�*welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm mariko oi. the headlines. britain's third prime minister in a matter of weeks — rishi sunak warns of difficult economic times ahead, but says he's �*not daunted'. i fully appreciate how hard things are. i fully appreciate how hard things are-— i fully appreciate how hard thins are. �* , a, things are. and i understand too that i — things are. and i understand too that i have _ things are. and i understand too that i have work - things are. and i understand too that i have work to - things are. and i understand too that i have work to do i things are. and i understand too that i have work to do to restore trust after all that is happened. and the work begins with shaping the new cabinet — some returning, some retained.

civilians continue to flee the ukrainian city of kherson as russia persists in claims kyiv is preparing to use a so—called �*dirty bomb'. air strikes in me and more, the military defends the attack in which 50 civilians were killed. and putting ties with the rapper calling his anti—semitic postings on social media hateful and dangerous. it's seven in the morning in singapore, and midnight in london where rishi sunak is spending his first night as prime minister in downing street. earlier he was officially appointed by king charles.

the 42—year—old is the country's youngest leader in modern times and the first prime minister of colour. he spent much of the day appointing his government ministers and has already held phone calls with world leaders including president biden. our political editor chris mason looks back on an historic day. 11:50, this morning, downing street's security gates had swung open, the motorcade swept in, heralding another new arrival here. here he comes, rishi sunak, walking up downing street alone to the podium to address the country for the first time as prime minister. i have just been to buckingham palace and accepted his majesty the king's invitation to form a government in his name. it is only right to explain why i'm standing here as your new prime minister. right now, our country is facing a profound economic crisis. a businesslike, sober

tone, a blunt, direct assessment of the country's predicament and future. i want to pay tribute to my predecessor, liz truss. she was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country, but some mistakes were made, and i have been elected as leader of my party and your prime minister, in part, to fix them. this will mean difficult decisions to come. translation — spending cuts and/or tax rises appear likely. and here's why the new prime minister doesn't think there needs to be a general election. the conservatives won the last one, he said, not borisjohnson. the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual.

he concluded by addressing the political crisis that has raged in recent weeks. i understand, too, that i have work to do to restore trust after all that has happened. all i can say is that i am not daunted. we will create a future worthy of the sacrifices so many have made, and fill tomorrow and every day thereafter with hope. thank you. the era, or at least stint, of rishi sunak begins. an extraordinary moment. he was plunged into the political wilderness just weeks ago and now he is prime minister. his task colossal. the photographers shouted at the prime minister, asking for a smile. cheer up, rishi!

he pretty much resisted. rishi sunak has spoken on the phone to president biden — who's described his appointment — as �*a groundbreaking milestone'. mr sunak comes to office facing a series of major challenges on the global stage, from the war in ukraine, to the global energy crisis. our diplomatic correspondent james landale explains what's ahead. we've got breaking news on who will be britain's new prime minister. rishi sunak is the name... he may be britain's fifth prime minister in six years but rishi sunak�*s arrival in downing street still made headlines. world leaders offered their congratulations, even if they didn't quite get his name right. rushi sunuk is now the prime minister. pretty astounding. a ground—breaking milestone. and it matters. it matters. and notjust in america.

history has been scripted in britain as rishi sunak... the fact that mr sunak is a british—asian resonated around the world, especially in india where the prime minister, narendra modi, spoke of the living bridge of uk indians that he hoped could transform historic ties into a modern partnership with britain. gunfire. but mr sunak takes office while a war rages in europe. and for all the warm welcome, many leadersjust want to know his policy on this and other international challenges. the prime minister may struggle to be as popular in kyiv as borisjohnson, but he's made clear he will reinforce britain's total support for ukraine. in a tweet, president zelensky congratulated mr sunak and said he was ready to continue strengthening the strategic partnership between ukraine and britain. but supporting ukraine in the long run will cost money, largely from the coffers

of the ministry of defence. and on this mr sunak�*s plans are less clear. liz truss promised to spend 3% of national wealth on defence. that's a huge increase, as much as £100 billion a year. mr sunak dismissed that as an arbitrary target. the prime minister will also have to deal with china, which recently launched missiles into the sea near taiwan. he says china is a long—term threat to britain. but it's also a trading partner, so getting the balance right won't be easy. and then there's europe. mr sunak campaigned as a committed brexiteer, but some in the eu are hoping he'll adopt a more pragmatic approach on energy prices and trade disputes left over from brexit. ultimately, what many foreign leaders want to know is whether mr sunak can give britain the political stability his predecessors have not. james landale, bbc news.

well in a call in the past few hours with ukraine's president zelensky, rishi sunak promised that the uk's support would — he said — be �*steadfast and as strong as ever�* under his premiership. it comes after the un's nuclear watchdog — the iaea — says its inspectors have regularly visited two sites in ukraine which are at the centre of russian claims that kyiv is preparing a so—called dirty bomb. here's our correspondent in kyiv — hugo bachega — with more. ukrainians have been dismissing these allegations as absurd, as lies, and they say that russia itself could be preparing to use a dirty bomb — which is a bomb made with radioactive material. and we saw that these accusations were first made by the russian defence minister on sunday, then russian officials repeated the same accusations without providing any evidence — and today, we heard again the same accusations being made by the kremlin spokesperson.

so western countries have dismissed these allegations as faults, but i think the fear here in kyiv is that this could be a pretext for a false flag attack by the russians — in other words, the russians could carry out an attack using a dirty bomb, and then try to blame the ukrainians for this attack. and i think it is interesting to see that these allegations are coming as the ukrainians are going ahead with this counteroffensive, they are taking back territory that's been under russian occupation — and now all on kherson, which is one of the four regions that president putin to have annexed. the russians are there in the ukrainians are making advances, taking back territory there in that part of the country. so, i think the fear here — and it's the fear that's being voiced by some western countries, as well — is that russia may use this dirty bomb allegation as a pretext for an escalation in this war.

ukraine has urged its citizens who are abroad not to return until the spring, to help ease the pressure on the severely damaged energy system. the appeal comes after president zelensky said that russian missile and drone attacks on power plants and other infrastructure had destroyed a third of the country's energy sector. let's get some of the day's other news a russian court has rejected an appeal by us basketball star, brittney griner, against her nine—yearjail term for drug smuggling. she is due to serve her sentence in a penal colony. the white house has called the ruling �*a sham'. tens of thousands of protesters in sudan have held a day of demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of a military takeover. security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to prevent protesters from reaching the presidential palace. a plane carrying the body of a prominent pakistani television presenter

who was shot by police in kenya — has touched down in islamabad. arshad sharif was killed on sunday when the car he was in sped through a checkpoint outside the kenyan capital. an investigation is underway. the first pictures have emerged — of yesterday's military air strikes in kachin state in northern myanmar. in kachin state around 50 people were killed — and a hundred injured — when a concert organised by one of the country's biggest ethnic insurgent groups was bombed. earlier, our south east asia correspondent jonathan head gave us the latest on the attack. even by the standards of me anwar�*s very civil war in this region which is been fighting the central government for more than 60 years, that's what the consul was meant to commemorate since the independence army started its struggle even by the standards and be seeing this is a particularly shocking attack and people who were at

the consulate have not started and there'll gathering in this open area and it's an area controlled by the kachin organisation. and it was a community event where the said there was no warning and they did not even hear the aircraft. it is just three very large explosions and very accurate as well but suggests it was night—time that the air force was using some precision munitions stated that area so precisely and it was dark, of course and some the people killed and injured and the kachin have lost two of the most popular singers really left author kachin were about to perform at one other actor we thudded been cured managed to escape with injuries but it was a tremendous blow and into the number of the kachin independence organisation leaders but there are an awful lot of civilians it is well and the whole kachin community in

me and mar are substantial part of the country in the north and they are in morning today in the been doing candlelit services and the miramar government, the military government, the military government has denied hitting civilians and claimed that it was a military base that they struck and referred to conflict with the kachin independence army is justification saying the been lots of clashes in kidnappings and this is an area where they have been regular clashes going back a long way between the government and kachin forces. it's also an area with a lot of data mining which is a crucial source of income which is hotly contested income which is hotly contested in fighting there is not been new but something on the scale is quite shocking in many people are referring to it as a war crime. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. we look at the profound and diverse effects the pandemic has had on mental health — based on a global poll commissioned by the bbc.

indira gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy, died today. 0nly yesterday, she had spoken of dying in the service of her country and said, i would be proud of it, every drop of my blood will contribute to the growth of this nation. after 46 years of unhappiness, these two countries have concluded a chapter of history. no more suspicion, no more fear, no more uncertainty of what each day might bring. of six astronaut heroes and one american legend. well, enjoying the show is right, this is beautiful. a milestone in human history. born today, this girl in india is the 7,000,000,000th person on the planet.

this is newsday on the bbc. in singapore. 0ur headlines. britain's third prime minister in a matter of weeks — rishi sunak warns of difficult economic times ahead, but says he's �*not daunted'. and the work begins with shaping the new cabinet — some returning, some retained. more on that top story now — and there's been unsurprisingly a lot of reaction here in asia to rishi sunak becoming the first british asian prime minister. sunak�*s success has been welcomed in india, with his grandparents coming from the state of pubjab. news channels have been providing rolling coverage of the story with support for sunak printed across the front pages of many national newspapers. prashun dutt who's currently writing a book which looks at the success of first and second generation south asian immigrants. hejoins us live from singapore.

we've seen a lot of reaction in india and amongst south asians around the world to the news. s there is overall, a huge positive reaction from the community across the south asian and southeast asia, and the far east and their extensive media coverage on it. the specific reasons for this. particularly if you think britain itself, things evolve over time and britain has been rapidly evolving as a multiracial multicultural entity over the past seven decades. rishi sunak�*s appointment as the first indian, hindu prime minister in britain reconfirms for the

world that the uk is accessing its stronger talent pool. which may have been lacking earlier in decades. in the south asian community for britain, for decades, that demonstrated their capabilities as an economic and professional powerhouse and continue to substantially produce economic gains. but they have somehow been suffered, suffering from some of the nuances, negative nuances of racism and lack of recognition of the collective contributions. rishi sunak being appointed brings a strong wider acceptance in british society of this long overdue contribution. and across india and southeast asia, the far east also, there's a lot of media coverage about this appointment and rishi sunak is

the second prime minister, european prime minister of ethnic indian origins and is we have run out of time and thank you so much forjoining us on the significant moment on newsday. five palestinians, including at least three gunmen, have been killed in a major israeli raid, against a militant group in the occupied west bank. the israelis carried out the raid in the city of nablus, and said they acted after the killing of an israeli soldier earlier this month. explosion israel's special forces move in after midnight. they say they've come to target the leader of the lions�* den, a rising palestinian military group. palestinians use loudspeakers for a call to defend the city. and many answer.

gunfights break out between militants and israeli troops. israel�*s search and arrest raids in the occupied west bank have been mounting for months and this was one of the biggest in years, killing five, including the militant commander. with the strike now closing shops, people emerged to streets cleared of trade but full of the talk of death. the lions�* den rejects the traditional palestinian leadership and has rapidly grown a popular base. israel says this was the group�*s bomb factory. rayek lives next door and told me he was blown out of bed by the missile strike. "i saw it come in. all this glass fell on us," he says. "the building exploded. we took the kids and

we ran downstairs." the big fear now is of a much further collapse into violence, and that is because you have a new generation of militants prepared, willing to fire at the israelis during these raids. and the israelis using a level of force here that hasn�*t been his militant brother. "for every one who dies," this boy tells me, "there will be ten more ready to fight." israel says it will keep striking hard to counter the threat. but the queues of mourners are growing and so too the grip of militancy. tom bateman, bbc news, nablus. a global survey commissioned by the bbc shows how mental health has been

profoundly affected by the covid pandemic. a third of people polled — in 30 countries — reported that they had lost a close loved—one during the pandemic, and nearly half said they were financially worse off. the bbc�*s population correspondent — stephanie hegarty reports from vietnam. giang lost most of the business at her printing company during lockdown in vietnam, but she has found one silver lining in all of this. millions of people have died from covid—i9. and it has had a profound impact on mental health, according to the who, affecting different groups in varied ways.

in a poll of 29,000 people by globe scan, commissioned by the bbc, 36% say they feel better now than they did even before the pandemic, while 27% say they feel worse. people in vietnam were particularly positive. in ho chi minh city�*s harsh lockdown last year, ngan could not leave the house, even to buy food, and she had a newjob and a new baby to content with. when surveyed, women were more likely than men to say the pandemic negatively affected their mental health. for some time, i was exhausted, and if i needed some time for myself self adjustment of the toilet and stayed there for a few minutes. then after you get, 0k, breathe in, breathe out. but the survey suggests that parents of children under 18 are faring better now, on average, than most other groups. i think for me, it is easy for me to recover, because i was so busy with what was happening in daily life.

you know, about work, about my child, and then i need to take some rest and learn chinese. i am braver after the covid. if i want to do something, then ijust do it, yes, don�*t delay. therapist vi has been surprised to see how well her clients have been recovering and she has an idea why. at ho chi minh�*s university of social sciences, she is working on a programme called vaccine for the mind, which started in lockdown when reports of anxiety and suicidal thoughts surged. vi says people are more aware of the mental health than ever, especially younger people. which may explain why, in many parts of the world,

vi says people are more aware of the mental health than ever, especially younger people. which may explain why, in many parts of the world, they report bouncing back faster than any other age group. stephanie hegarty, bbc news, in vietnam. the clothing giant adidas — which has factories in china and india — has ended its partnership with the musician ye, formerly known as kanye west. adidas says it doesn�*t tolerate hate speech. hours later gap said it would remove his yeezy products from its stores. it comes after ye posted anti—semitic comments on his twitter account. here�*s michelle fleury. he has never been one to do things by the book. he has been outspoken from the start and it has worked for him but is that dynamic changing as the fashion mogul is made repeated anti—semitic remarks over the past month including sink he would go to devcon

—— devcon three onjewish people. and losing lucrative business deals is another and adidas has called time on its multiyear deal with the artist think it does not tolerate anti—semitism in any other sorts of hate speech and has called his recent comments unacceptable, hateful and dangerous. the collaboration is popular with sneaker collectors and will cost them around $250 million. other companies are also cutting ties with mr west, gap is tearing down his products from their stores, the town agency stopped working within the luxury fashion house was the first major firm to publicly drop them. how has kanye west responded, ye is not said anything about the adidas break—up but in recent weeks, he has talked about building up his own system which includes factories, retail stores as a

way to fully separate himself from the corporate world. you have been watching newsday. hello. we�*re going to see out the rest of the month with temperatures above where we might expect them to be for this time of year by day and by night. staying unsettled, a windier day again for wednesday, the chance of catching a shower after some early wet weather clears away. the bulk of the wet weather from this area of low pressure coming through overnight and into the first part of wednesday morning. before then, sunshine and the chance of catching a blustery shower. and, if anything, temperatures edge up a few degrees in the next couple of days. we are drawing the air up into the uk from a long way south of us. and these are the starting temperatures for wednesday morning, for the most part in double figures.

now, we have got some rain into scotland that will push into the northern isles, clearing shetland in the afternoon. a band of showers across all parts following on behind. but look at the timeline. this is lunchtime, and then into the afternoon, it is sunny spells. showers mainly in scotland and northern ireland, some heavy and thundery, a few pushing into wales and western parts of england. but the further east you are, the bulk of the afternoon could well be dry. these are average wind speeds. gusts are going to be higher. coastal gales through the irish sea, some gusts in the western isles to around 50 miles an hour or so. out of that breeze and in the sunshine, there�*ll be some warmth around in the afternoon in parts of eastern and southeast england, notjust wednesday, but for the rest of the week. a few spots will get to 20, if not a bit higher than that. as we go on through wednesday night and into thursday morning, we�*ll see cloud and rain gathering and starting to push up across parts of england and wales. another weather front may just bring some rain into the far west of northern ireland and northwest scotland early on thursday. another very mild start. so cloud and outbreaks of rain to clear away from england

and wales on thursday and a brighter, dry afternoon following. some of that rain pushing through northern ireland into scotland, where we keep a lot of cloud around into the afternoon. and again, these temperatures are well above the long—term average. now, looking at the big picture going into friday, low pressure weather fronts again, with a lot of the wet weather, though, again going through overnight and into friday morning, clearing from scotland and northern england, for example, quite quickly on friday morning. maybe just a weaker area of showers for east anglia and the southeast — not much in the way of rainfall here. then it�*s a case of sunny spells, the chance of a shower, though many places with a dry afternoon, before some rain edges back towards southern areas later on friday. for the weekend, staying unsettled, yes. it does look like a lot of the wet weather, though, will move through overnight saturday and into sunday morning before clearing to sunny spells and showers.

this is bbc news. we�*ll have the headlines and all the main stories at the top of the hour, as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i�*m stephen sackur. eight decades after the world confronted the evil of nazism, significant numbers of people around the world are still drawn to extreme violent forms of race hatred and nationalism. in his youth, my guest was part of that culture. matthew collins was a violent

far—right thug, but he changed sides, became an informer and after years in exile, returned to britain to become a prominent activist