welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... the ukrainian army says it's made major advances towards kherson in the south of the country, a day after russia said it was abandoning the city. president biden embarks on a whirlwind diplomatic tour which will see him have a face—to—face meeting with chinese president xi jinping. two days on from the us midterm elections, control of america's senate still hangs in the balance. for years, it's handed out bibles. now britian�*s ministry of defence will issue sikh prayer books to sikh personnel.

live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello, and welcome to the programme. nine months after the russian invasion of ukraine, seniorfigures in the ukrainian military say they're making significant progress against the forces of president putin. russian forces have admitted having problems with their supply lines, and they've been actively engaged in establishing new defensive lines. all eyes are on the southern port of kherson — a strategically vital city which russian forces say they're in the process of leaving. russia says it's moving to new defensive positions on the other side of the dnipro river, but that process could take weeks. there's no sign so far of a mass withdrawal. kherson was the first and only regional capital

our international editor jeremy bowen has more from odesa. the ukrainians are correct to be cautious, because the russians will try and hurt them as much as they can, as often as they can, as their forces go back. but as far as the russians are concerned, there is, if you like, a couple of extreme scenarios, a range of scenarios. one of them is for the russians, the worst one, a disorderly retreat, leaving their forces bunch up at crossing points on the river and very vulnerable to very accurate ukrainian shellfire. the other extreme, the good scenario for the russians — which clearly is the favourite in moscow — is that they manage to carry out an organised fighting retreat, which is something their military skills have not yet suggested they could do. but if they could do that, then they would be able to transfer equipment and men onto the opposite side to their prepared positions.

and then, the russians would say, "look, hang on, this may look like a defeat, but actually we are in a better position than we were because of the river." now, what do they make of all this in moscow, on state tv and in the streets? here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. what are russians being told about the war in ukraine? for more than eight months, the message from the kremlin to the people has been russia will be victorious — and yet there is no sign of the promised victory. on the contrary, the public is learning of problems. grim faces on state tv, as russia announces a retreat from kherson, the strategically important ukrainian city. "i bet they're cock a hoop about this in the west," he says. "but we have to remain calm." and this kremlin supporter remains confident.

of course, we will win and withdrawal of our troops. temporary withdrawal of our troops from kherson in order not to be surrendered is not a defeat. even though a lot of people in the west would like to see this as a defeat. it's not. because sometimes you need to go back one step to go ten steps further. still, it does feel like vladimir putin has been trying to distance himself from what many see as a setback. as the retreat was being announced, putin was shown visiting a brain research centre. he thought his military operation in ukraine would last days, not months. but it hasn't gone to plan. there is also growing confusion over his objectives in this war.

would be russian forever, the retreat is a blow to moscow. russia's retreat from kherson creates a danger for vladimir putin. it risks changing how he's perceived here at home. not so much by the russian public, but by the russian elite, by the people around him, the people in power here, who for years have viewed putin as a great strategist, a winner. less so now. and the mood on the streets? "of course we'll win the war," he says. "when have russians ever lost?" i really hope that russian soldiers will come back and vladimir putin will leave his post and ukraine and russia will be free from this dictator. for now, the russian public is watching, waiting... ..to see where the kremlin�*s war goes from here. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

president biden is embarking on a whirlwind diplomatic tour which will take him to egypt, cambodia, and indonesia. over the next few days, he'll attend cop27, the us-asean summit, and the east asia summit before joining the meeting of 620 leaders in bali. that's where the most anticipated event of the trip will take place — a face—to—face meeting with the chinese president xijinping. here's what mr biden had to say about the forthcoming encounter. what i want to do with him, when we talk, is lay out what each of our red lines are — understand what he believes to be, in the critical national interests of china, what i know to be the critical interests of the united states, and determine whether or not they conflict with one another. and if they do, how do we resolve it and work it out? let's get more on this. azadeh moshiri is in our london newsroom.

she's been watching this forthcoming meeting very closely. just put us in the context for us, why is this such an anticipated meeting between the two leaders, and what are some of those red lines that president biden may be talking about? it’s those red lines that president biden may be talking about?— may be talking about? it's partly because those _ may be talking about? it's partly because those red _ may be talking about? it's partly because those red lines - may be talking about? it's partly because those red lines are - may be talking about? it's partly because those red lines are such lightning rods of tension right now and have been so difficult to resolve. taiwan is of course one of the big issues here. now officially the big issues here. now officially the united states only recognises beijing, has formal ties with one china in terms of their policy and only recognises the chinese government. but they also have what they call a robust and unofficial relationship with taiwan, a self governed island. that means they also do things like sell them weapons to defend themselves. so that's diplomatic type wrote —— tight rope that they been able to walk so far but this year has taken a lot of hits. part of that was because of the visit by the us

speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, one of the highest ranked united states officials who went to taiwan despite china warning her not to. and despite president biden himself saying he thought it was a bad idea. now she did this to show support for taiwan but it led to some fierce diplomatic and military blowback by china. but there are some off—the—cuff comments present biden had made over the year— things like saying the us would send its own troops to defend taiwan should there be an unprecedented attack by china. now that doesn't follow the one china policy, and it led to the white house having to clarify several times that that policy hasn't changed and they don't commit to any military intervention. but to te any military interventieng bait ta |t te any military interventieng bait ta it simply, is put it simply, this means china is not happy. it is worth what not happy. it is worth hearing what the chinese foreign minister said earlier. translation: the taiwan question is at the core of china's interests. i the one china principle is what underpins the political foundation of us—china relations. the three joint communiques are the most important guardrail

for us—china relations. united states needs to stop fictionalising, holding out, and distorting the one china principle and abide by the basic norms in international relations. obviously taiwan is a key issue as we heard in that sound bite, but also the war in ukraine. are you expecting the two leaders to talk about that? obviously they have very differing views on it. the about that? obviously they have very differing views on it.— differing views on it. the us has said that will _ differing views on it. the us has said that will be _ differing views on it. the us has said that will be part _ differing views on it. the us has said that will be part of- differing views on it. the us has said that will be part of the - said that will be part of the agenda. to be honest it's quite a challenging issue for president xi jinping himself because china doesn't fully back the war in ukraine — even president putin has said china has some questions and concerns over the invasion. so it's a difficult one to manage, and get russia and china are very strong allies. they've made that clear, they've reaffirmed their

relationship at times throughout the year, and it's certainly important for president putin, who so isolated from the west right now and depends on china's support, especially economically. and yet president putin is one of the biggest concerns bidenand ministration has right now, so of course that'll be top of the agenda. all these red and issues are why united states officials are really tempering their language and it comes to this meeting and trying not to set the expectations too high, despite the fact they'll want to make progress on things like trade. ~ , ,., , to make progress on things like trade. ~ , , ., ., . ~ to make progress on things like trade. , ., ., , :: trade. absolutely, what a packed 620 aaenda it trade. absolutely, what a packed 620 agenda it will— trade. absolutely, what a packed 620 agenda it will be. _ trade. absolutely, what a packed 620 agenda it will be. thanks _ trade. absolutely, what a packed 620 agenda it will be. thanks for - agenda it will be. thanks for joining us on the programme to talk us through that. and we'll be taking newsday on the road to you to that g20 newsday on the road to you to that 620 summit next week, so lots to look forward to. two days after the us midterm elections, the outcome remains unclear, with control of congress still to be decided. the republicans are inching closer to a majority in the house of representatives, while the balance of power in the senate hinges

on the outcome of three states — arizona, nevada, and georgia. speaking at an event in washington, president biden said the results so far show that voters expect republicans to work with him, and he explained why this midterm was remarkable for the democratic party. while votes are being counted, we don't know the outcome of all the races. here's what we do know — we lost fewer seats in the house of representatives than any democratic president's first elected midterm in at least a0 years. we had the best midterms for governors since 1986. and experts said we couldn't beat the odds, but we did beat the odds! president biden sounding rather energised there. we can speak to our north america correspondent david willis who is been looking into this for us. great to get you on the programme, david. just to pick up some of the sentiments and what

president biden was saying, the best performance by a sitting government in the midterms in a very long time. what do you think is behind this? fix, what do you think is behind this? lot of people thought this would come down to some sort of referendum on the state of the us economy — inflation here is at a more than a0 year high, a lot of people are suffering because of the cost of living, and so on. but it appears that other issues have galvanised, particularly democrat voters, who appeared to have come out in large numbers in part because of thejune decision by the us supreme court, roe v wade, to lift the constitutional right for a woman to have an abortion in this country. that allied with distaste over some of the donald trump endorsed candidates in this election, particularly in the state of pennsylvania, doctor mehmet oz who lost tojohn pennsylvania, doctor mehmet oz who lost to john fetterman there. pennsylvania, doctor mehmet oz who lost tojohn fetterman there. mr aulas was very much a trump endorsed candidate, but it now comes down, as far as the senate is concerned, as

you mentioned, to three key swing states, nevada, arizona and georgia. that means we won't know the makeup of the senate for months. the publicans are set to pick up seats in the house of representatives, but the so—called red wives the microwave just didn't happen —— republicans are set. microwave just didn't happen -- republicans are set.— republicans are set. some have described as _ republicans are set. some have described as a _ republicans are set. some have described as a red _ republicans are set. some have described as a red ripple. - republicans are set. some have described as a red ripple. you . described as a red ripple. you referred to this early on that this appears to be a backlash from people who did not want to see trump endorsed candidates come to power? is that the sentiment you're seeing on the ground? i is that the sentiment you're seeing on the ground?— on the ground? i think a lot of this comes into — on the ground? i think a lot of this comes into question _ on the ground? i think a lot of this comes into question certainly - on the ground? i think a lot of this i comes into question certainly donald trump ozment kingmaker role as far as the republican party is concerned. particularly given the success of his main rival, it seems, ron desantis who considerably

extended his majority in the state of florida where he romped home in that election for governor. now ron desantis is widely tipped as a potential candidate of the future, being described by some as donald trump with less of the drama, if you like —— potential presidential candidate. but donald trump is expected to formally announce next week that he's running for president in two years' time, and a lot of people are already asking him within the party he could hold off whilst the party he could hold off whilst the georgia senate election goes to that rematch, as it were, so the republicans can focus their attention on that. it remains to be seen whether donald trump takes the hint — it's a sign perhaps of how itchy he's becoming about the potential competition posed by ron desantis that he's already coined a nickname for him,, calling him ron

desanctimonious. so nickname for him,, calling him ron desanctimonious.— nickname for him,, calling him ron desanctimonious. so much to consider and diaest, desanctimonious. so much to consider and digest. always _ desanctimonious. so much to consider and digest, always great _ desanctimonious. so much to consider and digest, always great to _ desanctimonious. so much to consider and digest, always great to get - desanctimonious. so much to consider and digest, always great to get you - and digest, always great to get you on the programme, david, thanks for joining us on newsday. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: for years, britain's ministry of defence has issued out bibles to its staff. now it will also hand out sikh prayer books. the bombastic establishment outsider, donald trump, has defied the pollsters to take the keys to the oval office. i feel great about the election results. i voted for him because i genuinely believe he cares about the country. it's keeping the candidate's name always in the public eye that counts. success or failure depends not only on public display, but on the local campaign headquarters and the heavy routine work of their women volunteers.

for so long, has died. with an outburst ofjoy. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani in singapore. our headlines... the ukrainian army says it has made major advances towards kherson in the south of the country, a day after russia said it was abandoning the city. president biden embarks on a whirlwind diplomatic tour which will see him have a face—to—face meeting with chinese president xi jinping. nearly four weeks ago,

aboriginal teenager cassius turvey was walking home from his school in perth with friends, when they were allegedly chased and cassius was beaten with a metal rod. he died in hospital ten days later. the australian prime minister anthony albanese claimed that the attack was clearly racially motivated — but police say the investigation continues and have urged people not to speculate about a motive. cassius's mother spoke to our australia correspondent shaimaa khalil. and a warning for aboriginal and torres strait islander viewers — this report contains images of someone who has died. we were explaining to him why he was called cassius. this was just after we showed some youtube clips of muhammad ali. the heart of his family and community. a good kid who inspired others and loved life. he was funny. michelle turvey says her son, cassius, was cheerful, loyal, with a beautiful cheeky smile. he set up a lawnmowing

business with his friends to reach out to neighbours. the teenager wanted to change the negative stereotypes about indigenous youth. on his way home from school nearly a month ago, he was violently attacked. i couldn't move. i got a phone call saying he'd been rushed to hospital. and ijust walked out of the hairdressing salon — i didn't know to what extent his injuries were. it was devastating. my question was, "why? this kid is amazing, why would someone do that?" my son never got in trouble, ijust wanted to be with him. cassius was in his school uniform walking with friends when a car pulled up. a stranger allegedly told the group to run before chasing them down here — and officers are investigating claims that the boys were racially abused. police believe that cassius was then bashed with a metal pole.

he was taken to hospital with serious head injuries, but the doctors couldn't save him. he died ten days later. a 21—year—old man has now been charged with his murder. what do we want? justice! we do we want it? now! _ the violence has to stop. it really does, because it's not just about cassius. cassius' death shocked australia and sparked a sense of national grief and anger. it brought to the fore yet again the unresolved issues around racism. thousands of people attended rallies and vigils across the country. events were also held in the us and new zealand, demanding change and justice. megan cracker has helped hundreds of first nations families deal with the aftermath of violence and discrimination — tragedies she says that invoke a generational trauma dating back to colonisation. i'm really angry because i see death. i'm being at their bedsides when life—support machines are turned off.

so in my mind, and what is evident is there's a lack of political will — a lack of political will to address the underlying issues. this felt personal to so many families, some of whom say even before cassius' death, they were fearful for their children. mechelle finds comfort in being near cassius' tree, as she calls it — a vigil set up near where the attack happened. every day, she says, there are more messages of support. a shared grief for a young man with so many dreams. how will you are him? —— remember him? as my baby boy. as my miracle kid. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, perth. the bbc have tried to contact both the premier of australia and the

western australian lease force for a response, but at this point either have come back to us. previously they've urged family members to refrain from unfounded... and let the police investigation run its course. counterterrorism officials in belgium are leading an investigation into a fatal stabbing of a police officer in brussels. his injuries are not being described as life—threatening. the assailant was shot and taken to hospital, his condition is not known. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... there has been a sharp rise in long waits for cancer therapy in the past four years across england, scotland and northern ireland. the number waiting more than the 62—day target time for therapy in the past year has topped 69,000 — that's twice as many as in 2018. staff shortages and a backlog that built up during the covid pandemic, are contributing to the increase.

the inquiry into the grenfell tower fire in london which claimed 72 lives in 2017 has ended, after hearing evidence for over two—and—a—half years. the lead council said it had been a merry—go—round of buck passing by cladding and insulation manufacturers, building industry professionals, local and national government. it may take a year for a final report to be produced. a man has been sentenced for life for murdering his ex—partner, who died 21 years after he set her alight. jacqueline kirk was badly disfigured after steven craig re—enacted a torture scene from the film reservoir dogs in 1998. he was previously found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent, and has served almost 19 years injail.

for many years, the british army has been providing bibles for its staff who practise christianity. now the ministry of defence is to issue daily prayer books called nitnem gutka's to sikh service personnel. it's all down to a major in the british army who's spent years campaigning to make it happen — as clairejones explains. just a warning, there are some flashing images in this piece. at this printers, more than 500 copies of sikh daily prayer books are being created. for sikhs, our scriptures are not just words, but they are the living embodiment of our group. major daljinder singh—virdee has been campaigning for two years to make this possible. the army has been providing christian religious texts for many years, and i saw the opportunity there to open the door for the sikh faith, to provide to sikh texts. after arriving at a sikh temple in london, the prayer books are being blessed. chanting and praying

the prayer books have been printed in three languages and endurable material to withstand the rigours of military life. the camouflage books are for the british army, and the navy blue books are for the royal navy and raf. sikh daily prayer books were first issued to service personnel more than a century ago, along with steel daggers, bracelets, and wooden combs — but they've never been issued again since. one of the last remaining copies is in the national army museum archive — and we're here to see it. so, we'll come around here, and we can have a look at it in detail. it'sjust in this box here. it's probably the earliest example of a sikh prayer book from the first world war. it's an incredible example, and to survive in such good condition — right from 191a, at the beginning of the war.

it's a very important object and tells so many different stories. it's very poignant. this is the type of sikh prayer book that would've been taken out by sikhs who fought in gallipoli, the first world war, in france, in the trenches. satvir singh designed the new prayer books to include the historical elements of the sikh faith. this is their main logo for the sikh defence network. then you've got this here, which is a curved blade sword. and down at the bottom here, you see our shield. throughout history, we've always had symbolism of weaponry, it's part of our history. the thing that will mean the most to me is when sikhs take this with them throughout their career, and it's a way for them to connect with their faith. that for me is the biggest reward that i could ever ask for. clairejones, bbc news, in london. you have been watching newsday.

thanks so much forjoining me. stay with bbc news for the latest global headlines and announcements. our exceptionally mild spell of november. hello there. our exceptionally mild spell of november. weather is set to stick around for another few days. there's also a lot of dry weather on the cards, but we have got some rain across the far northwest of the uk. not only is it very mild out there, but it will also feel windy once again through friday. so, we've got high pressure towards the southeast, and this waving weather front in the northwest — that combination of weather systems means our winds are coming in from the southwest. so, from a very warm direction, we're drawing up this warm air from the azores right up towards the uk, you can see the orange colours on the map there. so, a very, very mild start to friday morning. on average, we'd expect overnight lows this time of year to be between about 3—6 celsius north—to—south — but overnight temperatures at the moment between about 13—15,

so a good ten degrees or even more than that above average for the time of year. so, very mild to start things off, also fairly cloudy for most of us. we will see rain initially for the western isles and parts of highland — that area of rain will track eastwards across scotland and northern ireland through the day, becoming lighter and patchier as it does so. england and wales predominantly dry, the odd spot of drizzle in the west, best of the sunshine towards the east. but gusts of wind once again, a realfeature — 30—a0mph for many of us, 50mph across parts of scotland and through the irish sea, too. and temperatures 16—17 for most of us, but as high as 19 celsius for the northeast of scotland, probably the warm spot during armistice day on friday. for the northeast of scotland, probably the warmest spot so, through the day, then, we'll be seeing this area of rain moving a bit further south for a time, and then, starting to return northwards overnight and on into saturday morning, so still very mild, not quite as mild as first thing friday morning, though. we're down into single figures across parts of scotland. so, through the day on saturday, there's that area of rain

clearing to the north, slowly, just sitting up towards the northern isles for longest. but elsewhere, after mist and fog clear away from parts of england and wales, should be a bit more sunshine coming through. lighter winds than we've seen, 17—18 towards the south, mid—teens further north. and for remembrance sunday, again, largely dry and settled. some early mist and fog, which should clear away from the vale of york, welsh marches, for instance, as well. lighter winds not quite as warm, but we're still looking at temperatures well above average, 13—17 celsius. probably the last of the dry and warm—feeling days, because things are set to turn cooler and more unsettled as we head through next week. bye for now.

hello there, and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are professor anand menon, who is director of the think tank uk in a changing europe, and natasha clark, the chief political correspondent for the sun. a quick glance through the front pages of tomorrow's papers. the daily express leads with a warning about the potential

�*tragedy�* for families if the cap on social care costs is delayed. meanwhile, the guardian highlights teachers' concerns about the number of children coming to school hungry.