular greed and corruption brought thousands out

onto the streets in protest. but investigations into huge losses from the state—run investment fund known as imdb went nowhere. the department ofjustice has filed a civil complaint seeking to forfeit and recover more than $1 billion in assets associated with an international conspiracy to launder funds stolen from imdb. even when the united states launched its own investigation, mr najib looked secure in a country where power has rarely been accountable. but at the last election four years ago, an opposition coalition — led by malaysia's most renowned politicalfigure, mahathir mohamad, once mr najib's ally — rode the public yearning for change to an unexpected and historic victory. mr najib, seemingly in shock as he accepted

the verdict of the people, was untouchable no longer. his home was raided. more than 200 top—priced designer handbags, still in their boxes, were among the many luxury items seized... it is the biggest seizure in malaysian history. ..and multiple criminal charges soon followed. for those who have dreamed of a cleaner politics in malaysia, this is surely a moment to savour. but najib razak remains wealthy, influential and popular in some parts of malaysia in society. it's probably too soon yet to write off his political career. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: jupiter as you've never seen it before. stunning new images from nasa's james webb telescope.

he is the first african—american to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and if he accepts, exactly 45 years ago to the day that martin luther king declared "i have a dream." element as darkness falls tonight, and unfamiliar net will appear in the southeastern sky, and orange glowing disc that is brighter than anything save the moon. 0ur neighbouring planet mars estoppel there is no doubt this election is an important milestone in the earth of east timor, as the world's newest nation. it of east timor, as the world's newest nation. ., ~ ., , ., nation. it will take months and billions of _ nation. it will take months and billions of dollars _ nation. it will take months and billions of dollars to _ nation. it will take months and billions of dollars to repair - nation. it will take months and | billions of dollars to repair what katrina achieved _ billions of dollars to repair what katrina achieved in _ billions of dollars to repair what katrina achieved in just - billions of dollars to repair what katrina achieved injust hours. i katrina achieved injust hours. three — katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks_ katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is— katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the _ katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest - katrina achieved injust hours. | three weeks is the longest the katrina achieved injust hours. - three weeks is the longest the great clock has been off—duty in 117

years, so it was with great satisfaction that clockmakerjohn vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. voters in florida, new york and oklahoma are deciding who will be on the ballot for the november midterm elections in the us. in new york, we're watching a host of highly—competitive primaries — including some unusual intra—party contests for democrats. we also have reporters on the ground in florida and we'll bring you regular updates and analysis as the voting draws to a close. do stay with us perfect and other stories —— for that and other stories.

nasa has released never seen before pictures of the solar system's largest planet, jupiter, which were taken last month by the new super space telescope, james webb. the images show auroras, giant storms, moons and rings in detail that astronomers have described as "incredible". here is our science correspondent, helen briggs. jupiter in a whole new light. the famous great red spot, a storm larger than earth, visible as a radiant white dot. glowing light shows — or auroras — dancing at the poles. faint rings, and two of the planet's many moons, standing out against a backdrop of glittering galaxies. scientists say the stunning new images, artificially coloured to make the features stand out, are better than they could ever have hoped for. these images are so much more than just pretty pictures. yes, they are pretty, aesthetic, glorious. but they're crisp, they're detailed, they're showing parts ofjupiter, of its cloud cover, that we haven't really appreciated before. this isjupiter, as seen

through the hubble space telescope. hubble's more powerful successor, the james webb, was launched in december. and since the summer, it's been sending back extraordinary images of the universe. over the years to come, the telescope will be peering ever further back in time, transforming our knowledge, both of distant worlds and of planets in our own back yard. helen briggs, bbc news. it is just amazing. for more on this, i am joined now by planetary astronomer imke de pater, who is one of the leaders of the project. first off, ijust have to say, congratulations. these images are astonishing, and you are one of the visible investigators, leading this project. did you expect the images to be this good? ida. project. did you expect the images to be this good?— to be this good? no, i did not exect to be this good? no, i did not exoect it _ to be this good? no, i did not exoect it to — to be this good? no, i did not expect it to be _ to be this good? no, i did not expect it to be discovered. it|

to be this good? no, i did not. expect it to be discovered. it is really amazing, in particular seeing all this onjupiter itself, and the next to it, it's rings, and the moon that you can see at the tip of the ring. it is quite remarkable. 0n can see at the tip of the ring. it is quite remarkable. on top of that, we see these really faint galaxies in the background. we would never have dreamed of seeing that. yeah. have dreamed of seeing that. yeah, we are looking _ have dreamed of seeing that. yeah, we are looking at _ have dreamed of seeing that. yeah, we are looking at some _ have dreamed of seeing that. yeah, we are looking at some of— have dreamed of seeing that. yeah, we are looking at some of your - we are looking at some of your images now, i believe, and even in my colleague helen briggs's report. as you point out, images of galaxies we probably never thought we would be able to see and certainly our lifetimes. all of this, of course, thanks to the james webb space telescope. where do you see it being put to use next? and what other work do you think you could be applied to? it do you think you could be applied to? .., do you think you could be applied to? . . , . , , do you think you could be applied to? , ., to? it can be applied to many of the

solar system objects, _ to? it can be applied to many of the solar system objects, and _ to? it can be applied to many of the solar system objects, and of- to? it can be applied to many of the solar system objects, and of course| solar system objects, and of course to the universe, but we are quite interested in the planets in our solar system, satellites and smaller objects, and the data we now have in hand ofjupiter will tell us a lot aboutjupiter itself, about the atmospheric dynamics, and interplay between chemistry and bombardment by charged particles from outside of the atmosphere, from its magnetic field. we are really going to learn a lot aboutjupiter that we always have been puzzled about, what it would be like, what physics in the atmosphere are telling us. imke, when these sort of event are made in the world of science, they are amazing for science pups like me, but for someone like you can how

does it feel to gaze into the universe and get a clear image? you must have been studying for decades to stop eli indeed have been studying jupiter for decades, to stop eli indeed have been studying jupiterfor decades, half to stop eli indeed have been studying jupiter for decades, half a century, you could say! it is quite remarkable century, you could say! it is quite remarkabl— century, you could say! it is quite remarkabl . . ., ~ remarkable what we have now. and by usin: these remarkable what we have now. and by using these images, _ remarkable what we have now. and by using these images, combined - remarkable what we have now. and by using these images, combined with i using these images, combined with so—called spectra, where we see images basically of the bright red spotin images basically of the bright red spot in particular at all different wavelengths, we can see what the temperature structure and the different gases and abundance of gasesin different gases and abundance of gases in the atmosphere are in all these different levels to the atmosphere, and we really don't know exactly what this will be above the great red spot, and that is one of our targets in this programme. imke de pater there. _ our targets in this programme. imke de pater there, congratulations again, and thank you so much for joining us on the programme. we must

have you back for your next discovery, which i'm sure will not be that far away! let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. an eu agency has warned that europe is on course for its worst drought in at least 500 years. in a new report, the global drought 0bservatory says two thirds of the continent is under some form of alert and that the conditions are reducing crop yields, drying up rivers and sparking wildfires. a human rights group says that qatar has deported some migrant workers after they protested against not being paid. equidem says labourers from bangladesh and india were among those forced to leave. qatar's government said some protesters were detained, but it hasn't confirmed whether any were expelled. qatar is preparing to host the men's football world cup in november. and finally, ming—na wen will be

known to a lot of people as the voice of disney's mulan, but she's also starred in the medical drama er and is now playing fennec shand in star wars' the book of boba fett. wen sat down for an exclusive interview with bbc 100 women, talking about why she thinks mulan is a feminist, her experiences growing up as asian american and typecasting in hollywood. it is a lwa ys going to be a struggle this business, no matter who you are, but young asian, being a woman, it is a double negative sometimes. the wonderful thing about being in disney animation is that when it hits all the right notes, it becomes classic, it becomes universal. i never really believed that mulan could have been that, only because

it was so specifically a chinese folklore, and the fact that her legacy, her character, he survived the decades is astounding. i definitely see mulan as a feminist, but in the best way. mulan has all the attributes, not only to inspire women and also to inspire men, to inspire the boys. appreciate and respect a female like her. i wake iwake up i wake up every day and i'm still astounded i am in the star wars universe, that i am part of it. i was alone, in a very white neighbourhood, as an asian girl. star wars and luke skywalker especially spoke to me and made me

realise that, if you have a dream, if you have something that you want in your life, you can go after it. you cannot imagine what that is like for that little girl, who came from china and who grew up in a white neighbourhood and having to struggle, to suddenly realise that her dreams came true. stereotypes, they are created to sort of pigeonhole a group of people. and in hollywood, many times, casting directors, producers, they use that stereotype because

they use that stereotype because they are comfortable or it is what they are comfortable or it is what they know. when i came out into the real world, they know. when i came out into the realworld, one they know. when i came out into the real world, one of the challenges i had was always going after roles that were not specifically written for asians, and there were not that many back in those days, trust me. diversity is almost becoming the norm. we had crazy rich asians, we had thejoy luck club. what is happening now is, when these people are in a room, on a set, they are not looked at as tokens. it is really becoming more a norm, and thatis really becoming more a norm, and that is what i love about it. ming—na wen, speaking to the bbc�*s 100 women. what inspiration she is, and especially what you said about

women. if you agree, let me know. that is it for the programme. stay with bbc news for the latest analysis. hello there. there was a lot of late august sunshine to be found on tuesday. it was a beautiful day across much of scotland, as you can see from highland, but here, temperatures sat in the high teens, low 20s. now, further south and east of that, again, lots of sunshine, but it was hot and it was humid with it. in fact, suffolk saw the highest temperature on tuesday afternoon of 29 celsius. as we move into wednesday, this weather front will produce some rain, but it's also the dividing line between fresher air to the north and west and somewhat humid conditions continuing across much of central and eastern england. so, yes, we will see some rain, some of it heavy at times across west wales and then gradually pushing into north west england. a few isolated showers further north and west,

but here it will be predominantly dry, breezy as we go through the day, but those temperatures once again sitting in the high teens, maybe low 20s. to the south and east of that weather front, our temperatures again on the high side, 25—30 degrees, and it will be very humid with it as well. now, as we move through wednesday evening, into the early hours of thursday morning, our weather front doesn't move very far very fast, and when it does so, it will weaken off considerably. so a band of cloud and a few patchy showers moving across the pennines, but to the south and east of that, there's a risk of some thundery downpours developing in the south—east. and with the temperatures staying on the high side, 17—18 degrees, some of those showers really could turn quite heavy and thundery. so during the early hours of thursday morning, we could see across essex, kent, suffolk and maybe north norfolk some sharp showers drifting their way steadily eastwards. they will be fairly isolated and only on those eastern fringes, but any rain in these areas is certainly going to come as welcome news. cloudy skies following on behind,

brighter skies behind, with a scattering of showers in the far north—west. noticeably fresher for all — 15—24 degrees the high as we move out of thursday. now, friday, into the start of the weekend, sees a weather front push into the far north—west and the wind direction changing. so it looks likely that the far north could stay cloudy with outbreaks of rain at times, potentially. elsewhere — and, yes, it's a bank holiday for northern ireland, england and wales — dry, settled but fresher.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the us is warning that russia plans to step up its attacks on ukraine's civilian buildings ahead of the country's independence day. the us embassy in kyiv has urged american citizens to leave the country. the head of the un nuclear watchdog has told the bbc he expects to personally lead a mission to the occupied zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "within days, not weeks". a former senior executive at twitter has told us regulators that the social media giant misled them about security problems which he claims could put users' personal data and potentially us national security at risk. the former malaysian prime minister, najib razak, is beginning a 12—year prison sentence for corruption after a final appeal failed. the charges relate to one of the world's biggest financial

scandals, with billions of dollars stolen from a government