welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: twitter�*s former security chief says users�* personal data has been put at risk — along with us national security. the company denies the allegations. the us orders its citizens to leave ukraine — as kyiv prepares for heightened attacks from russia on independence day. days after deflecting accusations of having an excessive party lifestyle, the finnish prime minister apologises for an "inappropriate" photo of guests at her official residence. 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. and man's emotional best friends — how dogs can "cry with joy" when they see their owners. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to the programme. the former head of security at twitter has accused the social media platform of hiding negligent practices, misleading federal regulators about its safety and failing to properly estimate the number of spam accounts in operation. peiter zatko�*s whistle—blowing testimony — which has been given to the us authorities — could have serious

consequences for the company. twitter says mr zatko�*s allegations are inaccurate and inconsistent. it says he was sacked in january for ineffective leadership and poor performance. our north america tech reporterjames clayton has this assessment. twitter�*s ceo had a nickname for him, mudge. this is a really senior person and he is alleging all sorts of things going on at twitter. the key one for me is botts. he is saying that twitter deliberately under counts how many bots it has. now, elon musk is trying to buy the company, or least he was. he then pulled out, saying that twitter had done just that, undercounted the box. now you have someone inside the former head of security, saying exactly that. there is a court case in october where twitter are going to try and force elon musk to try and buy the company. this is brilliant use for elon musk. he hasn't literallyjust

for elon musk. he hasn't literally just weeded, for elon musk. he hasn't literallyjust weeded, and literally just weeded, and emql literallyjust weeded, and emoji, of a cartoon person whistling. this is devastating for twitter. they want to force elon musk to buy the company. these revelations will make that much, much more difficult. james clayton reporting on that story for us. twitter has denied the allegations and has accused mr zatko — known as mudge — of opportunism. vivian schiller is twitter�*s former global chair of news. she gave me her reaction. first of all, i am kind of surprised they're going after mudge, who was 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 of the allegations. frankly, i'm not even sure it's 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 bots on the platform, and certainly today's revelations has given that a lot of ammunition. yeah, on that, vivian, where do you see that going from here, in terms of how this case or these allegations might play into elon musk�*s current case with twitter? elon musk was handed a huge gift today. his lawyers have said they have already subpoenaed mudge

for this kind of information, but if what he is saying... and again there is no motivation for him to make this up, and considering his credibility, it would be surprising, he has alleged the way twitter management has been describing the number of bots on the platform has been misleading. i want to be careful. it is not untruthful, it is just the way they've positioned the accounts 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. vivian schiller there, former head of global news at twitter, speaking to us a little earlier. let's turn to ukraine now, and a un security council is holding a meeting

about the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been under russian control since march. moscow called for the meeting amid reports of continuing shelling around europe's largest nuclear station. the us and uk said russia could easily resolve the situation by ending its war in ukraine. ukraine is also celebrating its 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. speaking on the eve of the six—month anniversary of that russian invasion on wednesday, our kyiv correspondent, james waterhouse, reflects on the mood of the ukrainian people. 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. james waterhouse reporting there for us. to flee their country. as we know, the conflict has forced millions of ukrainians to flee their country. many countries around the world have offered to resettle refugees, allowing them to start a new life far away from their homeland. australia is one country which has accepted thousands of ukrainians since the conflict broke out. one of those is angelina samko, whojoins us live now from sydney. first off, angelina, thank you so much forjoining us on the programme and suppose it is appropriate to say happy independence day as well. just talk us through your experiences at the third of the war. what happened and what did you do? war. what happened and what did ou do? ~ ., , , you do? when it happened, we did not expect _ you do? when it happened, we did not expect it _ you do? when it happened, we did not expect it at _ you do? when it happened, we did not expect it at all, - you do? when it happened, we did not expect it at all, so - you do? when it happened, we did not expect it at all, so we l did not expect it at all, so we were not ready for this. that's why it was, for us, so scary,

and our hometown, it was also bombed with a rocket and we understood that the war came. angelina, i believe we are looking at some images you have shared with us of your hometown. i do not know if you can see them as well, but if you think back to how life was like there and being in australia now, how challenging it is for you. it australia now, how challenging it is for vow— it is for you. it became harder. _ it is for you. it became harder, because - it is for you. it became harder, because you i it is for you. it became i harder, because you had everything in your life. you are running your own business. you didn't count how much you spend for groceries and everything, but now it is much harder to start everything just from zero, and especially when you have two kids. it's much

harder to do. and also continuing to see what is still happening in my country. find happening in my country. and that your _ happening in my country. and that your lovely _ happening in my country. and that your lovely family that we can see as well on screen. i imagine, then, settling in australia must have been very challenging. now that you are there, would you ever go back to ukraine? would you ever want to ukraine? would you ever want to go home?— to go home? yes. we are still missin: to go home? yes. we are still missing our — to go home? yes. we are still missing our home, but - to go home? yes. we are still missing our home, but we - missing our home, but we understand that for now it is not possible, and of course it is not safe at all, especially for our kids, and our kids still are missing their rooms, they're their toys and everything they had, their friends and also my parents and my husband's parents, they stayed in my hometown, so we are still getting in touch with them. it's really hard. for all of us, especially for kids. i

can only imagine, and i wish you the best of luck. angelina samko there, thank you so much forjoining us, live from sydney. forjoining us, live from sydney-— it's a big day for the us primaries in florida, new york state and oklahoma, where voters get to decide who will represent their party in the upcoming mid—term elections in november. the current florida governor, ron desantis, will find out who his democratic challenger will be. voters will be choosing between charlie crist, who is currently a democratic congressman. he's also a former republican governor, so he switched parties. and crist is the favourite to win the runoff. he's up against nikki fried, who is currently the state agricultural commissioner. and if she was to win, she would be florida's first female governor. for more on this, i am joined now by our north america correspondent anthony zurcher, who's in florida for us. great to get you on the programme, anthony. i understand you've just arrived there. give us a sense of the

contest. i there. give us a sense of the contest. . ., contest. i am here at ron desantis's _ contest. i am here at ron desantis's campaign - desa ntis's campaign headquarters. he desantis's campaign headquarters. he is going to be speaking here later this evening here in miami. marco rubio, the republican senator who is running for reelection, will also speak here. both of them are running without opposition. they are going to be the republican nominees, but marco rubio ran for president in 2016, ron desantis is rumoured to be eyeing a presidential bid in 2024, so both of these men have had or have presidential ambitions, and their success in november against the democrats to determine what their missions are going forward. it could be the launching pad for ron desantis's presidential campaign. i5 desantis's presidential campaign-— desantis's presidential campaign. desantis's presidential camaiun. , ., campaign. is this a sort of race to watch, _ campaign. is this a sort of race to watch, then, - campaign. is this a sort of race to watch, then, in . campaign. is this a sort of. race to watch, then, in terms of the entire campaign as we head to the midterms later this year? head to the midterms later this ear? ., ~ ., ~' year? you know, i think watching _ year? you know, i think watching what - year? you know, i think watching what is - year? you know, i think watching what is going l year? you know, i think. watching what is going on year? you know, i think- watching what is going on with the democrats, as you mentioned, charlie crist and nikki fried running for that

gubernatorial nomination. crist is a moderate, endorsed by the establishment. nikki fried won state—wide election here the last two times she has run, but she is progressive, so this is yet again another clash within the democrat party about whether to go with the moderate or the person more to the left, which one has a better chance of getting elected. there are also races in new york, there is one that pits two and, democratic congressman and congresswoman. there is also a special election in new york for a congressional seat that joe biden carried by about two percentage points, so if the republican wins, that could be a hint that republicans are going to do well in november,

but if the democrats win, that talk about a republican wave or that republicans are going to dominate across the country might not be as pronounced as people thought, that democrats, because ofjoe biden�*s because of joe biden�*s legislative because ofjoe biden�*s legislative successes, because of the importance of the abortion issue, because of reduced inflation and other economic impairments over the past few weeks, maybe things look a little better for democrats. ——, credit improvements. that's definitely one to keep eye on.— one to keep eye on. anthony zurcher, _ one to keep eye on. anthony zurcher, thank _ one to keep eye on. anthony zurcher, thank you _ one to keep eye on. anthony zurcher, thank you for - one to keep eye on. anthonyj zurcher, thank you for taking us through that. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the asian—american hollywood star ming na—wen tells about the enduring appeal of her role in the disney movie mulan. he is the first african—american to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts exactly 45

years ago to the day that martin luther king declared "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliar light will appear in the southeastern sky, an orange glowing disc that is brighter than anything, save the moon, our neighbouring planet mars. there is no doubt this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation. it will take months i and billions of dollars to repair what 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 clockmaker john vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again.

this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines for you today: twitter�*s former security chief says users' personal data has been put at risk — along with us national security. twitter has denied the allegations. the us orders its citizens to leave ukraine, as kyiv prepares for heightened attacks from russia on independence day. less than a week ago, finland's prime minister, sanna marin, sparked criticism with a video of her partying — which led to her taking a drugs test. now, the 36—year—old has apologised for a controversial photo taken at her residence. the picture circulated by finnish media shows two women kissing, lifting their tops to bare their torsos and covering their breasts with a sign that says "finland". i'm joined now by our news reporter gareth barlow live in the london newsroom. great to get you on the programme, gareth, and i have

to ask, this is a situation when two women, not the finish prime minister, were in the house. she has apologised. why has there been so much attention paid to this? it is an interesting _ attention paid to this? it 3 an interesting question, because if you go onto social media and the internet, you will have of pictures of this, people having fun. but as you say, this this picture was taken back injuly, and critics say, is this an appropriate behaviour to take place in a government funded building? sanna marin is apologised, as you safely to what might be happening here is she is trying to take control of the narrative, because in the past she has made no secret that she enjoys partying and having a drink with friends, but there are elections having tell coming up early next year in finland, and it might be a bit of narrative control here, because at the end of the day,

it is a slightly more conservative society in finland, but sanna marin is just having fun with her friends, she is not doing anything wrong, and she proved that yesterday, not failing a drugs test. it is perhaps a little bit of damage control. that is why she has apologised this time when she has not in the past. this time when she has not in the ast. . . this time when she has not in the past-— the past. yeah, and that criticism _ the past. yeah, and that criticism could _ the past. yeah, and that criticism could as - the past. yeah, and that criticism could as you . criticism could as you reference, gareth, coming from the opposition parties of course, but at the same time, there's also been huge support of her from there's also been huge support of herfrom women in finland and elsewhere. of her from women in finland and elsewhere.— of her from women in finland and elsewhere. hugely. if you look on social— and elsewhere. hugely. if you look on social media, - and elsewhere. hugely. if you look on social media, there i and elsewhere. hugely. if you. look on social media, there are montage after montage after montage after montage after montage of women doing the same thing, doing, at the end of the day, nothing wrong, and i think what we're seeing here is an interesting point in society, thatis interesting point in society, that is more and more people have grown up with the

internet, there will be more footage. you might not have that stealthy or slightly embarrassing shot, but more and more people are going to come and we are going to see more of it, and in two, three, four, five years time, will there be such a brouhaha? i very much doubt it. such a brouhaha? i very much doubt it-_ such a brouhaha? i very much doubt it. ., ., ~ doubt it. gareth barlow, thank ou for doubt it. gareth barlow, thank you for coming _ doubt it. gareth barlow, thank you for coming on _ doubt it. gareth barlow, thank you for coming on the - you for coming on the programme. thoughts to consider as we get to another story. 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's always going to be a struggle in this business, no matter who you are, but being asian, being a woman, you know, it's 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, has 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,

to appreciate and respect a female like her. i wake up every day and i'm still astounded that 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 are comfortable or it is what 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, we've got awkwafina.

what is great is that, now, 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 that is what i love about it. that was ming—na wen, speaking there to the bbc�*s 100 women. what an inspirational woman she is. a tennis fan is suing the australian player nick kyrgios for defamation after he accused her of being drunk at last month's wimbledon final. kyrgios, who lost to novak djokovic, complained to the umpire about anna palus, claiming she looked like she'd had "about 700 drinks". ms palus described the accusation as baseless. she said any damages she might win would go to charity. and finally, we've all been told that a man's best friend is his dog. well, the feeling might be mutual. apparently dogs can cry tears of joy when they are reunited with their owners.

according to researchers injapan, canines may be genuinely thrilled when they see their human companions after a long period of absence. we sent out our correspondent phil mackie to find out more. buddy, woody and mia can't wait for their owners to pick them up. they have been in doggy daycare all day. injapan, scientists said they found a detectable emotional response when dogs are reunited with their owners. it was only a small study with just 22 dogs, but they said they could detect real tears. eleanor, who sees the dogs reunited with their owners every day, is sceptical, and thinks they might be barking up the wrong tree. i've never seen a dog crying, so i'm not sure about it, but they definitely have emotions and i see the excitement when their owners come to pick them up, whether that is after eight hours of being here or two weeks. of course, they get excited. there's no doubt that dogs form a strong emotional tie to people and they have been plenty of studies to show it. this is jasper,

and he's definitely pleased to see eleanor. this is cocoa, and i've made friends with coco with a few bribes. she is honestly happy to see me but i can't see her shedding any tears when i go. the study showed it was not casual acquaintances like me, but only the dog's owners for whom tears would form. mia has been waiting patiently for tom to get back, and this is a reaction when he arrives. clearly she is happy here, but she desperately misses you because that was the most excited she has been. bless her. every time we come home, usually when i come home from work, she is by the front doorand it's like, "oh, my god, daddy's at home" and she bounces at the front door as well. the study also found that a tearful pet triggers an emotional response in the owner, so puppy dog eyes do have the effect we have always suspected. phil mackie, bbc news, solihull. they are absolutely gorgeous,

aren't they? i have always suspected they feel that way about us anyway. that's it from us. thank you so much for watching. 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. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, as newsday continues — straight after hardtalk. welcome to a special edition of hardtalk with me, stephen sackur. it is six months since vladimir putin ordered a multi—front military invasion of ukraine. he set in motion a war which has already taken a terrible human toll and had profound consequences for european security, big power relations and the world economy. putin calculated it was an aggression he could get away with.

six months of interviews with key players may help