welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines. buckingham palace issues a formal apology — as a senior member of the royal household is accused of making racist remarks, to a black, british guest. the former chinese leader, jiang zemin — who stepped in after the tiananmen square massacre — has died. it comes at a time when the nation is once again gripped by protests. a new drug is shown to slow the destruction of the brain by alzheimer's. scientists describe it as a momentous breakthrough. this is so exciting because now

we're getting results, the first results that are indicating that the drug is successfully treating the underlying causes. and — celebrations in melbourne as australia's footballers go through to the knockout stages of the mens�* world cup. it's eight in the morning in singapore, and midnight in london where buckingham palace has issued a formal apology — following remarks made by a senior member of the royal household to a black charity founder — who said she was questioned about whether she was really british at a royal

reception on tuesday. lady susan hussey is godmother to prince william — the prince of wales — and served as lady—in—waiting to the late queen. at a gathering hosted by the queen consort, lady hussey made comments described by the palace as �*unacceptable and deeply regrettable�* — and said that she had stepped aside with immediate effect. a warning there is some flash photography in this report by our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. buckingham palace yesterday afternoon, a reception concerning violence against women hosted by the queen consort. standing next to camilla with her back to the family is ngozi fulani, the chief executive of sister's space and a prominent advocate for survivors of domestic abuse. lady susan hussey, on the left ear, was a lady in waiting to the late queen elizabeth for more than 60 years and is a senior member of the royal household. according to ms fulani the following conversation took place between them.

another guest at the reception heard the exchange. it made us feel perhaps we are not welcome, perhaps we do not belong. you can be pretty sure a white woman would not have been on the receiving end

of questioning like that. buckingham palace said it took the whole incident seriously. lady susan hussey has given years of devoted service to the royal family, she is godmother to prince william. she had said nothing further about the incident. ngozi fulani, seen here talking to the queen consort yesterday, has accused buckingham palace of being institutionally institutionally racist. into this tonight have stepped the prince and princess of wales, they have just arrived on a ba flight into boston. william's spokesman said racism has no place in british society and it is right that lady hussey stepped aside. it amounts to an uncomfortable reminder at the start of the us visit of the comments

about racist attitudes by the duchess of sussex. well, as we've just seen — the prince and princess of wales have arrived in boston for the start of their first visit to the usa for eight years. our royal correspondent daniella relph has the latest from outside thejfk presidential library museum. it's not been an ideal start to the prince and princesses trip here to boston. it has been embarrassing and distracting. this was about to be optimistic about the future and meeting a wide range of communities in boston. instead the couple spokesman had to issue that statement condemning racismm. describing yesterday's comments as unacceptable. in issuing that statement very early right at the start of the trip, william and catherine have made their feelings and their position on this matter explicitly clear.

they will now try to concentrate on the trip itself. which now includes a brief meeting with president biden on friday. there are going to try to concentrate on the things they say matter to them there. diversity, representation, sustainability. they are the big themes of this week. we can expect to see them on show in the kind of engagements the couple undertake here in boston over the coming days. why this is been given world heritage status. at first, let's turn to china. to china now — where the former chinese leader — jiang zemin has died in shanghai. he was 96. he took over from deng xiaoping in the aftermath of the tiananmen square massacre in 1989. for more than a decade he presided over china's extraordinary rise in prosperity and global influence, though it was also a period of increased religious repression, corruption and environmental degradation.

steve mcdonell reports from beijing. jiang zemin will be remembered as the leader of china when his country rejoined the global community. a time of opening up and high—speed growth. he is also known as a powerbroker, economic reformer and something of an eccentric. after the bloody 1989 crackdown on protesters in and around tiananmen square, china was ostracised internationally. in the aftermath, jiang zemin was chosen as a compromise leader in the hope that he would unify hardliners and more liberal elements. he prioritised market forces, giving china the highest level of per capita growth of any major country. but political reforms were put to one side. and he's been criticised for the mass detention of falun gong practitioners who were seen as a threat to the party. he was at the helm for the hong kong handover,

when china joined the world trade organisation, and when it was awarded the 2008 summer olympics. whether it be playing ping—pong... singing... or showing off his hawaiian guitar skills... ..jiang zemin was a showman, in sharp contrast to the leaders who have followed him. exciting! too simple. sometimes naive! he famously gave hong kong journalists a public dressing down in english, and his images have become gifs and emojis, still flying around chinese social media with a mixture of affection and hilarity. at a press conference with former us president bill clinton, there was debating and light—hearted banter. it's hard to imagine this happening now. cbs news asked if he was running a development

or dictatorship. am i wrong? of course. this is a big mistake. big mistake. of course. in his elderly years, there was still talk of him retaining a factional power base, as he survived rumour after rumour that he had passed away. yet his final public appearance in 2019 showed that even jiang zemin had to slow down some time. well for more on this, lets speak to willy lam is author of �*the era ofjiang zemin�* and an adjunct professor at the centre for china studies at the chinese university of hong kong. he joins us from there.

he cannot deny credit for developing is policy despite massive opposition from spitting out the process of the organisation and was successful after— organisation and was successful after he — organisation and was successful after he agreed to make massive concessions to the us and western_ concessions to the us and western powers and i think he performed the party by allowing the people in the communist party— the people in the communist party and despite the fact that he has — party and despite the fact that he has been criticised for some spiritual— he has been criticised for some spiritual movement and the fact that his — spiritual movement and the fact that his era began with large—scale corruption, i think

he should _ large—scale corruption, i think he should be remembered at least — he should be remembered at least on _ he should be remembered at least on the economic front, a major— least on the economic front, a major reformer within the communist party. is major reformer within the communist party. is death at a communist party. is death - at a time - communist party. is death - at a time where i communist party. is death i - at a time where china communist party. is death - - at a time where china is coming at a time where china is serious protest how since tiananmen square, how much of the serious risk or credibility issue is this for the chinese communist party? for the past 20 years, deng longer thou-h, lon- zemin 5.722. 7757771777177: in elevating xi mama [ammo immune _iii! he is been m

xiaoping, xi seenis seen is many of the philosophies of our draconian philosophies of our predecessor and draconian philosophies of our prede a ssor and liang, draconian philosophies of our prede a big r and liang, not oi'i because politics because the so—called by politics because the so—calledj — byjiahg himself has pretty much zemin himself has pretty much been _ zemin himself has pretty much been sidelined and we do not expect— been sidelined and we do not expect any serious political repercussions from his death. thank— repercussions from his death. thank you _ repercussions from his death. thank you so much forjoining us on newsday.

it's being described as momentous — a major trial of an experimental dementia drug has shown — for the first time — that the progression of early stage alzheimer's — can be slowed down. the effects of the treatment were small, but have prompted huge excitement among researchers. our medical editor, fergus walsh, reports. dementia is the most feared condition among older people, but mavis, who is 88, is enjoying her retirement, such as coffee mornings, despite a diagnosis of early—stage alzheimer's. i don't feel old, i don't feel tired particularly. we enjoy life together, and i've got family which i absolutely adore and enjoy them. life, i think, is rather nice. mavis' short—term memory is badly affected, and she increasingly relies on her husband, rodney. what are you going to do with yourself today?

i have no idea. you're going up to have an infusion at the clinic. oh, thank you. that's exciting. come on, rodney, let's get going. mavis is one of nearly 2,000 patients who took part in a pivotal trial of an experimental alzheimer's treatment. so, i'm just going to show- you the hippocampus, and that's where all our short—term memory is stored. - and what you can see is that structure is very small - and shrunken and replaced by fluid because of- the disease. alzheimer's gradually destroys key areas of the brain involved in memory and understanding. the damage is driven by the build—up of a rogue protein called amyloid, which clumps around neurons in the brain. the new drug lecanemab binds to amyloid, which prompts immune cells to attack and clear it from the brain. access to the drug could be severely limited, in part because specialist tests required to screen patients for amyloid

or not widely available. but there will be a clamour for the treatment, which in the trial slowed cognitive decline by about a quarter over 18 months. lecanemab is not a cure. it can only help patients in the early stages of alzheimer's, but it is the first drug to convincingly slow cognitive decline, so that makes it a breakthrough against this relentless disease. doctors running the trial are delighted by the findings. this is so exciting because now we are getting results, the first results, that are indicating that the drug is successfully treating the underlying cause and it is slowing down the symptoms of cognitive impairment, and also the behavioural symptoms associated with alzheimer's disease. you look nice and warm. mavis may have been on a dummy or placebo drug during the trial,

but is now definitely getting lecanemab. she receives an infusion every two weeks at this clinic in surrey. now, i heard you had a big . coffee morning this morning. oh, did i? her alzheimer's is still progressing, but her husband says it's not robbed her of her personality. we don't want to just sit around and wait for the inevitable, which is why we applied for the trial, and we are now extremely pleased that we did so, because, you know, it appears to have had a very positive effect on mavis. mavis had no side effects, but others on the trial did, including brain swelling and microbleeds. lecanemab is farfrom being a perfect drug, but alzheimer's researchers say it points the way to better treatments in future.

fergus walsh, bbc news. if you want to get in touch with me i'm on twitter — @bbckarishma you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme. the best thing since sliced bread — why the humble french baguette has been given unesco heritage status. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i'm feeling so helpless that the children are dying in front of me and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult

suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated - britain from continental europe _ it took the drills just i a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a miner| from calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags| with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm in singapore. our headlines. buckingham palace issues a formal apology — as a senior member of the royal household is accused of making

racist remarks, to a black british, reception guest. china's former leader, jiang zemin, has died — as the country faces some of its most serious protests since he came to power after the tiananmen square massacre. at the world cup — we now know four more of the teams who'll line up in the first knockout round. in group c, argentina overcame their opening defeat to saudi arabia — and victory over poland meant they topped the group. but — the result between mexico and saudi arabia meant poland still go through on goal difference. in group d, france go through in top place, despite losing to tunisia. australia beat denmark to the other place in the round of 16. so — here are the next games for the countries who made it through. argentina face australia — and france play poland. those round of 16 games take place this coming weekend. spare a thought for the australian fans who wanted to watch their side

live — they had to stay up until getting on forfour in the morning in melbourne, to cheer their team on. they'd probably agree it was worth it. of denmark — you can see what defeat meant to these let's put all of that into context now — from doha, here's lucy hockings. what a spectacle we've had here in doha. as we watched all the twists and turns as group d reorganised itself over the course ofjust over 90 minutes. because we knew that france were always going to go through to the final 16. they essentially fielded a reserve team to give them some match time. and also giving some of their star players a rest. so in that match it was tunisia who triumphed, 1—0. it was a nice consolation for tunisia. they will not progress to the last 16 but their fans are saying we beat the world champions. so, some pretty happy tunisia fans. despite the fact they

are not progressing. lots of praise for the australian team, as well. the socceroos. they really dug in deep. they showed grit and determination in their match to beat denmark. who were the favourites in their match. 1-0. it was a stunning goal from matthew leckie. in the 60th minute. incredible scenes in the early hours in melbourne. as fans celebrated the result in federation square. so the socceroos are through to the knockout stages. and that's something the only achieved once before. that was back in 2006. let's look ahead to thursday. we have some great matchups happening. with croatia versus belgium. japan versus spain and costa rica go up against germany. that game is going to be really interesting. notjust because of the action on the pitch with the players. but the worlds attention will also be focused on the all—female refereeing trio. there is history being made at this world cup. because they'll take charge for the first time in a men's world cup match. it's referee stephanie frappart who would be joined by assistants, neuza back

and karen diaz. by assistants, neuza back and karen diaz. something to look forward to. something to celebrate as well as some fantastic football. as some fantastic football too. let's take a look at what's happening in qatar on thursday: in group e, all four teams could go through — or be eliminated. spain just need to avoid defeat — but for germany, anything less than a win means they will go home. and in group f, canada are already out — but one of the pre—tournament favourites, belgium are likely to need to win to progress to the knock out rounds. you can find details of all of that and more in the special world cup section of our website — bbc.com/news — and click through — or download the bbc app. there are arguably few things more quintessentially french than the baguette. and yet, the loaf has been in decline in recent years, with many traditional bakeries struggling to stay afloat. but now there's something

to celebrate, as unesco has added the baguette to its "intangible cultural heritage" list. tom brada reports. the humble french baguette, a towering icon among continental baked goods, is currently the toast of the town. the crusty loaf was voted onto a prestigious unesco's list under the title artisanal know how and culture of baguette bread. and to this day, it remains a key part of french identity. in part, you buy bread, you talk to someone, you meet people. all of this creates a social link at a time when the world is increasingly virtual without contact. baguettes take their place on the intangible cultural heritage list alongside other important traditions like truffle hunting in italy and handmade christmas tree decorations in the czech republic. the exact origins of the lengthy loaf aren't known. some say the bread was ordered by napoleon because it would be easier

for soldiers to carry. that can't be proven. but the baguette, as we know it today, was only officially named in 1920. it was then that strict rules about what classed as a baguette were put in place, standardised at 80 centimetres long and 250 grams in weight, shaping the touch of the dough by the baker. all that is a skill that you've been learning for years. it often takes ten years to really know your subject. yeah, the bread sings when it comes out of the oven. the baguette has struggled in recent times with hundreds of artisanal bakeries closing down each year. but unesco's decision has struck a chord with french society. president macron captured the mood of the nation, posting this picture along with a simple message. 250 grams of magic and perfection in our daily lives. tom bradby, bbc news.

christine mcvie — the hugely successful singer and songwriter who was part of the rock band fleetwood mac — has died at the age of 79. the band sold more than 100 million records worldwide — making them one of the most successful groups ever. here's one of their hits from their peak in the 1970s — written by christine — don't stop... ..christine was born in cumbria in northern england — but spent most of her life in the us. she died peacefully in hospital after a short illness, in the company of her family. asked about why her songs about love were so successful — she said she always had to give them a twist. fleetwood mac's christine mcvie who's died at the age of 79. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news.

hello again. wednesday brought us some big weather contrast, once again. now we have some fog that lingered all day around the scottish borders and where that happened, temperatures in places actually stayed below freezing all day, whereas across the south west of england we had some pleasant sunshine. it was quite mild. 12 degrees in cornwall, 13 in the isles of scilly. right now, fog is becoming our next concern. we've got quite dense patches of fog across southern areas of england with the risk of some fog developing across wales, midlands, east anglia and for a time as well, northeast england. so, it might be worth allowing a little bit of extra time for your commute to work during the first part of thursday, because i think some of that fog is going to be

quite dense with visibility down to 100 metres or so. and some of the fog willjust lift into low cloud and mist and could loiter all day in one or two spots. otherwise, a lot of dry weather across england and wales with some sunny spells developing, some damp weather to start the day across eastern scotland. but the rain then tends to move into northern scotland later in the day. and for northern ireland it brightens up notice again. the mildest weather will be across the north—west of the country, 12 degrees in stornoway, whereas across england, wales typically temperatures around about 7 to 9 degrees. we've got a similar mix of weather around on friday again with some mist and fog patches to start the day. and then again it's a day where we'll see quite a bit of cloud, but some sunny spells developing here and there. our temperatures not really changing too much across england and wales. again, about 7 to 9, still mild for northern ireland and western scotland. now taking a check

on the weather picture into this weekend. easterly winds are going to start to strengthen and what that will do is bring us some thicker areas of cloud and we'll see some patches of mostly light rain moving in. so you could see some damp weather just about anywhere, but it's the winds that you'll notice and it will start to feel a little bit colder as well. however, into next week, that's when we're expecting the weather to turn much colder. still, you see an area of high pressure is going to develop in greenland. and what that's going to do is it's going to shove these northerly winds southwards with polar air moving its way across the uk, really dumping the temperatures. and for some, particularly over the hills, you may all be looking at the first sign of winter. yes, there is the potential for some winter snowfall into next week. still some way off will be firming upon the details over the next few days.

this is bbc news. we will have all of the headlines and all of the mean new stories at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. we humans know that one day we will die. but as long as our end has no specific timetable attached, many of us choose to shelve the thought, avoid it. covid, which took such a grim toll in so many countries, challenged us to confront the reality of our mortality. but still, health care

professionals say, what they call, death literacy is lacking.